Business of the House

Debate between Robert Halfon and Mark Spencer

Thursday 21st April 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. If she writes to me with details of the individual case she is talking about, I will make sure it is put in front of the Home Office as quickly as possible. I hope she would recognise that the Government have already issued 56,000 visas. It is a huge commitment to getting a number of people in. However, I hear the concern she has about that individual case, which sounds like a challenging one, and I will make sure the Home Office responds to her in a timely way.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

If I walked down to the Front Bench and smacked the Leader of the House, I would possibly be done for assault. If I smacked a dog, I would possibly be done for cruelty to that dog. Yet when we talk about smacking children, we say that it is a nanny state if we question that, even though we tell parents that they must put seatbelts in the back of cars for their children’s safety. I am not calling for an outright ban on smacking children, and I recognise that parents bring up children in the best way they can, but I do think that the Children’s Commissioner is courageous and right to raise these matters in The Times as she has done. We need to discuss these matters carefully and have a debate. So can we have a debate after the Queen’s Speech about the smacking of children and whether it should be permitted?

[Mark Spencer]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his question on something that is worthy of debate. Colleagues from across the House would want to engage with that debate. On a personal level, I do think that parents have the right to chastise their children in a way in which they see fit, but there clearly is a line where that stretches into abuse, and the authorities are robust in making sure that children are safe in the UK. However, this is worthy of debate and I encourage him to apply for an Adjournment debate or a Backbench Business debate.

Business of the House

Debate between Robert Halfon and Mark Spencer

Thursday 24th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. She will recognise that the Chancellor was here answering questions for two and a half hours yesterday. To say that he did nothing to help with the cost of living crisis is slightly misleading. A £5 billion tax cut to the cost of fuel is a huge contribution to people who are struggling to fill up their cars to get to work. We recognise the challenge that the rising cost of food also brings, which is why he introduced the tax cut. As for energy costs, he is cutting VAT on energy-saving materials, such as solar panels. He has also doubled the household support fund to £1 billion so that councils in her local area and others can support the most vulnerable.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Yesterday the Chancellor made a historic cut in fuel duty which will be welcomed by millions of motorists and businesses throughout the country, and which will reduce prices across the board because it will reduce the cost of transportation. However, greedy and racketeering oil companies put up prices at some petrol stations yesterday. Furthermore, when the international oil price rises, the pump prices go up immediately, but when it is falling, as it is at present, there is a “feather approach” before it reaches the motorist. Will my right hon. Friend make a statement on this, and will he work with me and with FairFuelUK to persuade the Government to create a “PumpWatch” consumer watchdog to ensure that motorists pay fair prices at the pumps?

[Mark Spencer]

I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend, who is a long-term campaigner on this issue. I know that a series of Chancellors of the Exchequer have done battle with him on it, and I think he should take some credit for yesterday’s 5p cut. The Chancellor has written to fuel companies to ensure that they pass on the cut, but my right hon. Friend will have an opportunity to raise the matter with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy at Question Time next week.

Business of the House

Debate between Robert Halfon and Mark Spencer

Thursday 17th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

I have been lucky enough to buy an electric car, which has been a revelation. It is a very good product. The hon. Gentleman is right to draw attention to the fact that not only cars will have to migrate to a new fuel source in the long term. The good news is that in his part of the world, which is the heart of the car industry, great companies such as JCB are doing a lot of research into hydrogen fuel cells and gigafactories, into which the Government are pouring huge amounts of investment to make sure the United Kingdom is at the heart of the new revolution in energy supply. That is the right thing to do, and the Government are very committed to doing it.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Can we have both an urgent statement and a debate on the draft terms of reference for the covid inquiry? Astonishingly, although there is a small sentence on school restrictions, they do not mention children or the impact on children’s mental health, lost educational attainment and life chances. Children must not be forgotten in this inquiry.

[Mark Spencer]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his question. Obviously, that inquiry is about to get started and it will be wide-ranging, and to restrict it to any particular area would be a mistake. He is right to draw attention to the impact that the pandemic had on children, and I am sure that the inquiry will go into all areas of covid and be a wide-ranging inquiry that we will respond to in due course.

Business of the House

Debate between Robert Halfon and Mark Spencer

Thursday 24th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

The hon. Lady is right to highlight that issue. It is important to respond with our international colleagues, such as the EU, the US and those across the world, to ensure that we have an international response. The UK has a proud record of welcoming refugees and of supporting people in those circumstances. She is right to highlight that and I am sure that, working with our international colleagues, we can assist those affected by the humanitarian disaster that will ensue from Russian aggression.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Following my question to the Prime Minister on his statement on Ukraine earlier in the week, can we have an urgent statement from a Government Minister on the impact of the cost of living on people up and down the country? Following the Russian invasion, oil prices have gone up to more than $100 a barrel and energy prices are rocketing, which will have an impact on millions of people across the country and make petrol and energy even more unaffordable.

[Mark Spencer]

My right hon. Friend is right to draw attention to this issue. Clearly, the conflict in Ukraine between Russia and Ukraine will have an impact not only on global fuel prices, but on global food prices. Ukraine is an enormous supplier of food—wheat and bread—and this is something the UK Government will monitor and of course assist with, through our work to try to lessen the burden of the cost of living.

Energy Company Charges

Debate between Robert Halfon and Mark Spencer

Tuesday 4th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

After the debate, I think that I will enter the Olympics because I do not think that I have ever walked so fast in my life as when this debate started slightly early.

I am hugely grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen)—I call him my hon. Friend on purpose—not only because he has campaigned on this issue for far longer than I have and since before I was even in this House, but because he was a huge support in tabling the motion and in going to the Backbench Business Committee. I also thank him for his speech.

I would also like to thank my hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis), the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Hermon), the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Mr Llwyd) and all those who came with me to the Backbench Business Committee, particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch), who is winding up the debate and has done an enormous amount of work on this issue. I also thank the 177 Members who have signed the motion, making it one of the best supported Back-Bench motions in the history of such motions. That reflects the fact that this is an all-party issue and not just a Conservative issue, a Labour issue or a Unionist issue.

Organisations, such as Which?, have done a huge amount of work to promote consumer rights in this field and they keep me posted on what is happening. We must remember that Which? has led a campaign on this matter for quite a long time.

[Mr Mark Spencer (Sherwood) (Con)]

I am sure that the House will recognise that my hon. Friend is a tremendous campaigner—an award-winning campaigner—on these matters. I think that it is worth putting that on the record at the start of his comments.

[Robert Halfon]

I am proud to call my hon. Friend a friend and I appreciate his remarks.

It is no secret that consumers are feeling hard pressed. The cost of utility bills has gone up exponentially in the past three years. Since 2007, the average electricity bill has gone up by 20% in real terms and gas bills have gone up by a shocking 43%, proving that they are a major burden on the cost of living. Citizens Advice has warned that energy bills are rising at up to eight times the rate of earnings. It is no surprise that polling shows that the rising cost of energy bills is a top concern for the British public.

I welcome the efforts that the Minister and the Government have made to help, including by forcing companies to put consumers on the lowest possible tariff, providing a rebate to every domestic electricity customer, reducing bills by £130 for 2 million of the poorest households and protecting pensioners’ cold weather payments. However, with price increases, companies making large profits and general dissatisfaction with energy companies across the United Kingdom, it is clear that the energy market is not working at its prime.

The payment of energy bills by direct debit is often associated with companies overestimating a household’s energy usage, resulting in overcharging and a large amount of credit being built up. Understandably, that upsets many customers and it has rightly received a lot of attention from the media.