Covid-19 Update

Greg Clark Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady. We are in constant contact with government—regional, local and city—at all levels throughout this country to help it to protect and support our constituents.  We have given about £3.7 billion to local councils and we will continue to support local government throughout the crisis.

[Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Con)]

It is important that Parliament should have the chance to scrutinise the scientific advice behind these recommendations, so I am grateful to Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Whitty for agreeing to appear before the Select Committee on Science and Technology tomorrow. But will my right hon. Friend confirm that it is his policy to have the minimum level of restrictions on businesses and people in every place, consistent with the need to avoid overwhelming the NHS?

[The Prime Minister]

That is the policy very accurately summed up, but for better elucidation and understanding of it I urge people to get on to the website to see exactly what they need to do.

Covid-19

Greg Clark Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The plan is that we should continue to keep the economy moving in the way that I have described and the Government have set out, which I believe is, quite rightly, supported by the Opposition, while suppressing the R and getting the virus down. That is our policy. Does the right hon. Gentleman support it?

[Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Con)]

One of the lessons of the lockdown measures in the spring was that they worked, but almost everyone ended up wishing that they had been introduced a week or two earlier, so the Prime Minister is right to act in anticipation rather than in reaction. Will he take the public into his confidence and tell them whether the six-month period that he mentioned is irrespective of the experience of infections and hospitalisation over the weeks and months ahead? What will be the criteria for lifting these restrictions and others such as the rule of six?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend asks a really important question. The answer is, of course, that we must look at what the data tell us. There are several important data. The R is perhaps the crucial one, but we also look at rates of admissions to hospitals and new infections. If those facts change—if things turn around, and if the British public can do what they did before and get this virus down and get it under control—then of course we will review the measures and review the situation.

Covid-19 Update

Greg Clark Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd June 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am sure there will come a moment when lessons need to be learned—indeed, we are learning them the whole time—but I do not consider at the moment that a full-scale national inquiry is a good use of official time.

[Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Con)]

I warmly welcome the Prime Minister’s statement, which reflects very closely the advice that my Select Committee has taken. He has a new advisory group, which I am glad about, because the best role for SAGE is on broad questions of science rather than every minute policy. Can he specify whether the ban on cricket has come to an end? Cricket is perhaps our most socially distanced team sport. We have lost half the summer, but there is another half left to be enjoyed by players and spectators alike.

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend. This goes to the point that I was trying to make to the House earlier—everybody will want to add something to the great wheelbarrow of measures that we are taking, and at a certain point, there will come a straw that breaks the camel’s back. The problem with cricket, as everybody understands, is that the ball is a natural vector of disease, potentially at any rate. We have been round it many times with our scientific friends. At the moment, we are still working on ways to make cricket more covid-secure, but we cannot change the guidance yet.

European Union: Future Relationship

Greg Clark Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

The right hon. Gentleman always makes thoughtful contributions to our debates, and I take his point. It will be for this Parliament and future Parliaments to decide how our sovereignty is exercised in accordance with the wish of the British people, but the experience of history tells us that the countries with the maximum amount of control over their own destinies are the best equipped to succeed economically and, indeed, to secure a greater degree of equity for all their citizens.

[Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend recognise the distinction between EU regulations and European technical standards? The latter are set outside the EU, and without a loss of sovereignty, by expert bodies of which the British Standards Institution is one of the most respected and admired in the world. Does my right hon. Friend share my hope that British standards expertise will continue to be able to influence European and international standards?

[Michael Gove]

My right hon. Friend has made an excellent point, which reflects the brilliant work that he did as Business Secretary. It is absolutely the case that there are common technical standards in which British experts play a distinguished part. We will want to ensure—and I know that others will want to ensure—that those common standards can help to underpin successful commerce and trade.

Transport Infrastructure

Greg Clark Excerpts

Tuesday 11th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think I can say without fear of contradiction that I have built more cycle lanes than anyone else in the House—that was not always popular—but that is nothing compared with what we are about to do. The investment that we are about to make in buses is absolutely colossal, and I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman finds grounds for criticism.

[Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Con)]

I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s attention to the spine of the country, but will he apply his orthopaedic talents to what should be the muscular limb that connects London to Hastings, as it will take longer to get to Hastings than the hour that it will take to get to Manchester in future?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend makes an extremely good point, and I shall certainly examine the London to Hastings route. I do not know which part of the anatomy it should be, but it is vital to our nation’s prosperity, whatever it is.

Debate on the Address

Greg Clark Excerpts

Thursday 19th December 2019 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Sir Edward Davey), who, in his parade of greatest hits, somehow forgot to mention that the achievements that he described were under a Conservative-led Government. However, it is nice to know that he regards them as successes. It is also a great pleasure to see a fellow Kent MP in the Chair, Mr Deputy Speaker. I congratulate you on your position, and on taking the Chair today.

Throughout the Prime Minister’s speech, he referred consistently to “one nation”, and it is right that he did so, because what we have experienced in the last week is something extraordinary. In towns, villages and cities in every part of our country, individual men and women have resolved, quietly but together, to move on, not only from the divisions of the past three and a half years but, in many cases, from differences that have endured for decades. There has been a coming together of the nation in a spirit of quiet pragmatism and a determination to progress, rejecting both an attempt to divide our nation between Leave and Remain and an attempt to impose an extreme and ideological doctrine on a moderate and flexible people.

I have never been prouder to swear the oath of allegiance to Her Majesty—and, by extension, to our country—than I was earlier this week. The spirit of national cohesion, of one nation, means so much to me because of the course of my own life. As you know, Mr Deputy Speaker, my constituency of Tunbridge Wells is a beautiful and famous place: famous for being home to people with strong views who are given to expressing them robustly and confidently, and I would not have it any other way, but famous too for a civility and courtesy that made even going from door to door during a winter election campaign a warm and convivial experience. I enjoyed it enormously.

Tunbridge Wells has always chosen a Conservative Member of Parliament, but it would be a fatal error to assume that that is automatic and that support can be taken for granted. Tunbridge Wells is an articulate, discerning and demanding place. People there work very hard. They live prudently rather than lavishly, and many face tough challenges that belie our reputation as a place of uniform affluence.

Tunbridge Wells has elected Conservatives in part at least because it has experienced good, effective Conservative representation, whether from my predecessors, Sir Patrick Mayhew and Archie Norman—and, I hope, myself; from Kent county council, led by effective public servants such as Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart and Paul Carter; or from a borough council that has regularly provided some of the best facilities and services, offering some of the best value in the country.

I was born at the other end of the country, in Middlesbrough, and went to comprehensive school in South Bank, in the constituency of my hon. Friend the new Member for Redcar (Jacob Young). My early training in canvassing was going door to door round the estates on Thursday and Friday nights, collecting the milk money for my father and grandfather, who were local milkmen. During those years, it was impossible to imagine that South Bank, Eston and Normanby would return a Conservative Member of Parliament.

The dividing lines of two nations seemed to be impregnable, but I think one of the reasons for that was people’s lack of experience of Conservative administration at a local level. That was made a thing of the past through the election and record in office of Ben Houchen as the Mayor of Tees Valley. I am proud that, as Minister for cities, and later as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, I introduced the concept of city deals, which became growth deals, and then devolution deals, in which, for the first time in 100 years, the flow of power was away from Whitehall and towards our great towns and cities. Negotiating the Tees Valley devolution deal, which established the mayoralty and devolved funding and decision making from the banks of the Thames to the banks of the Tees, was a big moment. It meant that every Teessider has experienced what a dedicated, effective Conservative Mayor can do. I believe that it paved the way for the strong representation of Tees Valley MPs who now sit on the Conservative Benches.

The same is true for the west midlands, which has become close to my heart through my work with manufacturing industry. I negotiated the devolution deal that led to Andy Street being elected Mayor of that great region. With energy, tenacity and intellect, he has shown everyone in that region what Conservative administration can deliver.

It would not be right or fair to my hon. Friends to say that without Ben Houchen, we would not have Jacob Young and Peter Gibson in the Tees Valley, and that without Andy Street, we would not have Nicola Richards and Shaun Bailey in West Bromwich. Their mandate is their own, and we are proud of their achievements. However, I know that my hon. Friends would agree that it was an enormous help to have that experience of effective Conservative administration. That is why I commend the commitment in the Queen’s Speech to give communities even greater control over how investment is spent so that they can decide what is best for them, just as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister did when he was a very distinguished Mayor of London.

The people of Tunbridge Wells and the people of Teesside do not belong to different nations, for all the assumptions over the years that that was so. They are all of one nation. They believe identically in working hard to get on, and taking pride in our country and its history, which is not in conflict with knowing that we need to do new things well to advance. They are straightforward enough to know that things have to be earned and paid for, rather than conjured from thin air. They will pay their taxes, but want them to be used responsibly on useful things and not squandered. They are practical men and women, suspicious of ideology and dogma, and when they elect people to office, they expect them to do what they promise and to see concrete results. From Tunbridge Wells to Teesside, they are the same people and part of the same nation: one nation, our United Kingdom, and I am proud that the Conservative party is now indisputably their champion and their choice.

Prime Minister’s Statement

Greg Clark Excerpts

Saturday 19th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I see my distinguished friends in the Democratic Unionist party accepting this good news, as is their customary way. There are many advantages to be had. On the point made by the hon. Member for Vauxhall (Kate Hoey), yes, there is the prospect of a free trade agreement between us and the EU, under which these arrangements would eventually be superseded. We would enter into free trade, as the right hon. and learned Father of the House indicated—a zero-tariff, zero-quota arrangement—and then the current arrangements would be obviated.

[Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Ind)]

Will my right hon. Friend give a commitment, in law if necessary, that workers’ rights in this country will never be inferior to those of the European Union?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I certainly can.

Brexit Negotiations

Greg Clark Excerpts

Thursday 3rd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am absolutely committed to appearing before the hon. Lady’s Committee, and she will have an answer within an hour of my departure from the Chamber this afternoon.

[Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Ind)]

Most people in this House and in the country want to have a good deal with the EU, so I very much welcome the pragmatic approach and the demeanour that my right hon. Friend has taken today. I look to our European neighbours and, I might say, the Leader of the Opposition to respond in kind. He has set out a new Northern Ireland protocol that would kick in if, and only if, we had not yet concluded a free trade agreement. Is it his expectation that, should the protocol be needed, it would be intended to be temporary? Is it also his expectation that it would involve zero tariffs between the UK and the EU?

[The Prime Minister]

The answer to both questions is in the affirmative. I want to thank my right hon. Friend for his constructive attitude to this, and if there are any more details that he needs to establish from me, I am only too happy to share them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Greg Clark Excerpts

Tuesday 24th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

5. What progress he has made on further devolution in England.

[The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Greg Clark)]

This Government have a proud record of devolving power from central Government to the cities, towns and counties of this country: we passed the Localism Act 2011; we have initiated and negotiated 28 city deals; we are devolving at least £12 billion of central resources to local places through growth deals; and, with the Greater Manchester agreement, and agreements with other cities to follow, there is now unstoppable momentum to continue that success.

[Stuart Andrew]

I am grateful for that answer. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the constitutional reform priority should be to ensure a fair and balanced devolution settlement for every part of the UK and to introduce English votes for English laws?

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is why the Leader of the House has made it very clear that the return of a Conservative Government will correct that injustice and there will indeed be English votes for English laws.

[Henry Smith]

As well as English votes for English laws and, indeed, devolution to our great cities, can my right hon. Friend assure me that a future Conservative Government will devolve more authority on service delivery to the great counties of England, which have a strong track record of democratic delivery? I welcome the growth deal from which West Sussex has benefited.

[Greg Clark]

Indeed I will. My hon. Friend was a distinguished leader of one such county. It is clear that the success of the city deals has introduced a model that other capable authorities can take up. I encourage all our county leaders to prepare their plans to take powers from central Government and to be in charge of those budgets that were previously tied up in Whitehall.

[Graham Stringer (Blackley and Broughton) (Lab)]

The devolution proposals for Greater Manchester have been widely welcomed, but the proposal to appoint an interim mayor with no executive powers is less welcome. Does the Minister agree that it should be a priority to arrange for primary legislation so that Greater Manchester can have an elected mayor?

[Greg Clark]

I do think there should be an elected mayor for Manchester—that is exactly what has been agreed with every one of the Greater Manchester authorities. One of the consequences of the agreement with Greater Manchester is that it will have a directly elected mayor who will be a hugely important national and international figure, as befits that great city.

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Devolution of power and responsibility to Wales required an Act of Parliament and a referendum of the people, yet Manchester and elsewhere are seeing ad hoc devolution that heralds the break up of the NHS. Is it not time to do this properly, rather than play a political game in the run-up to an election?

[Greg Clark]

I am very surprised that the hon. Gentleman seems to be against the devolution that has been welcomed right across the country and that has led to the leaders of Cardiff approaching the Government to request a city deal. I will visit Cardiff later this week to begin negotiations. They will be very concerned to hear that the hon. Gentleman is against it.

[Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

The population of Essex is more than double that of Cornwall, and the population of the six counties of the east of England is considerably greater than that of Wales, so may we have devolution to the powerhouse of the six counties of the east of England?

[Greg Clark]

Through the Government’s programme over the past few years, we have devolved—and we will complete the devolution of—£12 billion of resources that were previously administered by Ministers and officials in Whitehall to Essex and other great counties. That is work in progress, but I agree with my hon. Friend that we can and should go further.

[Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP)]

Can the Minister see the regions or cities of England one day having more devolution than Scotland currently has?

[Greg Clark]

The progress we have made in England has been significant. As the hon. Gentleman knows, we have also concluded a city deal with Glasgow. Some of the reflections I have heard from Scotland state that the Scottish Government have been a rather centralising Government and that they will look to the model of decentralisation that we have pursued in England to try to save them from that over-centralisation.

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

3. What steps he has taken to uphold the integrity of voting in introducing individual electoral registration.

--- Later in debate ---

[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)]

6. What steps he is taking to ensure that residents of Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency benefit from the Government’s constitutional and political reform proposals.

[The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Greg Clark)]

The residents of the hon. Lady’s constituency will benefit from the biggest devolution of powers from central Government to local government for decades. The Greater Manchester city deal and the growth deal agreement will put the transport budget in the hands of the people of Manchester; see the building of 15,000 extra homes over the next 10 years; devolve the skills budget, securing more and better training; allow 100% of business rate revenue to be retained locally; and bring together £6 billion of health and social care budgets to join up services. That is all part of this Government’s northern powerhouse initiative.

[Debbie Abrahams]

More than 112,000 people were made homeless in 2013, which was an increase of 26% on 2010. That can be directly attributed to the Government’s welfare policies, including their new sanctions regime, and to the lack of affordable housing. My office has been inundated with homelessness cases over the past few months. How does the Minister think the increase in homelessness will affect voter registration?

[Greg Clark]

The hon. Lady’s initial question was about how the Government’s policies on devolution and constitutional reform have benefited her constituents and I set that out in terms. I would have thought that she would want to recognise that, as did the hon. Member for Blackley and Broughton (Graham Stringer). The front page of the Manchester Evening News put it in this way: “We’re All Winners!” Part of the gain for Manchester is that local people can make more of the local decisions, including those on housing, as I mentioned in my previous answer.

[Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

Inward Investment: Southend

Greg Clark Excerpts

Friday 20th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Universities, Science and Cities (Greg Clark)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West (Sir David Amess) on securing this debate, and it is fantastic to see our friend and colleague my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) restored to health and back with us today. They are both real champions for that wonderful town of Southend, and my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West was unduly modest in not recognising their roles in securing the investments. As the Minister responsible for the city deal and the growth deal I know that the advocacy for Southend from both of them was essential to getting the investment in and the deals signed. The success Southend is enjoying is a reflection of their efforts over the years.

My hon. Friend the Member for Southend West referred to some of the remarkable statistics. Southend has seen a 53% cut in unemployment, which is remarkable by any standards, but it does not surprise us because I have long known, as have many other Members, that Southend has a very special entrepreneurial spirit, and when economic opportunities are available we can rely on the people of Southend to avail themselves of them with alacrity. That is one reason why we were so keen to forge this city deal and to make sure there was support for the small businesses that we knew were going to be created and which would create jobs in the numbers that they are doing now. As my hon. Friend attested, there are many encouraging signs of real confidence in Southend at the moment. The investments and innovations he listed are all contributing to that resurgence.

It was in part as a result of the representations of my hon. Friends that Southend was offered a city deal. The first wave of city deals was offered to the eight biggest cities outside London by population. They were finalised in September 2012. That programme was acknowledged as a success, and there was some demand to extend it to other parts of the country. So in October 2012 we did precisely that, inviting 20 cities and their wider areas to negotiate for a second wave of city deals. Fourteen of those cities were selected based on the size of their population, as the first wave had been, but we wanted to recognise the backing that is appropriate and due to cities that are not as big as the large industrial ones but are, nevertheless, growing strongly. Of course, a growing city has its own demands and needs for investment. So Southend was chosen as one of those six. Population growth usually indicates that a place has something going for it, as more people want to live there than before.

The city deal programme is about transferring resources previously tied up in Whitehall into the hands of local people and reflecting their local priorities. That is the proposition of city deals. My hon. Friend mentioned the signing of the city deal in Southend, and I was delighted to sign it. I still have my copy here with me; it has the signatures of Nigel Holdcroft and Peter Jones, the chair of the local enterprise partnership. It was a very promising day, and I am thrilled that what was promised has turned into a reality, exactly as my hon. Friend said. Support has been provided for the growing number of businesses, mainly small and medium-sized ones, in Southend and across south Essex. It is appropriate that when a business is founded and is growing, it should benefit from help and advice from people who have been there before and can share some of that experience. It is also important that there should be incubator space—premises in which growing businesses can locate. Those were the elements of the city deal and, as he said, the Southend growth hub is now being used as the model for business support right across the south-east and beyond. It is seen, correctly, as being very successful.

The city deal in Southend, as with those elsewhere, has uncorked a new spirit of municipal purpose; the idea that everyone locally should join the attempts to revive the local economy is absolutely as things should be. My hon. Friend mentioned the scheme to transform some of the rather tired old buildings along Victoria avenue, close to the centre of Southend, many of which are no longer fit for purpose. Investment there can provide opportunities and locations for businesses. Like him, I was delighted to read in the Southend Echo in recent days that the transforming effect of the deal is remodelling those buildings to satisfy housing demand and provide premises for businesses. It is clear even in these early days that the city deal process is proving good for Southend; it is having a major effect, empowering local businesses and civic leaders to back their aspirations to create more jobs in that very important town. I pay tribute to my hon. Friends for their advocacy.

But we have gone further than that. As my hon. Friends know, we have built on the city deal experience and embarked on an even greater enterprise, through agreeing with all 39 of England’s LEPs growth deals that transfer even more money and powers from central Government to local areas. The south-east local enterprise partnership covers a large area and naturally has one of the largest allocations of local growth funding. So far, nearly £500 million has been devolved to that LEP. The growth deal is being signed today—possibly even as we speak—in Purfleet by the chairman of the LEP. The funding comes into effect from April—in other words in just a few days’ time.

In July 2014, we announced a package that comprised significant transport infrastructure spending. As my hon. Friends the Members for Southend West and for Rochford and Southend East have said—they have both been advocates of this—the connections around south Essex and in Southend in particular are important. If we are to have jobs as never before and businesses are to be created in larger numbers, people need to be able to get to work and to get around the area. Southend is a critical anchor at the eastern end of the Thames Gateway. The growth deal commitments include upgrades to both the A127 and, over the longer term, the A13.

Specifically in Southend, the growth deal will extend the Southend and Rochford growth hub and will further invest in the Victoria avenue gateway. Some £3.2 million has been committed to develop the business park adjacent to the airport. We recognise the very positive effects that regional airports can have on economic growth. London Southend airport has certainly been a success. With more than 1 million passengers a year, it has scooped industry awards for growth.

I wish to emphasise that we have allocated only about two thirds of the £12 billion of funding that is available under the local growth fund. When it comes to the requests of my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West—I was confident that he would come to those in his speech—whether it be for the pier or for other transport improvements, the growth deal is an ideal vehicle in which to deliver them. The negotiations for the next phase of growth deals will take place shortly after the general election if, as I hope, we are returned to continue this very important programme. They offer the opportunity for many, if not all, of the proposals that my hon. Friends mention, and they should make a vigorous case for them in the negotiations. The money that was in Whitehall is available to be invested in Southend and in Essex more generally.

I hope that, with the good sense of the electorate in Southend, both of my hon. Friends will be returned in style to this House to continue their magnificent advocacy for their great town, and that we can proceed with this amazing momentum that has established itself in Southend, confident that there is much more to come.

The future for Southend is bright. I think it was Sir John Betjeman who famously said of the pier:

“Southend is the pier; the pier is Southend.”

There is much more now to Southend than the pier, marvellous though it is, and I want to see the area go from strength to strength. I thank my hon. Friend for his warm words. I am delighted that he has been able to bring my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East into this important debate today. Between them they have made a signal contribution to the prosperity of Southend during this Parliament, and I hope that they will have the chance to do so in the next one.

Question put and agreed to.