Contributions
730 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDMineworkers’ Pension SchemeI am setting out my Department’s position. Whether a review is undertaken is a matter for the Treasury, and the Treasury’s position was set out in a letter from the Chief…10 Jun 2019HANSARDMineworkers’ Pension SchemeThe trustees have made it clear that protecting bonuses already accrued is their priority, rather than renegotiating a greater share of future surpluses. I have not met the…10 Jun 2019HANSARDMineworkers’ Pension SchemeI certainly will. I think I have only two minutes left, and I was going to come on to exactly that point. I was addressing the question of what has been done to date. I began by…10 Jun 2019HANSARDMineworkers’ Pension SchemeThank you, Mr Speaker. The guarantee gives recipients security because, of course, they know future outcomes can never be known. As referenced earlier, my right hon. Friend the…10 Jun 2019HANSARDMineworkers’ Pension SchemeI would like to start by paying tribute to all hon. and right hon. Members who have contributed to today’s debate, and to the many emotional and passionate speeches reflecting the…10 Jun 2019HANSARDMineworkers’ Pension SchemeI am always happy to meet anybody, and I am more than happy to meet people who have asked for meetings today. I believe that my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Watford…10 Jun 2019HANSARDMineworkers’ Pension SchemeThey do not. There are six proposals, which I have written to the Treasury about, and the trustees felt that protecting existing bonuses earned is more important than a review of…10 Jun 2019HANSARDIndustrial Strategy: North-East of EnglandThe shadow Minister makes a valid point about the interpretation of state aid rules. The challenge of the rules in relation to the steel sector is that they are particularly…05 Jun 2019HANSARDIndustrial Strategy: North-East of EnglandThe shadow Minister is correct; that is one of the reasons why we have the industrial strategy challenge fund. I mentioned my being in Coventry to launch the west midlands local…05 Jun 2019HANSARDIndustrial Strategy: North-East of EnglandCertainly. I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising the issue of British Steel. Since I was appointed, it has probably been the one thing that has taken up more of my time…05 Jun 2019HANSARDIndustrial Strategy: North-East of EnglandIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I congratulate the hon. Member for North Tyneside (Mary Glindon) on securing the debate. I thank hon. Members, who…05 Jun 2019HANSARDIndustrial Strategy: North-East of EnglandI think that I am correct in saying that the Secretary of State has not ruled that option out. However, the thing to bear in mind about nationalisation is that, even if British…05 Jun 2019HANSARDIndustrial Strategy: North-East of EnglandI am very keen to see the UK move forward with carbon capture, use and storage. The hon. Gentleman will be aware of the report by the Committee on Climate Change, which suggested…05 Jun 2019HANSARD Trade Union Access to WorkplacesI will raise that matter with the Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility, and I am sure she will be more than happy to write to the hon. Gentleman…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Trade Union Access to WorkplacesI thank my hon. Friend for his point. He is not just a powerful advocate in the Council of Europe, but a powerful advocate in this place for the role it plays in helping to make…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Trade Union Access to WorkplacesIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McDonagh. I congratulate the hon. Member for Warrington South (Faisal Rashid) on securing today’s important debate, and…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Trade Union Access to WorkplacesI can assure the hon. Gentleman that, as a fellow north-west MP, I am a passionate advocate of the positive role that unions can play. I have stepped into this debate today…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Trade Union Access to WorkplacesI appreciate that point, and I hope I will get to address it slightly later in my remarks. I was trying to emphasise that those rights, as they exist, amount to the right for a…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Trade Union Access to WorkplacesI do not wish to comment on any of the individual cases that have been raised by Members today, but it is always important to keep these things under review, to look at the…04 Jun 2019HANSARD Trade Union Access to WorkplacesI take the hon. Lady’s point. As a constituency MP, I have come across companies whose practices I would not approve of, and I have taken the matter up with managers and been able…04 Jun 2019