Ministers’ Severance Pay

Debate between Nigel Evans and Heather Wheeler

Monday 11th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

Order. You stand corrected.

[Mrs Wheeler]

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Absolutely, we do not use names, do we? I thank the hon. Gentleman for the question. It is very simple: this is a matter of statute law, it has been around since 1991, and all the different political parties have taken use of it. That is where we are.

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

Mr Brown, let’s see if you can do better than your colleague.

European Union (Future Relationship) Bill

Debate between Nigel Evans and Heather Wheeler

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons
Wednesday 30th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con)[V]]

I am delighted that the Prime Minister has secured this trade deal with the EU. These negotiations have been followed intently by so many people in South Derbyshire, both individuals and businesses. I understand the strong feelings on both sides of the debate, but all that time ago, South Derbyshire and the country voted in the referendum to leave the EU, and as a democrat, I supported the Government in abiding by that vote, during the negotiations, and in securing a deal.

South Derbyshire is at the heart of our manufacturing midlands. As we have already heard, we have the Toyota factory that exports more than 80% of the cars made to Europe. My constituents also work in other great firms such as Bombardier and Rolls-Royce, and in their supply chains. Making things matters to us; exporting matters to us. A good trade deal was crucial, and that is what our Prime Minister, Lord Frost, and the negotiating team brought home for us.

There has been lots of chatter that the deal needed not only to be about free trade, but to get into the deep detail of trade barriers, equivalence, rules of origin and transition periods, and this deal has done that. I am an optimist. I listen to my constituents and to the needs of local businesses, and I kept a steady stream of information, requests, updates and encouragement flowing to the negotiating team, so that South Derbyshire’s needs were represented at the table and we got what we needed—for the automotive sector, no quotas; for rules of origin, a transition period of five and a half years, and no trade barriers. That is exactly what was needed. It keeps our factories competitive, and the cars flying off the production line. Even more importantly, the deal means that the South Derbyshire Toyota factory will be in the best position ever to bid for the next generation car in a few years’ time, and to secure work for the next 20-plus years.

I am hugely grateful for the phone calls and messages from No. 10 and the negotiating team, and for their assurances on these issues as the process was taking place, and on its conclusion. This is a good deal. It enables manufactured goods from South Derbyshire to be exported tariff-free and trade barrier free. It allows our farmers to export, and managers of businesses to move freely around their European-based companies. It means that we can drive in the EU without needing an additional special driving licence, and for UK passport holders already living in the EU, it allows their residency to continue. It allows visa-free travel for holiday makers, and in the more niche areas of exporting, such as organic farming, it allows for equivalence and continued unfettered exports.

I thank the Prime Minister, my friends at No. 10, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Treasury, who all helped and listened to my views and those of South Derbyshire businesses and residents. Finally, for my constituents who had so many concerns that this deal has put to bed, I say, “Rejoice!”

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

For the wind-up I now call Rachel Reeves, who should finish no later than 2.22 pm.

Covid-19

Debate between Nigel Evans and Heather Wheeler

Monday 11th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for calling me in this important debate. I also thank my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General for her tireless work in pulling together so many different strands of Government activity during the covid-19 crisis. We are very grateful.

I want to talk about the amazing community activity happening in South Derbyshire, as part of the local response to covid-19: our wonderful CVS, which has helped to co-ordinate volunteers across South Derbyshire, making sure that people do not run out of food or medicine and are not lonely; our wonderful individuals, such as Stephen Greaves and Andrew Astle; the teachers at Granville and Pingle Schools, who, as volunteers, have been making face visors with 3-D printers; and the Wood children of Melbourne, who made up and sold quizzes—all of whom have been raising funds for the local medical charities.

But against the good news of that great community spirit—[Interruption.]

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

We can hear you. Please carry on.

[Mrs Wheeler]

But against the good news of that great community spirit, we have had the tragic news of over 19 people dying locally from covid-19. That number includes Eileen Landers of Swadlincote, a lady who worked tirelessly for decades at Burton Hospital on the housekeeping staff. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the South Derbyshire families who have lost loved ones to this dreadful virus.

That brings me to my ask of the Paymaster General, representing the Cabinet Office. I am asking for support from the Cabinet Office for my campaign to have a memorial placed at the National Arboretum, at the heart of the country, as a fitting way to commemorate the sad loss of essential key workers to covid-19. I am delighted that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has agreed to support the campaign. I am now looking at the Cabinet Office as another sponsor to help to co-ordinate all the different sectors of essential workers involved, whether in healthcare or transport, wherever they are across our nation. They carried on working when this virus was at the highest level. They gave their lives to keep our hospitals open, keep food in the shops and get people to work.

I am also calling on the relevant trade unions to get involved to help to raise public subscriptions to pay for the memorial. I am grateful to my local newspapers, the Burton Mail and the Derby Telegraph, for supporting the campaign, as well as the Daily Express, my colleagues in Parliament who are supporting the campaign and, finally, the good people of the South Derbyshire and Burton area who have contacted me with support. I also thank Brell Ewart of Whitehouse Construction Ltd of Derby, who, as part of a donation, has offered to install the memorial free of charge, an incredibly generous offer to help to kick-start the campaign.

As I know there are many MPs who wish to speak, I will wrap up my contribution by thanking Ministers, civil servants, local government officers, volunteers, shop workers, farmers and, of course, key workers for everything they have done for us at home here in South Derbyshire and nationally. The fight is not yet over, but this human endeavour is an excellent example of how when life is bad, good can come out of it. I, for one, am proud of the response from the Government and the country to this dreadful virus.

Dairy Industry

Debate between Nigel Evans and Heather Wheeler

Wednesday 4th February 2015 Westminster Hall

[Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley) (Con)]

I am grateful for the opportunity to lead this debate on the dairy industry under your chairmanship, Sir Roger.

This is a time of deep uncertainty for many farmers, as they have seen huge volatility in the price that they receive for milk over the past three years. The dairy industry is vital for the United Kingdom, but I hope hon. Members will excuse me if I address the challenges facing the industry through the prism of my rural constituency, Ribble Valley. The industry is simply the backbone of the constituency. Some of the farmers to whom I spoke can trace their farms back several hundred years. Generations have worked the land and shaped its appearance and character.

From a food security point of view, the industry is simply essential. Its liquid market is strong; of course, we also have some of the most recognised cheeses in the world, particularly the tasty, crumbly, creamy and mature Lancashire cheeses that are made by some of the most famous family names and sold throughout the world. Milk is also processed into other commodities, including yoghurts, butter and powdered milk.

The by-product of the industry is amazing: rolling countryside that attracts a large number of tourists, providing income for bed and breakfasts, amazing hotels and companies that source food and beers, as well as providing a large number of local jobs. Then there are the gastro pubs. There are far too many to mention, but we have the Campaign for Real Ale pub of the year, the Swan with Two Necks in Pendleton, and, just 2 miles away from there, the food pub of the year, the Freemasons at Wiswell. Originally I had planned to mention all the pubs, delicatessens, restaurants and amazing quality shops in my constituency, but my speech became a travelogue for Ribble Valley; that is what the dairy industry has done for my area. The Ribble Valley food trail is now firmly a part of why visitors come to the area, and those visitors keep small villages such as Rimington, Clitheroe, Longridge, Lostock Hall, Chipping, Waddington and Mitton alive.

The recent investment in local businesses runs to millions of pounds. The restaurants and hotels in the James’s Places group are found throughout the valley, representing big investments in the area. The Aspinall Arms in Mitton has just seen massive investment, as have the White Bull in Gisburn, which has reopened after being closed for over a year, and the Derby Arms in Longridge. My point is that without the backbone of the dairy industry the whole fabric of the area simply would not exist.

Anyone can see the pride and worth of the industry as they travel through the area, but it is especially clear at the agricultural shows, such as the Chipping show, the Hodder Valley show and the Longridge show. I am proud to say that the Royal Lancashire show will be part of the local calendar once again this year, on 7, 8 and 9 August. [Interruption.] My hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Sir William Cash) has just pushed a note to me saying, “Don’t forget to mention the Shireburn Arms”—that is just down from Stonyhurst college, where he went to school.

My village of Pendleton is relatively small. It has three dairy farms of different sizes. John Cowperthwaite is the seventh generation of his family to operate from his farm. He has a contract with Sainsbury’s and says that the contract has been honoured and that he is happy with the way he is being treated. That means that there will be a business for his son Richard, who is 22 years of age, to take over. Richard works with his dad at the moment.

[Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. My hon. Friend is getting to an important question about contracts for our farmers. Sainsbury’s has been very good, as has Tesco, but the real issue is the pressure on the price per litre. Will he go on to talk about the big supermarkets’ contracts?

[Mr Evans]

Yes. It will not have gone unnoticed by my hon. Friend and others that Sainsbury’s took out a large advert in a number of newspapers indicating those supermarkets that are being fair and those that are not. I will refer to that later.

Edward Cowperthwaite’s farm is a bit further into the village. He milks a smaller herd than John Cowperthwaite. He came off his tractor to speak to me yesterday. He is not on a contract and has seen two successive cuts to his milk price, in January and February this year. He works seven days a week and cannot afford to employ anyone. He has some sheep to keep his income up, and his wife works as a teacher, so thankfully he can make a go of it, but he has five youngsters and is not sure that any of them will want to enter farming while it is in this particular predicament.

At the top of the village is William Slinger’s farm, which he can trace back to 1603. He has a larger herd of cows, plus sheep, and is the founding director of Bowland Fresh, which about 30 local farms feed into. Both Booths and Asda take his milk, and he works hard to ensure the scheme works for the participating farmers. I want to thank Booths in particular, as the founding buyer for Bowland Fresh, for the considerate way that it has treated local suppliers. Edwin Booth lives locally and knows that the value of milk is not simply the plastic bottle people take away from his stores. I also thank Asda for its support for Bowland Fresh.

Whether the cause is Russian sanctions, the reduced Chinese market or simply an over-supply in the market after a very good year last year, the fact is that the price for milk on some farms is now way below the cost of production. A local dairy farmer from Samlesbury, Graham Young, who is also a member of the National Farmers Union north-west dairy board, told me that many farmers joined the European milk co-operative, Arla, and are getting under 25p a litre; some farmers are in the First Milk co-operative and are getting around 20p a litre. Although the longer term is looking good, those prices are not sustainable in the short term, and farmers have to survive the short term first.

The current situation has energised a number of MPs who, like me, think something must be done. Those include my hon. Friend the Member for Thirsk and Malton (Miss McIntosh), who is here today. She is Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, which produced an excellent report last month making a number of important recommendations. My hon. Friend the Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (Simon Hart), who is also here, had an Adjournment debate in November on this issue; sadly, the plight of the industry has worsened since then. A number of Members have put down or signed early-day motions and raised issues relating to dairying on the Floor of the House, including my hon. Friend the Member for Stone.

Housing Benefit (Under-occupancy Penalty)

Debate between Nigel Evans and Heather Wheeler

Wednesday 27th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

Order. Just before I allow the intervention, I must remind the hon. Lady that she said that a lot of people want to speak, and they do. After the next speaker, I will be introducing a time limit that will be less than the time she has taken so far, so I ask her to show some self-restraint so that we can make progress. Heather Wheeler, you were about to intervene.

[Heather Wheeler]

Very kind, Mr Deputy Speaker.

I find this really interesting. I do wonder about some of our Labour colleagues. We have mentioned the possibility of someone taking in a lodger and bringing in £4,200 a year tax free. Does the Labour party not want this cash flowing in our communities? Is there a problem with people taking control of their lives? Does it have an issue with that? Are we only allowed top-down rules? What is wrong with taking in a lodger? It might be like going back to the ’50s, but actually we had real communities then, and I think it is an excellent idea.

[Jane Ellison]

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. I hope that she makes her own contribution and develops that theme later.

I will wind up now. My principal point is that these debates are not well served by exaggeration and shroud-waving, but I am afraid that that is what we have seen. Undoubtedly, there are difficult cases. We all have them—I have some in my inbox, as have other colleagues on both sides of the House—and we must work with Ministers to look at them. We have had a commitment from the Minister to a rolling review of the policy, but let us also look at some of the potential winners and ensure that we bring to the attention of those in overcrowded accommodation and those who have no chance of qualifying for subsidised public housing the opportunity that might be offered to them by some of these changes.

I shall sit down now, Mr Deputy Speaker, so that others can contribute.

Identity Documents Bill

Debate between Nigel Evans and Heather Wheeler

Wednesday 15th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con)]

I assure the hon. Gentleman that those who write to me in my constituency are asking me to scrap the ID legislation as quickly as possible, purely on the grounds of civil liberties. I find it astonishing that there can be any debate about this for much longer. Indeed, a number of people have suggested that we should wind up the debate immediately, although obviously a good many Members want to continue it. I have not received a single letter asking me—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

Order. The hon. Lady’s intervention is far too wide of what we are discussing at the moment.