Business of the House

Debate between Richard Tice and Alan Campbell

Thursday 30th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I congratulate every one of the groups nominated for the red kite awards, including my hon. Friend’s constituency Salvation Army. She will know as well as I do that her constituency produced the world’s first ever Salvation Army brass band. I think the red kite awards are a fantastic way to recognise the importance of volunteers and I thank her for that. Should she wish to apply for a debate on supporting them, I am sure it would be well attended.

[Richard Tice (Boston and Skegness) (Reform)]

Given the Government’s difficulties and delays in establishing a public inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal, will the Leader of the House and the Government consider establishing a Joint Committee of both Houses to look into it, with parliamentary powers to summon people and papers, to arrive at answers and the truth faster and more effectively?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I like to think that I am across what is happening in the House and, obviously, in politics, but I am losing count of what the hon. Gentleman’s party wants when it comes to a grooming gangs inquiry. It wants one, and then it does not; and when one is granted, it is not the right one. There is a simple fact in all this: this Government are absolutely determined that there will be an inquiry, that it will get to the truth, that victims will be at the centre of it—

[Richard Tice]

How long?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

Victims will be at the centre of it, and we will deliver the recommendations of that inquiry and improve the situation that the hon. Gentleman’s party is at risk of playing politics with.

Business of the House

Debate between Richard Tice and Alan Campbell

Thursday 16th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I wish my hon. Friend’s AI national conference well. I hope that Ministers have listened to his request for attendance and support; I am sure that they will look to see whether that is possible. He is absolutely right when he says that business is crucial to making this a success, as are organisations across the community.

Typically, my hon. Friend has hit the nail right on the head: AI is the way forward and there is no doubt that it is crucial to the economy that we seek to build, but it has to be a fair economy. It has to work not just for some people, but for everyone. I share his concern, not about the new jobs coming in—that is understandably good news—but about the communities that he represents. I know his constituency pretty well, and we need to ensure that those communities are beneficiaries of AI as well. I am sure that there will be a lot of interest in any Backbench Business debate, whether he wants to call one soon or to come back and report on the success of his conference.

[Richard Tice (Boston and Skegness) (Reform)]

Three weeks ago today, I met the Governor of the Bank of England to discuss the important decisions around quantitative easing and quantitative tightening, and the Governor agreed with me that this is actually a fiscal matter. It is triggering losses of tens of billions of pounds for the taxpayer every year, and therefore the Governor would welcome more input from the Houses of Parliament on this important matter. I wrote to the Chancellor—copying in the Leader of the House—to request a debate before the Budget, because if this House had a debate and voted on a different decision to guide the Governor and the Monetary Policy Committee, it would actually help the Chancellor in her difficult decisions around the Budget.

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is trying to be helpful, so I will take him at his word. On having a debate on these matters, he raises important points. I suggest that he should be the one calling for a debate. If there is to be a discussion about economic policy in the run-up to the Budget, there are various avenues by which he can call for that and make his points. It is not unusual in this situation—we are a number of weeks away from the Budget—but the Chancellor is working extraordinarily hard to come up with a Budget that not only repairs the damage to our economy that we inherited, but puts forward a plan for the future. To some extent, the ball is in the hon. Gentleman’s court, should he seek a debate.