Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Nic Dakin

Tuesday 22nd May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

As my hon. Friend will know, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has a great interest in that proposal. Without even needing to consult her, I can say without hesitation that she will be delighted to meet him and his colleagues.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

13. What assessment he has made of trends in the level of wage growth for young people over the last 15 years.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Nic Dakin

Tuesday 2nd December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

15. What recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on freedom of movement within the EU.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Philip Hammond)]

I have discussed EU migration extensively with my counterparts as part of a series of visits to EU capitals to discuss EU reform and renegotiation. We are not alone in seeing EU migration as a qualified right. We secured reference in the June European Council conclusions to the need to protect EU migration from misuse, and last week the Prime Minister set out his proposals for doing just that.

[Nic Dakin]

Will the Secretary of State confirm that we should use the Dano judgment, which confirmed that member states have significant leeway, to ensure that people who come to the UK come to work, not to claim? Will he also confirm that we can do that without threatening our position as a member of the EU?

[Mr Hammond]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. The Dano judgment has once again shown that sometimes we in this country assume that the body of EU regulation requires us to do things that it actually does not. We sometimes find, as we did in that case, that there is more flexibility to work within the existing treaty powers than is assumed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Nic Dakin

Monday 16th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hammond]

I have, indeed, already done so. I think that there has been a miscommunication and a misunderstanding by Cherwell district council. We are clear that our proposals for the possible continued use of part of the land for military purposes will not have any negative impact on the wider proposed housing development. We hope to be able to proceed with the sale imminently.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Now that the MOD has taken back responsibility for the disposal of RAF Kirton in Lindsey from the Homes and Communities Agency, will the appropriate Minister meet me and representatives of the town council to be assured that the MOD will not make the mistakes in that transfer that it has made in other parts of Lincolnshire?

Future Reserves 2020

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Nic Dakin

Thursday 8th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

That is one of the important steps we are taking. Making mobilisation liability, duration and frequency predictable is one of the tools for making reservist employees more attractive to employers.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Some communities where bases will close have long-standing historical ties with the military, such as Kirton-in-Lindsey in my constituency. Will the Secretary of State work with such communities to ensure that they can take advantage of the opportunity presented by the new plans for reservists, so that they can maintain their ties even though bases may close?

[Mr Hammond]

That is an important point. It is important that local employers realise that through supporting the reserve service they can support the retention of Army reserve bases in their area. We will certainly be sensitive to those historical links as we look at the basing lay-down.

Defence Budget and Transformation

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Nic Dakin

Monday 14th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I am afraid that that is a level of detail that, between us, the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Worcestershire (Peter Luff) and I are unable to answer from the Dispatch Box, but I will write to the right hon. Gentleman later this afternoon.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

How many direct and indirect jobs will be lost as a result of this process?

[Mr Hammond]

We have already announced the reductions in the size of the armed forces and a reduction in the size of the MOD civilian service. As a result of what I have announced today, there will be no additional reductions in head count. The downsizing that has already been announced is the limit of the downsizing that we need in order to deliver the programme. I can tell the hon. Gentleman, however, that there are many tens of thousands of jobs in the UK defence industries, and that by introducing a sustainable equipment programme that will give industries the confidence to invest, we will protect those jobs and technologies and help those industries to build their export markets.