Eurotunnel: Payment

Debate between Matt Hancock and Andy McDonald

Monday 4th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough) (Lab)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to make a statement on the payment of £33 million to Eurotunnel over no-deal ferry contracts.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Matt Hancock)]

I would like to update the House on the settlement that the Government have reached with Eurotunnel, which will help to deliver the unhindered supply of vital medicines and medical devices in the case of a no-deal Brexit.

The best way to ensure a smooth and orderly exit from the EU, both for the NHS and for the wider economy, is to support the deal that the Attorney General is currently finalising. Anyone in this House who cares about the unhindered supply of medicines should vote for that deal, but leaving the EU without a deal remains the default position under the law, and it is incumbent on us to keep people safe. It is therefore vital that adequate contingency measures are in place for any Brexit scenario.

Preparing for a no-deal exit has required significant effort from the NHS, the pharmaceutical industry and the whole medical supply chain, and I pay tribute to their work and thank them for their efforts on these contingency measures. The settlement struck between the Government and Eurotunnel last week is an important part of these measures. Because of the legal action taken by Eurotunnel and the legal risks of the court case, it became clear that, without this settlement, we could no longer be confident of the unhindered supply of medicines. Without this settlement, the ferry capacity needed to be confident of supply was at risk. As a Government, we could not take that risk, and I doubt anyone in this House would have accepted that risk, either. With this settlement we can be confident, as long as everyone does what they need to do, that supply will continue unhindered. Under the settlement, Eurotunnel has to spend the money on improving resilience, security and traffic flow at the border, benefiting both passengers and business.

The Department for Transport, on behalf of the whole Government, entered into these contracts in good faith. Our duty is to keep people safe, whatever complications are thrown up. Although we continue to plan for all eventualities, it is clear that the best way to reduce all these risks is to vote for the deal in the days to come.

[Andy McDonald]

Once again, the Transport Secretary is not in his place to answer a question directed to him. His disregard for taxpayers and this House is clear. On Friday he reached a £33 million out-of-court settlement with Eurotunnel to provide services in the event of a no-deal Brexit because the Government were going to lose the case.

The Transport Secretary’s decision to bypass procurement processes in awarding a contract to Seaborne Freight, a ferry company without any ships, breached public procurement rules, and Eurotunnel had the Government over a barrel. Will the Minister now detail the total cost to taxpayers of this decision, including legal costs? How much money will be paid up front?

Eurotunnel will seemingly make Brexit-related improvements at Folkestone. Can the Minister say exactly what sort of agreement the Government have with Eurotunnel? What makes him think that this contract with Eurotunnel will not be challenged on anti-competition grounds? A former Department for Transport adviser said:

“there is a risk it could be construed as another piece of public procurement without open and transparent competition.”

That would risk further legal action and yet more public money being squandered.

Even in this golden age of ministerial incompetence, the Transport Secretary stands out from the crowd. He leaves a trail of destruction in his wake, causing chaos and wasting billions of pounds, yet he shows no contrition, no acknowledgment of his mistakes and no resolve to learn and improve. He is now ridiculed in The New York Times. The mayor of Calais has banned him from his town. The Transport Secretary has become an international embarrassment. The Prime Minister is the only person in the country who retains confidence in this failing Transport Secretary, and she does so only because of her own political weakness. The public deserve to know: how many more calamities is the Prime Minister prepared to tolerate? How many more billions of pounds will she allow him to waste before saying, “Enough is enough”? This country cannot afford this Transport Secretary. He should be sacked without delay.

[Matt Hancock]

In listening to that, I notice that the hon. Gentleman did not disagree with the decision we made on Friday. That decision was to ensure that we have the ferry capacity in place so that whatever happens in the Brexit scenario we can have the unhindered supply of medicines. That is the duty of this Government and that is why the whole Government came to this decision. He asked some specific questions, which I answered in my statement. However, let me reiterate: this is a legal settlement with Eurotunnel; the maximum cost is £33 million, as was set out clearly on Friday; and the purpose of the decision is to ensure that unhindered flow of medicines. So, as I said in my statement, the purpose of this is to make sure that whatever happens in Brexit people can be safe. I was happy to support that decision, which everybody in this House would have made in the same circumstances.

Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill

Debate between Matt Hancock and Andy McDonald

Wednesday 19th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

Thanks to the Bill, exclusivity clauses will no longer be valid; they will be null and void. The Opposition promised to do this in opposition last time around, they did nothing about it for 13 years and now they witter on about impractical solutions, whereas this Government are interested in making changes that will improve the labour market. I am proud that we are doing this at the same time as increasing the number of jobs in this economy to record levels.

[Andy McDonald]

The Minister has not said how he is going to enforce this. How will it be enforced—will he answer, please?

[Matthew Hancock]

As I said, not only will any exclusivity clause be null and void, but we are consulting on those powers. If the hon. Gentleman actually wanted to get into the detail of trying to sort this out, he would know that that consultation was happening—perhaps he will even respond to it. One thing that happened during the passage of this Bill was that it became clear that the Labour party had not been engaged in any of the consultations about any of the improvements we are making. Instead of making partisan points, we are making it easier to do business and to employ people, and we are strengthening people’s rights where their employment contracts are abused, but doing so in a way that can allow small businesses to continue to grow, employ and take people on.

Tata Steel

Debate between Matt Hancock and Andy McDonald

Thursday 16th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

It is not by accident that there has been an increase in steel production in the UK in the past four years. It has been achieved by active involvement, not only through the national infrastructure plan and getting procurement right, but through making the tax environment better and ensuring that people can invest in this country with confidence for the long-term future. It has also been achieved by the personal effort of Members of both coalition parties to support steel in the UK.

[Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough) (Lab)]

The Minister talks about the tone adopted by my colleagues and he is correct about that, but the tone from him and some of the comments from Government Members seem to be of an absolute acceptance that there will be job losses. I would be a little more impressed if, rather than the complacency we see from the Minister, the focus was on the preservation of the industry. If Gary Klesch did so well in Italy, then we should hear from Reuters, which says he has a record of swooping on ailing businesses in the United States—otherwise described as vulture capitalism, which I think is described as asset stripping in this country. What steps do the Government intend to take to ensure that that does not happen? There are 700 jobs at risk in our constituencies.

[Matthew Hancock]

We are absolutely clear that the potential of the future for steel making in the UK is bright. We have taken action to remove some of the barriers that were put in place by the previous Government. I therefore reject the overly partisan tone that has been taken at times, not least because of the amount of work that has been put in to make sure that we have a strong and bright potential future. That involves, for instance, not just the changes to the takeover code, but the substance of ensuring that it is more competitive to make steel in the UK.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Hancock and Andy McDonald

Monday 10th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Skills and Enterprise (Matthew Hancock)]

I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend and the principal of his local sixth-form college to discuss how to make sure that in these tight spending times, which we all know exist, sixth-form colleges can maximise the flexibilities at their command in order to continue the excellent education that most deliver.

[Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough) (Lab)]

Many children who are entitled to free school meals do not receive that benefit, often because parental embarrassment or a lack of English mean that the application is not made. Will the Minister ensure that those children are passported through on the basis of benefit assessments already made in respect of those families?