European Council

Vicky Ford Excerpts

Monday 18th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The purpose of the implementation period is to ensure that businesses and individuals do not have to make two sets of changes because of a new relationship that is put in place as part of our future partnership with the EU. That is why, as we look at the implementation period, I and the Government are clear that although we will be formally out of the customs union and the single market, we expect to be able to operate on the same terms as we currently do. That is what limits the ability to implement new trade deals elsewhere.

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

I congratulate the Prime Minister and the entire negotiating team on the progress made to date. However, given that leaving the EU without a deep and special relationship on trade and security would also bring risk, does she agree that we should be using all our political energy in the months ahead to find that new relationship and that we should not get distracted by other squabbles?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Government’s focus will clearly be on ensuring that we can negotiate that deep and special partnership for the future. That is not just in our interests; it is in the interests of the EU and the EU27 as well. That is why I am optimistic and ambitious about the trade deal that we can achieve.

Brexit Negotiations

Vicky Ford Excerpts

Monday 11th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We will get the legislation when we have agreed the details that are required to have that withdrawal agreement. The European Commission negotiator, Michel Barnier, has said that he wants to achieve that detailed withdrawal agreement by October next year.

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

I congratulate the Prime Minister on a very detailed agreement. Paragraph 73 says that the UK

“may wish to participate in some Union budgetary programmes…post-2020”

as a third country. Is it likely that those programmes could include co-operation on the three S’s—security, scientific research and student exchanges?

Oral Answers to Questions

Vicky Ford Excerpts

Wednesday 6th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I intend to speak to President Trump about this matter, but our position has not changed—as the right hon. Gentleman says, it has been a long-standing one. It is also a very clear one: the status of Jerusalem should be determined in a negotiated settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and Jerusalem should ultimately form a shared capital between the Israeli and Palestinian states. We continue to support a two-state solution. We recognise the importance of Jerusalem and our position on that has not changed.

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

Today, GlaxoSmithKline joined Merck, AstraZeneca and many other companies and charities investing in British bioscience genetics. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this investment in science and research underpins not only jobs but a revolution in medical treatment, which will save lives and give hope to many patients for new treatments?

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. She has highlighted a very important sector for the United Kingdom, and I welcome the investment to which she has referred. That is why this sector is one of the sectors that have been given such significance in the industrial strategy that my right hon. Friend the Business Secretary has published. It is exactly an area where we see benefits in the form not only of investment and jobs in the UK, but, as she says, of improving the treatments available for patients and of improving their lives.

European Council

Vicky Ford Excerpts

Monday 23rd October 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I have already said at this Dispatch Box that the Treasury has set aside £250 million this year to be spent across Government Departments on preparing contingencies for every eventuality.

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

I congratulate the Prime Minister on the great progress and change in tone of the negotiations. I particularly thank her for the progress that has been made on the citizens’ rights issue. Will she give us more detail on the areas where agreement has been cemented?

[The Prime Minister]

There are a number of areas where agreement has been reached, such as payments on pensions and healthcare arrangements for both EU citizens here in the UK and UK citizens in the EU. There are a small number of areas where we have yet to reach agreement but, as I said in my statement, it is clear from both sides—from the UK and from Michel Barnier and the European Union—that we can see the shape of that deal and that we are within touching distance of getting there.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vicky Ford Excerpts

Wednesday 18th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

Of course, the medical aid and support that is going in is critical, because there are cases involving children, and parasites and diseases have really taken hold. Psycho-social care is now being put in place through many of the partners that I met just last week, including the Disasters Emergency Committee and other aid charities. A great deal of work is taking place, but there is much more to do in the light of the hundreds of thousands of people who are currently fleeing for their lives.

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

Many British scientists are leading collaborative research projects with partners around the world on diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV. Does the Minister agree that it is important that Britain continues to collaborate on science and research after we leave the EU?

[Alistair Burt]

As my hon. Friend would imagine, that is extremely important. From talking in Berlin last week to colleagues from throughout the EU and elsewhere about research collaboration, I was left in no doubt that those involved in the research and science community see every chance that we will continue to co-operate internationally, whether or not we remain in the EU.

UK Plans for Leaving the EU

Vicky Ford Excerpts

Monday 9th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady is right to suggest that when we leave the European Union one of the aspects of leaving it will be leaving the common fisheries policy. Of course, we will need to consider the arrangements that we want to put in place here in the United Kingdom for the operation of our coastal waters and the operation of fishing around them.

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

I thank the Prime Minister for the positive tone of her Florence speech, and for the constructive meetings that have taken place since then. Does she agree that it is in the interests of consumers on both sides of the channel for us to have a deep, special and bespoke partnership that covers goods and services? In that regard, I am thinking particularly of the hundreds and thousands of German consumers who have bought life insurance products from British insurance companies, and who will find that unless there is agreement, their pension plan savings are lost.

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend has made an important point. People often assume that only UK businesses and UK individuals will be affected, but actually people living in the remaining 27 countries of the European Union will also be affected, which is precisely why I think that the deep and special partnership to which my hon. Friend has referred is in the interests of both sides.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vicky Ford Excerpts

Wednesday 19th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I understand that Epsom and St Helier Trust is indeed seeking views on future specialist care at the trust, and on how the existing buildings can be improved. I also understand that the discussions are at an early stage, that no final decisions have been made, and that any proposals for major service change will be subject to a full public consultation.

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

Not only has the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that we have the narrowest income gaps for a decade, but the Office for National Statistics has said that Britain has some of the lowest levels of persistent poverty in Europe. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is right that this country is governed by the true facts and not by fake news, and that this Government are committed to building a strong economy for all?

[The Prime Minister]

Let me start by welcoming my hon. Friend to the Chamber. She is absolutely right: we owe it to our constituents—we owe it to the public—to ensure that when we debate these issues we debate them on the basis of the facts, and not on the basis of the sort of fake news that we hear all too often in the Chamber.

Grenfell Tower

Vicky Ford Excerpts

Thursday 22nd June 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I point out to the hon. Gentleman that the recommendation was that the Department

“encourage providers of housing in high rise residential buildings containing multiple domestic premises to consider the retro fitting of sprinkler systems.”

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

May I ask my right hon. Friend whether the inquiry will look at the safety of tall buildings in which people work as well as those in which people live?

[The Prime Minister]

I think it is important that when the inquiry looks at the implications of the fire, it assesses them for all tall buildings, not just those in which people live. Indeed, we are ensuring that we consider other tall buildings that might have been clad in a similar way, which might not be residential properties but used for other purposes.

Debate on the Address

Vicky Ford Excerpts

Wednesday 21st June 2017 Commons Chamber

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

It is a huge honour to be elected to represent the people of Chelmsford and to make my maiden speech in this debate on the Queen’s Speech. In the diamond jubilee year, Her Majesty chose Chelmsford to be a new city, and we are deeply grateful to the Queen. On behalf of the people of Chelmsford, I should like to offer her our sincerest thanks.

Chelmsford is a brilliant city. Our city centre is full of stunning new shops and restaurants. We have many excellent new homes and many outstanding schools. In Chelmsford, we are very proud of our local hospital—it is just over the constituency boundary in Broomfield—and its burns unit is recognised for its excellence across the world. Our 24-hour A&E is a vital local service. I am pleased that the Queen’s Speech referred to the need to invest in our NHS and education, but also recognised that we need a strong economy to generate the income to pay for these services.

It is innovation that drives a modern economy. It is vital for competitiveness, and it delivers jobs and growth.

Chelmsford has a strong tradition of innovation. We are radio city. This is where Marconi chose to make his first radios and that heritage continues today, with the many local experts in wireless technology, including at e2v. Every time we see a photograph of our planet taken from outer space, the chances are that that picture was taken with a camera made in Chelmsford. We make the equipment that sends our digital communications from earth to the satellites in the sky and the same equipment that brings those messages back. Satellite technology is the fastest-growing sector in the global economy and the Queen’s Speech sets out our commitment to underpin its future in Britain.

I am glad that the Government will also propose new measures to unlock investment in infrastructure. People in Chelmsford spend too much time in traffic jams and on delayed trains. It is a waste of our personal time and it hampers the country’s productivity. A modern infrastructure is required for a modern economy.

Chelmsford was the birthplace of Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal. As Chief Justice in the 1840s, he first introduced a legal defence for those suffering from mental illness. I welcome the fact that the Queen’s Speech calls for further action to support those with mental health issues.

My predecessor, Sir Simon Burns, represented the people of Chelmsford for 30 years. He is deeply loved by many people locally. He chose to make his maiden speech in a debate on the topic of young people, opportunities and skills. Sir Simon would take great pride in the fact that, in the past seven years, over 4,700 people in Chelmsford have started apprenticeships and that in this Queen’s Speech we plan to introduce new T-levels for those who would prefer to follow technical, rather than academic, qualifications. In Chelmsford, we support both of these. The excellent Anglia Ruskin University celebrated its 25th birthday just last week. It wins awards for innovation, it is building a new medical school and planning a new biomedical cluster, and it leads collaborative research projects with many overseas.

The next two years are vital for the future of our country. Chelmsford voted 53:47 in the referendum and it is important that the terms of exit work for all.

Chelmsford’s railway station is one of the busiest in the country. We are just 30 minutes from Liverpool Street and many of my constituents work in financial services. It is vital for them that our ongoing trade with Europe continues to be in services as well as in goods.

Other key 21st-century sectors, such as medical innovation, the tech sector and advanced manufacturing, also prioritise access to the single market. Such access must be underpinned by the principles of mutual recognition, based on trust and co-operation. Those sectors also need continued exchanges of skills and talent, and ongoing co-operation in science and research.

A British Member of the European Parliament has chaired the Internal Market Committee in the European Parliament ever since it was first established, right up to the night of my election to this House. As the most recent person to hold that post, I fully recognise that, since Britain voted to leave the EU, we must also establish a new and different relationship with the single market. There is a vast amount of support from pragmatic and practical politicians across the continent who wish to help us to find a deep and positive long-term partnership. The talks will be complex. The trading relationship between the UK and the EU is not that of Norway, Switzerland or Canada’s relationship, and we cannot take an on-the-shelf model and cut and paste it into the UK-EU relationship, as economies on both sides of the channel would suffer.

There is a huge amount of detail to be agreed, not only on the terms of the exit, but on the long-term agreement and a transition that supports businesses and consumers in the interim. While we have many political friends, there are others who wish to disrupt these negotiations for their own political gain.

In Chelmsford, at the top of the High Street, near our beautiful cathedral, is the statue of the late Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal. The inscription tells us that his administration of English law was

“Directed by serene wisdom,

Animated by purest love of justice,

Endeared by unwearied kindness”.

May we all be graced by serene wisdom in these serious years ahead.