Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill

Tonia Antoniazzi Excerpts

Committee stage
Monday 30th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Anna Firth]

I will not be troubling the Committee for much longer, so I will carry on and get through my speech.

I know that we are not debating the specifics of the current strikes today, but it is worth saying again that these wage demands are completely unaffordable. Indeed, if we were to cave in to all of the unions’ wage demands, we would be looking at a bill not far short of £30 billion a year. That would have a huge impact on inflation and cause a permanent increase in our cost of living. In effect, that would mean a pay cut for every single one of our constituents.

[Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab)]

In 2010 we had a Tory-Lib Dem coalition; that is when I became political and I now sit on these Benches. I was a teacher and it is because of the Lib Dem-Tory coalition that we are in this mess now. We cannot afford to give a 15% pay rise now, but does the hon. Lady not realise that if we had not had the cuts we have had throughout the 13 years that her party has been in government, we would not be where we are now?

[Anna Firth]

I do not agree with the hon. Lady. There have been some pay rises over that period. The hon. Lady forgets that. I have huge respect for people coming into the House from the teaching profession. My own mother was a teacher and she would never strike. The hon. Lady must remember that, when she came into the House, our public finances were in a state. It is a long time ago, but, none the less, the reality was that there was no money.

Newport Wafer Fab

Tonia Antoniazzi Excerpts

Monday 21st November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

We welcome inward investment into this country. We have one of the most open provisions for inward investment of any country in the world, and one of the most open economies, so there is no reason beyond this decision for people to over-interpret what has happened here. This is a specific set of circumstances under a specific final order. There should not be a read-across. I can perhaps reassure my hon. Friend’s constituents, through her, that this decision does not form any kind of change in their relationship.

[Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab)]

Is the Secretary of State concerned that the highly skilled employees at Nexperia Newport have threatened to walk out if the previous owner or an investment fund takes over ownership?

[Grant Shapps]

I have seen the reports that the hon. Member refers to. I do not want to get ahead of ourselves. In the next few weeks, Nexperia will provide its plan for the business, which we will come back to. I hear what she says, it is on the record and I am very conscious of her comments. In the end, it is of course a private business. The Government’s involvement is to look at the national security aspects of it, but as a Government we want to see good employers everywhere. In fact, we have backed five separate private Members’ Bills in this Session to improve the welfare of workers, and it is something that we take very seriously.

Employment (Allocation of Tips) Bill

Tonia Antoniazzi Excerpts

Committee stage
Wednesday 12th October 2022 Public Bill Committees

[Virginia Crosbie]

This House is at its best when people work together, and the Committee has been a shining example of that co-operation and collaboration. I thank all hon. Members who have been on this short Committee. As a Welsh MP, I am delighted that there are two other Welsh MPs, both of whom are women, on the Committee. Tourism is a key sector in Wales, contributing around 12% of all employment.

I thank those who contributed to the debate. My hon. Friend the Member for Dewsbury talked about his son Liam, who has had a very positive experience in the hospitality sector. The hon. Member for Glasgow East talked about a level playing field, and I congratulate him on his private Member’s Bill on neonatal care. The hon. Member for Glasgow South West talked about the support of the unions, and Kate Nicholls, who heads up UK Hospitality, has been very helpful with the Bill. My hon. Friend the Member for Blyth Valley talked about fairness, and my hon. Friend the Member for Cheadle talked about the importance of a PR campaign and whistleblowing.

This is an important Bill, which enshrines a right that seems evident to many consumers already, and I am sure hon. Members will agree that it is not right that business owners can keep part or all of the tips given in good faith to workers by customers who recognise the good service they have received.

[Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab)]

This is a great Bill that will give the hospitality sector the boost that it needs and provide people with security in their job. Does the hon. Lady agree that this is really needed, particularly in parts of Gower and her constituency of Ynys Môn, where we have such a shortage in hospitality?

[Virginia Crosbie]

I absolutely agree with the hon. Lady. This Bill is so important, and it is important that we can get these people back into the sector. Tourism and hospitality is one of the key sectors across the UK, but particularly in Wales.

Energy Security Strategy

Tonia Antoniazzi Excerpts

Tuesday 19th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

Absolutely. I always want to take the opportunity to commend the great work that my right hon. Friend did when she headed the Department, when I was Energy Minister. We are really continuing in that vein. The Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change and I will be delighted to meet her and her committee to discuss ideas that will give us security, affordability and sustainability.

[Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab)]

This morning, at the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, I was moved to tears listening to the chief executives of the energy companies telling us how horrific it is going to be for the public and vulnerable people to pay their bills. Now it will be fine and for the summer they will have increases, but in October it is going to be terrible. A short-term fix is not good enough—the people in this country deserve better. We deserve a long-term fix to our prices. The cost of living is extortionate, and the Secretary of State needs to help.

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

As I said in my statement, we are fully aware of the pressure on people’s household bills: it is a really, really extreme issue and we want to deal with it. I also said that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will look at the matter again in October and see whether measures are appropriate. The hon. Lady will know that the price cap is set in August, so there is still a long period before we can work out what it is. It is a matter for Ofgem, and we are waiting to see what level it is set at in August.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tonia Antoniazzi Excerpts

Tuesday 25th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

I am happy to meet the hon. Gentleman and his constituents and to work with officials to make progress.

[Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab)]

What recent steps he has taken with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to improve the enforcement of workplace health and safety laws.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Kwasi Kwarteng)]

Workplace health and safety is of critical importance, and I am in regular discussion with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on this and other issues.

[Tonia Antoniazzi]

If the Government are so committed to keeping workers safe throughout the pandemic, can the Secretary of State explain why they have not been able to protect workers at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea by putting in measures to keep them safe from covid-19?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

The hon. Member will appreciate that public health and guidance for safer working in Wales is a devolved matter, so she should certainly bring this up with her colleagues in the Welsh Government. Public Health Wales and the local authority, supported by the Health and Safety Executive, are working with the DVLA to ensure that there is appropriate protection.

Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Tonia Antoniazzi Excerpts

Tuesday 9th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab) [V]]

Having heard the Chancellor’s speech last week and having listened to the Prime Minister since the start of the pandemic, I can understand how some people in this country have been fooled into believing that the Government have their best interests at heart. Today I heard colleagues on the Government Benches acknowledge the need to address the vast economic inequality in the UK—but that was caused by a decade of Conservative financial mismanagement, so I welcome their comments.

I am concerned that the rhetoric of levelling up is just that. We know that the devil is always in the detail. For all the fanfare around the Budget, the money pledged is a drop in the ocean next to the billions cut from local authorities and local services over the past decade. For all the talk of moving Government jobs out of London, 750 jobs on an economic campus do not make up for the loss of over 30,000 civil service jobs across the United Kingdom—civil servants with experience and institutional knowledge, leaving in droves as they are increasingly undervalued. How can we hope to fix regional inequality when the opaque, centralised approach employed by the Government to distribute those funds pits region against region? If levelling up means the Chancellor picking out his favourite blue pen and colouring in just Conservative-held areas, it smacks of the timocracy that has come to define this Government’s attitude. We are told that the Government are driven by a desire to level up, but their actions are led not by evidence, but by ideology.

We see that too with the freeports. English freeports are receiving £26 million each, whereas Wales has been offered only £8 million. That glaring disparity exposes the fact that levelling up is more of a slogan than a true ambition. On top of that, if Liverpool and Bristol become freeports, that will have a major impact on Holyhead and ports across south Wales. This myopic approach to spending, which seems to target positive headlines, not economic prosperity, puts jobs and industry at risk.

Will the Minister ensure that funding is distributed in a way that grows the economy, creating and preserving jobs throughout the United Kingdom, not just England, and ensure that freeports are not introduced at the expense of existing and successful places? It is a failing of this Tory Government not to understand and respect devolution. To move our countries forward, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor need to understand that and work collaboratively with our devolved Governments, not against them. We need the levelling up of the entire United Kingdom.

To conclude, will the Government rise above their petty, power-grab, bully-boy tactics and provide parity in their levelling-up agenda for the whole United Kingdom?

Oral Answers to Questions

Tonia Antoniazzi Excerpts

Tuesday 9th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Amanda Solloway]

My hon. Friend has been a huge champion for Scottish textiles, and we are working hard to de-escalate the dispute and get punitive tariffs removed. Either I or the Secretary of State would be very happy to meet him and representatives from the textile sector in his constituency. I know that the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Scully)—the Minister for small business—continues to engage with stakeholders from across the retail and consumer goods sector.

[Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab)]

What recent steps he has taken to strengthen and update his Department's guidance to employers on covid-secure working.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Paul Scully)]

We keep the safer workplaces guidance under continuous review. Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive advise that the guidance remains robust on the basis of current scientific advice.

[Tonia Antoniazzi [V]]

The answer that the Minister has given does not reflect the situation facing a lot of my constituents who work at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Swansea. If the Government themselves cannot put in place suitable infrastructure to protect employees and substantially change their practices at the DVLA, how can they expect other companies to do so? Will he commit to speaking to his Secretary of State about the issue?

[Paul Scully]

I regularly speak to the Secretary of State about such issues. In the event of a workplace outbreak, businesses should follow the advice outlined in their action card guidance, and that includes departments such as the DVLA. The guidance is designed by the Department of Health and Social Care for specific out- break situations, and businesses should contact their local PHE health protection team if necessary.

Employment Rights: Government Plans

Tonia Antoniazzi Excerpts

Monday 25th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab) [V]]

Today is the Welsh Valentine’s day, so I wish all key workers and everyone in the Chamber dydd Santes Dwynwen hapus.

So here we are, and what I am listening to is absolutely disgraceful. Workers in this country are facing the biggest crisis in generations, yet the Government have decided to strip away the rights of those key workers who are keeping this country going, and we know that those with low paid jobs are going to lose out the most. Managers, directors and, yes, even Members of Parliament like us will not be the big losers in any erosion of employment rights. It will be those on zero-hour contracts, those at the beginning of their careers and, as usual, women who will be disproportionately affected.

The Prime Minister proudly told us that he would not do anything to undermine workers’ rights, yet here we are facing a shake-up of the protections that are in place to defend workers and consumers from unsafe situations. Earlier this evening, I heard the Secretary of State say that his Government’s record stood for itself. Well, if we want to catch a glimpse of what we can expect from this Government, we need look no further than how they treat their own workers—yes, their own civil servants at the DVLA offices in Swansea. During the first lockdown, my office was contacted by numerous constituents complaining that they had family members shielding and they were at high risk themselves, but during this lockdown the situation has escalated. Since September 2020, 535 cases of covid-19 have been recorded among DVLA staff, sparking an outbreak in the call centre that has been declared an incident across all other sites of the DVLA.

I have been inundated with calls since the news broke on a weekend, and before. Many people are petrified of going into work there, but they have all asked for anonymity because they are scared of a backlash from senior management if it is found out that they have complained. This is the senior management team that would not engage with the local health protection team. It is incredible that a formal notice under regulation 8 of the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (Wales) Regulations 2020 had to be given in order to get the DVLA management to co-operate with the incident management team. Even this evening, I am receiving messages about this. This is utterly shocking behaviour from one of the biggest employers in Swansea, and that employer is this Government. This is a Government agency that is treating its staff in a wholly unacceptable way. That is unacceptable, but thanks to the First Minister in Wales, the PCS and other agencies, it is being dealt with—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

Order. The hon. Lady has exceeded her time. I am wondering whether people who are participating virtually know that there is a clock on their screen. I hope that they can see it, because three of the last five speakers have spoken past their three minutes. I hope that the system is working. If by any chance it is not, I hope that someone will tell the broadcasting team.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tonia Antoniazzi Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Alok Sharma]

I recognise the difficulty that the hospitality sector faces. Of course we want to ensure that, as we come out of the national restriction on 2 December, businesses move into the tiered areas, and I hope that some business will be able to reopen. However, it is worth pointing out that pubs and restaurants can continue to operate as takeaways and support is available, including grants of up to £3,000 per month, as well as additional support through the £1.1 billion funded to local authorities.

[Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab)]

The Post Office Horizon scandal may well be the largest miscarriage of justice in our history, with over 900 false prosecutions destroying lives, families and reputations. Does the Minister agree that a judge-led inquiry into the scandal is the only way many sub-postmasters will be satisfied?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Paul Scully)]

That is exactly why we appointed Sir Wyn Williams, a former judge, to lead the inquiry. I really hope that representatives of the sub-postmasters will take time to meet him, in order to become familiar with his approach. He has outlined his engagement strategy and we really want to see justice and answers as soon as possible.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tonia Antoniazzi Excerpts

Tuesday 21st July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

What plans he has to promote a green recovery from the covid-19 outbreak.

[Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab)]

What plans he has to promote a green recovery from the covid-19 outbreak.

[The Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth (Kwasi Kwarteng)]

The Prime Minister has made clear our intention to build back greener. We are taking action to deliver on that commitment, including through a commitment of over £3 billion to reduce emissions from our buildings across the UK, £800 million to promote carbon capture from power stations and industry, and a further £100 million being invested in R&D in direct air capture technologies.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

As the hon. Lady knows, we are absolutely committed to creating green-collar jobs. Today, we have 460,000 of those jobs across the UK; by 2030, we have stated our commitment to have 2 million such jobs. No one can deny our commitment to creating green jobs. I would further add that we are also committed to making the UK a science superpower, and we will make innovation central to our green recovery. That is absolutely front and centre of what the Government are trying to do.

[Tonia Antoniazzi]

Commenting on his own report back in 2017, Charles Hendry said,

“the evidence is clear that tidal lagoons can play a cost effective role in the UK’s energy mix”.

This Government still have not managed to back the oven-ready pathfinder tidal energy project in Swansea bay. When will they recognise the opportunities, the new green jobs and the inward investment support that tidal power can bring to Swansea, Wales and the rest of the UK?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

We are absolutely committed, as the hon. Lady knows, to tidal power and all forms of marine power. There was a specific issue with the Swansea bay tidal lagoon project, which was that it was felt not to be economical. That was a specific, project-based, single incidence where we did not feel that it was value for taxpayers’ money.