John Bercow
Main Page: John Bercow (Speaker - Buckingham)Department Debates - View all John Bercow's debates with the Department for Transport
(4 years, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Speaker
We cannot take points of order during a statement. Points of order will flow after either this statement or other statements at the discretion of the Chair.
Mr Shailesh Vara (North West Cambridgeshire) (Con)
The UK headquarters of Thomas Cook are based in my constituency. The collapse of the company has meant the loss of 1,200 local jobs. Our thoughts go out to all those people and to the thousands more across the UK who have been affected. Will my right hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to the many local organisations and companies that have come forward offering jobs to those who have been affected? The local newspaper, the Peterborough Telegraph, has been co-ordinating the activities. We have also seen acts of kindness. Peterborough United and Peterborough Phantoms, a local ice hockey team, are offering free tickets to those who have been affected. Does my right hon. Friend recognise that at this difficult time we need to appreciate and applaud the generosity that is coming through?
Grant Shapps
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The airline insolvency review, which reported in May, provides a few useful ideas about things that could be done, including some that require primary legislation and others that do not and on which we have already started to act. We cannot keep returning to this situation. It is terrible for passengers and for all those involved, and there is a problem in finding sufficient aircraft to solve this problem when it happens.
Mr Speaker
The Secretary of State will be aware that the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Andrew Jones) is a distinguished former Transport Minister. Indeed, I well recall that when he served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for buses, being a man of the people as he is, he was wont to come to work on the bus, no doubt to the very considerable delight of his fellow passengers.
Lisa Forbes (Peterborough) (Lab)
Following the sudden collapse of Thomas Cook, which was headquartered in Peterborough, and the loss of 1,200 jobs there, many of my constituents turned up for work only to find that their jobs were lost with Christmas fast approaching. The hon. Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Mr Vara) is absolutely correct that there has been an incredible outpouring of unity from individuals and businesses in Peterborough who have stepped up to show their support and solidarity at an extremely difficult and distressing time for so many in Peterborough.
Can the Secretary of State tell me what specific support the Government are giving to my constituents, who have mortgages and bills to pay and families to support, in finding alternative employment? What measures have they put in place to support the city’s economy as a whole, given the loss of so many good jobs?
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Speaker
Order. To this point, the erudition of questions has been equalled only by their length. Unfortunately, there is a premium on time, as we have other matters with which we have to deal, so I appeal to colleagues to cast aside pre-written scripts and to confine themselves to single sentence—preferably short sentence—questions, without preamble, so that we can make progress.
Rachel Reeves (Leeds West) (Lab)
The BEIS Committee believes that Thomas Cook’s directors and auditors have serious questions to answer. In the past five years, £20 million in bonuses has been paid to directors, and the company has now gone under with debts of more than £3 billion. Will the Secretary of State for Transport confirm that the directors of Thomas Cook will not be able to continue as directors at any other firm until the Insolvency Service has completed its investigation? Will the Government commit to replacing the FRC with a regulatory framework that holds directors to account, as our Committee has called for?
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Speaker
In my experience, the hon. Member for Stafford is a notably well-behaved fellow, so I am sure he will confine himself to a single sentence.
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Speaker
I will take remaining questioners if they have a short sentence each, but if it is longer I am afraid I will have to cut it off.
Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP)
Going back to the question of the £250 million, will the Secretary of State confirm that that was for credit purposes—that it was effectively in order for Thomas Cook to be able to say to the bank that it had that reserve fund of £250 million?
Several hon. Members rose—
Stephen Lloyd (Eastbourne) (Ind)
Is the Secretary of State aware that scam telephone artists are fanning out across the country phoning people offering a refund if they provide their bank details? People will lose money. Will he publicise the fact that the public should be aware of this?
Antoinette Sandbach
At the start of this session, the Secretary of State gave the impression that primary legislation could not be introduced in this House without a further Prorogation of Parliament and a Queen’s Speech. I seek your guidance on whether that is, in fact, the correct position.
Mr Speaker
In procedural terms, there is no bar to the introduction of primary legislation in the course of the current Session, if the Government are minded to schedule it. I think, to be fair to the Minister, what he was probably driving at is that the Government have to take a holistic view of a wide range of potential legislative options, and that the best or most propitious time for considering the inclusion of a new measure might be in the context of the Gracious Speech. I am sure that that is what the Secretary of State meant to say, and as he did not quite get round to saying it, I know that he will be inordinately and probably permanently grateful to me for saying it on his behalf. We will leave it there for now.