Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Wednesday 5th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

I think I can give the hon. Lady an encouraging message to take back to the pupils of St Gregory’s school, which is that, under the leadership of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, the Government have launched a resources and waste strategy, which includes consulting on plans to introduce consistent recycling for all households, consulting on a deposit return scheme to drive up the recycling of cans and bottles and plans for producers to pay the full cost of managing packaging waste for extended producer responsibility. I think that that makes a good package.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

Thirty years ago this week, some 2,000 democrats—maybe more, but we will never know the number—were murdered in Tiananmen Square. Even now in China, a great firewall prevents Wikipedia, Google and others from communicating with the Chinese people. Although China has moved on, does my right hon. Friend not think it the height of hypocrisy that those who demonstrated against the President of America chose not to demonstrate against the President of China when he came here?

[Mr Lidington]

My hon. Friend makes a telling point about the inconsistency in standards among some leading members of this House. It was indeed 30 years yesterday since the tragic and shocking events in which so many people lost their lives while protesting peacefully in and around Tiananmen Square. The sad truth today is that people in China are still unable to exercise their right to protest peacefully—a right given to them by international agreements to which the Chinese Government have signed up. We continue to urge the Chinese Government to respect citizens’ freedom of association, assembly, expression and other fundamental rights and freedoms as is supposed to be enshrined in China’s constitution as well as in international law.

Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Wednesday 24th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Foster]

In the last week we sat, the Scottish National party was praising the House of peers. This week it is calling for it to be scrapped again. The focus now, with the issues facing this country, is to get on with delivering a Brexit deal that works for the whole United Kingdom, rather than spend our time building constitutional grievances, as the separatists wish to do.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his appointment to the Front Bench and his outstanding responses so far. Notwithstanding any reservations we may have about the unelected place, is it not the case that on occasion, the standard of debate there can be a lot higher than here?

[Kevin Foster]

I thank my hon. Friend. I am sure that over his 27 years in this House he has seen plenty of very high-standard debates. In fact, he has contributed to raising that standard on many occasions. The House of Lords plays a special part in our constitution as a revising Chamber, subject, as always, to the supremacy of this elected House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

6. What recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on a permanent home for the display of the Prince of Wales’s investiture regalia in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Alun Cairns)]

I commend my hon. Friend for his commitment to this issue. I would be delighted to see the return of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales’s regalia to Wales. There are many fine residences in Wales that would be suitable to display what some consider to be the Welsh Crown jewels.

[Michael Fabricant]

As you will know, Mr Speaker, the question on Welsh people’s lips at the moment is not Brexit but the royal regalia. Does my right hon. Friend not agree that there are many suitable locations, including Caernarfon castle or, perhaps even better, the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, which has a secure place to store them?

[Alun Cairns]

My hon. Friend is persistent, but that demonstrates the importance of the project and its potential to attract tourists to Wales. It is an interesting proposal, and my officials are happy to work with other organisations to see how we can make it a reality. There are security implications, but there are also significant potential benefits.

European Council

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Monday 25th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

What I want to ensure—what I am working for and what I hope that we will be able to achieve in this House—is that we deliver Brexit, and that we do so in a way that enables us to protect our Union, jobs and livelihoods, and our security. That should be the aim of everybody across the House, and I hope that everybody will be able to come together to deliver that.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

Since October, there has been extensive no-deal planning in the United Kingdom and the European Union. This has been acknowledged not only by those in the UK and the EU, but also by the Governor of the Bank of England. I therefore simply say to the Prime Minister: have faith in our officials. Let us try to get a deal by all means, but, if we cannot, let us not be frightened of no deal. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. There is a quite a lot of noise on the Opposition Benches. I assumed that the hon. Member for Lichfield (Michael Fabricant) had been present throughout the statement.

[Michael Fabricant]

Yes.

[Mr Speaker]

In that case, the hon. Gentleman’s question is perfectly orderly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Wednesday 20th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Harriett Baldwin]

We have an important role to play in working with our international bilateral partners to encourage the use of clean growth and clean energy. For example, the week before last, we held an event here in support of sustainable development goal 7 to which we invited African Energy Ministers from developing countries to meet some of the people we have in the UK with expertise on renewable energy.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

Solar energy is a relatively clean way to generate electricity. What steps are we taking in Africa to help not only people who are off-grid but those who are on-grid?

[Harriett Baldwin]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that solar energy, particularly in sunny places, is a very good idea. Indeed, there is some very windy coastline where offshore wind energy would also be very helpful. In addition to the event that we held for African Energy Ministers the week before last, we have come up with some remarkable inventions using some of our overseas development assistance—for example, a solar-powered fridge.

Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Wednesday 13th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

The temporary tariff regime aims to minimise costs to business and mitigate price impacts on consumers while supporting UK producers. I stress again that that is a temporary scheme, and business will be consulted over the first 12 months.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

This morning, right hon. and hon. Members and I were serving on a statutory instrument Committee. Along the Committee corridor, there are SI Committees almost every day, preparing not only for a deal-Brexit but for a no-deal Brexit. Can I tell my right hon. Friend that we are prepared, in my view?

[Mr Speaker]

Aren’t we? I think that is where the question mark comes.

Draft Public Procurement (Electronic Invoices Etc.) Regulations 2019

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Thursday 7th March 2019 General Committees

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Oliver Dowden)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Public Procurement (Electronic Invoices etc.) Regulations 2019.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gapes, in what I hope will be a fairly straightforward statutory instrument for the Committee to consider.

The Government are committed to securing a deal to ensure an orderly withdrawal from the European Union. In that event, we will be required to continue to abide by our commitments under the proposed withdrawal agreement, including the obligation to comply with EU law during the implementation period and to transpose European directives into UK law.

One such directive concerns electronic invoicing in public procurement. The draft regulations are a short and simple measure that aims to promote the uptake of electronic invoicing in public procurement by requiring public bodies to accept electronic invoices from their contracted suppliers. Principally, the draft regulations will transpose the e-invoicing directive, but they also make a number of small and minor technical corrections to public procurement rules.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

This SI seems to make good sense—it is very modern, and this is how we should be doing business anyway. However, in the event of no deal, will we have to pass a different statutory instrument or will this one still apply?

[Oliver Dowden]

I was just coming to that. The draft regulations are due to come into effect after the withdrawal date so, in the event of no deal, we would clearly not be obliged to implement it because we would not be subject to EU law, but we might decide to continue to do so anyway. There are pretty good grounds for that, because it is in essence a simplification measure for businesses. That brings me to a segue.

Significant benefits can be realised by promoting the uptake of standardised electronic invoicing in public procurement, given the reduction in costs and administrative burdens for procuring entities and their suppliers, and given the environmental impact of a move away from paper-based invoicing. That is why in 2014 the EU adopted directive 2014/55 on electronic invoicing.

The draft regulations transpose that directive into domestic law. They do so by amending existing procurement legislation applicable to the award of public contracts and of contracts in the utilities sector. The Scottish Government have brought forward their own legislation to give effect to the directive in similar terms to this instrument. The directive contains one simple obligation for member states: to take necessary measures to require public sector buyers and utilities to receive and process electronic invoices that comply with a common standard.

It is important that I stress from the outset that private sector suppliers, other than those privatised utilities remaining subject to public procurement rules, will not be obliged to use the EU invoicing standard unless they wish to. We are not imposing additional costs on suppliers.

The measures that we are introducing will oblige contracting authorities and other procuring entities to include within their contracts an express term requiring them to accept and process electronic invoices that comply with the standard, where of course there is no dispute as to payment. In the absence of such express electronic invoicing provisions in the contract, a term to that effect would be implied—if they do not put it in, this statutory instrument will imply that term. Suppliers will be able to enforce their ability to invoice purchasers for goods and services electronically via the terms of the contract.

The European Committee for Standardisation was commissioned to draft the standard, and the British Standards Institution was involved in its development. The standard was published in October 2017, following which the UK had 18 months to implement the directive’s requirements. The deadline for that implementation is 18 April 2019. As I discussed with my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield, it will not escape the attention of the Committee that that falls after the date on which the UK is anticipated to leave the European Union. However, the Government’s aspiration or intention remains that the UK will secure a deal with the European Union. Under the withdrawal agreement, we would then enter the implementation period, during which we continue to be bound by the directive, so the draft regulations will come into force on 18 April 2019.

There is a slight wrinkle in respect of central subcontracting authorities such as local authorities and utilities. The directive confers on member states the discretion to postpone the application of implementing provisions until 18 April 2020, in respect of those entities. We have taken advantage of that derogation. I think it is right that we allow procuring authorities other than central Government authorities time to adapt to the change. However, there is nothing to prevent those authorities from accepting electronic invoices prior to that date.

In the event that no agreement is reached, we will, as we have discussed, consider the options available. We would, of course, be free to implement this provision. I see no reason why we would not choose to do so, but we would make the decision at that point.

As set out in further detail in the explanatory memorandum, we have also taken the opportunity in this instrument to make minor amendments to how the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 refer to offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Those are essentially tidying-up measures.

I hope that members of the Committee will agree that with this instrument we have the opportunity to provide real benefits to both the supplier community and the public sector, and I look forward to seeing its progress through both Houses. I commend the regulations to the Committee.

Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Wednesday 13th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that critical issue. The Foreign Office is doing a tremendous amount and is meeting its counterparts in not only the US and Canada but in the region to see what more we can do. We stand ready to do more, and what we do will be driven by what we find on the ground. He will understand that this is sensitive, because some of our partners with whom we work in the region are very vulnerable if we identify precisely who they are and what they are doing, but I assure him and the House that we will stand by the people of Venezuela.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend will know that the restrictive common agricultural policy has damaged agriculture in Africa. After Brexit, what can we do to stimulate trade, particularly with farmers in sub-Saharan Africa?

[Harriett Baldwin]

I am pleased to reassure my hon. Friend that there is already a lot that we can do. There are many products, such as avocados and cashew nuts, that we simply cannot grow in the UK, and I know that UK consumers and African producers will benefit from growth in those areas in years to come.

European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Tuesday 29th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Corbyn]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. The point he makes about the way in which this House debates these matters is important. He has led a local authority, Oldham, brought people together and brought communities together, and achieved things—that is something this Government have lamentably failed to do. If the—

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I think the hon. Member for Oldham West and Royton (Jim McMahon) may have inadvertently misled the House. He claimed that no one had said during the EU referendum that we would be leaving the customs union. In fact, the former Prime Minister said that—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Resume your seat, Mr Fabricant. I know you are trying to help the House and I appreciate that—your public spiritedness is well known throughout the House and across the nation—but the hon. Gentleman referred to a leaflet and the contents thereof. Whatever the merits or demerits of that argument, it is not a matter of order for the Chair. It is a matter of political debate, as your grinning countenance suggests you are well aware.

Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Wednesday 9th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Alistair Burt]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her questions. There is sometimes a difficulty with comparing spending when taking a snapshot, because programmes last for different lengths of time, but she is right to recognise our strong commitment to the Global Fund. We invested £1.2 billion in the current replenishment process, and we also provided extra assistance to the Robert Carr civil society Networks Fund during the course of this year. We will ensure that funding continues to go to programmes, and we do our best to track it when it goes into the wider programmes where the AIDS spending will actually happen. That remains a priority for us.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

10. The Uganda Virus Research Institute does a huge amount of work on HIV/AIDS and, of course, was jointly set up with the British Government back in 1988. What work is the institute doing? What can the Government do to strengthen both that work and the institute’s Ebola research?

[Alistair Burt]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for mentioning that programme. In fact, my hon. Friend the Minister for Africa visited the programme recently and was able to see its valuable work on both AIDS and Ebola. That sort of ministerial commitment demonstrates our support on the ground, which will continue and intensify.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

As I said in response to the right hon. Gentleman’s first question, I set out the position earlier. I referenced, as he will know, the conclusions of the December European Council, which went further in relation to the issues that I have raised with the European Council than they had gone before, and those have legal status, but we are of course working further on those issues.

The right hon. Gentleman cannot get away from the fact that if he wants to avoid no deal, he has to be willing to agree a deal. The deal that is on the table, which the EU has made clear is the only deal, is the one that the United Kingdom Government have negotiated with the European Union. If he really wants, and is concerned about ensuring that we can look ahead to, a bright future across the whole of the United Kingdom, he should back that deal.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

Q11. What discussions she has had with the Mayor of the west midlands on the creation of employment in that region; and if she will make a statement.

[The Prime Minister]

I was pleased to meet the Mayor of the west midlands last October, when my right hon. Friend the Chancellor and I visited the Kings Norton headquarters of adi Group and saw at first hand the opportunities that apprenticeships can afford. That is why we are seeing annual investment in apprenticeships double to nearly £2.5 billion by 2020. It was also an excellent opportunity to see a successful west midlands company doing its bit to give young people a career. I am pleased to say that the latest statistics show employment in the west midlands has risen by 276,000 since 2010.

[Michael Fabricant]

That is fantastic news, but I think the Prime Minister will agree with me that transport is also key to employment. I want to raise the question of the rail line that lies between Lichfield and Burton, which is currently used only for freight. It passes the National Memorial Arboretum, which gets about half a million visitors a year, but at the moment they all have to come by road, along the busy and congested A38. May I ask the Prime Minister that this rail line be upgraded to a passenger service, providing a valuable east-west connection from Birmingham? Would she also allow me to take her personally around the National Memorial Arboretum?

[The Prime Minister]

I of course recognise the important role that transport links play in relation to prosperity and economic growth. Our rail strategy, “Connecting people”, which we have published, actually does look at how we can restore lost capacity where that unlocks housing growth, eases crowded routes, meets demand and offers good value for money, of course. It is for local authorities and local enterprise partnerships to determine whether a new station or train service is the best way to meet local transport needs, but we work closely with local authorities and local enterprise partnerships to take forward the schemes that they are interested in progressing.

In relation to the arboretum, I will of course consider a visit in the future, and I think my hon. Friend has probably given me an invitation it is very difficult to refuse.