Business of the House

Owen Thompson Excerpts

Thursday 11th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for her question. I am certainly happy to look at bringing back Westminster Hall, if that is what the House wishes.

We have sought to take a balanced approach throughout the pandemic, and have made every effort to ensure that proceedings are in line with Public Health England guidance and safe for members of staff. My right hon. Friend knows well that I brought forward the motion to suspend Westminster Hall in the light of the rising covid-19 case numbers and following representations from across the House. I was perhaps the least supportive of reducing scrutiny, but brought forward those motions on a cross-party basis.

I will reiterate what I said to the right hon. Member for Walsall South (Valerie Vaz): to bring back Westminster Hall physically or in a hybrid fashion will require some additional people on the estate. We therefore need to be satisfied that there is a consensus that it is safe and right for the House to take that step. In my view, that is perhaps a decision most sensibly taken once we have heard from the Prime Minister about the road map out of lockdown when we return from recess.

I am grateful to my right hon Friend for setting out her view, and I am glad that she does think that it is proportionate to have a small number of extra people on the estate for hybrid proceedings. I have noted that, and if others make similar representations they will find that this is a door that can easily be pushed open.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP) [V]]

I echo the comments of the shadow Leader of the House and of the right hon. Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Karen Bradley), the esteemed Chair of the Procedure Committee, in calling for action to be taken in terms of Westminster Hall-style debates. May we have an assurance from the Leader of the House that, when an appropriate alternative to physically sitting in Westminster Hall is presented to him, he will immediately act to produce a motion to resume in some shape or form, following one of the alternatives that have been suggested?

We are almost a year on since we went into the first lockdown. Over that period, many support schemes have been announced by the Government that have been very welcome and needed by so many, but we still see millions excluded by this Government. Will the Leader of the House bring forward a debate or statement in Government time to outline exactly why this Government feel that these people are unworthy of support from them, especially with the Budget coming up?

Recently, my constituent Deborah Kayembe was named as Edinburgh University’s next rector. Deborah is an esteemed human rights lawyer and also a refugee, and shows us the benefits that refugees can bring to each of our communities. In the light of the Migration Advisory Committee’s saying that it is time to review the Government’s anti-family-migration rules, may we have a debate in Government time to consider the hugely positive contribution that refugees make to each of our nations and to give hope that, perhaps, some of the measures such as the minimum income requirement could be reviewed?

Like the shadow Leader of the House, I welcome the fact that today is International Day of Women and Girls in Science. With Midlothian a centre of scientific excellence, does the Leader of the House agree that promoting careers in science for women benefits us all, and will he ensure that time is allowed by the Government for us to celebrate that? I end by joining the Leader of the House and the shadow Leader of the House in wishing all a very happy Chinese new year.

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

May I begin on a point of very strong agreement with the hon. Gentleman and thank him for the point that he made about encouraging women and girls to have careers in science? That is a thoroughly good thing, but we need more scientists generally for our future prosperity. Men and women will need to go into science, and we have seen the advantage of science with the roll-out of the vaccine programme.

I also very much agree with the hon. Gentleman on the great contribution made to British society by refugees. This country has long been open to refugees, going back many hundreds of years. That has helped to build and strengthen our nation, and will continue to do so in future. I cannot promise him debates in Government time on either question, but I confess that it is nice to find myself in agreement with a member of the SNP; that is a rare treat.

We are also broadly in agreement on the question of Westminster Hall. I take it from what the hon. Gentleman said that he, too, thinks it is proportionate to have extra members of staff coming on to the estate to reopen it in a hybrid fashion. If it is clear that that is the consensus of the House, I am more than willing to bring forward the necessary motion.

I think everyone has sympathy for those of our constituents who have not been supported. We have all been in correspondence with people who have difficult circumstances. The Government have done as much as they reasonably can. The support offered is very large—£280 billion for the country at large—and it covers 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment. I accept that it does not cover everybody. The difficulty is ensuring a scheme that is fair to taxpayers as well as fair to individuals, and I think my right hon Friend the Chancellor has got the balance right.