Prime Minister's Update

Stephen Metcalfe Excerpts

Wednesday 25th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I have the utmost respect not just for the court but, of course, for the hon. Gentleman. I think the way we could all show respect for our constituents—in particular his own, who voted heavily to leave the EU—would be to vote for the deal when we bring it back. I hope he will support us in the Lobby.

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

It is good to see my right hon. Friend back in his rightful place, perhaps a little sooner than he expected, and I hope he remains there for a long time. Can he give me some advice that I can share with my constituents when I try to explain why this Parliament refuses to approve a general election, refuses to vote to leave the EU, refuses to respect the wishes of 17.4 million people and refuses to honour the views of the 73% of my constituents who voted to leave? Can he give me some advice to help me on the doorstep?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is completely right. The way to address the feelings of his constituents, my constituents and the constituents of us all, and frankly the way to puncture the great poisonous puffball of Brexit is just to get on and make sure that the very word “Brexit”—I know there is a lot of anxiety about language—is never heard in 2020. Would not that be a fantastic thing?

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Metcalfe Excerpts

Wednesday 24th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Kevin Foster]

This is the Government who introduced online registration, which has made it much easier for people to get on the register and has resulted in among the highest numbers of registrations, so the premise of the hon. Gentleman’s question is completely wrong.

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

T5. Does the Minister agree that, as the Institute for Government has recently pointed out, the Government have outsourced many public services precisely because the public sector was delivering them poorly, and that any plans to end outsourcing are motivated by political ideology, not by what is best for the taxpayer?

[Oliver Dowden]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight those recent comments, which were clear that Labour’s outsourcing policy risks creating major implementation problems and losing the benefits that outsourcing has brought for taxpayers, without any guarantee that services would improve. This Government will continue to make decisions on outsourcing based on the evidence, not on ideology.

Leaving the European Union

Stephen Metcalfe Excerpts

Tuesday 26th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I refer the hon. Lady to the answer that I gave to that question earlier.

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

I encourage the Prime Minister to continue her discussions with our European friends. May I gently warn the House against prejudging the outcome of those discussions, which I have heard decried across this place during these exchanges? Whatever happens over the next few days, weeks and hopefully not months, I know she will agree that holding a second referendum would be an affront to the people of Basildon and Thurrock, who knew full well what they were doing, and 73% of whom voted to leave.

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, my hon. Friend is absolutely right that we should honour the referendum result. We stood on a manifesto to do that, and other Members of this House stood on a manifesto to respect the referendum, and we should deliver Brexit.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Metcalfe Excerpts

Wednesday 6th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his words of support for the third runway at Heathrow. We will ensure that that vote is brought to the House in a timely fashion. There is a requirement for it to be brought within a certain period, and we will ensure that that happens. This is an opportunity to increase job opportunities. It is also an opportunity to increase connectivity with other parts of the United Kingdom, which in itself will be of benefit to jobs in other parts of the UK.

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

Q11. As my right hon. Friend is aware, this Government are investing more in national infrastructure than any previous Government, from HS2 to the new Lower Thames crossing. However, we must never forget the personal sacrifice that people are asked to make to allow these projects to progress. Will she therefore remind the various Government agencies involved that they have a duty of care to our constituents and that they should ensure that no one is materially disadvantaged or physically harmed in the name of investment?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes two important points: the first is the importance and significance of the investment that is being put into infrastructure across the country; and the second is of course that, as we do that—when we are putting in place these large infrastructure projects—we must make sure that they are planned in consultation with, and with sympathy towards, local communities. Of course, as we see with the proposals for Heathrow, for example, that does come with a significant compensation package for those people who will be personally affected.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Metcalfe Excerpts

Wednesday 18th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Alistair Burt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. We are setting up a new business hub to try to ensure that companies accept their obligations in that regard, and we will be working hard with them to make sure that they do.

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

6. What steps she is taking to support the development of technology in developing countries.

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Harriett Baldwin)]

Our investments in technologies are saving and changing lives all over the world. Half of DFID’s £397 million annual research budget is focused on new technologies in developing countries in the health, agriculture, climate, clean energy, water, education and humanitarian response sectors.

[Stephen Metcalfe]

Over the years, I have been fortunate to see at first hand how some of our aid budget has helped to develop technologies and engineer solutions that have changed people’s lives around the world. Can the Minister tell the House, however, whether any of the technologies that have been invented using our aid budget have been of direct benefit to people here in the UK?

[Harriett Baldwin]

I welcome the interest of the former Chair of the Science and Technology Committee in this important work and commend the Committee to hear from the team involved, because there are a range of different examples. Diseases know no boundaries, and the UK’s development of a test for TB is a good example.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Metcalfe Excerpts

Wednesday 28th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Maclean (Redditch) (Con)]

6. What steps his Department is taking to support the use of small businesses in Government procurement.

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

9. What steps his Department is taking to support the use of small businesses in Government procurement.

[Mike Wood (Dudley South) (Con)]

11. What steps his Department is taking to support the use of small businesses in Government procurement.

--- Later in debate ---

[Oliver Dowden]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. Small businesses throughout the country create millions of jobs and it is important that they are able to access large contracts such as HS2. Public sector contracts are advertised on the Contracts Finder website, which is free and easy to use, and bidders can request information as they need it. I encourage businesses in my hon. Friend’s constituency and elsewhere to take advantage.

[Stephen Metcalfe]

As my hon. Friend will know, small businesses are the backbone of the UK economy. It is the Government’s responsibility to make sure that they can compete equally for public sector contracts. Will my hon. Friend tell the House what he is doing to level the playing field?

[Oliver Dowden]

We are constantly looking into new ways to reduce the barriers to small businesses working with the public sector, which is why we have already scrapped complex pre-qualification questionnaires for low-value contracts. We require public sector buyers to split contracts into accessible chunks for small businesses, and I am pleased to confirm that we will reopen the G-Cloud to new suppliers, which will further help small businesses.