Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Michael Fallon

Monday 13th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

12. What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the level of funding for his Department.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (Sir Michael Fallon)]

I have regular discussions with the Chancellor. The 2015 spending review set out spending plans for the remainder of this Parliament. The Chancellor confirmed last Wednesday that the Government are committed to growing the defence budget at 0.5% above inflation each year until 2020-21. We also have access to the joint security fund. With these commitments, the defence budget will rise from £35 billion this year to almost £40 billion by the end of this Parliament.

[Nick Smith]

Why does the Government’s defence spending return to NATO include more than £1 billion of war and civilian pensions? These do not contribute to our defence and were not included under a Labour Government. Concern over these accounting tricks undermines confidence in our defence spending targets.

[Sir Michael Fallon]

The return we make to NATO captures all the spending that falls to the defence budget, and it is for NATO to decide whether that return is properly completed. Indeed, a Committee of this House found that the

“accounting criteria fall firmly within existing NATO guidelines.”

Yemen

Debate between Nick Smith and Michael Fallon

Monday 19th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Sir Michael Fallon]

I can tell my hon. Friend that we have put that request to the Saudi Government, and I hope they will accept that suggestion of hers and ours.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Yemen is said to be one step away from famine, so can our Government help to open the ports and the airports so that humanitarian aid can be shipped to its people?

[Sir Michael Fallon]

Yes. The key now is get aid into the country, and that means reopening the ports that have been damaged in the fighting—particularly Hudaydah —and making arrangements that will allow the charities and the non-governmental organisations to get on with their vital work. The hon. Gentleman is right that the country is on the brink of famine, and it is probably beyond that now. There is not enough food, oil or other essentials getting through to the people.

Defence Estate

Debate between Nick Smith and Michael Fallon

Monday 7th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Sir Michael Fallon]

I can certainly give my right hon. Friend that undertaking. The disposal date is foreseen to be 2031, but it is not too soon for us to start those discussions with local authorities to make sure that the best possible use is made of the site and the facilities there.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Can the Secretary of State tell us what is going to happen to the brilliant infantry training base at Brecon?

[Sir Michael Fallon]

The infantry training base is going to stay in Brecon.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Michael Fallon

Monday 19th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

We are part of the international coalition of more than 60 countries, as I said, and the hon. Lady is right that we need to continue to degrade ISIL’s ability to export its oil or to trade in oil across the border areas. There is specific coalition work under way on that. We have more work to do.

[Nick Smith]

May I press the Secretary of State on this? What progress has the UK and its coalition partners made in disrupting the ability of ISIS to raise significant funds? I understand it earns $1.5 million a day through selling oil.

[Michael Fallon]

Some of the military operations—the strikes—have changed the pattern of refining. ISIL appears now to be getting some of its oil from small-scale wells rather than the larger refineries, some of which have been put out of commission, but we are intensifying our efforts internationally to make sure that where ISIL is attempting to sell oil, it is not able to gain the proceeds from it.

Counter-ISIL Coalition Strategy

Debate between Nick Smith and Michael Fallon

Monday 20th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

I do not accept that. The hon. Lady is right in that there have been a handful of instances—and only a handful—in which UK embedded personnel have been withdrawn from an operation that was not in accordance with UK law or UK policy, but in this case we fully support the action that the United States is taking, because it is legitimate and in our interest.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

How successful has the international effort been so far in cutting off funds from ISIL?

[Michael Fallon]

More certainly needs to be done to interdict the flow of finance. Various actions are being taken internationally, through the United Nations and other bodies, to try to get to the heart of ISIL financing. That includes its operations in the oil market, from which it is deriving some revenues, and its ability to purchase arms and other equipment on the international market. As I have said, however, more needs to be done.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Michael Fallon

Monday 20th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

I do agree with my hon. Friend—the Baltic states are members of NATO and fully entitled to the protection that NATO members afford to each other. It is also important that where we confront such ambiguous warfare, NATO is unambiguous in its response to it and labels an annexation as an annexation and the invasion of Ukraine as an invasion.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

The NATO summit announcement on the development of the new Scout armoured vehicle was a good thing. It will help our troops in battle and boost employment at General Dynamics in south Wales and down the supply chain, but can the Minister update us on the possibility of more British jobs on this project, particularly in south Wales?

[Michael Fallon]

Yes, there are jobs involved in the supply chain for that contract, including high-value jobs in design and engineering, which will be in Wales, and in the manufacture of the turrets, which will be elsewhere in England. Other parts of the armoured vehicle are being manufactured in Scotland, so the United Kingdom stands to benefit overall from this project, which is the largest single order given to the Army in over 30 years.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Michael Fallon

Thursday 26th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

Yes, I give my hon. Friend that assurance and tell him that we hope before the summer recess to agree a growth deal with the Lancashire local enterprise partnership, centring on the arc of prosperity it has identified alongside Lancashire’s huge strengths in energy, manufacturing and engineering.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

On support for regional growth, when will the financing be agreed for the electrification of the south Wales valleys train lines?

[Michael Fallon]

I shall certainly raise that with my colleagues in the Department for Transport. I do not have the date to hand, but I hope that the hon. Gentleman will welcome that investment.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Michael Fallon

Thursday 28th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

It is very telling that in the year that Hinkley Point will come on stream—2023—eight of the nine existing plants will be off the system, unless their lives are extended, which shows the legacy of under-investment that we have to face. There are now proposals for 12 reactors in total, spread over five different sites.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

A quarter of our power supply will go off line in the next decade, so why is investment in new, clean energy infrastructure on course for a new low?

[Michael Fallon]

Since this Government came to office, five new gas plants have come on to the system and another is being built at Manchester, while two large wind farms opened this year and four more are under construction, and we have agreed terms, as we have heard, for the first new nuclear station in a generation. All that investment would be put at risk by the threat of price controls from a future socialist Government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Michael Fallon

Thursday 7th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

I certainly will. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for reminding the House that the fourth round of the regional growth fund is now open. I urge any colleague in the House to encourage potential applicants to apply before 20 March, not least because the fund is proving good value for money. In the north-west it is leveraging in some £5.50 for every £1 of public money spent—some 10 times the proportion of the unlamented regional development agency.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Will the Minister confirm that the average cost of jobs created by regional growth funds such as that in the north-west is £33,000? This is more than the cost of jobs created by the regional development agencies, which the Government abolished.

[Michael Fallon]

No, I cannot confirm that figure. This is taxpayers’ money for projects that would not otherwise go ahead. They are recommended by an independent advisory panel as good value for money and they are subject always to proper due diligence.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Smith and Michael Fallon

Thursday 8th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

We shall be playing our part in next week’s global entrepreneurship week, with 2,500 events throughout the country. I shall also be promoting a range of other Government schemes such as the CEiS scheme, which encourages more investment by entrepreneurs in start-up companies, and a number of other schemes that encourage enterprise in our schools and colleges to help those who are thinking of starting up companies as soon as they leave further or higher education.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

On economic growth, does the Minister agree with the National Audit Office’s assessment that a “significant portion” of the regional growth fund has been

“allocated to projects that create or safeguard relatively few jobs for the money invested”?

What steps is he going to take to address this concern?

[Michael Fallon]

I do not wholly accept that criticism. The regional growth fund has been a key part of creating and safeguarding 500,000 new jobs in rounds 1, 2 and 3. I find the logic of the National Audit Office report somewhat perverse. It argues that we should look only at net jobs. If a plant in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency closed with the loss of 500 jobs and 450 of the people affected were subsequently employed elsewhere, he would not stand up in this House and say that he had only lost 50 jobs.