European Council 2016

Nick Smith Excerpts

Monday 19th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for his kind words. I assure him that I am focused, as is the Department for Exiting the European Union and everybody across government, on delivering what overall the British people wanted, which is leaving the European Union.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

May I press the Prime Minister: how will our Government hold President Assad to account for the decimation of Aleppo?

[The Prime Minister]

This is a matter that we and others in the international community will be looking at. Of course, at the moment President Assad is still there in Syria. We have said from the beginning that we want to see a political transition away from President Assad, but we are very clear that we need to look carefully at all the actions that have been taken in relation to the conflict in Syria and ensure that people are held to account for those actions, including, obviously, the ones that break international humanitarian law.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 14th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

First of all, I absolutely join my hon. Friend in congratulating everyone who took part in Singing for Syrians. I am sure the whole House welcomes the work that that group is doing and the money that it is raising and putting to extremely good use. The House was struck when she mentioned the number of people who are on the waiting list for prosthetic limbs. Our humanitarian aid support for Syria is the biggest such effort that the UK has made. Of course we are giving money to the refugees who have fled from Syria. We are also working diplomatically to try to reduce the suffering and to ensure that the sort of aid and medical support that she is talking about gets through to the citizens of Aleppo. We will continue to ensure that our humanitarian aid is being put to good use—helping those who are vulnerable and also helping those who need the education and support to be able, in due course, to rebuild Syria when it is stable and secure.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Q3. Rip-off interest rates on household goods are wrong. Companies such as BrightHouse exploit families who have no other way to furnish their homes. Will the Prime Minister look at capping those interest rates to help those who are just about managing?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman raises an important issue. I recognise that there are many people who are just about managing and struggling to get by who find themselves having to revert to support from companies that do, sadly, charge the sort of interest rates that he is talking about. Action has been taken in relation to some of those activities in the past, but I will look at the issue that he raised.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 7th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Skidmore]

During every previous boundary review, Parliament has accepted that there must be a defined date and a set of registers to access. That was set down as a result of the delay to the 2013 review, which was voted for by Labour Members. Not only do those who now seek to delay the boundary review even further seek to overturn the accepted will of Parliament, but to delay the boundary review again would ensure that we have constituencies that are of dramatically unequal size, and that are based on data more than two decades old.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

The boundary review next week is going to be a sham. Nearly 2 million voters have not been counted. Why does the Minister not start again, so that our democracy is not undermined by next week’s partisan gerrymandering?

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 9th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Matthew Hancock]

I do. The better use of data consultation is about maximising opportunities for proportionate, secure and well-governed data sharing, including allowing world-leading research and statistics greater access to datasets as part of a wider programme to modernise and simplify the UK’s data landscape.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

While our population is rising, voter registration is going down. As part of the digital government programme, what further databases will the Minister use in support to boost voter registrations?

[Matthew Hancock]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. We are using links to local government databases actively to work, through digital and other means, to ensure that everybody who has the right to vote gets the opportunity to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 27th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

What further Government or private sector databases are the Minister’s Department thinking of using to boost registration among young people?

[John Penrose]

The hon. Gentleman raised this point with me a little while ago and asked about credit reference agencies, among others. We might be able to use other sources of data, but some base a lot of their information on the electoral roll itself, so we would need to ensure that the process did not become circular. There may be things that other people can add, however, and all sources of data offer potential ways to reduce the cost, and improve the quality and speed, of our registration efforts.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 6th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Dunne]

As we are currently in contractual negotiations for the procurement, it would be quite wrong for me to pre-empt the precise nature of those negotiations, so I cannot answer the right hon. Gentleman’s initial question on how many aircraft will be available, and when, until such time as the contract has been concluded. On the question of training, he is right to say that we have crews in service on this platform with other users in the United States. The training basing will be established as part of the procurement process in the coming months.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

4. What recent discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Defence and (b) Ministers of the Scottish Government on the effect on Scotland of the strategic defence and security review.

[The Minister for Defence Procurement (Mr Philip Dunne)]

While defence and national security remain reserved to the UK Parliament, we recognise the importance of engaging with the devolved Administrations. As I said in my answer to the previous question, Lord Dunlop, the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, and I have had meetings with the Scottish Government to discuss these matters.

[Nick Smith]

UK defence contracts are a major source of jobs in Scotland, with 2,500 people employed on Clydeside. Can the Minister explain why his Government reduced defence spending by 14% in the last Parliament?

[Mr Dunne]

I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman seeks to hark back, rather than to look forward. At the end of November we published the SDSR, in which the Government committed to increase defence spending in real terms for each year of this Parliament, and that is what we are looking forward to. Much of that investment will be spent in Scotland, and indeed in south Wales, as we procure the Ajax vehicle.

National Security and Defence

Nick Smith Excerpts

Monday 23rd November 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful that my hon. Friend has asked that question because it enables me to clarify a point that was raised earlier. Whatever the outcome of the spending review with the police, and however many police we have available, given the dangerous times we live in and the possibility of mass casualty attacks, it makes sense to break down barriers that were previously put in the way of the military being able to deploy rapidly on to the streets of our country. We have this plan for 5,000 trained military personnel—soon to be 10,000—on whom the police can call. That does not in any way undermine the police; it gives them an additional power to bring to bear at a time of great need.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

It is good that there will be more investment in the cyber-security programme, but the industry sector says that there is a skills shortage of staff to work in applied intelligence. How will the Government attract and train more specialists to address that critical skills gap?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. Hiring and maintaining people at GCHQ, and not losing them to what are now very well-paid industries, can be difficult. We must ensure that we train more people in maths and science, and that more girls study those subjects through to A-levels and degrees. That is beginning to happen in our country, and we must build on it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 9th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this matter. The whole point about the process for the new northern franchise is to see an improvement in services. We have already spoken about getting rid of the Pacer trains, which I know will be very popular in the north of England, and we will be adding an extra 1,500 services a day. We want to increase the morning peak capacity by one third and, as I said, see those outdated Pacer trains retired. That is a good programme and one we hope to secure through this franchise.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Q14. Experts say that delivery of the electrification of the main line between Paddington and Swansea is slipping. How will the Prime Minister get this project back on track and budget by the delivery date of 2018?

[The Prime Minister]

We are committed to this electrification all the way to Swansea, and we are making record investments in our railway line. Many of us, including Opposition Members, were privileged to be at Newton Aycliffe for the opening of the Hitachi factory that will be providing the state-of-the-art trains—trains built not in Japan, but here in Britain, bringing 700 new jobs to the north-east of England.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 10th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[David Mundell]

What is now clear is that the SNP wants to put up taxes in Scotland. Its next Scottish Parliament manifesto needs to tell the people of Scotland by how much.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

9. How many companies in Scotland have been prosecuted for non-compliance with the national minimum wage since 2010.

[The Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise (Anna Soubry)]

So far no companies have been prosecuted, but we have named the 14 that have not complied with the law. We feel that is the right way to go about things, but if there are serious cases, they are referred to the Crown Prosecution Service in England or the procurator fiscal in Scotland.

[Nick Smith]

That is just not good enough. Labour wants to see the minimum wage protected, increased and properly enforced, so why not give local authorities the powers to tackle bad employers and enforce the minimum wage properly?

[Anna Soubry]

I have to disabuse the hon. Gentleman of a few misconceptions. We are actually following guidance that his party’s Government introduced in 2008, and it was good guidance. In very serious cases, companies should be referred onward for prosecution, but those decisions are ultimately left to the CPS or, in the case of Scotland, to the procurator fiscal.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 8th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I certainly agree with my right hon. Friend that, as the reviews occur in future, we shall need to be mindful, first, of the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham), ensuring that there is enough latitude in the rules so that boundary commissions are not forced to split up naturally formed communities; and, secondly, of the need not to create such unfeasibly large constituencies that it is almost impossible physically to represent them in this place.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

6. What steps the Government are taking to avoid a fall in the number of people registered to vote as a result of the introduction of individual voter registration.

[The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Greg Clark)]

As part of the transition to individual electoral registration, we are using data matching to confirm the majority of current electors on the existing register without their having to make a new application. The transition is being phased in over two years, which means that no one registered to vote at the last canvass will lose their right to vote at the general election in 2015. The Electoral Commission will have an awareness campaign; in addition, the introduction of online registration makes electoral registration much more accessible.

[Nick Smith]

I understand that two thirds of electoral registration officers have not data matched their records with Government databases. What action will the Minister take to ensure that they do so?

[Greg Clark]

No, the hon. Gentleman is out of date. Of the applications made since 10 June, more than 90% have been successfully confirmed with Government data, so it is going extremely well. The electoral registration community around the country is pretty pleased with the progress.