Oral Answers to Questions

Simon Kirby Excerpts

Wednesday 18th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

4. What discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on recent changes to its taxation powers.

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Simon Kirby)]

The Scottish Government will take on their first major new tax power from the Scotland Act 2016 in April, enabling them to set rates and thresholds of income tax. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury attended a Joint Exchequer Committee with the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Finance in November. They discussed ongoing work, and there are regular ongoing discussions.

[Mr Evans]

The Prime Minister says that she wants income tax rates on hard-working British people to be as low as possible. Should Nicola Sturgeon be sufficiently brave or bonkers to increase the rate of taxation on hard-working Scottish people, what economic impact would that have on Scotland?

[Simon Kirby]

May I thank my hon. Friend for his important question? In taking over income tax powers, the Scottish Government now need to account for how they use them, particularly if they plan to make Scotland the highest tax part of the UK.

[Mark Menzies]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the Scottish National party’s plans to tax middle-income families more in Scotland for doing the same job as families in England would bode very, very badly for the Scottish economy?

[Simon Kirby]

The UK Government are doing everything they can to support our economy and boost jobs and growth. Where the Scottish Government now make choices that have a different impact, they will need to explain them to the people of Scotland.

[Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)]

Again we have heard erroneous claims that Scotland is somehow the highest-taxed part of the United Kingdom. In actual fact, the average cost of a band D council tax property in Scotland is lower than in England. Will the Minister now welcome the Scottish Government’s approach to council tax policy in Scotland?

[Simon Kirby]

What I will say is that the SNP should focus on making a success of its new powers for the benefit of the Scottish people. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Mr Docherty-Hughes, you are a very curious denizen of the House. I had you down as a cerebral and academic type, but you are becoming increasingly hysterical—very curious behaviour.

[Michael Gove (Surrey Heath) (Con)]

12. The SNP wants to levy the highest level of income tax anywhere in the United Kingdom. It already receives more per capita funding than England, yet Scotland’s schools are conspicuously worse than those in the rest of the United Kingdom. Does the Minister put that down to the incompetence of the Scottish Government or their prioritisation of nationalist posturing over proper administration?

[Simon Kirby]

I may not like the Scottish Government’s plans to make Scotland a higher-tax nation, but that is up to them. What they will have to do is explain to the people of Scotland why they are having to pay more tax than their friends and families who have the same jobs south of the border.

[Mr David Anderson (Blaydon) (Lab)]

In a week when the chairman of the British Medical Association in Scotland has warned that the NHS in Scotland is “at breaking point”, is the Minister as surprised as I am that the so-called progressive SNP Government in Holyrood consistently refuse to use the powers afforded them to protect the NHS in Scotland?

[Simon Kirby]

Scotland’s new devolution settlement delivers one of the most powerful and accountable devolved Parliaments in the world, giving the Scottish Government unprecedented power to shape the future economy of Scotland.

[Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)]

5. What assessment he has made of the effect of immigration on Scotland's economic performance.

Oral Answers to Questions

Simon Kirby Excerpts

Wednesday 25th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise that matter. Anyone who has seen the pictures of what has happened some mornings at London Bridge station knows that the pressures are immense. What we need to do is ensure that Transport for London and the Department for Transport are working together—as they are—to bring about the best possible solution. People cannot criticise this Government for failing to invest in London’s transport infrastructure. The Crossrail scheme, which I visited again a couple of weeks ago—[Interruption.] Labour Members say, “We did that”. They did not. They left an enormous bill, but it was this Government who put in the money and got it built. It is one thing to promise something, but another to put the diggers in the ground and to get it done, which is what we have done.

[Simon Kirby (Brighton, Kemptown) (Con)]

It is very easy to say the words, “long-term economic plan”, but in Brighton, Kemptown, the past five years have seen sharply falling unemployment, huge increases in business start-ups, and a massive £480 million investment in the new hospital. Does the Prime Minister think that the sun will continue to shine on Brighton?

[The Prime Minister]

First, let me pay tribute to my hon. Friend who has been a real champion for Brighton. He has campaigned so hard for the extra investment and the rebuilding of the hospital, and I am glad that the redevelopment of the Royal Sussex county hospital will take place. I also note that, in his constituency, the claimant count has gone down by 52% and the long-term youth claimant count by 50% since the last election. On that basis, I think that we can say that the sun will continue to shine on Brighton.

European Council

Simon Kirby Excerpts

Monday 23rd March 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Interestingly, the conference of the British Chambers of Commerce—probably the biggest business trade body in Britain—supported my approach of a renegotiation and referendum, and did not support the alternative of just meekly going along with whatever the European Union is doing today. Business is on the side of the changes I am putting forward.

[Simon Kirby (Brighton, Kemptown) (Con)]

I am a big fan of the public sector. Does my right hon. Friend agree that Greece teaches us a lesson that we can have a strong public sector only if we have a strong economy?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. If we look at what happened in Greece with the economic difficulties it has had, we see that it had to make sweeping cuts to its national health service because it was in so much economic trouble. That underlines the point that we will make every day from now and for the next 45 days, which is that if we want a strong NHS, schools and policing, we must have a strong economy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Simon Kirby Excerpts

Wednesday 26th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman should know not only that we are recruiting more A and E consultants and nurses in north-west London and that Northwick Park and Ealing hospitals are getting more beds, but that both Hammersmith and Central Middlesex hospitals have GP-led urgent care centres on site that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Instead of trying to frighten his constituents, he should be talking about the investment going into the local health service.

[Simon Kirby (Brighton, Kemptown) (Con)]

The Prime Minister will not be surprised to hear that I will be marking world AIDS day on Monday in Brighton, but will he join me in encouraging people this week—national HIV testing week—to come forward and have regular tests?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Obviously, this Government are pioneering the idea of free tests. We think that is very important. We need to tackle HIV and AIDS not just in our country, but around the world. That is also why we have put so much money into antiretroviral drugs.

European Council

Simon Kirby Excerpts

Monday 30th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I have listened a lot to the voices of British businesses large and small. They, too, want European reform. They are frustrated by the bureaucracy and the red tape, and by the failure to complete the single market. They do not want Britain to be part of a European superstate; they want co-operation and trade between nations. That is what we want. Although the task has undoubtedly become more difficult, I see no reason why we cannot achieve it if we stick to our guns.

[Simon Kirby (Brighton, Kemptown) (Con)]

Last week, I attended Brighton’s wonderful golden handbag awards. May I take this opportunity to nominate the Prime Minister for a different handbag award for sticking up for Britain in the way he has?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. A new element of life in Brighton has been visited on me. I am sure it was a great event and I am grateful for his support.

Oral Answers to Questions

Simon Kirby Excerpts

Wednesday 20th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Anas Sarwar (Glasgow Central) (Lab)]

4. What recent steps he has taken to address barriers to small and medium-sized enterprises participating in Government procurement.

[Simon Kirby (Brighton, Kemptown) (Con)]

5. How he plans to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises secure a larger proportion of Government contracts.

--- Later in debate ---

[Miss Smith]

I think that the hon. Gentleman will find that much of what he seeks is covered in debates later today. We have recently announced measures to ensure that the companies we deal with as a Government pay their fair share of tax, and rightly so.

[Simon Kirby]

I would like more businesses in Brighton to have contracts with the Government. Will the Minister make data available on a constituency level regarding which businesses do business with the Government?

[Miss Smith]

Since the general election Government have become much more transparent about the business they do, and all contracts over £10,000 are now published online at Contracts Finder. My hon. Friend will also find pipelines covering infrastructure and Government construction that will help him with a lot of data. Although we cannot yet release these data specifically at constituency level, I am very keen to make them available, and I look forward to working with him to make that a reality.

Oral Answers to Questions

Simon Kirby Excerpts

Wednesday 7th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Maude]

We can, of course, build appropriate levels of transparency into contracts when services are contracted out. That process was taken a lot further by the previous Government, so it is not a feature of the coalition Government. I will pass on the hon. Gentleman’s concern to my right and hon. Friends in the Ministry of Justice.

[Simon Kirby (Brighton, Kemptown) (Con)]

T3. Will the Minister update the House on the launch of gov.uk and the savings he expects to make?

[Mr Maude]

We published our digital strategy yesterday and launched gov.uk recently. We will make significant savings—gov.uk will save £36 million and, ultimately, when all the Departments migrate over to it, between £50 million and £70 million a year, and that is just to provide a much better service for citizens. As more and more of the transactions that people undertake with Government are moved online, we expect to save nearly £2 billion a year, and that is for a better service for the consumer.

Oral Answers to Questions

Simon Kirby Excerpts

Tuesday 7th February 2012 Commons Chamber

The Deputy Prime Minister was asked—

[Simon Kirby (Brighton, Kemptown) (Con)]

1. What recent representations he has received on House of Lords reform.

[Nick de Bois (Enfield North) (Con)]

2. What recent representations he has received on House of Lords reform.

[The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Nick Clegg)]

The Government have received more than 200 representations since the publication of their White Paper and the draft House of Lords Reform Bill was published in May last year.

[Simon Kirby]

I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for that answer. Can it be right that those who break the law should be permitted to continue making the law? Does he plan in the legislation to introduce parity between the two Houses?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

One of the many things that would be included in a package of reform of the other place would be precisely an ironing out of some of those anomalies, so that those who had broken the law, who would not normally be entitled to continue to serve in this House, would not be able to do so in the other, reformed House either.

EU Council

Simon Kirby Excerpts

Monday 12th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question. The point about the budget is important because, as a net contributor, every extra percentage point of budget increase does result in a big transfer from Britain to Brussels, so it is important that we have managed to achieve a freeze.

[Simon Kirby (Brighton, Kemptown) (Con)]

May I congratulate the Prime Minister on his strong and decisive leadership and on doing not only what is best for Britain, but best for the 2,000 of my constituents who work in financial services?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend, who has made a number of sacrifices on my behalf over the last 18 months, one of which is waiting to the very last in this marathon question session. I am delighted that he believes that we have done the right thing for Britain and for Brighton, and I praise him for his very hard work in his constituency.

Public Confidence in the Media and Police

Simon Kirby Excerpts

Wednesday 20th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am very happy to answer—although I have answered this question already; I can set the answer to music if you like. Some people looked at Andy Coulson and the fact that he had been a tabloid editor at the News of the World and had resigned because of what happened there, and advised me not to take him on. I made the decision on the basis of the assurances that he gave me; I could not have been more frank about it. There is only one tabloid editor left in the office of the Prime Minister or of the Leader of the Opposition. There is a tabloid Mirror editor sitting in the office of the Leader of the Opposition, and I would not be at all surprised if the Mirror did not have some questions to answer pretty soon.

[Simon Kirby (Brighton, Kemptown) (Con)]

Does the Prime Minister think that the Leader of the Opposition should apologise for Damian McBride?

[The Prime Minister]

I have finally received an apology—and the Chancellor has too—although it took a while, for the appalling things that were done. This was a special adviser who was sitting around casting appalling aspersions on people who were then on the Opposition Front Bench. When you compare that conduct with the conduct at No. 10 Downing street of Andy Coulson—about whom, in his time at work, no one is making a complaint—it speaks volumes.