Business of the House

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Thursday 15th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

Any job losses of the type that the hon. Gentleman has described are to be regretted, but he will surely welcome the fact that unemployment in Scotland has fallen significantly since this Government took office and that more people are in work in the United Kingdom today than ever before.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Can the Leader of the House say when the Parliamentary Constituencies (Amendment) Bill will get its money resolution and move into Committee? If he cannot, will he say why?

[Mr Lidington]

As I said at business questions last week, the Bill’s promoter did not publish it until three days before its Second Reading was due to be debated. No estimate or description of costs was provided with the Bill, and the Government are now having to undertake that analytical work.

Business of the House

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Thursday 24th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

The Chancellor was very clear yesterday that the triple lock is going to remain in place for the duration of this Government’s lifetime. At the next general election, in 2020, it will be for all political parties to put forward whatever proposals they wish on pensions, as on anything else. The biggest threat to the wellbeing of pensioners in Scotland would come from a vote for separation, which would plunge Scotland into the kind of economic instability where pensioners and others relying on fixed incomes would be likely to lose out heavily.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

People living close to recreational airfields such as Hibaldstow do not have the same protection from noise and nuisance as people living close to recreational activities that stay on the ground. May we have a statement from the Department for Communities and Local Government on this issue, its impact on local people and what the Department is going to do about it?

[Mr Lidington]

I refer the hon. Gentleman to DCLG questions next Monday, and I hope he is lucky in attracting your eye, Mr Speaker.

Business of the House

Nic Dakin Excerpts

1st reading: House of Commons
Thursday 13th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

I will certainly draw the Justice Secretary’s attention to the point my hon. Friend has made, but I would just add this: all but a very small number of prisoners are going to be released one day, either at the end of the sentence or on life licence. It is not unreasonable, in the context of people who are approaching the end of a sentence, to be looking at ways in which to make it possible for them to adjust to society outside prison and to earn a living, take family responsibility and, hopefully, pursue a better path at that point. Where my hon. Friend is absolutely right is that such a step needs to be looked at in the context of overall sentence planning, and should not be a way in which to soften the necessity for the punitive aspect of a prison sentence, which the public rightly expect judges and the Prison Service to see enforced.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

In response to the crisis in the steel industry, the Government produced some better procurement guidelines. It would appear that those have not yet reached the Ministry of Defence, which is using French steel to build Trident submarines. May we have a statement by the Business Secretary on how those procurement guidelines are affecting the steel industry in a positive way and how he will move the Ministry of Defence’s marks up from E minus to alpha plus?

[Mr Lidington]

We do source British steel wherever possible, but in this case there was no viable UK bid for the specialised steel required for this particular part of the Successor submarine manufacture. Other stages of construction will include steel that British suppliers can support, and we expect them to take the opportunity to bid. As with every major Government procurement, we are working hard to ensure that, where we can, we source British steel. We expect about 85% of the BAE Systems supply chain for the new submarines to be based in the UK.

Business of the House

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Thursday 26th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Dr Coffey]

I am not aware of any plans for that. The country has a really important decision to make on 23 June. This Government and Parliament will listen to the decision of the people and act in due course. My hon. Friend and I are on different sides of the argument, but I am sure that he will come back on 27 June and work alongside Government Members to progress the important measures in the Queen’s Speech, which will help this country in the future.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

May we have a statement on the responsibilities of local councils to protect green open spaces in their ownership—such as that on the ex-Brumby hospital site in Scunthorpe—when they develop their own landholdings?

[Dr Coffey]

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point, and it is important that guidelines in the national planning policy framework are enforced. Ministers from the Department for Communities and Local Government will be answering questions on the first day back after the recess, and he may wish to raise the issue with them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Thursday 3rd March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Whittingdale]

As I said to the hon. Member for Rochdale (Simon Danczuk), I expect all social media companies to comply with the law without any unnecessary delay. If there is evidence that they are delaying, I am happy to discuss the matter with my colleagues in the Home Office and to consider what more can be done.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

9. What steps he is taking to bring about the completion of the EU digital single market with regard to telecoms, audio visual policy, IT security and data protection.

[The Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

This Government are a great champion of the digital single market, and I know that all colleagues will have read the Prime Minister’s excellent White Paper. It means, for example, that people will no longer pay roaming charges when travelling across the EU, and once the digital single market is in place, we will see a huge increase in our GDP.

[Nic Dakin]

According to the No. 10 website, we could create £325 billion of additional growth by fostering a digital single market, and it points to the advantages of that for consumers. Given that, why would anybody campaign to leave the EU rather than energetically work to get the best deal for the UK?

[Mr Vaizey]

Why indeed would anyone want to leave the EU? We present a united front in this House on the benefits of EU membership.

Business of the House

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Thursday 25th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

The overall framework for economic success and for funding in Scotland rests with the SNP. The interesting thing about the fiscal framework this week is that the SNP Government will have to take decisions in the future about getting the right balance between lower taxes and public spending, and they will find that it is a whole lot more difficult than they think.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Farmers in my constituency tell me that the basic payments scheme has delivered late and is somewhat chaotic. May we have a statement from the Secretary of State on the performance of the Rural Payments Agency?

[Chris Grayling]

I am very happy to draw the Secretary of State’s attention to the hon. Gentleman’s concerns. If he would like to write with specific details and examples, that will make it easier for Ministers to look into what is going wrong.

Business of the House

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Thursday 4th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

Let me begin by wishing my hon. Friend a very happy birthday, probably on behalf of all of us. She is still a very powerful advocate for the fishing industry and the communities that she represents. The Fisheries Minister is, of course, a neighbour of hers, but I will ensure that he is made aware of the point that she has raised. It is a matter of great concern to our fishing communities that such matters are dealt with properly and the rules are followed. We should certainly take action when they are not.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

I welcome the announcement that DONG Energy is to proceed with Hornsea Project One. May we have a statement on how the project can be used to assist the development of the South Humber bank, and how the Government will use their new procurement guidelines to ensure that UK steel is used in that development?

[Chris Grayling]

We are anxious to ensure that UK steel is used in UK projects. As the hon. Gentleman will know, many of the big infrastructure projects are using it, and we will continue to work to ensure that that happens. We want the sector to be developed on Humberside; it is already a very important part of the local economy. There will be questions on this very subject next Thursday, and I suggest that the hon. Gentleman raise it with the relevant Minister then.

Business of the House

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Thursday 7th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

The hon. Gentleman talks about the UK Government’s silence. It is, of course, not the job of the UK Government to take decisions about prosecutions. We have looked at these issues very closely and worked with the United States on them. The Transport Secretary takes this matter very seriously. If the hon. Gentleman feels the need to bring this matter to the House further, he should talk to the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee and try to secure a debate in the near future.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

If the EU were to confer market economy status on communist China, it would cause a detrimental threat to UK steel jobs. May we have a statement in the House to update us on the discussions in Europe on this matter and on the Government’s position?

[Chris Grayling]

The hon. Gentleman will have the opportunity to raise that matter on Tuesday, because the Foreign Secretary will be here to take questions. I encourage him to put that point to the Foreign Secretary.

Business of the House

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Thursday 3rd December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

Of course, we thought long and hard about that. We believed that the time set aside—10 and a half hours yesterday as part of about 20 hours of debate and questions over nine days—seven business days in the House— was the right balance. It was open to any Member, to the Labour party, to the Scottish National party and to Back Benchers to table an amendment to the business motion if they disagreed with us. Nobody chose to do so.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Last week I drew the attention of the Leader of the House to the Business Secretary’s commitment to report on the three working groups that he set up at the steel summit and the actions that they are going to take urgently to support the steel industry in this country. The Leader of the House helpfully said that he would take that up with his right hon. Friend. We are running out of time. I have heard nothing. I hope we still have the opportunity for the Business Secretary to come to the House and report on progress.

Business of the House

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Thursday 26th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

At the national steel summit in Rotherham, the Business Secretary promised that the three working groups that he had set up would report back before Christmas on the actions to be taken on steel. May we have a statement so that the Business Secretary can report to the House on the progress that is being made?

[Chris Grayling]

I will remind the Business Secretary about that commitment. We all take the future of the steel industry immensely seriously, and yesterday’s statement contained provisions on high energy users and energy costs. We realise that there is a lot to do, and I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the Business Secretary and members of the Business, Innovation and Skills ministerial team take the issue immensely seriously.