Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 9th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)]

13. What steps he is taking to ensure value for money in public spending.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

24. What steps he is taking to ensure value for money in public spending.

--- Later in debate ---

[John Glen]

No.

[Nick Smith]

Some £7.9 billion was wasted on useless and overpriced personal protective equipment; meanwhile, opportunists who saw the Tories coming are now profiteering on the back of the public purse. Does the Minister regret that this money was not spent wisely? Nearly £8 billion could buy us 20 new hospitals.

[John Glen]

Our priority was clear throughout the covid crisis, and that was to get PPE to the frontline as quickly as possible. Due diligence was carried out on all companies that were referred to the Department. Despite all those steps being taken, some instances of fraud did occur with unscrupulous suppliers taking advantage of the situation. This Government take that fraud seriously, and the Department of Health and Social Care is exploring every available option to bring those who commit fraud to account. We have also made a number of other interventions, including investment in the taxpayer protection taskforce to normalise higher compliance activity in HMRC, alongside other measures to deal with fraud elsewhere in some of the emergency schemes that we set up to help this economy and this country get through covid.

Draft Social Security (Contributions) (Rates, Limits and Thresholds Amendments and National Insurance Funds Payments) Regulations 2023 Draft Tax Credits, Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance Up-rating Regulations 2023

Nick Smith Excerpts

Monday 6th February 2023 General Committees

[Abena Oppong-Asare]

rose—

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

rose—

[Victoria Atkins]

I give way to the hon. Lady.

--- Later in debate ---

[Victoria Atkins]

I know that the answer will come to me quickly, because we in the Treasury pride ourselves on reacting and responding quickly to the circumstances. The hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent was also trying to catch my eye, so now may be an appropriate time for him to intervene, then I can try to answer both questions at the same time.

[Nick Smith]

I thank the Minister for giving way. I am just going through the explanatory memorandum to the draft Tax Credits, Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance Up-rating Regulations 2023. The consultation outcome on page 3, paragraph 10 says that there was no consultation because of the Treasury reviewing the rates. Families in these circumstances faced particularly high energy costs last year, so would it not be valuable, for fairness, for the Treasury or the Department for Work and Pensions to look at the other measures tackling high energy costs and their impact on families to ensure a fairer outcome for families from this important measure?

[Victoria Atkins]

I know that the hon. Gentleman welcomes the uprating by 10.1% of that particular allowance. It is a vital allowance for those who play such an important role in our society. On the impact of high energy prices, we are not just relying on the uprating of this particular type of tax credit; we are bringing in a whole range of measures, primarily through the Department for Work and Pensions. For example, we are giving a £900 one-off payment to people who are on means-tested benefits, and additional money for the elderly and for those on disability benefits. This uprating is an annual event and, precisely because the CPI was as high as it was in September, we are uprating —rightly, in my view—all these sensitive benefits and allowances to help those who are the most vulnerable in our society.

[Nick Smith]

I accept that there have been extra measures on families’ energy costs, and I welcome the increase by CPI, or 10%. My point is that there are other inflationary measures, including the higher energy costs, that this group in particular faces. Could those measures be looked at as part of the consultation, either now or in the future, given the extraordinarily high energy costs for such families?

[Victoria Atkins]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that interesting point. We have settled on CPI as the preferable rate of inflation, because it ensures the fairest outcome for those receiving help from the state and for the taxpayers who enable benefits and other public services to be funded properly. Indeed, we changed to CPI from the retail price index some years ago. The Government keep other measures of inflation under review. We think CPI is the most appropriate index at the moment, but we will keep that under review.

I hope that the hon. Gentleman welcomes the recent observations of the Office for Budget Responsibility, which thinks that the energy price guarantee has had a powerful buffering impact on the rate of inflation in recent months—as much as 2% or 2.5%. As well as helping our constituents with their bills in the immediate term, we hope that the guarantee will have a longer-term impact on getting inflation down. The impact of inflation on our economy is stark, which is why the Prime Minister is rightly focusing on it and, indeed, why it was the first promise in his new year speech. Inflation hurts everyone, but it hurts the poorest in society the most.

Before I sit down, I am keen to answer the question from the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead. I am told that income disregards are conventionally frozen, but I want to get some more information to her, so I undertake to write to her on that important point.

Question put and agreed to.

DRAFT TAX CREDITS, CHILD BENEFIT AND GUARDIAN’S ALLOWANCE UP-RATING REGULATIONS 2023

Resolved,

That the Committee has considered the draft Tax Credits, Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance Up-rating Regulations 2023.—(Victoria Atkins.)

Non-domestic Energy Support

Nick Smith Excerpts

Monday 9th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[James Cartlidge]

My right hon. Friend makes a very good point about how broad the impact is of rising energy bills. She used the phrase “cliff edge”. That is precisely why we have continued with a universal scheme. Yes, I am happy to confirm that there will be support for every single business, charity and institute in our public sector, but there will be additional support if they are in the energy and trade-intensive sector. The reason for that is the exposure to internationally competitive pressures and how much harder it is for them to pass on those prices. We recognise the energy challenges for small and medium-sized enterprises in every single sector. We are doing what we can, but balancing that against the need for fiscal prudence.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

On possibly tweaking the scheme, last week I visited a housing scheme for older people in Blaenau, where constituents with private pensions were complaining of increased energy costs of 400%, or £50 a week, just for heating the common social areas. The housing association complained that none of the Government’s energy schemes is of help to the organisation, so it had to pass on the costs. Will the Minister please meet me to hear those important concerns?

[James Cartlidge]

The hon. Gentleman raises a very important point. I would have to know the exact details, but, yes, I am more than happy to meet him. He will be aware that the care home could benefit from EBRS, which will become the eligible discount scheme after March, but I stress that there are 900,000 in England, Scotland and Wales without a direct relationship with an energy supplier, such as care home and park home residents. This month they will be able to apply online for £400 of non-repayable help with their fuel bills.

Financial Services and Markets Bill

Nick Smith Excerpts

Report stage
Wednesday 7th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Griffith]

My hon. Friend makes a very fair point. To be clear, the purpose of good financial regulation cannot be to extinguish risk, but is to give people choice and indeed allow them to reap the rewards of taking risk in an appropriate and informed fashion, so I completely agree with him.

On the theme of reporting, I assure the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Nick Smith) and my hon. Friend the Member for The Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) that the consumer panel, like all other statutory panels, already produces an annual report with the panel’s opinion on matters that it has engaged with the FCA on; however, following new clause 10 being tabled, I recognise the need to ensure that reports are brought to the attention of the House. I have engaged with the FCA, which has agreed with me that in future it will notify the Treasury Committee, as the relevant Committee of this House, on publication of the consumer panel’s report, to ensure that Members of this House are aware of and can fully engage with it. I hope that that goes some way to giving the hon. Members the satisfaction that they seek.

Before I speak about the financial advice guidance boundary, raised in new clause 11 in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for West Worcestershire (Harriett Baldwin), the Chair of the Treasury Committee, let me congratulate her on her relatively recent election to that role—although I hope that we have worked well together even during her short time in it.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

I congratulate the Minister on his earlier remarks about seeking to improve the performance of the FCA. Many people on both sides of the House want that to happen. It is pleasing that the Treasury Committee will hear information on reporting from the consumer panel of the FCA; however, a number of financial scandals have affected the constituents of Members across the House in recent years. While I hear what the Minister says, I am really looking for a greater opportunity to challenge the FCA through its consumer panel than he has so far suggested, but I hope that we can work together to strengthen that point.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sally-Ann Hart (Hastings and Rye) (Con)]

In 1215, the Magna Carta was written and signed into law by King John I of England. Although that important document did not guarantee freedom of speech, it was considered the cornerstone of liberty in England and began a tradition of civil rights in Britain that laid the foundations for our first Bill of Rights of 1689, which granted freedom of speech in Parliament.

That was the first time in history that any form of freedom of speech was codified in law. It was extremely influential throughout the western world, leading to the declaration of the rights of man in 1789—a fundamental document of the French revolution that provided for freedom of speech—and the US Bill of Rights in 1791. In 1948, the universal declaration of human rights was adopted virtually unanimously by the UN General Assembly, and urged member nations

“to promote a number of human, civil, economic, and social rights”,

including freedom of expression. Under article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998,

“Everyone has the right to freedom of expression…subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society”.

Criminalising the incitement of violence or threats, for example, is widely considered a justifiable limit on freedom of expression.

What we cannot have are global tech firms, online payment services, banks and others deciding who they can censor because they do not like or are offended by the views of others. It is essential to have freedom of expression—it is essential to society—and we have to be able to express and discuss differing ideas and ideals to ensure that we have a full and therefore better understanding of the challenges we all face in this modern world.

Freedom of expression in the UK is under threat and must be protected. New clause 27 protects free speech and the exercise of free expression. It seeks to prohibit service refusal by financial service providers on grounds relating to lawful exercise of free expression by requiring providers to explain the reason for a refusal of service, allowing the Financial Conduct Authority to intervene, and creating a civil law remedy for affected customers. We should not allow a system where payment service providers or even high street banks can terminate the accounts of individuals or organisations on the basis of lawful speech if adequate notice is given. Britain has led the world for centuries on democracy and freedom of speech, and it needs to do so again against the global tech companies that want to impose their view of the world and stifle free speech.

Members may remember in early September media agitation surrounding PayPal’s decision to cancel the online payment accounts of the Daily Sceptic, the Free Speech Union and an individual’s personal accounts. Many of us here may not agree with the politics of these organisations or that individual, but it is fundamentally wrong that online payment accounts can be exited because the payment service provider or its staff do not agree with the opinions of the service user. We are not talking about hate speech, terrorism or crime—we have legislation to deal with that; we are talking about lawful speech.

The relatively recent digitalisation of financial transactions has placed an unprecedented amount of power in the hands of online payment service providers such as PayPal, as well as banks, credit companies and online platforms. UK legislation must keep pace with these rapid technological changes and financial censorship must be prevented. As we switch to an increasingly cashless society, we must put in legislation to protect people from being punished by payment processors for expressing legal, but different views, no matter our politics.

New clause 27 is designed to ensure that the regulator has the ability to ensure that financial service providers cannot withdraw or withhold service from a customer on political grounds. The battle to preserve free speech in our society is something we must all fight for. Rising political polarisation is contributing to the threat to our freedom of expression, and the alternative—placing power in the hands of the easily offended—cannot be an option. This issue has to be of grave concern to us all, whatever our politics. I am grateful to the Minister for his assurances earlier, spelling out what he is going to do and his commitment to take this matter further. There are plenty of colleagues who will hold him to that.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

I rise in support of new clause 10, and I am pleased to have worked alongside the hon. Member for The Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) on it, as fellow members of the Public Accounts Committee. Since 2017, I have worked with others supporting steelworker pensioners across Blaenau Gwent and the United Kingdom. Thousands of them fell victim to financial sharks. They were wrongly advised to move out of their defined benefit British Steel pension scheme. It took until last Monday, five years later, for the Financial Conduct Authority to announce a redress scheme. It was about time. The FCA righted those wrongs, but I think too late.

Early on in the campaign, I remember meeting the then chief executive of the FCA, now the Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, where I was met with a lacklustre response. Along with my hon. Friend the Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock) and other campaigners, I continued to press the FCA. In 2020, I wrote to its newly appointed chief executive, however Mr Rathi did not want to meet. He asked one of his directors to meet us instead.

Later, in 2021, frustrated with the FCA giving us the cold shoulder, I wrote to the Comptroller and Auditor General of the National Audit Office. I asked if it would please investigate the FCA’s oversight of this terrible scandal. Fair do’s, the NAO did that, and it published its full report in March this year. It observed that in the summer of 2017:

“The FCA had limited insight into…what was happening in the BSPS at the time of its restructure.”

There were terrible things going on.

Even more damning were the conclusions of the Public Accounts Committee. We found that:

“The FCA failed to take swift and effective action at all stages of the BSPS case.”

It failed

“to prevent consumers from being harmed”,

which makes clear the

“limitations with the FCA’s supervisory approach”.

The point is that the FCA took proper notice of this injustice only when Parliament, through the NAO and eventually the Public Accounts Committee, dug deep to investigate.

Of course, the BSPS case is not the only example of the FCA’s failure to protect consumers in recent years; I have heard many complaints from Members across the House. The scandals surrounding Blackmore Bond, Dolphin and Azure come to mind. Consumers are our financial sector. As long as the FCA fails to exercise its powers to protect ordinary workers, it will continue to fail our constituents. New clause 10 would require the FCA’s consumer panel to lay an official report before Parliament. We could then judge whether the regulator is fulfilling its duty to protect consumers.

During my 12 years in this House, I have learned many things, but one thing stands out: parliamentary scrutiny matters. I am pleased to have support from across the House for the new clause—from our Labour Treasury team, senior Conservative Members, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, Treasury Committee members, other colleagues and fellow members of the Public Accounts Committee. By supporting our new clause, Britain’s consumers could be better heard, and our financial services sector would be all the better for it.

[David Mundell]

I apologise in advance to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, to the Minister, and to the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh), who tabled new clause 7, as I may not be able to be present at the conclusion of the debate, but I wanted to speak on the issue, having campaigned on it since I returned to the Back Benches, principally with my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard). I am very pleased with what is proposed overall in the Bill, because during the period of covid it became clear that the system of use of cash could have collapsed. It was incoherent in the way it was managed and regulated, and we saw the potential pressures of not using cash or its usage not being permitted.

I am disappointed that my right hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse) has left the Chamber, because I could not disagree more with the points that he made in interventions. We cannot simply move in an unstructured way to a cashless society. We are not ready for that. As I pointed out in an intervention, about 8 million people, whether they are rural dwellers or those living in deprived areas, rely on cash and will continue to do so. I declare that I still have a chequebook, because there are circumstances, particularly when dealing with small voluntary organisations, where a cheque is accepted. Cheques may be on the way out, but there are still circumstances where they are required. Therefore, we have to move forward at the pace of the slowest in our society.

I believe that the prospect of regulation has been very positive, in terms of forcing the banks and others in the sector to become a lot more constructive in the debates and discussions. As the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden mentioned, the banks have been pretty disingenuous over the period. I have had many closures in my constituency, and they have often been made with undertakings that certain things would happen. For example, in the community of Lochmaben, the branch closed and the free auto-teller was to remain; now it is to be removed, two or three years on. Often the promises given are not worth very much, but I am sure that the threat of legislation, and hearing the Minister say that the Government’s position is a commitment to free access to cash, will ensure that the industry stays on board and delivers for people.

As has been set out, there has been a significant drop in the number not only of bank branches but of free-to-access ATMs, while the number of ATMs that require a fee has risen. As the Minister would expect from our lively discussion, I am in favour of consumer choice—if people want to pay for convenience, that is fine by me—but they should not have to pay several pounds to withdraw £10 from an ATM. At the core of this issue is the fact that many transactions are small transactions, not the ones that we might think of that are made of larger cash sums, which is why we have to stick to the free-to-access commitment.

UK Infrastructure Bank Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)

Nick Smith Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 22nd November 2022 Public Bill Committees

[Andrew Griffith]

I make the same point again. The fact is that the information is readily accessible in the public domain through Companies House. It will be accessible through the different mechanisms for holding the UK Infrastructure Bank to account. There is no desire to do anything other than ensure that Parliament and other public interest stakeholders can see precisely where the bank is deploying its capital. That is the very purpose of it. We can talk later about the annual report mechanism, which will include the disclosure of material information.

In respect of—

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Will the Minister give way?

[Andrew Griffith]

I was going to say something helpful, but of course I will give way. Hopefully it will re-occur to me in a moment.

[Nick Smith]

I thank the Minister for giving way. I wonder whether he could talk a little more about why the report on the geographic spread of businesses would not be of value to our country. There was a very good National Audit Office report on the creation of the UK Infrastructure Bank published in June this year. One of its recommendations was that the bank should

“further develop its understanding of where infrastructure needs are greatest so that it routinely informs investment decisions and prioritises them.”

Surely such geographical reporting would help the bank with its work.

[Andrew Griffith]

The hon. Member sort of took the words out of my mouth. We will expect the UK Infrastructure Bank to make the regional nature of its investments clear. It has done so to date, and clearly it should do so going forward. Things that should happen do not necessarily need to be put into statute at every turn. There are lots of other ways of ensuring that the information is readily available.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Griffith]

The Minister absolutely agrees that the key point is to make the institution effective in delivering its goals. The hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead talked about net zero and the imperative to get on, decarbonise our economy and ensure that we have the infrastructure in place. All hon. Members are supporters of scrutiny and accountability, which is why we all trip over this period of seven years as potentially being a long period—it is longer than the tenure that any of us enjoy. That is precisely because there is a trade-off with operationalising and delivering objectives.

[Nick Smith]

I welcome the Minister’s undertaking to come back with a different date for the laying of a report before Parliament. It is the reporting to and scrutiny of Parliament that is important in this instance, not least because, these days, recent Parliaments have rarely run to four years, although that used to be the average for a Parliament. I hope that the Government will look at a date that will allow each Parliament in the realm to consider the work of the bank. In the very good NAO report that was published in June, as one of its key findings, it said that

“At the end of May 2022, the Bank had made five deals”.

Can the Minister update us on how many deals had been made by the bank up until, say, October this year?

[Andrew Griffith]

We are moving slightly away from the amendments, but I will write to all hon. Members with an update. The annual report is due to be published imminently; the hon. Member was not here this morning when I confirmed that I have signed off what I needed to do. I expect the report to be laid in the House of Commons Library in the coming days. Some 10 deals have been made so far but, because this is a subject of interest, we will ensure that everybody is aware of the deals and that we lay the annual report before the House as quickly as possible.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 15th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Hunt]

I assure the right hon. Gentleman that we are absolutely determined to ensure that support gets out to everyone in the United Kingdom as quickly as possible this Christmas. I am absolutely not aware of any delay of the kind that he suggests, but I will happily make inquiries to make sure of that.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

The cold weather payment is a lifeline for those on low incomes, but the current £25 rate was set in 2008. Today, it should be worth £37. Will the Chancellor collaborate with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and look into updating the figure in the light of the energy crisis?

[Jeremy Hunt]

I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that I have had extensive discussions with our excellent new Work and Pensions Secretary about how we support people on low incomes—precisely the vulnerable people that he is talking about. He will have to wait until Thursday for the details of our plan, but we have said that, in a very difficult time, protecting the most vulnerable will be our top priority.

Economic Update

Nick Smith Excerpts

Monday 17th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Hunt]

On the latter point, I will write to the hon. Gentleman. On the former point, I am confident that the advisers I have will be able to speak for the whole United Kingdom.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

May I press the Chancellor? The defined benefit pensions market has been in turmoil. Schemes have nearly folded, and the Bank of England has spent £20 billion to steady the market. How will he grip that better so that pensioners can have confidence in their schemes?

[Jeremy Hunt]

I believe that the Bank of England has taken important action and I refer the hon. Gentleman to what the Governor of the Bank of England said today and his confidence that those issues have been largely resolved.

Economic Situation

Nick Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 12th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Chris Philp]

The hon. Lady is right that despite the energy price guarantee—the decisive intervention that has protected our constituents from £5,000 or £6,000 bills—bills this year are higher still than they were last year. That is why we have made the £37 billion intervention, which, for people on lower incomes, amounts to £1,200 a year. There is more money on top of that for people with disabilities for the reason that she mentions. As for reviewing various components of disability and caring benefits, those will get reviewed in the normal way along with the other benefits. The Minister with responsibility for welfare and the Chancellor of the Exchequer will lay all that out in the coming weeks.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

I, too, am really concerned about the oversight of our pensions industry. When was the last stress test to see whether these funds had sufficient liquidity to cope with market turbulence, and can the Minister explain in simple terms the regulation of pension funds right now? Our country needs pension stability, not ongoing, home-grown financial crises.

[Chris Philp]

We have excellent regulators overseeing our financial system and pensions in particular, whether we are talking about the Bank of England, the Prudential Regulation Authority, the Financial Conduct Authority or the Pensions Regulator. They are all rightly independent, but all of us in Government and Parliament can have every confidence that they are making sure that our system is operating safely and securely.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 11th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Chris Philp]

It is very much our intention to speed up projects where they are ready to go. The growth plan announced a few weeks ago made clear our commitment to doing that. The last spending review provided, I think, about £100 billion of funding towards critical economic infrastructure. Where we can speed up projects, we will certainly be doing that. One project that we have in mind for exactly that is the A66 northern trans-Pennine route, which I believe goes not far from my hon. Friend’s constituency.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

In 2017, former Conservative energy Minister Charles Hendry conducted a review of the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon. He gave it the thumbs up, but since then successive Governments have not pursued it. Given the energy crisis we are in, will the Minister consider reopening the business case? It could be a fantastic source of green energy for our country.

[Chris Philp]

The Government are extremely interested in all forms of new energy generation. We are determined to make sure that the United Kingdom is electricity-independent. We are looking at all kinds of projects, including of course marine projects. I understand that when the Swansea scheme was investigated there were questions about value for money, but I am sure that we would be very happy to take a careful look at any proposition that is put forward, if the hon. Gentleman wants to do so.

The Growth Plan

Nick Smith Excerpts

Friday 23rd September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

We openly repudiate a socialist vision of society. We do not believe that the state should take more and more of people’s income. We think that people should keep more and more of their earnings.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

The Chancellor has sacked his permanent secretary and muzzled the Office for Budget Responsibility, and is man-marking the Governor of the Bank of England. The Chancellor’s free-wheeling ideology is crushing dissent. Will the Governor of the Bank of England still be in his job by Christmas?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

The Governor of the Bank of England is entirely independent. We actually have very good relations. We speak regularly, which I think is a good thing. The hon. Gentleman might think it is man-marking; I think it is very cordial. We exchange ideas, and we intend to continue doing so.