Draft European Research Infrastructure Consortium (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018

Debate between Toby Perkins and Claire Perry

Monday 3rd December 2018 General Committees

[Claire Perry]

As always, the hon, Lady makes an important point. She is right to distinguish between EU and global talent pools. Of course we want to attract the best and the brightest, wherever they come from, to work in the research and innovation sector, to be part of the industrial strategy, and to benefit the wider-UK economy.

Something that is not in my briefing notes but which the hon. Lady might find interesting is that one of the challenges, I am told, is that not enough home-grown students, particularly women, are emerging from our education system to be grown into those research and innovation positions. One might hope that, in time, we will see more acceleration of women and others through our education system, until we reach the point where we can fill more of those important research positions with UK talent. Regardless, we will still be open to the best and the brightest supporting our world-leading research and innovation base, and as we have been absolutely clear, both in public and in conversations across Government, we want to make sure that we work closely with the research sector to ensure that our visa arrangements are closely aligned to the sector’s needs. She makes an important point: it is not just the availability of research, but the ease of access. If we are bidding in a global talent pool, we must make sure that we have streamlined activities.

[Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)]

I understand what the Minister said a moment ago about not wanting to pre-empt the Home Secretary. Many of us wish that he had in fact pre-empted her and had his White Paper out in time for the meaningful vote. I note that many of the statements in part two were made by the person described as the Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, the hon. Member for East Surrey, who resigned from the Government a few days ago. Can the Minister tell us whether he would have been in this Committee today had he not resigned from his post, and what we should read into the fact that he has made a number of statements telling us that we should not be worried, but now has so little confidence in the Government’s approach that he no longer wants to be a part of it?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Toby Perkins and Claire Perry

Tuesday 17th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Toby Perkins (Chesterfield) (Lab)]

Many small care agencies face bankruptcy in the light of the Treasury advice on the way in which sleep-ins are paid, which has now been changed by the courts. The Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, the right hon. Member for Devizes (Claire Perry), did not seem to know too much about this, but may I urge her to avail herself of the facts urgently, because many small agencies will go bust if we do not get this right?

[Claire Perry]

I want to reassure the hon. Gentleman; he is absolutely right. I have had strong representations and visits about this issue in my own constituency. My reluctance to comment on it at the Dispatch Box is because it is legally incredibly complicated, as he knows, and we have just had the freshest possible news about the judgment. We need to take that away, and we will comment on it shortly. I would be very happy to work closely with him on this issue.