Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Wednesday 6th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We have a closed question from Mr Michael Fabricant.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

Q5. What recent assessment she has made of the (a) economic performance and (b) level of provision of public services in the west midlands; and if she will make a statement.

[The Prime Minister]

I am pleased to say that employment in the west midlands has risen by 198,000 since the 2010 election. In the Budget, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor confirmed that people living and working in the west midlands will benefit from a second devolution deal and a £250 million allocation for regional transport projects.

[Michael Fabricant]

The devolution deal, the Budget and now the establishment of the national battery research and development centre in the west midlands put the whole region at the very heart of European autonomous-drive and electric-drive cars. So will my right hon. Friend commit to continuing to support this important industry? Will she make a very important promise to me? [Hon. Members: “Ooh!] Yes. Will she get rid of that gas-guzzler Jaguar of hers in No. 10 Downing Street and get a modern Jaguar, an electric one, from the west midlands, because we are the party of the future, not the old Labour dinosaurs opposite?

[The Prime Minister]

Perhaps I could just let my hon. Friend know that, sadly, the Jaguar in No. 10 Downing Street is not mine, but he is absolutely right that the west midlands is at the heart of this important industry. We are investing £31 million in the west midlands for the development of testing infrastructure for connected and autonomous vehicles, and we will also build on west midlands expertise in self-driving cars as we invest a further £5 million in an initial 5G testbed. I certainly look forward to seeing this technology developing further.

UK Plans for Leaving the EU

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Monday 9th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

In relation to that issue, we have looked at the broader question of the customs arrangements and, as I say, we have published a paper that contains proposals for systems that could operate in future. In relation to the Northern Irish border with the Republic of Ireland, we are discussing with the parties in Northern Ireland, the EU and the Irish Government what the future arrangement might look like, but the EU recognises that it is not possible to confirm what that future arrangement will look like until we have looked into some of the wider issues of the future partnership between the UK and the EU.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

Kristian Jensen has joined Wolfgang Schäuble—both are Finance Ministers—in saying that the negotiation would be easy were it not for the game playing. It is the modus operandi of the EU to bully on occasion, to brief the media negatively on occasion, and to bide for time right up until the wire. May I tell my right hon. Friend not to be naive—not that she would be—and listen to the ridiculous comments from Labour Members who have never negotiated their way out of a paper bag, let alone the EU?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We know the things that can be done in negotiations to appear to make life difficult. What matters is that the Government have their vision very clearly set on the end state and the arrangement we wish to negotiate, and we are firmly committed to that negotiation. I can think of no better person than my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to deal with the sort of methods that my hon. Friend set out.

Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Wednesday 26th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[Alun Cairns]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. There are record employment data in Wales, with unemployment at a record low, and the prison will provide a further boost to his constituency. The answer to his question is quite straightforward: the site was selected in consultation with, and with the support of, the Welsh Government.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

15. Wales has a number of technological hotspots, around Cardiff and elsewhere. Does my right hon. Friend not think that, after Brexit, they will benefit from the bilateral trade deals that we will be able to make with the United States and Canada, as well as with the European Union?

[Alun Cairns]

My hon. Friend regularly shows a great interest in Wales and he obviously knows a lot about the Welsh economy. He mentions the high-tech sectors. We have seen the expansion of General Dynamics, which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence and I visited a couple of weeks ago. On that same day, we both handed over the Red Dragon super-hangar to Aston Martin. These are real jobs that are being created by real investors creating new opportunities.

--- Later in debate ---

The Prime Minister was asked—

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

Q1. What recent assessment she has made of the (a) performance of the economy and (b) adequacy of provision of public services in the west midlands; and if she will make a statement.

[The Prime Minister (Mrs Theresa May)]

The economy in the west midlands is performing well. Businesses are continuing to invest, and since 2010 employment in the west midlands has risen by 180,000. That is because the Conservatives in government have safeguarded the economy. As a result—my hon. Friend asks about public services—there are more doctors and more nurses in his hospitals, because you can only have strong public services when you have the strong and stable leadership that delivers a strong economy.

[Michael Fabricant]

I think what this nation needs is a strong and stable Government. But is it not the case that thanks to devolution, we will not only have—I hope—strong and stable government after the general election, but strong and stable leadership in the west midlands if the right choice is made on 4 May?

Article 50

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Wednesday 29th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Lady is absolutely right that these will be very complex negotiations. It was right to wait the nine months we did before invoking article 50, so we have been able to do a considerable amount of preparation. As we move forward, some very technical discussions will of course need to take place, as well as the higher level discussions that will be required. I assure the right hon. Lady that we consistently ask ourselves difficult questions to ensure that we are testing every approach that we put forward, so that we can get the best possible deal.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

First, may I reassure my right hon. Friend that Donald Tusk has indeed received the letter? He tweeted about it one minute early—at 12.29 pm our time—which shows the keenness of our team. May I also tell the Prime Minister that Donald Tusk has said he is missing us already, but that he recognises it is in the European Union’s interest, as well as that of the United Kingdom, that we achieve an agreement that will benefit both sides in this negotiation?

[The Prime Minister]

This is absolutely right, and I am pleased to hear that President Tusk has taken that view. This is not just about the United Kingdom for the future, but about the European Union for the future and the relationship we will have with it. As I have said in the letter, we want a “deep and special partnership” to continue in the future. We are still part of Europe, although we will be leaving the EU institutions.

Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Ben Gummer]

I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for making that point. Central to what we are doing is protecting not only the information that government requires to be kept confidential, but, as importantly, the information that citizens require to be kept confidential. That is partly why gov.uk Verify has been designed so that it protects citizens’ data in the inquires that they make of government.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

Last night, I had a very pleasant evening, in Blacks Club, with Dr Helen Stokes-Lampard, the chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, who is my own personal GP from Lichfield. She was telling me that NHS data on patients will now be held on the cloud—and this system will work, of course, because individual programmes will access it. But how secure will the cloud be?

Advisory Committee on Business Appointments/Ministerial Code

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Monday 20th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Ben Gummer]

One of the many reasons why I admire the hon. Gentleman is that he walked out of the pit straight to this place, and gave an experience to the House of Commons and our representative democracy that few on either side of the House would able to provide. That is of enormous value to this House of Commons. I am not in a position to make the judgment that he invites me to make. I ask that the independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments provides its independent report before we judge this particular incident, and that the hon. Gentleman contributes his thoughts to the wider considerations of the Committee on Standards in Public Life. I believe that there are strong arguments in his favour, but there are also strong arguments on the other side, and they should be discussed in the round.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

As my right hon. Friend says, there is a fine balance between those who have outside interests and those who do not, but I believe that this House is enriched by those outside interests. I further believe that party apparatchiks do not enhance this House. May I utter a Labour party swear word to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Andrew Gwynne), who talks with his faux outrage? May I just remind him of Tony Blair?

[Ben Gummer]

Those two words are more likely to anger Opposition Members than Government Members.

It is difficult to frame this debate by looking at particular examples; we have to look at the generality. There are 650 Members of Parliament, many of whom have various outside interests: some are in the professions; some are in the charitable sector. If we start to go down this road, we will have to decide which things we judge to be more valuable than others. That is a very difficult path to travel down, and the House needs to make its consideration with time and dignity.

Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Wednesday 8th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Ben Gummer]

My enormous departmental team of two comprises one person who has run several small businesses and another who is a sole trader. That is a 100% fulfilment on my hon. Friend’s request. We also have a small and medium-sized enterprise ambassador, Emma Jones, who works with the council to ensure that we do precisely what he wishes, which is to sensitise the civil service and procurement officials to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

Before he quit, a friend of mine empowered Waitrose managers—[Interruption.] I will not name him. He empowered Waitrose managers to go out and procure local product. Can we not give similar encouragement to bodies such as county and district councils?

[Ben Gummer]

I commend everything that my hon. Friend’s friend has done in his previous role, and I know that he will bring that expertise, in due course, to the people of the west midlands. Although councils and all public bodies cannot choose according to geographical criteria, what they can and must do is take into account the social value of their procurement policies, which is why there is considerable latitude for them to have a similar approach to the one that his friend conducted at Waitrose.

Informal European Council

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Monday 6th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I reassure the hon. Lady that as long we are members of the European Union we will continue to encourage other member states to maintain the sanctions. There are several foreign policy areas, such as on the security of Europe, on which we will want to co-operate in future with our European Union partners. Once we are outside the EU, we will not have a vote around the table on the sanctions regime, but we will continue to make our views clear.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

Contrary to the rather negative comments from the Labour party, was my right hon. Friend yet again heartened by Germany? Over the weekend, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said in Der Tagesspiegel that there is no question of the United Kingdom being punished for leaving the European Union and that London remains the heart of the global finance industry. What influence does my right hon. Friend think Germany will have over the negotiations?

[Mr Speaker]

I am greatly impressed by the range of the hon. Gentleman’s reading matter.

[Michael Fabricant]

Vielen Dank!

[The Prime Minister]

I was aware of Wolfgang Schäuble’s comments—although I cannot claim to have read that particular publication—and it was an important point. As we move forward towards the triggering of the negotiations, we are now seeing a genuine willingness on both sides to discuss the future EU-UK relationship—the new partnership that we want—and a recognition of the role that the UK plays in Europe. Of course, Germany will be one of the remaining 27 member states, but I look forward to having further conversations with our German counterparts on the importance that they place on the City of London and the UK’s trading relationship with Europe.

European Council 2016

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Monday 19th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

This is an issue on which my hon. Friend has campaigned for a considerable time. Part of the vote that people took was about this Parliament determining laws here in the United Kingdom, and that means not being under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

A diplomat friend of mine from Sweden told me last week that it is not just the budget that they will miss after Brexit. They will also miss the English nationals—the British nationals—who work for the European Union, who he says are organised, systematic and imaginative, and provide quite a contrast to many of the others who work for the secretariat. Will my right hon. Friend join me in wishing them well for the future and, I guess, a happy Christmas?

[The Prime Minister]

I am happy to do so. There are many excellent British officials working inside the European Union, including, of course, our commissioner, Sir Julian King, who has a very important portfolio on security matters. I certainly wish them all well for the future, and I wish them and the whole House a very happy Christmas.

Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Fabricant Excerpts

Wednesday 14th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Ben Gummer]

I regret the experience that the hon. Gentleman’s constituent had. We have set up a group to look after victims of cybercrime called Action Fraud, to which his constituent should attend first, and we have ensured that the National Cyber Security Centre provides a personal service to businesses, but I am happy to take up his particular issue personally to make sure it is corrected.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

Is my right hon. Friend aware that sometimes a cyber-attack is inadvertent and that The Register and other magazines report that a Microsoft download and update has caused a mass disconnection of computers from the internet, particularly among those running Windows 8 and 10? Do the Government have a role in advising people on how that sort of thing can be corrected?

[Ben Gummer]

My hon. Friend is a far more astute reader of IT journals than I am. We are aware of our responsibilities, which is why we have set up the Cyber Essentials website, but I will relay his comments to those who know more about it than I do so that they can reflect on them.