Contributions
1,819 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDInternational TravelAfter 15 months of restrictions and lockdowns, I know that everybody in the House is determined to get this pandemic behind us, so that we might finally begin to think about…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelYes, I can provide a bit more detail. The group is chaired at Cabinet Office level and the equivalent in the United States. It was, as the hon. Lady will know, set up by the…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelI do recognise the desire to see the system clarified. I went to some lengths in my opening remarks to explain that we have some issues that we need to resolve, including what the…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelI hear the calls for clarity, and I appreciate what the hon. Lady is saying, but is she suggesting that we should leave children behind this summer? Should people who have not…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelI think it is true to say, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, that people are fed up with the restrictions. The good news is that the evidence clearly shows divergence between…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelI have to say, we are providing £7 billion of support. The hon. Lady says that the Opposition have consistently called for support, but that is not the case. The former shadow…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelThat is absolutely the case. I want to reassure my hon. Friend and the whole House that I wish to see travel reopened—I am the Secretary of State for Transport; I want to see…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelI am pleased to tell my hon. Friend that he should not have needed to take three tests. Returning from a green country, he would simply be required to fill in his passenger…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelI always have ongoing conversations and that is one thing that has led to furlough being available—and not only that, but a scheme that has, in essence, paid the business rates…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelMy hon. Friend will know that I have been working with the Chancellor throughout this crisis, which is how £7 billion-worth of support has been provided to the travel sector. I…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelMy hon. Friend is absolutely right, and the only caveat I would add is that I am really keen to see us open up—we want to see it happen and we are going to put all the measures in…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelOn the contrary, I have been listening carefully to what the hon. Member for Oldham West has had to say from the Front Bench. A few days ago, he was challenged about how many…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelI am grateful for the direct message. Sadly, the pandemic and the virus do not give us much advance notice; we often find that a country is on the green list and we need to move…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelThe right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to point out the struggle for regional airports in particular. They do not have pockets as deep as those of some of the very large…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelThe hon. Lady perhaps did not hear me mention that we are paying the entirety of the business rates bill for every airport—I must check the facts here—in England. I hope that the…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelThe right hon. Lady is absolutely right about the need to prevent the variants. Our surveillance system, which involves our sequencing the genome more than any other country in…29 Jun 2021HANSARDInternational TravelMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. Businesses across the travel industry have been drawing on the £350 billion-worth of grants and loans, VAT deferrals, the furlough scheme and…29 Jun 2021HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. The last few weeks have seen a remarkable digital transformation in the background, which means that people coming in from green-list countries…24 Jun 2021HANSARDWilliams-Shapps Plan for RailThe transformation of our railways has now started and passengers are already benefiting as we are investing billions in rail across the UK, including with the flexible tickets…24 Jun 2021HANSARDWilliams-Shapps Plan for RailYesterday I was at what will become Great Britain’s biggest ever railway station built in one go—Old Oak Common—so it is fantastic to hear about the railway station in the hon.…24 Jun 2021