Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill

Debate between Simon Clarke and Rosie Winterton

2nd reading
Tuesday 12th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Sir Simon Clarke]

There are two points to correct in the right hon. Lady’s narrative about what Labour would do that the Government are not doing. The first is that the Government are already doing much of what she lists, and I can attest to that, having funded it in various different capacities. She also misses the point that my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham) made a moment ago. We are dealing in this instance with the consequences of large numbers of people coming to this country, not with the cause. Rwanda seeks to address the incentives driving this evil trade. It is only by getting Rwanda to work that we change the calculus not only for the people making the crossing, but for the people expediting it, who are the criminal gangs. Does the right hon. Lady not recognise that that is why this scheme is so important?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Before I call the right hon. Lady, I stress that when people make interventions, not only should they be fairly short, but having done so, it is important to stay for the rest of the speech. Some people have been wandering out, having made an intervention. Anyone who is thinking of making an intervention, please bear in mind that you then have to stay for the entirety of the speech.

Illegal Immigration

Debate between Simon Clarke and Rosie Winterton

Wednesday 15th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. I urge colleagues to be brief in their questions so that the Home Secretary can be brief in return. We have a very packed agenda today and I want to make every effort to get everyone in.

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

I add my congratulations to the Home Secretary on his new role. It seems to me that the key word is “time”. We cannot keep relitigating this question to achieve what seems an ever-moving target in what the courts want us to achieve. Our constituents sent us here with a very clear message: sort the small boats issue. Parliament has passed legislation to sort the issue. Can my right hon. Friend be specific about the point at which the attempts by the Government to recondition the agreement with Rwanda into treaty form will have elapsed, and a “notwithstanding” clause, of the kind that my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough (Neil O’Brien) has set out, will become the only tool by which we can ensure that the will of this House takes effect? We cannot allow this cycle to continue indefinitely.

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Order. I remind the House that I did just say “be brief.”

Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill

Debate between Simon Clarke and Rosie Winterton

Report stage
Tuesday 13th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

I will have to start with a five-minute time limit for Back-Bench speeches, I am afraid. I call Simon Clarke.

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

I pay tribute to all who were involved in the creation of this Bill, which I had the pleasure of overseeing briefly as Secretary of State. Let me also express my appreciation for the Government’s work in relation to last week’s commitment to a new approach to the permitting of onshore wind, enshrining community consent as the key guiding principle when it comes to whether new developments, or indeed existing ones, can be set up. That is a hugely welcome change, and one that I believe can and should unite the House. As a result, I have withdrawn what was new clause 90 today, although I thank all those who supported it, particularly my right hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Alok Sharma).

The hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Matthew Pennycook) mentioned the consultation which we look forward to seeing in due course. I am confident that it will be a robust, credible mechanism which will establish how we can measure community consent and how we can unlock developments when communities wish to support them, while, obviously, protecting places that do not wish to host onshore wind.

There is much that I commend in the Government’s new clauses, new schedule and amendments, just as there was on the first day’s debate on devolution. I particularly welcome new clause 69, on street votes, and clause 50, on community land auctions. Both are classic supply-side reforms of the kind that we badly need if we are to liberalise house building. That has clearly been a central issue of contention in recent debates on the Bill, but there are some welcome new proposals that we should also consider. I especially commend the new clauses tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Weston-super-Mare (John Penrose), which I think would successfully complement the wider liberalisation set out in the Bill.

We should recap some of the fundamental points that we need to recognise when it comes to not just today’s debate, but all debates in the House about intergenerational fairness and opportunities. Since the 1950s and 1960s the rate at which we expand our housing supply has halved, even as the population has risen. In London it would take the average worker more than 15 years to afford a deposit. To put it simply, we need more homes—as many as we can possibly build—and we should enable the free market through every possible mechanism at our disposal.

It is to the Government’s credit that we have been building at the fastest rate for some 30 years, but for too many people under 50, the dream of an opportunity society is receding rather than coming closer. As recently as 1991, 78% of those aged between 25 and 44 were owner-occupiers; the figure today is 56%. For those aged between 25 and 34, it has fallen from 67% to 41%. So many of the long-term concerns that we confront in this Chamber—inequality, productivity, even fertility—are linked with our fundamental problem of not being able to build enough homes for it to be affordable for too many young people to rent, let alone buy.

I happen to believe that enabling home ownership is an existential priority for my party, but Members on both sides of the House should welcome innovative new measures in the Bill, such as street votes and community land auctions, which can progress that agenda. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has said with regard to street votes—and, as so often, I cannot phrase this better than him—

“Arithmetic is important but so is beauty, so is belonging, so is democracy, and so is making sure that we are building communities.”

I think that these measures will help us to realise that.

However, there are issues on which I believe we ought to go further. I am conscious of the limited time that we have today, but I will touch on the issue of nutrient neutrality. I believe that, although the Bill makes welcome progress to try to unlock this thorny problem—which is blocking 100,000 new planning permissions from being realised—we can and should go further. That potentially includes derogating from the habitat regulations, while imposing tighter restrictions on the root causes of pollution: bad farming practices, and poor management of waste water by our waterworks.



Most fundamentally, I want to go back to that point in regard to the need for us to build the homes that this country requires, and that takes us back to the underlying issue of targets and the new clauses tabled in this regard by my right hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Theresa Villiers) and my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight (Bob Seely). It is critical that, as the national planning policy framework is redrawn, we keep making the case for good, high-quality developments with the right infrastructure and rational incentives for communities to welcome new homes. If we do not, it will be a social and economic disaster for this country and a terrible problem for my party as we seek to make the case for a property-owning democracy and popular capitalism.

Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill [Lords]

Debate between Simon Clarke and Rosie Winterton

Report stage
Tuesday 22nd February 2022 Commons Chamber

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

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

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

New clause 1—Guidance to public service pension scheme managers on investment decisions—

“(1) The Public Service Pensions Act 2013 is amended in accordance with subsection (2).

(2) In schedule 3, paragraph 12(a), at end insert ‘including guidance or directions on investment decisions which it is not proper for the scheme manager to make in light of UK foreign and defence policy’.”

This new clause would enable the Secretary of State to issue guidance to those authorities that administer public sector pension schemes, including the local government pension scheme, that they may not make investment decisions that conflict with the UK’s foreign and defence policy.

New clause 2—Investment decisions in funded schemes—

“(1) Section 3 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 is amended in accordance with subsection (2).

(2) After sub-paragraph (3) insert—

‘(3A) Scheme regulations must require an authority’s investment strategy to ensure that investment decisions are consistent with the Glasgow Climate Pact 2021.’”

This new clause would require public sector pensions schemes to ensure future investments are consistent with the climate science, ambitions and timeframes agreed at the COP26 UN Climate Summit.

New clause 3—Investment decisions in funded schemes: fossil fuel assets—

“(1) Section 3 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 is amended in accordance with subsection (2).

(2) After sub-paragraph (3) insert—

‘(3A) Scheme regulations must require the fund to have removed all investment in fossil fuel assets by 2030.’”

This new clause would require public sector pensions schemes to disinvest from fossil fuels by 2030, by removing fossil fuel assets from their investment portfolios, securities transactions and balance sheets.

New clause 4—Review of the impact of this Act on fairness—

“(1) The Chancellor of the Exchequer must commission a review of the impact of this Act on fairness to members in receipt of pensions to which this Part applies.

(2) The Chancellor of the Exchequer must prepare and publish a report on this review within six months of the passage of this Act and must lay a copy of the report before Parliament.

(3) The review under subsection (1) must include an assessment of the impact of the provisions of this Act on women.

(4) The review under subsection (1) must make recommendations as to whether further legislation should be brought forward by the Government to close the public service pensions gap between men and women.”

This new clause would require the Government to report on the impact of this Part on fairness, especially with regards to women.

New clause 5—Guidance—

“(1) Within six months of the passage of this Act the Chancellor of the Exchequer must lay before Parliament a copy of guidance to members of pension schemes affected by this Part.

(2) The purpose of the guidance under subsection (1) is to ensure members are able to make informed choices about their pensions.

(3) The Government must provide a free helpline or online service which members can use to receive further guidance about their pension.

(4) Within six months of the day on which the guidance is published the Government must lay before Parliament a report on its effectiveness in achieving the purpose in subsection (2).”

This new clause would require the Government to publish guidance to members of pension schemes affected by this Part and allows for provision of a helpline or online service to offer further assistance.

New clause 6—Impact on the recruitment of new holders of judicial offices—

“(1) Within 12 months of the passage of this Act the Government must commission an evaluation of the impact of this Act on recruitment of new holders of judicial offices and on the diversity of the judiciary.

(2) The Chancellor of the Exchequer must prepare and publish a report on this evaluation and must lay a copy of the report before Parliament.”

This new clause would require the Government to publish an annual update on progress on recruiting new members to the judiciary and increasing diversity.

New clause 8—Compensation of losses incurred by closure of legacy schemes—

“(1) The Chancellor of the Exchequer must review how a loss incurred by a member with remediable service who is transferred to the new scheme under section 80 and—

(a) reaches the required number of years of pensionable service to retire with full benefits under the legacy scheme, and

(b) is unable to access the full value of those benefits because they must continue to work to retire with full benefits under the new scheme

could be compensated.

(2) The Chancellor of the Exchequer must prepare and publish a report on this review within two months of the passage of this Act and must lay a copy of the report before Parliament.”

This new clause would require the Government to review how losses arising from the “pension trap” could be compensated, and to report on the review within two months of the passage of the Act.

New clause 9—Equality impact analysis of provisions of this Act—

“(1) The Chancellor of the Exchequer must review the equality impact of the provisions of this Act in accordance with this section and lay a report of that review before the House of Commons within six months of the passage of this Act.

(2) A review under this section must consider the impact of those provisions on—

(a) people with protected characteristics (within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010), and

(b) the Government’s compliance with the public sector equality duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010.

(3) A review under this section must include a separate analysis of each separate measure in the Act, and must also consider the cumulative impact of the Act as a whole.”

This new clause would require the Government to review the equality impact of the provisions of this Act, and to report on the review within six months of the passage of the Act.

New clause 10—Report on losses incurred by closure of legacy schemes—

“The Chancellor of the Exchequer must consult with the relevant trade unions and other bodies representing pension scheme members and report within 6 months of the passage of this Act on the options available for addressing in a non-discriminatory manner any loss incurred by a member with remediable service who is transferred to the new scheme under section 80 and—

(a) reaches the required number of years of pensionable service to retire with full benefits under the legacy scheme, but

(b) is unable to access the full value of those benefits because they must continue to work to retire with full benefits under the new scheme.”

This new clause would require the Government to consult with the trade unions and other bodies representing members of the pension schemes who are affected by the “pensions trap” and to report on the options available to address this issue without causing discrimination.

Government amendments 1 to 17.

Amendment 24, in clause 92, page 67, line 39, leave out paragraph (c) and insert—

“(c) leave out paragraph (c).”

This amendment removes from the calculation of the employer cost cap the effect of changes in the cost of connected schemes, including the cost of rectifying the unlawful discrimination.

Amendment 22, page 67, line 39, leave out paragraphs (c) and (d).

This amendment removes from the Bill the amendment to Section 12 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 that would allow Treasury directions to determine whether the cost control mechanism would operate.

Amendment 23, page 70, line 27, leave out clause 93.

Government amendments 18 to 21.

[Mr Clarke]

It is a pleasure to open this debate. I wish briefly to remind Members why this is such an important piece of legislation that we must ensure we get right. Our public servants provide vital services on which we all rely and their unwavering commitment has been particularly vital during the covid pandemic. We have an obligation to continue to provide guaranteed pension benefits to reward those workers for their dedicated service, and must do so on a fairer basis and in a way that ensures that pensions are affordable and sustainable in future.

Let me turn to the amendments that I have tabled, which are largely technical ones to ensure the Bill works smoothly. New clause 7 makes it possible for the judicial pension scheme 2022 regulations to be subject to the made affirmative procedure rather than the draft affirmative procedure, which is the usual process for judicial scheme regulations. The Bill closes all current judicial pension schemes to future accrual on 31 March this year, so the change is necessary to ensure that the new pension scheme is in place for all judges on 1 April. There will therefore be no gap in judicial pension arrangements.

The provision in the new clause is an exceptional use of the made affirmative procedure in respect of judges’ pensions. It is limited to scheme regulations for the judiciary that are made within 28 days of Royal Assent, so it will be used only to make the judicial pension scheme 2022 regulations. It will not apply to any other public service pension schemes, which are generally made under the negative procedure, nor will it apply to any future amendments to judicial pension schemes.

The remainder of the amendments that I have tabled are minor and technical, with the aim of ensuring that the Bill is applied effectively and consistently. Amendment 19 relates to the commencement provision and simply ensures that different provisions in the Bill can come into force at the appropriate time.

Amendments 1 to 14 simply clarify the wording in various clauses in chapter 1. Together, the amendments give schemes the flexibility to implement the prospective and retrospective remedy in the way that is most efficient for their members.

Amendment 16 ensures that the remedy applies correctly to local government scheme members who were formerly members of other public service pension schemes. In particular, it makes sure that former members of other schemes are not disadvantaged because they previously participated in a scheme with a lower normal pension age.

Amendment 17 provides that the power under clause 81 for local government new scheme regulations to make provision regarding special cases must be exercised in accordance with Treasury directions issued by either Her Majesty’s Treasury or the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland.

On judicial offices, amendment 18 changes the extent of schedule 3 to ensure that if Welsh Ministers or the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland make subsequent changes to the list of devolved offices in schedule 3 using the power conferred on them by clause 125(1), incorrect text will not remain in statute in other parts of the United Kingdom.

Amendments 20 and 21 change a reference to the Special Educational Needs Tribunal for Wales to its new title, the Education Tribunal for Wales, thereby ensuring that a relevant sitting in retirement office is created in the Education Tribunal for Wales.

Charter for Budget Responsibility and Welfare Cap

Debate between Simon Clarke and Rosie Winterton

Monday 10th January 2022 Commons Chamber

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

I beg to move,

That the Charter for Budget Responsibility: Autumn 2021 update, which was laid before this House on 5 January, be approved.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

With this we will take the following motion:

That the level of the welfare cap, as specified in the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, which was laid before this House on 27 October 2021, be approved.

[Mr Clarke]

The charter for budget responsibility is, at its core, about fiscal responsibility. Its existence is born of the belief that stable public finances are the foundation for building a stronger economy for the whole country. Its purpose is to set out the Government’s approach to managing the nation’s finances openly so that the British people know that their money is being handled carefully and to give us a credible framework for action, underpinned by the Office for Budget Responsibility, which the OECD remarked is considered by many as a “model independent fiscal institution”.

Given the challenges that we currently face, hon. Members may reasonably ask whether this is the appropriate time for such a debate, but the credibility of the Government’s fiscal plan is what has allowed us to act as we have and will allow us to act again if we need to. In other words, we are updating the charter not simply for the sake of it, but to maintain what the Chancellor called at the Budget

“the path of discipline and responsibility”.—[Official Report, 27 October 2021; Vol. 702, c. 275.]

Almost two years ago, in the face of the pandemic, we took bold and decisive action to commit unprecedented amounts of public money to support jobs and businesses across the UK. That, including the support recently announced in response to the omicron variant, has helped to prevent long-term scarring to the British economy. The International Monetary Fund praised our

“impressive, coordinated, and extended policy response”,

while the OBR said that the costs of inaction would have been far higher.

The Government are proud of the decisions that we have taken, and that we continue to take, but we are not complacent. The pandemic has left us with the highest level of borrowing since the second world war and, at nearly 100% of GDP, public debt will reach its highest level since the early 1960s. That is clearly not sustainable over the long term.

It is important to keep debt under control for three key reasons. First, our level of debt means that we are more vulnerable to changes of interest rates and to inflation. In fact, OBR analysis from July found that our sensitivity of debt interest spending to changes in interest rates is almost twice what it was before the pandemic. A single percentage point increase in interest rates and inflation would increase annual spending on debt interests by over £20 billion in 2024-25, which is more than the entire Home Office budget for that year.

Budget Resolutions

Debate between Simon Clarke and Rosie Winterton

Tuesday 2nd November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Clarke]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are investing smart so that we seed the growth of the future. That is what we need to do. Ultimately, it is all about unlocking the dynamism of industry and making sure that we can compete in a way that matches some of the competitor economies that do so much more in that space.

I have outlined some of the bold policy initiatives that the Government are bringing forward, which represent a transformative investment in our economy and the country. There is one final promise that I want to address, which is our pledge to safeguard the nation’s finances. I reassure my right hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) and my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax), who gave robust Thatcherite speeches, that this Chief Secretary will never bequeath his successor a note saying “I’m afraid there is no money.”

Make no mistake, however, that although the economic picture is improving, we are still vulnerable. As the Chancellor said, a 1% increase in inflation and interest rates would increase spending on debt interest by nearly £23 billion. That is over £6 billion more than the total Home Office net budget will be in ’24-’25, so we must continue to build a stronger economy with the headroom to withstand shocks, which will mean making difficult decisions in the national interest.

That is why we have announced a new charter for budget responsibility, with two new fiscal rules that will keep the Government on the path of discipline and responsibility. The whole House will be asked to vote on it, which will give Members the choice between unfunded pledges and fiscal sustainability. It is the easiest thing in the world to say yes to everything, but as everyone on the Government Benches knows, reckless promises are the luxury of the Opposition and tough choices are the responsibility of the Government. Members can rest assured that the Conservatives will always do the right thing to protect our economy and our citizens’ future.

Our record spending on public services, huge investment to fund growth and unrelenting focus on building a stronger economy stand in stark contrast to the Opposition. If there is one idea that the debate has dispelled, it is that there is a credible plan on the Opposition Benches. There were so many negative speeches and unfunded pledges, and so many people, such as the hon. Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon), who ridiculed an age of optimism. I think, and I know Conservative Members believe, that we should be optimistic about the future. We have come through the shadow of the pandemic as one country, stronger together, and we have come forward with a plan for investment, growth and levelling up. We should be proud of that.

Churchill talked about Budgets having an heir. I believe that this Budget will leave a long-lasting legacy for the UK in the shape of transformed lives, new opportunities and the strong foundations that will transform our country for decades to come. I commend the Budget and spending review to the House.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That income tax is charged for the tax year 2022-23.

And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

I am now required under Standing Order No. 51(3) to put successively, without further debate, the Question on each of the Ways and Means motions numbered 2 to 57 and the money resolution on which the Bill is to be brought in. These motions are set out in a separate paper distributed with today’s Order Paper.

The Deputy Speaker put forthwith the Questions necessary to dispose of the motions made in the name of the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Standing Order No. 51(3)).

2. Income tax (main rates)

Resolved,

That for the tax year 2022-23 the main rates of income tax are as follows—

(a) the basic rate is 20%,

(b) the higher rate is 40%, and

(c) the additional rate is 45%.

And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.

3. Income tax (default and savings rates)

Resolved,

That—

(1) For the tax year 2022-23 the default rates of income tax are as follows—

(a) the default basic rate is 20%,

(b) the default higher rate is 40%, and

(c) the default additional rate is 45%.

(2) For the tax year 2022-23 the savings rates of income tax are as follows—

(a) the savings basic rate is 20%,

(b) the savings higher rate is 40%, and

(c) the savings additional rate is 45%.

And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.

4. Income tax (rates of tax on dividend income)

Resolved,

That—

(1) In section 8 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (which provides, among other things, for the dividend ordinary rate, dividend upper rate and dividend additional rate)—

(a) in subsection (1) (the dividend ordinary rate), for “7.5%” substitute “8.75%”,

(b) in subsection (2) (the dividend upper rate), for “32.5%” substitute “33.75%”, and

(c) in subsection (3) (the dividend additional rate), for “38.1%” substitute “39.35%”.

(2) In section 9(2) of the Income Tax Act 2007 (the dividend trust rate), for “38.1%” substitute “39.35%”.

(3) The amendments made by this Resolution have effect for the tax year 2022-23 and subsequent tax years.

And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.

5. Income tax (starting rate limit for savings)

Resolved,

That—

(1) For the tax year 2022-23 the amount specified in section 12(3) of the Income Tax Act 2007 (the starting rate limit for savings) is “£5,000”.

(2) Accordingly, section 21 of that Act (indexation) does not apply in relation to the starting rate limit for savings for that tax year.

And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.

6. Surcharge on banking companies

Question put,

That (notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the practice of the House relating to the matters that may be included in Finance Bills) provision taking effect in a future year may be made altering the percentage specified in section 269DA(1) of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 and amending Part 7A of that Act so as to alter the amount of the surcharge allowance.