Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nigel Mills

Wednesday 19th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman has been leader of the SNP in this Chamber and has asked Prime Minister’s questions for some time, so he might understand that the purpose is to ask the Prime Minister about the actions of the Government. That is what he should be asking us about. I believe that any future Conservative Prime Minister will be better for Scotland than the Scottish nationalist party.

[Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)]

Q7. Does the Prime Minister agree with me about the importance of tackling corruption and tax evasion around the world and about the key role that knowing who really owns companies plays in that? Does she therefore welcome the announcement today by Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man that they will open their registers in a couple of years’ time, and will she urge our remaining overseas territories to make progress in doing the same?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend has raised an important issue. I am very pleased to see the announcement today by Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. We continue to work with overseas territories to ensure that they follow those standards and open their books so that people can see who actually owns companies.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nigel Mills

Wednesday 12th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Can I say to the hon. Lady, first of all, that I think that a general election at this point in time, in the middle of our negotiations, would not be in the national interest? Secondly, as she will have heard me say before in this House, I think we should respect the result of the referendum that took place in 2016.

[Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)]

Q6. Given what we could call uncertainty about the future of the withdrawal agreement, could the Prime Minister give people some certainty—that is, EU nationals in the UK—that whatever happens to that deal, they will be allowed to stay on roughly the same terms that are in that draft agreement?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises an important point, because I know that EU nationals living here in the United Kingdom will be concerned about what might happen if a deal is not agreed. We have been very clear as a Government that the withdrawal agreement that we have agreed does respect the rights, and protect and guarantee the rights, of EU citizens living here. But in the unlikely event of no deal, I have been clear that this Government will still protect EU citizens’ rights, and we would wish to know that actually, other EU Governments would respect the rights of UK citizens living in the EU as well.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nigel Mills

Wednesday 20th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

First, I have just said in response to questions about the pictures and the behaviour that we have seen in the United States and about the way children are being treated, that is clearly, wholly and unequivocally wrong. On the wider issue of the President of the United States coming here to the United Kingdom, there are many issues that Members of this House—including the hon. Gentleman’s right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition—consistently encourage me to raise with the President of the United States. We do that: when we disagree with the United States, we tell them so. We also have key shared interests with the United States, in the security and defence field and in other areas, and it is right that we are able to sit down and discuss those issues with the President. He is the President of a country with which we have had, and will continue to have, a long-standing special relationship.

[Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)]

Q9. Residents across Amber Valley are worried about proposals to build housing on land next to sites on which contaminated waste was tipped in the 1970s. Does the Prime Minister agree that planning guidance should be changed to make it clear that a thorough, competent assessment of the risks of contamination should be carried out before permission is given to build houses on such sites?

[The Prime Minister]

I completely understand my hon. Friend’s concerns and have dealt with issues of contaminated land sites and development on them in my constituency in the past. We take local residents’ safety seriously in relation to contaminated land, and we ensure that the guidance is regularly updated. Developers are already required to ensure that they comply with a host of legal and regulatory safeguards before they build on contaminated land, and we also require that they work in conjunction with the Environment Agency and meet building regulations to ensure residents’ safety.

Brexit Negotiations

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nigel Mills

Monday 11th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We put that amendment down because we believe it is important to confirm, and so that people have the confidence of knowing, the date we will leave the European Union, which is 29 March 2019.

[Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)]

I welcome the progress made last week. Will the Prime Minister confirm that an ongoing role for the ECJ for eight years does not mean that EU nationals in the UK will have greater rights than UK nationals?

[The Prime Minister]

The basis on which we have agreed various arrangements relating to the rights that will apply to EU citizens here and to UK citizens in the EU27 is the principle that they can maintain the life choices they have already made. We want somebody who has moved here with a set of expectations to be able to carry on living as they have done and with the same expectations for the future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nigel Mills

Wednesday 15th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady has been a passionate campaigner on this issue, and has very thoughtfully shared her own personal experience with this House. We recognise what an incredibly painful experience it is to lose a child, and I know that the whole House is in sympathy with those who do experience such a tragedy each year; sadly, thousands of families do.

We have put in place a piece of cross-Government work to look at the whole question of how we can improve support for bereaved parents in a variety of ways. That work is being led by the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (Dr Lee), who has responsibility for youth justice. We are already supporting the private Member’s Bill on parental bereavement promoted by my hon. Friend the Member for Thirsk and Malton (Kevin Hollinrake). We are making it easier for parents to apply for financial support, and we are also ensuring that support from across Government is brought together so that it is easily accessible for bereaved parents at what we know is a very difficult time.

[Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)]

Q7. Will the Prime Minister join me in praising the work of community transport providers such as CT4TC—Community Transport for Town and Country—in Amber Valley that provide services right around the country? Will she intervene to sort out the threat to the permit they use as not-for-profit providers, which threatens their services? In the meantime, will she issue guidance to confirm that there is no need for local councils to take enforcement action until that consultation is complete?

[The Prime Minister]

We strongly believe that community transport operators provide vital services connecting people and communities and reducing isolation. A number of weeks ago I was very pleased to visit and take a ride on one of the Wokingham Borough community buses that services part of my constituency. The Department for Transport remains committed to supporting community transport operators and has no intention of ending the permit system. To support that, DFT has recently written to all local authorities in Great Britain to explain how they can comply with the regulations without negatively impacting on operators and passengers.

European Council

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Nigel Mills

Monday 23rd October 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I used the phrase that we were within touching distance of a deal in relation to the citizens’ rights issue, and I have just indicated in response to my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond) that there are a number of issues still on the table, but I think we can see where we can go to ensure that we get that deal and that agreement. The Government are very clear on the position we have taken into the negotiations. I set it out in the Florence speech, and that is setting that vision for the future deep and special partnership. It is that vision that the European Union is now responding to.

[Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)]

I welcome the conclusions about the need to have a fair and effective tax system in which all companies across Europe pay their share of taxes. Did the Prime Minister have the chance to urge the EU to follow the progress we have made on more transparency for international companies, and will she commit to extending that to overseas owners of UK properties?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises an interesting point. We have made clear to the European Union the work that the UK has done on this in the past. There was a particular discussion on this issue in relation to the digital market, and also a recognition in the European Union, given what we have always said and the efforts that we have made in the past, that this is an issue that has to be looked at on a global scale and not just within the European Union.