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1,819 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Thomas CookI understand my right hon. Friend’s concern, and I congratulate him on his work over the past few days with his constituents who have lost their jobs. We have touched on this…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookFirst, with regard to the repatriation of staff, it is not the case that all the staff necessarily want to come straight back. Aircrew, for example, have been or are being…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookI did not come into this job until 23 July. Some recommendations of the airline insolvency review have already been taken into account and, indeed, used in this particular case,…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookI reject the assertion that nothing has happened. The airline insolvency review required time—in fact, the final version was published only on 9 May. A few months later, we are…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookIt is for the official receiver to do that work. The official receiver has the powers of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, and will no doubt use them. I should say…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookI do have a lot of sympathy with the hon. Lady’s comments. To me, the process of knowing that an airline is struggling and having Operation Matterhorn underway without being able…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookI think I answered the first question about the Insolvency Act and the Company Directors Disqualification Act. As the hon. Lady knows, it is for the official receiver to do that…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookMy hon. Friend will be interested to hear that I put those questions to the CAA just yesterday, and asked it to investigate for me. The CAA believes that automatic pricing kicked…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookMy hon. Friend is right about the extraordinary work done by employees who know they have lost their job still working, even today, and by those who are uncertain about their…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookAlthough I do not want to reveal the contents of the Queen’s Speech, I hope the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that I have hinted broadly at where we want to go. With the…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookYes. That situation will depend on whether the holiday was in the end booked through an ATOL-protected scheme or not. From the hon. Lady’s description, it sounds like it may have…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. He mentioned some airlines, and I should mention British Airways, TUI, Virgin, EasyJet and Ryanair. All of them, and others, have been…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookIt is hugely distressing to hear about people who are stuck. The CAA is actively monitoring anyone who calls in—the line is there, and the website is there—and even people who…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookIt is not quite the case that we cannot distinguish, although I take my hon. Friend’s point. We can distinguish between the two, but there is a strong argument for making sure…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookOn the pensions front, I think there are four different Thomas Cook pensions, the largest of which is a £1 billion fund. That will now be handled through the usual insolvency…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookI entirely agree with my hon. Friend. Look, companies do sometimes go bust. The problem here is that they are going bust leaving a massive number of people and leaving this…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookThe hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. Stansted and, in fact, all the other airports—I have been in touch with many of them—have been very forthcoming with their assistance.…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookThe hon. Lady is well versed in these matters, and she will know that there are moves afoot to change the process. We have expressed concerns ourselves over the audit approach in…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookYes, absolutely. This Jobcentre Plus rapid response service is absolutely set up, ready and mobilised to assist. As I said in a previous response, if any of my hon. Friend’s…25 Sept 2019HANSARD Thomas CookMy right hon. Friend the high streets Minister has already been in contact with me about the further hole that this leaves in our high streets. He has a number of fantastic…25 Sept 2019