Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Selous and Jo Churchill

Monday 18th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

T8. The world’s biggest Lidl warehouse, in Houghton Regis, is not only half a kilometre long and can deliver 9,400 pallets a day; it is also creating 1,500 jobs. What specific help can Jobcentre Plus give to employers such as Lidl, which has a huge number of vacancies to fill in my constituency?

[Jo Churchill]

It is fantastic to hear of the job opportunities created by Lidl in South West Bedfordshire. I know my hon. Friend will be working hard with Lidl and his local jobcentre to make sure the vacancies are filled with local talent. Jobcentres can work closely with large employers, as I have recently seen at Morrisons, which has a specific neurodiversity pilot to bring people into the job market. The barriers that restrict neurodiverse people are often challenges around confidence and so on. Jobcentres are a brilliant force for good, and I recommend that everybody engages with them on bespoke schemes for neurodiversity or any other focus on tackling long-term unemployment.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Selous and Jo Churchill

Thursday 28th April 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jo Churchill]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on raising this issue. I have met companies that promote the use of reusable nappies. It is a great idea, and there are also schemes where people can rent and save money by doing so, and so on. All these things are well worth promoting, and I congratulate him on that. He is absolutely right that one of our biggest problems is trying to dispose of all those nappies. Making sure that they do not contaminate material that can be recycled is also hugely important, and all power to him.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

Can the Minister also update the House on when we are likely to ban plastic wet wipes, which not only pollute the environment, but can cause sewage overflows?

[Jo Churchill]

I am working with my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton Deane (Rebecca Pow) on this, because the challenge in sewers is acute with the build-up of wet wipes. As I say, we have recently conducted a consultation. That consultation has now finished. We are now reviewing the results, and we will be bringing forward more information shortly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Selous and Jo Churchill

Thursday 27th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous]

Will the Government ensure that the section 33 offence attracts a fixed penalty of at least £2,000, much more than the price of a skip? At the moment, it is a rational economic decision for people to fly-tip, albeit a horrendously antisocial one. The fixed penalty for the section 34 offence should also rise to £1,000, so that we can kill off the illegal waste industry that is turning parts of our beautiful country into a litter tip.

[Jo Churchill]

I could not agree more with my hon. Friend: fly-tipping blights our countryside and, as we heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), blights our towns. As I have said, we are taking robust action. We need to ensure that those fixed penalty notices are high enough to act as a deterrent, that more serious offences can be prosecuted, and that courts can hand down fines in excess of the fixed penalty notice should the offence be sufficiently serious. We are producing a new guide on how to present robust prosecutions, which should support tougher sentences, and digital waste tracking—the reform to waste carriers, brokers and dealers—will allow householders to know where their waste is going and that their contractor is legitimate and transparent. We must do more about this offence, which blights all our constituencies.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Selous and Jo Churchill

Thursday 28th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Jo Churchill]

There are many local initiatives going on. The nitrogen dioxide plan, which I spoke about earlier, is the key to driving down emissions, and we are working with the Department for Transport on that. People using their cars less in the city centre and the promotion of cycling and walking in a beautiful city such as York would obviously enhance the city for all its tourists. I am sure that the city of York, the tourist board and indeed everybody would be pleased to see that.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

5. What steps he is taking to support sustainable farming.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Selous and Jo Churchill

Tuesday 13th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con)]

What steps he plans to take to ensure a level playing field between online and mainstream broadcasters in the implementation of the proposed advertisement ban on foods high in fat, sugar and salt before 9 pm.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Jo Churchill)]

We have made clear our intention to end the advertising of high fat, salt and sugar products on television before 9 pm. We recently held a short consultation on how to introduce advertising restrictions for online and we will publish our response soon. A level playing field, however, is important. I want to make it easy for everyone to be healthy.

[Andrew Selous [V]]

Does the Minister agree that ending junk food marketing online is hardly an outrageous assault on our freedoms, would remove 12.5 billion calories a year from children’s diets, and would allow advertisers and food companies to make plenty of money from producing and marketing healthy food?

[Jo Churchill]

Indeed I do. We are not banning food. It is very important that we make the environment right to ensure that people can make the healthy choice as a default option and enjoy a healthy balanced diet where they have the full knowledge and understanding of what they are purchasing. I think this is actually a great opportunity for companies.

Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs) Bill (First sitting)

Debate between Andrew Selous and Jo Churchill

Committee Debate: 1st sitting: House of Commons
Tuesday 8th November 2016 Public Bill Committees

[Andrew Selous]

Q The actual question I want to ask follows on from Ms Churchill’s question. What is your experience of how reasonable the NHS is when dealing with you on the sort of quality and safety issues you referred to in terms of how the Government will respond on pricing if there are specific reasons in terms of plant safety and quality and so on that might justify a slightly increased price? You have obviously been dealing with the Government for a long time. What is your experience of the NHS’s reasonableness in responding to those valid issues you mentioned?

David Watson: Companies will never launch products that are not of the required quality, and the NHS would never pay for them. The issue is more that if there is essentially a procurement-driven approach to medicines, that can and will drive prices down. The long-term impact is much more about organisational investment in the UK, perceiving the UK as a good place to do business. I suspect that in some classes—biosimilar and vaccines are examples—companies will eventually drop out of the market because they do not see the UK as a viable place to do business.

[Jo Churchill]

Q Is there a better way of looking at this? If we had more transparency through the pricing mechanism, but enabled tax efficiencies, R and D and so on, would that be a different way of balancing this for the industry?

David Watson: Yes. That is why this sort of industrial policy becomes really important. Again, that is why the industry semi-globally recognises the value of the Government’s continued willingness to have a voluntary pricing arrangement that not just covers pricing and affordability, but touches on some of the other aspects of how industry operates in the UK. We think that is really important.