Mortgage Market

Debate between Simon Clarke and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 13th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I congratulate the now Sir Simon Clarke.

[Sir Simon Clarke (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Con)]

That is very kind, Mr Speaker.

I pay tribute to the right hon. Member for Dundee East (Stewart Hosie) for the previous question, which was extremely interesting and perceptive. Of course, it should escape nobody’s attention that, today, gilt yields are higher than they were when my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss) was forced from office in the autumn. I agree entirely with the Minister that it is important to avoid the inflaming of inflation that the Opposition would do, but does he also agree that ultra-low interest rates cannot be seen as the sole benchmark of economic success and that we ought to aspire to higher trend growth as much as low interest rates?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Simon Clarke and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 17th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Clarke]

My hon. Friend is a consistent and effective advocate for the issues that affect rural constituencies such as North Devon, and I recognise—not least as a result of our conversations about the subject—just what a problem this is for her constituency. We are looking at all the options to ensure that there is a proper supply of rental properties in such areas.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Opposition spokesperson, Matthew Pennycook.

[Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)]

Last week Government sources told The Times that Ministers were planning to renege on their commitment to abolish section 21 no-fault evictions, only for the Prime Minister to stand up days later and deny that that was the case. Private renters need long-term security and better rights and conditions now, not chaotic mixed messaging from a Government in disarray. Can the Secretary of State give the House a cast-iron guarantee from the Dispatch Box today that if the Government are still standing come the time, a renters’ reform Bill will be introduced in the next parliamentary Session?

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[Mr Clarke]

I can certainly give my right hon. Friend that assurance. Not least thanks to his efforts, there will never be any chance of his part of the world being ignored.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister, Alex Norris.

[Alex Norris (Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Government’s levelling-up plans have made so little impact that they have had to resort to paying local newspapers to carry positive stories. That is right: they are paying for positive coverage. These ads breach Advertising Standards Authority rules and have subsequently been banned. This is a risible episode. Will the Secretary of State come clean that the only conclusion to be drawn is that levelling up is a sham?

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[Mr Clarke]

The hon. Gentleman has to understand the situation we are in with regard to inflation. It is absolutely the case that, owing to the consequences of Putin’s war, prices are rising—[Interruption.] I will accept many things at the Government’s door, but I will not accept inflation as a consequence of Putin’s war. There is a clear read through to the costs of many issues, and this affects economies across the west. Neither central Government nor local government can expect to buck inflation, or to accommodate the cost of inflation in our settlements. There is therefore a mechanism within the levelling-up fund to allow bids to be resized for inflation.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Scottish National party spokesperson, Patricia Gibson.

[Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

My hon. Friend the Member for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan) has raised his concerns about levelling-up funds reaching his constituency, but if levelling up is to mean anything, it should ultimately be about reducing child poverty. In Scotland, the Scottish Government are doing what they can to deal with child poverty, but in my constituency it stands at a shocking 25%, and that figure is set to increase thanks to the decisions made by the UK Government. So will the Secretary of State explain what reduction in these shocking levels of child poverty he believes will be achieved as a result of the levelling-up agenda?

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[Mr Clarke]

My right hon. Friend is exactly right: we need to avoid there being a hard border between England and Wales, and indeed between Scotland and England, on these questions. It is vital that we make sure that we listen to the voice of business and local government as well as to MPs—my hon. Friends the Members for Clwyd South (Simon Baynes), for Ynys Môn (Virginia Crosbie), for Vale of Clwyd (Dr Davies) and for Aberconwy (Robin Millar) have already met me about this issue—to make sure that we avoid the disaster for north Wales of England proceeding with these zones and Wales not choosing to do so.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee.

[Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield South East) (Lab)]

It seems that investment zones are one of the few bits of the mini-Budget that are still on the table. Can the Secretary of State clearly explain how investment zones will be financed? Will it be completely new money, and, given the pressure that local authorities have been under from austerity and now from inflation, will he give an assurance that the money for investment zones will not be found by transferring it from other parts of the local government budget and particularly from levelling-up funds?

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[Mr Clarke]

Fond as I am of the hon. Lady, who is an excellent parliamentarian, I am afraid that she is wrong on this point. The report in question set out that councils across the north-east had spent £4 million applying for the levelling-up fund and had received more than £360 million in return. That seems a very good rate of return to me. On her point about people not knowing what levelling up means, tell that to the people of Teesside, with the remediation of the Teesworks site. Tell that to the people of Blyth, with Britishvolt. Tell that to the people of Hartlepool—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. This is the topical questions session, Secretary of State. We do not need these personal battles. Let’s move on.

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[Mr Clarke]

I am very fortunate to have had two such able predecessors in my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark), to whose work at the Department I pay tribute. As he knows, we are bringing forward devolution deals at pace—I believe in them passionately—and I hope that there will be good news to announce on both those deals very shortly.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the SNP spokesperson, Patricia Gibson.

[Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)]

Recently, I raised concerns about fracking being imposed on Scotland using the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020. The Business Secretary replied that that Act is the Koh-i-Noor jewel in the crown of the UK constitution—an unfortunate comparison given that the Koh-i-Noor was pillaged from India by the British. Then we heard a Tory MP suggest that fracking should go ahead in Scotland, instead of in her constituency. As the Secretary of State for Communities, will he make it clear to his Cabinet colleagues that there must be no move to impose fracking on communities in Scotland?

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[Mr Clarke]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question. We are looking at all the measures that can be used to drive forward and accelerate housing growth, but as I said in response to the right hon. Member for Exeter (Mr Bradshaw), there are compelling reasons why this option has not been pursued before, and I hope that will give some comfort to my hon. Friend today.

[Mr Speaker]

That ends questions. Before we come to the next business I want to say something about applications for urgent questions. Although such applications are made in confidence, on an exceptional basis I want to say something about applications that I received today about the treatment of protesters at the consulate of the People’s Republic of China in Manchester at the weekend. I regard this issue as being of the utmost seriousness; it is something which I am convinced should be considered on the Floor of the House. Given the importance and urgency of the other business being taken I will not allow the UQ today, but if no statement on the subject is brought forward by the Government later this week, I shall certainly be sympathetic to a UQ application.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Simon Clarke and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 17th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Simon Clarke]

What is levelling up is making sure that we have a colossal programme of transport investment designed to ensure that the connections both between regions and within regions are as strong as they can be, and I refer to the £96 billion integrated rail plan, which sits at the heart of our ambition in this space. Clearly the specifics of the proposal that the hon. Gentleman mentions are for Transport Ministers and the Mayor of Greater Manchester to discuss.

[Mr Speaker]

I let questions run on because the writs were moved earlier and we were late starting.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Simon Clarke and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 15th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Clarke]

As has been discussed earlier in this session, as my hon. Friend rightly highlights, the Government recognise that households do need support with the rising cost of energy. Indeed, the Chancellor has already provided support worth some £9.1 billion for the financial year 2022-23. On her wider point about boosting growth, the Chancellor outlined in his Mais lecture the importance of the Government investing in capital, people and ideas, so that we can strengthen the economy and make sure that the UK is best placed to succeed in what is a challenging set of circumstances.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[James Murray (Ealing North) (Lab/Co-op)]

Just in the last seven days, we have learned that 7 billion items of personal protective equipment were not fit for purpose, the Government are burning 500 lorryloads of it a month and former Treasury Minister Lord Agnew admitted that the lack of anti-fraud measures in the Government’s covid business support packages meant it was

“happy days if you were a crook”.

When billions of pounds of public money have been lost through the Chancellor’s incompetence, is the Minister ashamed to be hiking taxes on working people by billions of pounds next month?

[Mr Clarke]

I am afraid the hon. Gentleman misunderstands the situation in regard to PPE. Over 97% of the stock that was ordered was suitable for use. Indeed, when it comes to the wider figure covering the PPE piece, £4.7 billion of that represents PPE that will be used by the NHS, but which was procured at a greater price than it carries today owing to the scarcity that prevailed at that time, and another £3.3 billion represents PPE that can be used in non-medical settings, and the Department of Health and Social Care has already sold and donated stock in this category.

On the wider fraud point, this goes back to my earlier answer that we had to design these schemes at pace to protect jobs—I think this was agreed across the House—and we rightly, I think, made sure that that was the priority. We then built in the protections that were needed, and the protections have made sure that we are able to pursue anyone who has defrauded the taxpayer.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the SNP spokesperson.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

Lord Agnew’s evidence to the Treasury Committee last week was a damning indictment of this Tory Government’s “terrible complacency”—his words—about fraud and protecting public money, and he does not buy what the Minister says about working at pace either. Lord Agnew anticipates that there will be an “avalanche of claims” from the banks on the state guarantee of the bounce back loan scheme arriving at the Treasury in the coming weeks, so can the Minister tell the House what actions he is taking to prevent yet further billions of public money from waltzing out the door in the midst of a cost of living crisis?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Simon Clarke and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 7th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Jason McCartney]

I know the passion of the Chancellor and the Chief Secretary for levelling up, and I welcome the creation of a Treasury campus in the north-east. When the Treasury next relocates, may I encourage my right hon. Friends to look at Huddersfield, Marsden and Slaithwaite in my Colne Valley constituency? They are strategically located on the TransPennine rail route between Leeds and Manchester, and we are set to have millions invested thanks to the integrated rail plan. We have fantastic former mill sites ready for regeneration, and the Chief Secretary and the Chancellor would be welcome to join me on a visit.

[Mr Speaker]

Be careful how you answer, Chief Secretary. There are two more questions to come.

[Mr Clarke]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Jason McCartney) for his invitation, and I look forward to being in Darlington at the Treasury’s northern hub this week.

I am glad to hear of my hon. Friend’s support for the wider investment on the TransPennine rail route, which will improve connectivity between Manchester, Leeds and York, including Marsden and Huddersfield, with benefits starting this decade. Diary permitting, I would be delighted to discuss a visit to see that investment in action.

[Mr Speaker]

What will you say to Karl MᶜCartney?

[Karl MᶜCartney]

Thank you, and happy Christmas to you, Mr Speaker.

Connectivity is critical to levelling up, which is why I have advocated and secured significant infrastructure improvements in Lincoln since 2010. The recent counterproductive 25% cut in Lincolnshire’s highways maintenance grant is not levelling up, and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor was sitting next to the Prime Minister when I raised this issue at Prime Minister’s questions a fortnight ago.

If the Treasury does not provide the funding to return Lincolnshire’s highways maintenance grant to 2019-20 levels, at the very least, there will be a significant impact on improvements and repairs to the highways network in our county. Will the Chief Secretary agree to return the funding to pre-pandemic levels, or at least to put pressure on our colleagues in the Department for Transport to do so?

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[Hannah Bardell (Livingston) (SNP)]

9. What recent assessment he has made of the effect of his fiscal policies on gender equality.

[Mr Speaker]

Does anybody want a question? Ah, Minister.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Simon Clarke)]

Our fiscal policies support the Government’s ambition of creating a fairer and more equal society, and women are among those who will benefit the most. For example, women are expected to benefit disproportionately from the Government’s increase to the national living wage to £9.50 for workers aged 23 and above, as well as the rise in the national minimum wage for young people and apprentices.

Budget: Pre-announcement of Provisions

Debate between Simon Clarke and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 26th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Clarke]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his question. He is absolutely right that levelling up is a core theme of this Government. It is something of which I am very proud, as a north-eastern MP, to have the chance to help deliver, and it is going to be one of the golden threads of the Budget and spending review tomorrow. I wish that I could start plucking rabbits out of the hat for him now, but he will have to wait just a few more hours to get some, hopefully, very welcome news.

[Mr Speaker]

Sky TV tomorrow.

[Dame Angela Eagle (Wallasey) (Lab)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting this urgent question. It has taken me nearly 30 years, but I now find that I agree with the right hon. Member for Wokingham (John Redwood) in his question. This is serious. As an Opposition, we cannot look in detail at the slew—the blizzard—of Budget announcements that have been going on week after week, because we do not have the OBR report and we do not have the detail. This is treating parliamentary democracy with utter contempt and the Minister should be completely ashamed of himself. He should have come to this House and apologised. His boss should have come to this House and apologised.

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[Mr Clarke]

I thank the hon. Gentleman, who is of course one of the most assiduous Members of this House. Clearly we all look to make sure that the Budget documentation is as full and as frank as possible—we have the work of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility as well—to make sure precisely that the Budget debate that follows can be as fully informed as possible as to the full implications of all the measures that are announced.

[Mr Speaker]

Can I just ask for a little clarification from the Minister? He has made an announcement to the House that I am not sure is correct: he said that it is a five-day debate, but I thought it was only four days.

[Mr Clarke]

My apologies, Mr Speaker: it is a four-day debate.

[Mr Speaker]

At least we have heard it in the House first.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Simon Clarke and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 15th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Clarke]

The winter storms have passed from memory, given everything that has happened subsequently, but they were terrible and had a significant impact on several communities, particularly on the west coast of the country. I am very conscious of that. We of course make a commitment that the funds that were promised will be paid. Local government is a devolved matter and therefore my Department does not engage directly with Welsh councils, but they can rest assured that they will receive their fair share according to the Barnett formula.

[Mr Speaker]

Off to lovely Lancashire with shadow Minister Kate Hollern.

[Kate Hollern (Blackburn) (Lab) [V]]

Thank you, Mr Speaker, but it is not so sunny today I am afraid.

The Government made a promise to councils that they would provide full support so that councils could do whatever it takes to get through the coronavirus crisis. According to Local Government Association figures released on 29 May, councils needed as much as £6 billion to cover the cost of coping with the ongoing pandemic. If things returned to normal, that was the Government’s promise. However, we all know it is obvious that things will not to return to normal in July. Will the Minister speak to his Treasury colleagues and keep his promise to cover the deficit faced by councils and prevent them from going over the cliff edge? I acknowledge the Minister’s earlier responses, but he has yet to give a complete commitment to funding councils’ deficit.