Business of the House

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Mark Jenkinson

Thursday 16th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

As the hon. Gentleman will know, we have held rates down for whisky, but if he really wants to support the sector, he might like to take a good look at the deposit return scheme that the Government plan to introduce. He might also like to support the Government’s efforts to secure free trade agreements, including our imminent succession to the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership.

[Mark Jenkinson (Workington) (Con)]

I supported the successful bid for new unitary authorities in Cumbria, which highlighted eminently achievable savings of 11%, or about £30 million, in Cumberland. All seven predecessor councils were able to set balanced budgets, but neither of the new councils has shown any intention of realising those savings, and both have already come cap in hand to the Government asking permission to borrow to fill eye-watering budget gaps before they have even taken control—to the tune of £40 million in Cumberland. On top of that, the new Labour-led Cumberland Council has abused a loophole to impose a devastating 6.7% council tax increase on my constituents.

Will my right hon. Friend join Cumbrian Conservative MPs in calling for the new councils to get round the table and agree a devolution deal for Cumbria so that we can super-charge growth, and can we have a debate in Government time on the true cost of Labour councils?

[Penny Mordaunt]

As my hon. Friend will know, during the previous Labour Government council tax increased by 110%. During the same period in which we have been in government, it has risen by just 36%. The situation that my hon. Friend has described is a shame and it is shameful. He will know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities wants to return to conversations about a devolution deal for that region, and I would encourage my hon. Friend to engage in those conversations, as I know he is doing already. However, it is deeply disappointing that people should be taking such an attitude to taxpayers.

Ministerial Code/Register of Ministers’ Interests

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Mark Jenkinson

Tuesday 18th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I am sure that the right hon. Lord Geidt will publish the register before the end of this month. That is what he has said; I am sure that he will wish to do it in a way that is helpful to the House and that he will have heard what the hon. Lady has said. I do not know which Cabinet Minister has filled out which form; all I can tell the hon. Lady is that as a Minister of the Crown, I have certainly filled out mine, and I am sure that my colleagues have done so as well.

[Mark Jenkinson (Workington) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend and her colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care for their efforts to ensure that the Cumbria local resilience forum and our North Cumbria health trust were kept stocked with PPE at the height of the pandemic, enabling them to keep my constituents in Workington safe. I remember the pressure that Ministers were under at the time and will forever be grateful for the often late-night correspondence dealing with potential issues. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is right that Government Ministers did everything that they could to get their skates on, as they were urged to by the right hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner), and pass on all offers from businesses to help to secure vital PPE at a time of national crisis?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for putting on record the tremendous job that was done in his local patch. He is saying that credit is due to Ministers, but actually credit is due to colleagues across the House. For many months, I took a call every morning at 10 am, sometimes from hundreds of colleagues across the House. People from every single political party put forward offers of help for PPE and all sorts of things that the health service needed. That is part of our job, and people made a huge difference to the effort by doing it.

UK-EU Future Relationship Negotiations and Transition Period

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Mark Jenkinson

Monday 7th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I suspect that there is more to it than all the information that I heard in the question, because I do not think that orchestras should require—if I have understood the journey correctly—any paperwork of that sort. Again, if the hon. Lady would like to give me the details of that case, I will get her a swift answer on that.

[Mark Jenkinson (Workington) (Con)]

I remain confident in the ability of Lord Frost’s negotiating team to strike a deal over the next few days, but it is right that my right hon. Friend and Lord Frost’s team stand firm on reclaiming our sovereignty. Can she confirm to me and the people of Workington who stand squarely behind her and Lord Frost that we will leave the transition period on 1 January 2021, on Australian terms if necessary?

[Penny Mordaunt]

As I have said, we will work until there is no hope left of getting a deal. I, too, have the same great confidence that my hon. Friend has kindly expressed in Lord Frost and the great team that are supporting him. None the less, it is very clear that if we cannot resolve these final issues, in particular the three that I mentioned in my opening remarks, we will not be able to conclude that deal. We must ensure that our sovereignty is not up for grabs. We have been crystal clear from the get-go on that, and I think that that is what the people of the United Kingdom expect.