Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

Debate between Robert Halfon and Michael Gove

2nd reading
Wednesday 8th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations (Michael Gove)]

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

I am delighted to be able to move the Second Reading of this Bill. The Government are getting on with the job, and no Department is doing more than my own. There are five Bills in the Queen’s Speech generated from our Department. As well as the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, there is legislation to improve conditions for those in social housing, to improve the rights of those in the private rented sector, to ensure that business rates can be updated so that our economy thrives, and to get rid of the pernicious employment of boycott, divestment and sanctions policies by those who seek to de-legitimise the state of Israel. I hope that all five pieces of legislation will command support across this House. They are designed to address the people’s priorities and to ensure that this Government provide social justice and greater opportunity for all our citizens.

This Bill looks specifically at how we can ensure that the Government’s levelling-up missions laid out in our White Paper published in February can be given effect, how we can have a planning system that priorities urban regeneration and the use of brownfield land, and how we can strengthen our democratic system overall.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend will know that perhaps one of the most exciting pages in the levelling-up White Paper is page 238, which announces that there will be a new hospital health campus in Harlow over the coming years. He knows how important that is because of the fact that our current hospital estate is not fit for purpose despite the incredible work that staff do. Can he confirm that the timeline for our new hospital will be announced in the coming months?

[Michael Gove]

My right hon. Friend makes an important point. Of the more than 400 pages in the White Paper, page 238 is perhaps one of the most important, not least because it contains an image of what we can hope to see and what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will be announcing, which is action to ensure that my right hon. Friend’s constituents get the state-of-the-art, 21st-century hospital that they deserve. That would not happen, I am afraid, under the Opposition, because it is only through the investment that we are putting in and the sound economy that has been created under my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s leadership that we are able to ensure that the citizens of Harlow get the hospitals that they need.

Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme

Debate between Robert Halfon and Michael Gove

Monday 14th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I have enormous sympathy for the hon. Lady. One of the reasons why Lord Harrington has joined my Department and is working with the Home Office is to ensure that we can get people whom we have accepted out of hotel accommodation, which is unsuitable for the long term, and into the community, but that requires us to ensure that those local authorities receiving individuals are supported in the way they are. I would be more than happy to return to the House to outline the steps we are taking to deal with this situation, but it comes back to the essential point that the Chairman of the Select Committee, the hon. Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts), brought out. As we show a warm welcome to people who are fleeing persecution, we need to ensure that that welcome can be truly stable and secure. That means additional accommodation, which means moving beyond hotels and local authorities, and that is why the Homes for Ukraine scheme harnesses the kindness of civil society, but there is more that we must do, and we will update the House in due course.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

I strongly welcome the scheme that my right hon. Friend has set out. It was Sir Nicholas Winton who said:

“If something is not impossible, then there must be a way to do it”.

May I ask my right hon. Friend if he would extend the scheme, or the imagination he has set out today, to make sure that Britain offers a refuge to and harbours Ukrainian orphans who are able to come here, and will he work with Ukraine to bring them over and make sure that these children are looked after?

[Michael Gove]

My right hon. Friend makes a characteristically compassionate and acute point. One of the areas of greatest difficulty is helping orphans and unaccompanied children, and that is something we need to do more on, and we will.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Robert Halfon and Michael Gove

Thursday 27th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

The emergency contracting procedure, to which the hon. Lady refers, was one that was used by every Administration across the United Kingdom, including the Labour Administration in Wales, and that was because of the pressures that all of us were under. I remember Front Benchers from the Labour party pressing us at an earlier stage in the pandemic, quite rightly, to move even faster to secure that PPE. But, of course, even as were moving more quickly to secure it, there was a seven-step process supervised by civil servants in order to make sure that procurement was handled appropriately. If the hon. Lady has any specific cases where she feels that the process was faulty, I look forward to hearing from her about them, but so far there have been no specific charges from her. More broadly, I welcome emphasis on greater transparency overall.[Official Report, 7 June 2021, Vol. 696, c. 1MC.]

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

What recent discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on apprenticeship targets for the civil service.

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Michael Gove)]

I have been having lots of discussions with relevant stakeholders on apprenticeship targets. We must do much better on getting more apprentices into the civil service.

[Robert Halfon [V]]

Will my right hon. Friend consider ensuring that all new recruits to the civil service are offered apprenticeships? Will he also make certain that, unless there are specific related reasons, all Government sector employment contracts have at least 5% of employees as apprenticeships before they are offered any contract by Government?

[Michael Gove]

My right hon. Friend makes a very important point. We are currently reviewing, as part of preparation for new procurement legislation, exactly how we can ensure that there is a higher proportion of apprenticeships in contracts that Government allocate as well as making sure that the civil service extends the use of apprenticeship schemes, of which he has been such an effective champion.

EU Withdrawal Agreement

Debate between Robert Halfon and Michael Gove

Wednesday 9th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

The hon. and learned Lady will know that since we introduced those clauses into the Bill, we have succeeded in signing any number of trade agreements with other countries. That is because the reputation of the UK continues to stand high.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con) [V]]

My right hon. Friend has played a blinder, but given that the EU withdrawal means that British Government procurement will no longer be subject to Official Journal of the European Union rules, what concrete steps will he take to ensure that Northern Ireland companies and businesses across Great Britain that wish to procure contracts with Government can do so only if they employ a significant number of apprentices?

[Michael Gove]

The Chairman of the Select Committee on Education makes a very important point. My noble Friend Lord Agnew will shortly bring forward a paper on procurement reform, which will show exactly how we can achieve the ambition for apprenticeships that my right hon. Friend has so consistently and brilliantly put forward.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Robert Halfon and Michael Gove

Thursday 12th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con) [V]]

During the Brexit campaign, my right hon. Friend wrote an article in The Sun stating that we would be able to reduce VAT on energy bills, saving the taxpayer a considerable amount of money per year. Can he set out the progress we are making on that and confirm that we will be able to cut VAT on energy bills, therefore cutting the cost of living for hard-pressed families across the country?

[Michael Gove]

Yes, my right hon. Friend makes an important point. While taxation matters are questions for the Chancellor, who will be updating the House shortly on a variety of important fiscal matters, it is nevertheless the case that outside the European Union we can lower VAT in a way that we could not within the European Union—one of the many benefits of Brexit.

EU Exit: End of Transition Period

Debate between Robert Halfon and Michael Gove

Monday 13th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who was a distinguished Member of the European Parliament, for raising that case. I would be more than happy to come to Stirling and to receive additional information about the specific case that faces his constituents. It would be my pleasure to do everything I can to ensure that we can resolve the system. On the basis of what he says, I think there may be some miscommunication, but let me commit to doing my very best to resolve the situation on behalf of his constituents.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con) [V]]

When we leave the EU we will no longer be subject to the Official Journal of the European Union and, as my right hon. Friend knows, public sector procurement contracts are now worth about £250 billion a year. So will he change public sector procurement rules to ensure that any large private company bidding for a public sector contract must have an apprenticeship commitment guaranteeing that a certain proportion of its workforce will be apprentices?

[Michael Gove]

My right hon. Friend makes a very important point. He rightly says that outside the EU we can shape our own procurement rules, in our own interests, and that we should do everything possible to encourage the wider spread of apprenticeships, which do so much to improve social mobility and indeed the effectiveness of British manufacturing. I will look in detail at his specific proposal to see what we can do.

UK-EU Negotiations

Debate between Robert Halfon and Michael Gove

Tuesday 16th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con) [V]]

I am glad that you are able to hear me, Madam Deputy Speaker. Given that leaving the EU means that we can control our VAT rates and cut VAT, what progress has been made in taking back control of VAT rates so that we can cut our energy bills and the cost of living for hard-working residents in Harlow and across the country?

[Michael Gove]

My right hon. Friend is an indefatigable campaigner not just for Harlow but for the hard-pressed citizens of this country. He is right that outside the European Union, once we have left the transition period, we will have full control of VAT rates. My right hon Friend the Prime Minister is dedicated to making sure that we can use that new-found independence to help precisely the constituents for whom my right hon. Friend the Member for Harlow fights so brilliantly.

Ministerial Code

Debate between Robert Halfon and Michael Gove

Monday 2nd March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

No such list exists. It is the case that having worked with a variety of permanent secretaries and other senior civil servants across Departments, I have personally benefited from their robust—sometimes very robust—advice, and I have always been happy to come to this House to acknowledge when I have been wrong and others have been right.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Is it not the case that this all started with briefings from unknown sources against the Home Secretary, not the other way around? My constituents want fair immigration and fairness for the taxpayer. They want 20,000 more police on our streets. Does this not have the nasty whiff of an establishment who are trying to stop these policies?

[Michael Gove]

My right hon. Friend makes a very important point. I suspect that many people watching our debates and knowing that we are discussing home affairs and the Home Office will be asking, “Why are MPs not concentrating on improving our migration system? Why are MPs not doing more to ensure that our police are supported in the fight against organised crime? Why are MPs not making sure that we take an even stronger stance against terrorism?” It is vitally important, of course, that the ministerial code is upheld and defended, but it is also vitally important, as he points out, that the Government deliver for the people on their manifesto promises.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Robert Halfon and Michael Gove

Wednesday 22nd January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

6. What steps he is taking to ensure the preparedness of Government Departments for the UK leaving the EU on 31 January 2020.

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Michael Gove)]

I welcome you to the Chair, Mr Speaker.

In 10 days the United Kingdom will once more be an independent nation and ready to assert our international role with renewed confidence. Departments across Government are undertaking all the necessary work to embrace these new opportunities, and we will continue to do so during the implementation period, which ends on 31 December.

[Robert Halfon]

One of the most important things we can do as we approach independence day is to have a highly skilled workforce. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that, when businesses and organisations bid for Government contracts, apprentices make up a high proportion of their workforce?

[Michael Gove]

My right hon. Friend is right that one of the many benefits of leaving the EU is the chance to overhaul Government procurement to make it more efficient, more responsive and more flexible, and to ensure that British talent takes its place at the forefront of wealth creation, and at the heart of that must be more young British apprentices. This will develop the skills we need to succeed in the 21st century.