Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Tuesday 5th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

We have a co-operative relationship with the Scottish Government and that will continue. Let me point out that since October 2016 we have seen an increase in prison officer numbers of 4,300, which is to be welcomed. At one stage, people said, “Those are new numbers but they are very inexperienced”, but of course as each month goes by those prison officers are gaining experience and confidence. I believe we will see improvements in the months and years ahead.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

7. How many (a) compulsory and (b) voluntary prisoner transfer agreements the UK has with other countries.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Tuesday 13th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

The most important response is that we have decided not to close that court.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Given that we have 10,000 foreign national offenders in our prisons, with which new countries are we seeking to sign compulsory prisoner transfer agreements?

[Mr Gauke]

We always seek to find new opportunities to improve the system, and we will continue to do so.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Tuesday 9th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

I had a feeling that the consensus was not going to last much longer. The reality is that for petty offenders who tend to be prolific and tend to be repeat offenders, the evidence shows that non-custodial sentences are more effective at reducing reoffending than custodial sentences and that is the approach that we want to take.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Would not reoffending rates for those on short-term prison sentences go down if life was made as uncomfortable as possible for them while they were in jail? Instead of spending all day in their overcrowded prison cell either on their mobile phone or going through the satellite TV channels, should they not be out breaking rocks in a quarry or picking up litter in the rain?

[Mr Gauke]

People are sent to prison as punishment, not for punishment. The purpose of prison should be about ensuring that when people are released, they are less likely to reoffend. I do not think that my hon. Friend is setting out an effective approach.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Tuesday 5th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

The EU prisoner transfer directive was meant to enable us to transfer thousands of EU prisoners in UK prisons to a prison in their own country. How many EU prisoners have we actually transferred?

[Mr Gauke]

If memory serves, it is something like 41,000 over the past 10 years, but I will write to my hon. Friend to confirm the numbers.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Tuesday 6th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

The reality is that we are undertaking a series of reforms, making much greater use of digital technology and increasing access to online ways of dealing with this. This is an important modernisation that the courts system needs.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Very sadly, we have lost our magistrates court in Kettering, which, I have to say to the Government, was a mistake. It means that magistrates, the police and witnesses are all having to travel further. The closure of court sends a poor signal to the magistracy that they are not valued. Can we get rid of this ridiculous age limit, whereby magistrates have to retire at the age of 70?

[Mr Gauke]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this point, on which I have received representations. This is consistent with what happens elsewhere within the judiciary, but I am conscious that it will continue to be a matter of some debate.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

We need compulsory prisoner transfer agreements to send foreign national offenders back to prison in their own country. Are the Government seeking to sign any new such agreements? If so, with which countries?

[Mr Gauke]

As I said to my right hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel), in the last few years, something like 40,000 foreign national offenders have been returned to their own countries. We continue to seek to sign additional agreements so we can continue to make progress with this.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Tuesday 23rd January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

I want to ensure that we end up in a position that is good for the legal system and legal services in every part of the United Kingdom. That certainly includes Scotland, and of course I will want to engage with representations and representatives from all parts of the United Kingdom to ensure that we get the best possible deal.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

After Brexit, can we do something that we cannot do now? In other words, if an EU national is found guilty of an imprisonable offence, will we be able to deport them to serve their sentence in prison in their own country and ban them from ever returning?

[Mr Gauke]

As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Ben Bradley), we are considering future criminal justice arrangements with the European Union. We want close working relationships, but we also need to work together to ensure that foreign national offenders can be removed when possible.

Parole Board: Transparency and Victim Support

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Friday 19th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

My constituents in Kettering believe that the best way to protect the public is for violent offenders to be kept behind bars, and they take the straightforward and honourable view that if an offender is sentenced to a term of imprisonment, the offender should serve that sentence in prison in full before being released. Given that this is a statement about the transparency of Parole Board decisions, who is held to account in the Parole Board, and how, if those released early reoffend?

[Mr Gauke]

The numbers of reoffences are put into the public domain. Clearly, that is one of the tests of the effectiveness of the Parole Board. It is clearly a matter of priority for all of us that people who are dangerous are not released. The test for a Parole Board panel in the context of one of these IPP prisoners is an assessment of their risk to the public, and that is what the Parole Board must determine in these circumstances.

Parole Board and Victim Support

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Tuesday 9th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

The hon. Lady raises an important point about victims’ voice being heard throughout the process. In the review, I want to focus on the areas that I have particularly set out, but it is important to look at the whole process of victim support and ensuring that the voice of victims is heard, so that it works for victims in the way that we all want it to work.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

I think my constituents in Kettering would take the view that we are far too soft in this country on punishing sexual offenders. None of them serves their time in jail in full; too many are released far too early; and many go on to reoffend once they have been released. Will the Secretary of State publish in the Library details of the number of sexual offenders who have reoffended upon release, and how those who are responsible for their early release are held to account?

[Mr Gauke]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the question. As I mentioned, since 2010 the sentence for rape has gone up by 30%—something that I am sure he would support. On the figures that he asks for, if I may, I will take that question away and see what information can be provided to him.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Monday 18th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

How many of the FTSE 250 companies have signed up to this excellent campaign?

[Mr Gauke]

That is a very good question, and I will have to write to my hon. Friend with the answer. I can tell him that businesses small and large have participated in the scheme, including large organisations such as Microsoft, GlaxoSmithKline, Sainsbury’s and Channel 4, as well as many small businesses up and down the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Monday 9th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

Universal credit is about ensuring that our constituents are in a stronger financial position. That is what we are trying to deliver by enabling them to work and providing the support they need. As I said earlier, if we look at where we want to get to by 2022, 8% of claimants are already on universal credit and by January it will be 10%. The process is gradual and measured, and that is enabling us to learn from the experience and make improvements, which we will continue to do all the time.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

I support universal credit and its roll-out, but I am concerned about applicants with zero savings who, if they lose money for one or two weeks, have nothing to fall back on. Will the Department consider the possibility of jobcentres writing supportive letters to landlords to explain the situation in which benefit claimants find themselves, because the worst outcome for applicants is that they lose their home?

[Mr Gauke]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. There is an obligation on social landlords, given the source of income through universal credit, to work constructively with tenants. If a tenant has a reasonable expectation of receiving housing costs as part of their universal credit payment but has not yet received them, the landlord should not take action and the tenant should not face risk of eviction.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Tuesday 28th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

On the level of NHS funding, the hon. Lady will find that expenditure has gone up more in England than it has in Scotland. Given that it is a devolved matter, she might want to raise her concerns with the Scottish Government.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Will the Chief Secretary confirm that record amounts of money are being spent on the NHS, that record numbers of patients are being treated and that he will give clear incentives to local authorities and health services to join up the delivery of NHS and social care?

[Mr Gauke]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. He is absolutely correct about the resources that we are putting in, but if we want to improve the quality of healthcare, particularly in the context of social care, it is also important that there is greater integration. That is why we announced the better care fund, which is making an important contribution to supporting social care and improving integration.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Tuesday 29th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

The Government are taking action to ensure that we build more homes. There is a need for flexibility in terms of tenure, which was at the heart of my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr Burrowes), but last week’s autumn statement included a series of measures that will help to ensure that we are building more homes in this country, which is what we need.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Why is there such a large gap between the number of planning permissions and the number of housing starts, and what specifically can the Government do to close that gap?

[Mr Gauke]

There has consistently been a gap. What is important is that there is certainty of supply. We need to ensure that we have the right planning system in place and the right fiscal support, and that is what the Government are determined to deliver.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Tuesday 19th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

I will certainly take that representation on board. Of course, the north-east of England has the very large Nissan plant, which provides a significant number of jobs. The argument in the Treasury analysis is that we benefit from an open economy. If we leave the single market, we become a less open economy, which will have a cost to the British people in their living standards.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

The disgracefully dodgy document published by the Treasury yesterday is, frankly, worthy of the children’s programme “Jackanory”. The immigration figures suggest that there will be 3 million more immigrants in this country by 2030, placing my hon. Friend in clear breach of the Conservative manifesto commitment to reduce immigration to tens of thousands a year. What is his response to that accusation?

[Mr Gauke]

The numbers are based on the ONS projection that was used at the last Budget. No account is taken of the achievements of the renegotiation secured by the Prime Minister. On the Treasury analysis, a large number of independent economic commentators have argued that it is broadly in the right direction. My hon. Friends who advocate that we should leave the EU should come forward with their own analysis, setting out exactly what model they would follow and what the economic consequences would be.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Tuesday 27th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

I suspect that, a couple of weeks ago, the hon. Gentleman walked through the Lobby in support of the charter for fiscal responsibility, which requires us to find £30 billion of savings, either in tax increases or in spending cuts. If he is not prepared to take action in that area, he has to tell his constituents where he is prepared to take action.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

I congratulate Her Majesty’s Treasury on its successful efforts to reduce the tax gap. Where are the main hiding places that people are using to try to avoid tax?

[Mr Gauke]

My hon. Friend raises an important question to which I could give a lengthy reply. But what I will say is that, as a Government, we have taken action, for example, to improve the automatic exchange of information between various jurisdictions, so that there is nowhere for people to hide their money. The net is closing in on those who have evaded their taxes, and we are increasingly effective at dealing with tax avoidance as well.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Tuesday 9th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

17. What the basic rate personal tax allowance was in May 2010; what that rate would have been in May 2015 if indexed to inflation; and what that rate will be in May 2015.

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr David Gauke)]

The tax-free personal allowance was £6,475 in May 2010. It would have risen to just £7,485 by May 2015 through inflation, but the Government announced at autumn statement 2014 that the personal allowance would be increased to £10,600 from April 2015, and this is being legislated for in the Finance Bill 2015.

[Mr Hollobone]

By next May how many people does my hon. Friend estimate will have been taken out of paying income tax altogether in (a) Kettering, (b) Northamptonshire, and (c) the country as a whole?

[Mr Gauke]

By April this year the Government’s measures, including increases in the personal allowance for those born after 5 April 1948, are estimated to have taken about 3.4 million individuals out of the income tax system altogether. Some 248,000 of these individuals live in the east midlands region, which of course includes the constituency of Kettering in Northamptonshire.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Tuesday 4th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

As I say, what has happened under this Government is that the yield brought in by HMRC has increased year after year. The tax gap is lower for 2012-13 than it was in any year under the previous Labour Government. In truth, the record of HMRC is one of getting more from less, but we have invested in the areas that bring in money on tax avoidance and tax evasion.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Will the Minister ensure that the unacceptable and unwelcome £1.7 billion bill from the European Union remains an uncollected tax demand, and that there will be no payment of interest on any late payment?

National Insurance (Contributions) Bill

Debate between Philip Hollobone and David Gauke

Tuesday 10th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on introducing this proposal. How much will it cost and how many young people will it help?

[Mr Gauke]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question. The details of the costings can be seen in the autumn statement document published last week. The initial cost is £460 million and that then increases beyond that. All those working who are under the age of 21 will be able to benefit from it, although there is one caveat that I wish to make in a few moments.

This is a step in the right direction. It is striking that this Government came to office inheriting an increase in NICs and we have not only increased the thresholds for paying employers’ NICs, but we have introduced the employment allowance which gives £2,000 off for businesses in respect of employers’ NICs, and now we are exempting those under the age of 21. All this will help to create employment.