Contributions
814 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDRetained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) BillI will be brief. My arguments will be simple and they will go straight to amendment 36. When the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) spoke, I had a flash of déjà vu,…18 Jan 2023HANSARDRetained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) BillWill my hon. Friend give way?18 Jan 2023HANSARDRetained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) BillIf the hon. Lady had given me 30 seconds, I would have made exactly that point. I agree with her. This morning, or last night, we had No. 10 rushing to brief the papers and to…18 Jan 2023HANSARD Landfill Tax FraudMy hon. Friend has talked of perverse incentives. As far as I am aware—and, as I have said, I served as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee for five years—this is the…12 Jan 2023HANSARD Landfill Tax FraudThe hon. Gentleman is reaching beyond my level of expertise, frankly. My view is that this clearly is a systemic problem. There is either a funding shortage or a power or…12 Jan 2023HANSARD Landfill Tax FraudThat is absolutely correct. I am sure Gresham did not have in mind blackmail and threats as well, which also come into it when the operation becomes criminal rather than legal.…12 Jan 2023HANSARD Landfill Tax FraudI agree with the aims the hon. Lady describes, but I am not sure whether this is a resource issue for the Environment Agency—I think there is a resource issue in other areas. If…12 Jan 2023HANSARD Landfill Tax FraudWill the Minister give way before he moves on?12 Jan 2023HANSARD Landfill Tax FraudIn a way, the Minister’s comments on Walleys Quarry reinforce the point. He says it is a difficult area to enforce in tax terms. I do not actually agree. I think a great deal more…12 Jan 2023HANSARD Landfill Tax FraudThe hon. Gentleman is right. There is almost a generic problem with local authorities. They very often face problems that look intimidatingly large to them, and the temptation…12 Jan 2023HANSARD Landfill Tax FraudI agree. Exporting from Scotland to England will not help at all, so the right hon. Gentleman is exactly right. We have a ridiculous co-ordination problem in the midst of all…12 Jan 2023HANSARD Landfill Tax FraudThe right hon. Gentleman is right, and I will come back to the incentives—both criminal and legal—that are built in against legal operators. The right hon. Gentleman also spoke…12 Jan 2023HANSARD Landfill Tax FraudAs we have come to expect, the right hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones) made a wise, insightful and pretty comprehensive speech. He is right to say that we have both…12 Jan 2023HANSARDIllegal ImmigrationI strongly welcome the seriousness with which the Prime Minister addresses this issue, particularly his focus on stopping the Albanian gangs. With respect to the dispersal…13 Dec 2022HANSARD BBC Local RadioDoes my right hon. Friend agree that impartiality is right at the front of the BBC’s ethos, but that in practice many of us in this Chamber—certainly, I do—find that BBC local…08 Dec 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillMy hon. Friend is exactly right about that. I used the example of clickbait as shorthand. The simple truth is that “AI-generated” is also a misnomer, because these things are not…05 Dec 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillI rise in support of the right hon. Gentleman. The production order structure, as it stands, is already being abused: I know of a case in place today. The measure should be…05 Dec 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillThe right hon. Lady and I have co-operated to deal with international corporate villains, so I am interested in her proposal. However, a great number of these actions are taken by…05 Dec 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillPerhaps we should run my speech against— [Laughter.] I am teasing. I am coming to the end of my comments, Madam Deputy Speaker. The simple truth is that these mechanisms—call them…05 Dec 2022HANSARD Online Safety BillI listened with interest to the comments of the right hon. Member for Barking (Dame Margaret Hodge) about who should be held responsible. I am trying to think through how that…05 Dec 2022