The Growth Plan

Debate between Tim Farron and Kwasi Kwarteng

Friday 23rd September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

The childcare issue has been raised many times and I am looking forward to a subsequent statement from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education. That is clearly an issue that can unlock growth and enable people to go out and earn money to protect their families. That is really important.

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

Surely the Chancellor understands that the cut in stamp duty will do nothing to help 99% of people who cannot quite afford their own homes? It will do huge amounts to incentivise people who want second, third, fourth or fifth homes in my constituency in Cumbria or in other rural parts of Britain. Does he not realise the damage that excessive second home ownership and non-permanently-occupied dwellings do to communities such as mine and those in Cornwall, Northumberland and the rest of the country? Will he listen to rural Britain, stop backing second home owners and back our communities instead?

Storm Arwen

Debate between Tim Farron and Kwasi Kwarteng

Wednesday 1st December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

My hon. Friend will know that this is a matter of grave concern and focus for the Government. He will also appreciate that Electricity North West has done a reasonable job in restoring power to 95% of people affected, but clearly we want to work harder to make sure that those 6,000 or 7,000 people who are still off the grid can get their power back as soon as possible.

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

I, too, send my condolences and pay my respects to those who have lost their life in such awful circumstances, in particular to the family of the man who passed away in Ambleside on Friday. At least 7,000 homes in my constituency have been without power for between three and five nights. I am immensely proud of the way that people in our community have stood up to support one another and their neighbours—they know who they are. I am also grateful to those working on the ground for Electricity North West to try to fix the problem as soon as possible.

In my communities and elsewhere in Cumbria, thousands are still without power. They feel forgotten, but they have not been, I hope, by many hon. Members here. Places such as Killington, Garsdale, parts of Coniston, Orrest Head, Ayside, High Newton, Low Newton, Witherslack, Hincaster, Lambrigg, Bowston, Hutton Roof, Crook, Outgate, Haverthwaite, Spark Bridge, Backbarrow, the outskirts of Windermere and others are facing a sixth night without power. Some people are being told that their connection will not be fixed until 8 December—this time next week.

The hardship caused, particularly to the elderly and other vulnerable people is unthinkable, which is why it is massively disappointing that it took until Wednesday for a Minister to come to the House to address the issue. It is not too late for the Government to act, however, so I ask the Secretary of State to task the Army to provide support to the engineers on the ground in Cumbria to speed up fixing the problem; to then use the Army to ensure that the most vulnerable are contacted and moved to emergency accommodation today; and to ensure that every affected community in Cumbria is given generators to provide at least a temporary fix today so that no one has to spend a sixth night in the cold.

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

We are contacting local resilience forums, listening to them and getting guidance from them as to how best to tackle the situation on the ground. The hon. Gentleman will appreciate that Electricity North West has already provided 150 generators. We will task it to see what more can be done to alleviate the extreme stress and challenging situation that many of his constituents face.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tim Farron and Kwasi Kwarteng

Tuesday 16th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

I am delighted to see my hon. Friend, who I accompanied in her constituency shortly after her stunning victory in 2019. She will know that I and the Department are fully committed to ensuring that we have increased ambitions. We are always looking to increase our ambitions.

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

I welcome what the Secretary of State says about wind power—we are proud in Cumbria to be at the heart of offshore wind—but does that not contrast negatively with the Government still sitting on the fence about commissioning a new coalmine in west Cumbria? Given the incredibly disappointing outcome on coal from COP26, is this not a moment for the UK Government to take a lead and say that the coalmine will not open?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

First, the hon. Gentleman will understand that the coalmine is a matter of an independent planning decision. Secondly, I completely deny his assertion that somehow COP26 was a failure. It was not. It was a great success, thanks to the COP26 President, my right hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Alok Sharma). Huge commitments were made, which everyone is supporting.