Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and Margot James

Thursday 13th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

T4. What importance does the Minister for Digital and Creative Industries attach to ensuring the digital security and integrity of elections by protecting secret ballots from digital or photographic interference?

[The Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries (Margot James)]

I think I know what has driven my hon. Friend’s question. I should like to take this opportunity if I may to apologise to the chairman of the 1922 committee. He apparently issued a rule about last night’s election, news of which did not reach me. It appears that I may have been in breach. I apologise to my hon. Friend if that is the case.

Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation

Debate between Philip Hollobone and Margot James

Tuesday 20th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Margot James]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner) for giving me the opportunity to clarify the last point he raised. Obviously private companies are subject to law and regulation. They are subject to the current laws and regulations on corporate governance, which have been strengthened by this Government in the last 18 months. I did not see that as a prime issue for the new centre, but corporations are of course subject to rules on corporate governance and so forth.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

This sounds like a good idea, but we used to have a policy of reducing the number of quangos, so which quango is the Minister getting rid of to establish this new one?

[Margot James]

I thank my hon. Friend for his helpful question. This is being done in response to a new and growing need which perhaps was not anticipated when we established the policy to reduce the overall number of advisory bodies to the Government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and Margot James

Thursday 21st June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Margot James]

If we take coverage from at least one provider, we see that 50% of Scotland now has mobile coverage. I accept that that is obviously not enough, but that does provide coverage for indoor voice for at least 90% of Scottish premises. However, we still have a great deal more to do.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

12. What steps he is taking to support hockey in (a) Northamptonshire and (b) England.

Mobile Phone Contracts

Debate between Philip Hollobone and Margot James

Tuesday 16th January 2018 Westminster Hall

[Margot James]

Although I have not come to a settled view on the matter yet, I agree with the hon. Lady that what has gone on so far—there has been an over-reliance on the mobile phone providers putting their house in order—has not worked to my satisfaction, given that 1 million people are still overpaying.

I am aware that some stakeholders would like to see the end of bundled mobile phone contracts, and want all contracts to be split, with the cost of the handset split out from the cost of services. The pricing of split contracts can be more transparent for consumers than bundled contracts, although split contracts are not without consumer issues. At the moment, providers can make a commercial decision to offer split or bundled contracts, or a choice. A number of mobile phone providers now offer only split contracts and others, such as Tesco Mobile, continue to offer both split and bundled contracts. Other groups, such as EE, Vodafone and Three, offer only bundled contracts. As I said earlier, it is a highly competitive market, in which consumers have a wide degree of choice, including in relation to whether to opt for a bundled or a split contract. However, I accept that when people who are not knowledgeable about the complexities of the market are dealing with a household name that offers only a bundled contract, that is not a great deal of help.

Consumers may choose bundled contracts because they continue to offer good value for money for many consumers. Ofcom research from last March found that such contracts are particularly good value for mobile users with medium to high usage, but such deals can obscure overcharging, as the hon. Lady so ably highlighted. We are therefore prepared to intervene if we deem that to be the only way to resolve this issue. I am committed to preventing people from paying too much by remaining on the same bundled contract after the end of the contract period. No one should continue to pay for a product that they have already paid off. Ofcom, our independent regulator, is continuing to monitor this issue closely. I expect to see movement to address this issue from the mobile operators.

I remind hon. Members that this year the Government will publish a consumer Green Paper, which will explore further ways we can help to protect, support and empower consumers, including those in the mobile communications market. I very much agree with the hon. Lady’s remark before we suspended for all the votes that mobile telephony has become a crucial utility that most people simply cannot do without.

I reiterate my thanks to the hon. Lady for securing this debate, and I thank all hon. Members who contributed to it. I will leave her a few minutes, if she requires them, to make a few closing remarks. Before that, I reaffirm my commitment to work with Ofcom, the mobile providers and organisations such as Citizens Advice to address this issue and broader issues in the telecoms market that consumers face.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (in the Chair)]

Order. I am afraid it is not in the Minister’s gift to offer the sponsor of the debate a second go during a half-hour debate.

[Margot James]

I apologise for that, Mr Hollobone.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (in the Chair)]

Apology accepted.

Question put and agreed to.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and Margot James

Tuesday 12th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Margot James]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. When Royal Mail was privatised, Amazon was one of Royal Mail’s biggest customers; Amazon is now one of its biggest competitors. So he is absolutely right. More investment in technology and modernisation is required if Royal Mail is to maintain its market position.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

The posties in Kettering work extremely hard all year round and do a tremendous job, especially at Christmas. What is the value of the average postal worker’s individual stake in Royal Mail?

[Margot James]

I can confirm to my hon. Friend that the workforce own 12% of Royal Mail, which is a fact that the leadership of the Labour party should consider as it contemplates a round of nationalisation.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and Margot James

Tuesday 12th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Margot James]

I remind the hon. Lady that this Government’s policy is to be outward-facing and achieve the best trade deal possible with the European Union, but we have to bear in mind the concerns of my constituents and hers about immigration. That has to be tackled, and it is no use the Opposition running away from that. They cannot assume that we will be able to remain in the single market indefinitely and address people’s legitimate concerns about immigration.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Average weekly earnings in Kettering are typically 5% below the national average, so anything the Government can do to cut basic levels of tax is particularly important. Does my hon. Friend agree that, because we raised the income tax threshold from £6,500 a year in 2010 to £11,500 a year, basic rate taxpayers typically pay £1,000 a year less in income tax?

[Margot James]

I very much agree with my hon. Friend’s point. I am sorry to hear about the situation with regard to earnings in Kettering, but I am sure that the Government’s commitment to improving skills and our target of 3 million apprenticeship places by 2020 will help the people of Kettering, as they will help people all over the country.

Taylor Review: Working Practices

Debate between Philip Hollobone and Margot James

Tuesday 11th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Margot James]

I assure the hon. Lady that no bar was put in front of Matthew Taylor; he was able to investigate as freely and as fairly as he saw fit. It is up to the Treasury to assess the tax situation and any potential loss of revenue, which of course arises due to bogus self-employment.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

To contrast the previous question, will my hon. Friend join me in recognising one of the key findings of the review: thanks to the Government’s tax policies, once tax levels and tax credits are taken into account, average take-home pay for families with at least one member in full-time employment is higher in the UK than in any other G7 country?

[Margot James]

I commend my hon. Friend for bringing that important fact to the notice of the House.