Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Julian Knight

Tuesday 1st October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Member for Solihull (Julian Knight), the House will want to know, is a former money and property editor of The Independent and a very distinguished fellow, I am sure.

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

I am sure whatever cachet I had has now been completely ruined; thank you, Mr Speaker. There are reports that the Government are looking at bringing forward the date of the banning of diesel and petrol cars. Does the Chancellor share my concerns about the fiscal damage of lower new car sales, the lack of electric car infrastructure and the negligible impact that such a virtue-signalling move will have on emissions?

Flybmi

Debate between John Bercow and Julian Knight

Monday 18th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The Minister is answering the question and there is quite a lot of sedentary chuntering on both sides, and no shortage of gesticulation, either. I am sure that Mr Knight will now behave with his usual statesmanlike reserve.

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Minister is clearly deeply concerned about this collapse and the wider issues affecting aviation across Europe. Will she assure the House that she will do everything she can to support our regional airports— Birmingham airport, despite its successes, is running at 35% capacity—because they are so important to our country and our regional economic diversity?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Julian Knight

Wednesday 12th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I say to the hon. Gentleman, whose mellifluous tones we listened to only a few moments ago, that I am very happy to entertain a point of order, but that it should come after the urgent question. I am sure he will retain the thrust of it in his head and he will share it with the House in due course. We will await that with eager anticipation, but not until we have had the urgent question from Emily Thornberry.

Points of Order

Debate between John Bercow and Julian Knight

Wednesday 12th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The wait is over. A few days ago, a senior Labour Member of Parliament addressed a public meeting in my constituency relating to the relocation of a post office—a very sensitive public matter. I will not name the MP in question, but I would like your guidance please, Sir, on the correct procedure for Members in terms of when they should or should not show the courtesy of letting a sitting Member of Parliament know.

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his point of order. The answer is straightforward: it is a long-standing convention in this House that a Member visiting the constituency of another Member in a political or public capacity should notify the Member whose constituency is to be visited. If the visit is of a purely private character, for example, going to lunch or dinner at somebody’s house in that Member’s constituency, the obligation does not apply. I am bound to say to him, and I am sorry that he is obviously highly dissatisfied about this, that this is a recurrent complaint from Members on both sides of the House and I hope that, in the interests of the House as a whole, Members on both sides would honour the convention. [Interruption.] The hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr Skinner) says from a sedentary position, “Who was it?”. Well, the hon. Member for Solihull (Julian Knight) has not named the Member. I think that he is focused on the principle rather than the personality. It seems to me that the principle applies regardless of who the personality is. However, if the hon. Member for Bolsover is particularly keen to know the identity of the person concerned, he can always have a cup of tea with the hon. Gentleman, although he may think that that is a step too far.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Julian Knight

Tuesday 6th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I do not think we have heard from Mr Knight.

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

This morning, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association released research demonstrating that all 270 new-generation diesel vehicles tested to date are below the emissions threshold on the road. In the light of this, will the Treasury team meet me and other colleagues to discuss how we can construct a road tax system that promotes clean diesel over old diesel and protects 9,000 jobs in my constituency?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Julian Knight

Thursday 26th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Julian Knight]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his tireless work in this area on behalf of his constituents. The NAO conducts investigations to establish the underlying facts and circumstances where concerns have been raised. Investigations are not evaluative and do not seek to provide a conclusion on value for money. The report was focused on the concerns that had been raised. However, the report does comment on the costs and benefits of the three cancelled electrification projects and the case for electrification more generally. In the Secretary of State’s announcement in July 2017, he explained that projects were cancelled on the basis that it was no longer necessary to electrify every line to deliver passenger benefits. The NAO investigation says that it was too early to tell whether the promised benefits could be achieved without full electrification. When the Secretary of State made his decision to cancel electrification, the Department told the NAO that it expected the manufacturers to be able to develop bi-mode trains that would deliver the required service improvements on the midland main line.

[Mr Speaker]

We are all now considerably better informed, and we are grateful for that.

Personal Independence Payment

Debate between John Bercow and Julian Knight

Tuesday 23rd January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Julian Knight.

[Julian Knight]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I had a one-in-two chance.

I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to her place and welcome her talk of engagement. Will she commit to providing specific guidance to MPs’ offices and council contact centres at the earliest possible opportunity?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Julian Knight

Thursday 14th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The comprehensive character of what the Secretary of State had to say was such that I excluded the hon. Member for Solihull (Julian Knight), and he might be feeling discriminated against, which would be a sadness. So before we hear from the hon. Member for West Bromwich East, we shall hear from Mr Knight—let’s hear it man.

[Julian Knight]

It will be worth waiting for.

The west midlands creative industry punches well above its weight, yet over the years we have seen poor investment from the BBC and, to a lesser extent, ITV. Is there not a great opportunity for Channel 4 to make use of our diverse communities and talent, blaze a trail, and relocate to the west midlands?

[Karen Bradley]

I would not wish to say where might be a suitable location for Channel 4, but I have been clear that I do want Channel 4 to make more of a contribution to the nations and regions of the United Kingdom. I will be publishing the responses to my consultation on the contribution that Channel 4 can make to the nations and regions, and I am sure that the board of Channel 4 will have heard my hon. Friend’s suggestion of the west midlands and will take that into consideration.

Energy Price Cap

Debate between John Bercow and Julian Knight

Monday 3rd July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Julian Smith. I mean Julian Knight.

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

I did not think that I could have been behind someone else, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

You are not a senior Government Whip, Sir, but at least you are a Knight.

[Julian Knight]

I was a BBC News consumer affairs reporter for five years, and during that time I saw the havoc that can be wrought by pre-payment metering. Does my right hon. Friend agree that practices such as rip-off emergency credit, which makes a payday loan look reasonable, need to be brought to heel, and that we should welcome Ofgem’s proposal to extend the current safeguard tariff for consumers on pre-payment meters?

[Greg Clark]

It can only be a matter of time before my hon. Friend enjoys the position to which you referred, Mr Speaker.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It has been the practice of this Government to intervene when there are abuses, especially of vulnerable people in the way in which he describes. That has happened with pre-payment meters, but the approach needs to go much further.

National Funding Formula: Schools/High Needs

Debate between John Bercow and Julian Knight

Wednesday 14th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Wishing the fellow a full recovery, I call Mr Julian Knight.

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I welcome both the substance and the tone of the statement. Schools in Solihull receive £1,300 a year less per pupil than those in nearby Birmingham. As a result, we lose teachers to Birmingham. Will the Secretary of State assure me that at least some of that unfairness will be addressed during this Parliament?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Julian Knight

Tuesday 25th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I wish the hon. Member for Solihull (Julian Knight) a speedy recovery. He may ask his question from his seat.

[Julian Knight (Solihull) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Chancellor will be well aware that the west midlands has a trade surplus with China, thanks to Jaguar Land Rover in Solihull and wider manufacturing. On their visits to BRIC nations, previous Chancellors have been keen to trumpet business in the northern powerhouse. Will this Chancellor help the cogs of the midlands engine to turn by taking west midlands businesses with him on future visits?