John Glen
MP for Salisbury · Conservative · United Kingdom
“I welcome the Chief Secretary to her new position, but what words of comfort could she give the residents of Salisbury in Wiltshire, a unitary authority? We are not part of a combined authority and we do not have a metro mayor.”
“Sam Moody is my constituent. He is the chief executive of Rockhopper. During my time in this House, he has been absolutely scrupulous in following the laws of this country and respecting the Falkland Islanders.”
“I listened carefully to what the Minister said about the process, and I respect that. But most people who take a pretty level-headed, pragmatic view of the need for a transition over time still cannot get their heads around the short-term reality: when we have so much turmoil in the middle east, why would we extend the time that we are no…”
“It is 55 days till the Budget. Given the market’s reaction to the Prime Minister’s statement on Tuesday, and given that our gilt rates are higher than those of our peers in the G7, could we have a debate on the implications of higher taxes for growth?”
“Before the hon. Lady makes her statement on Thursday, will she, when reflecting on the arrangement in Wiltshire that would embrace Wessex—although we have been told that that is not the Government’s view—address the prevailing concern that the people of rural Wiltshire will be considerably worse off without having the opportunity to embra…”
“I recognise that the Minister wants to come to what the Government are going to do, but does he not accept that the decisions already made in the last two years—with respect to the price of employment and the national living wage, the cost of employment with regard to legislation, and business rates—have depressed the appetite of many sma…”
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“We have not, however, taken the same power to amend the bank’s objectives. That is vital in providing clarity to the market and to ensure that the bank is not fundamentally changed without further primary legislation. Secondly, the Bill will allow the bank to provide financial assistance to the private and public sector including, crucially, giving the bank the power to lend directly to local authorities in Great Britain and to the Northern Ireland Executive. That is covered under the bank’s activities in clause 2 and further defined in clause 10 and clause 5, which allows the Treasury to put the bank into funds. It is important to note that the bank will be able to lend directly to each UK nation, including their local authorities.”
“That is covered in clause 2, which includes the bank’s core objectives; its activities, including providing finance for the private sector and public authorities; and a definition of infrastructure. The definition of infrastructure is inclusive and based on existing definitions in the Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Act 2012 and the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020. Crucially, given the bank’s scope, we have focused the definition on economic infrastructure. As a result of the Bill’s passage through the Lords, we included energy efficiency in the definition to clearly signal policy intent. I am sure that we will discuss that further in this debate and in Committee. I highlight that we have taken a power to amend the activities and definition of infrastructure to allow the bank to keep pace with an innovative market.”
“As I have already mentioned, the bank has been operational since last summer and has £22 billion of capacity. The bank is also operating across the UK and has already invested in each of our four nations. I am pleased that each Government have supported the bank, and discussions for a legislative consent motion are progressing well. In that context, I come to the provisions of the Bill. It will complete the setting up of the bank as an operationally independent institution. It is a short Bill of 11 clauses, broadly split across three areas. First, the Bill enshrines the bank’s objectives and activities in legislation to provide clarity for the bank and the market on the bank’s long-term purpose.”
“Disparity in infrastructure across the country has been identified as a key driver of economic inequalities, and central to the Government’s ambitions to level up is setting up new institutions boosting productivity, pay, jobs and living standards. The bank will help to grow the private sector and support it to deliver opportunities in parts of the country where they are lacking. Without intervention, the private sector is likely to continue to target geographic areas that have historically received higher levels of private capital. Targeted advice, support and challenge from the bank can help raise ambition and boost the capability of regional and local government as they tackle complex infrastructure projects. Finally, the NIC recommended that the bank be set up in 2021.”
“With regard to the climate change objectives, significant public and private investment will be needed to achieve the UK’s infrastructure policy goals, and low-carbon investment will need to be significantly scaled up to deliver net zero. That is highlighted by the fact that the UK’s core infrastructure—power, heat and transport networks—account for more than two thirds of UK emissions. Without the bank, the private sector is likely to focus its investment on lower-risk technologies and sectors, and we will not achieve regional and local economic growth without better infrastructure in every region of the country.”
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the work that he did in the Treasury in recent months as my successor as Economic Secretary. The board of the bank has been filled over the summer so that the right expertise has come in to oversee the investments and metrics for success. They will be accountable through normal processes and accountable to Parliament. Indeed, the chairman and chief executive of the bank have made themselves available to Parliament through the process of this legislation, and I attended meetings with them earlier this year with Members of the House of Lords. I know that they are willing to be scrutinised on the logic of their evolving processes and remit so that they can capture the wisdom of this House and the other place.”
“Members on both sides of the House and to the wider public that we have designed the bank to endure and be a long-lasting institution that will deliver the long-term priorities on which we all depend. I greatly look forward to this afternoon’s debate and to drawing on the expertise of hon. Members on both sides of the House.”
“Over time, we expect the bank to catalyse new markets of infrastructure by crowding in private capital to help meet our climate change ambitions and level up across the UK. In much the same way that the EIB helped to catalyse the offshore wind market, where the UK is now a global leader, the UKIB will help to catalyse the infrastructure markets and technologies of the future. Indeed, the Bill will be at the heart of our focus on our long-term energy security. It will help the Government to deliver more renewables, including more offshore wind. I have no doubt that the bank will grow to be a sophisticated and adaptive tool, which will allow the Government to quickly place capital behind the projects that this country needs. I reiterate to hon.”
“I would be very happy to look into that matter and respond to my hon. Friend at the end. It is probably deemed to be unnecessary, but I will give absolute clarity, or the Exchequer Secretary will when he closes. Thirdly, the Bill supports the operational independence of the bank by setting out clear governance and accountability in how it will be run. That is covered by the remaining clauses, including board requirements in clause 8, reporting requirements in clause 6, a review of the bank that will also look into its additionality in clause 9, and the ability for the Treasury to issue a strategic steer in clause 3 or a direction in clause 4. Although the bank is still in its infancy, it is already taking a leading role in the clean infrastructure market.”
“I also welcome the Government’s statement in July, but this is an opportunity for the new Minister to challenge his officials and work with industry representatives to find a deeper and more enduring set of changes that address some of the ongoing challenges that have existed for a very long time. I would not suggest that I have anything like the expertise of my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous), the hon. Member for Bradford South (Judith Cummins) or, particularly, my hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Sir Paul Beresford), who has a lifetime of experience at policy level and as a practitioner. But I am aware that since 1951 there has been a model of co-payments, in which dentists act as independently contracted professionals to the NHS but also typically receive an income from private practice work as well.”
“I rise to speak on behalf of a number of dentists in my constituency. Nicola Jones, an oral surgeon at Salisbury District Hospital, contacted me to say that the lack of available NHS dentists is causing significant challenges in the constituency. I recognise that from my mailbox over recent weeks. I met Matthew Clover, a specialist orthodontic practitioner, in February. He took me through the challenges of the “units of dental activity” model: it does not discriminate properly when it comes to the classification of the different activities that he has to undertake. The challenges derive primarily from the lockdown two years ago and the interruption to supply: 38 million appointments were lost. I welcome the Government intervention earlier this year to provide the additional £50 million and 350,000 additional dental appointments.”
“My message to the new Minister is to build on the good start made by his predecessor in the summer, but to consider a more radical and fundamental review of the UDA funding model, to consider the volume of patients and to consider the real dynamics of the choices a dentist makes about how to maximise the number of patients they see who cannot afford to make a contribution. I feel hopeful that the enthusiasm to provide the service I saw from my dentist in Salisbury means there will be a solution. I wish the Minister well, and I acknowledge the contribution of my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney, who showed a mastery of this subject.”
“Friend the Member for Mole Valley made some very good points about streamlining bureaucracy to ensure more people qualify as dentists in this country. Of course, it is right that we have ongoing quality assessments through the CQC, but that organisation’s focus, as across all industries, needs to be on where there are vulnerabilities and risks. When we think about NHS medical and dental services, I feel we are continually trying to be perfect and to remove all the risk, which sometimes has a cost because it involves using resources to fill in bureaucratic processes that might not necessarily, in most cases, give us much return.”
“There will need to be a focus on how those practices can be embedded in a funding model that has to pay some respect to the geographic coverage of a dentist, while ensuring that each cohort of the population has access to basic dentistry. The proposed new dental contract goes some way towards dealing with some of the challenges of the UDA model, but it probably does not go far enough. I urge the Minister to go beyond what his officials may be suggesting to him, to think radically and to take this opportunity to ask, “How can we reset after the dislocations caused by covid?” I urge him to come up with something that incentivises dentists to offer an holistic service to people of all means and to help those communities that have cold spots of dentistry supply. I would like to make a few observations about supply and, again, my hon.”
“I respectfully say to the hon. Lady that my mother is a resident of Bath and has received excellent service from her NHS dentist. Although I recognise this problem exists in different spots of intensity across the country, it needs a comprehensive solution. The fundamental point is this: how can the model of rewarding dentists incentivise the maximum amount of engagement? All dentists start their professional life wanting to help people and wanting to do as much good as they can. I totally embrace what my hon. Friends the Members for Mole Valley and for Gloucester (Richard Graham) said about the need to deal with the oral health and education of young people, including how to clean their teeth at an early age.”
“I recognise the value of stability and predictability. Given the changes to the corporation tax rate, and given that under the previous Administration my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Rishi Sunak) was going to reduce the bank corporation tax surcharge from 8% to 3%, could the Minister confirm the Government’s intentions, and the assessment made of the effect for banks on competitiveness in financial services?”
“May I simply point out that, if the rate is retained as an 8% surcharge, banks will be paying 33%? When added to the employment costs for national insurance, they may have issues in terms of competitiveness. If that is necessary, could the Minister please make it clear to banks and the markets, so that they can plan for the future?”
“My constituents will be alarmed at what they saw happen in Manchester. I recognise that the Government will have to maintain a constructive dialogue amidst a complicated relationship with China, but let us be really clear that the Chinese regime have shifted in their behaviours in recent years. The behaviour on the streets of Manchester demonstrates that shift. I urge my right hon. Friend not to hold back in facing up to the reality of the new dynamics of the relationship with China. We must remain constructive, but we must also face up to the fact that we now have very different values from those in China.”
“I thank the Secretary of State for reaching out to me in the early days in her new role. I urge her to make a final, binding decision on the tunnel at Stonehenge on the A303. We have been waiting nearly eight years for a definitive statement and I would welcome a decision by the end of this month.”
“My constituent Helen Nash asked me to be here to support the case that the hon. Lady is making. She makes the key point: while the Government did a lot of great work to accelerate the availability of vaccines for the population at large, this particular cohort seems to be subject to a very different set of criteria. That is the great concern. While we must rely on clinical advice, we must also have the same situation for all people, regardless of their status.”
“I, too, congratulate my right hon. Friend on his new role. I acknowledge the narrative of growth and the therapeutic effect of the combination of supply-side reforms and tax cuts to generate growth. My concern is the interval between his assertions today and the medium-term fiscal strategy that will be announced on 31 October, and the markets’ confidence in that interval. Today we see a welcome announcement by the International Monetary Fund on the enhancement to growth, but we also see reference to the enduring effect of inflation. We have also seen in recent weeks the effect of interest rate changes on the cost of living challenges for families up and down this country. Will my right hon. Friend please take account of the interaction of those two conflicting realities?”
“I very much welcome the aspirations for growth; all Governments and all Conservative Chancellors should have their minds focused on sustainable growth. I welcome the measures on the EIS and the SEIS, which were planned. I note the economic logic behind the bankers’ bonus cap change, but in my four and a half years as City Minister, the biggest concern that banks had was the overall tax burden. I urge the Chancellor to keep his focus on its global competitiveness. Finally, in an era of grave uncertainty about inflation, there is clear concern in the markets about the irreconcilable realities of having monetary tightening at the same time as fiscal loosening. I would welcome the Chancellor’s observations and his reassurance to the markets at this time.”
“I thank God for what he showed us about his character through Her Majesty’s wonderful life. God save the King.”
“The abiding memory I will have is one of a sublime peacefulness, an aura of sincerity as she engaged so generously in so many conversations with my constituents. Each morning in my constituency home overlooking the great cathedral—I am so fortunate—I reflect on the day ahead. Looking out of my window, I have two pictures on the window ledge: one of my beloved parents and one of me shaking the hand of Her Majesty a few metres away. I met her once, but I think she will always be with me in my service in Salisbury. Her Majesty led a life that was animated and fuelled by a deep Christian faith that sustained her through life’s highs and lows. I think that this will be the strongest legacy that she will leave me with. Her life was driven by duty, but sustained in full submission to the Gospel of Christ and his teachings.”
“I was moved by the sheer breadth and depth of the impact that Her Majesty has had in every corner of her United Kingdom and beyond. Much has been said about her devotion to her family, her love of the countryside, horses and her beloved corgis, her humour, her kindness and the enduring impact of that remarkable smile that warmed the hearts and left an indelible impression seared into the soul of anyone she encountered. I cannot offer anecdotes from time spent at Balmoral, Sandringham or encounters at the Palace, but I feel no less privileged for that. None the less, I did meet Her Majesty when she visited Salisbury in 2012 in her diamond jubilee year. She visited the Rifles Regimental Museum in Salisbury Cathedral Close, our cathedral and an exhibition of our country’s history and communities on the cathedral lawn.”
“I rise to speak today on behalf of my Salisbury constituents. I wish to start by acknowledging the unique contribution that Her Majesty has made to our nation, the Commonwealth and the world. We will never see a monarch reign through so many decades. The overwhelming grief, sadness and disorientation that our nation is now experiencing is in proportion to and a direct consequence of the enormous role that Her Majesty played in our lives. As King Charles said in his moving address last evening, thank you, Queen Elizabeth. Thank you for your gracious presence in our lives. Many of her subjects will never have met the Queen, but everyone felt that they knew her and that she cared for them. I have sat in this Chamber these past two days and heard so many wonderful speeches from colleagues on both sides of the House.”
“I wish him as long a tenure as I have had.”
“We have needed to embrace innovation, and the sandbox for which the Bill provides is an important function enabling the FCA to do that. As we look to the future, we must think about our relationships with other countries that have significant financial services industries. We will need to customise those relationships, and optimise them. I am therefore pleased about the mutual recognition agreement enablement provisions. I welcome the call-in power, although clear principles must be set out in respect of how it is applied; this is not about a random political intervention. I also endorse the moves to deal with packaged retail investment and insurance-based products and get rid of key information documents, and to introduce something that is appropriate in the UK. I welcome the Bill, and I pay tribute to my successor.”
“Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) pointed out—that does not mean that we should not now be courageous in taking opportunities. The wholesale market review presents a phenomenal opportunity to make changes to MiFID. It is one of 30 reviews that we have undertaken in the Treasury over the last year to ensure that we get this right. What we are doing with clearing—the middleman in trading—is also critically important, because the central clearing counterparties in London are instrumental across the globe and will continue to be so. They are efficient, they are world class, and no matter what the EU may wish to do to compete with our clearing environment, we can be certain that the Bill will ensure that those standards remain very high.”
“As we put aside the retained EU law that we spent so much time in Committee sorting out, we now rely on them, under the growth and competitiveness objective, to come forward with new rules. We are not seeking to deviate from norms in other jurisdictions; what we are trying to do is rightsize those rules for the UK. I want to say that I recognise that the implementation of the future regulatory framework has not come about on a whim, but has taken a great deal of work over a couple of years, along with a great deal of consultation. I also want to say that the EU legacy is not all bad. We in the UK played a significant role in shaping that legislation, and during my interactions with my counterparts when I was a Minister they were very complimentary about the role that we played, but—as my right hon.”
“I put it on record that my experience of working at the Treasury over the past four and a half years was that Treasury officials worked under the direction of politicians, as we would expect, but that they were also extremely eager to find creative solutions at a time when there was no template, no rulebook and no preordained way forward. I pay tribute to the work of Sam Woods at the Prudential Regulation Authority. The PRA provides a distinct role from the one that we perform in this place, but the professionalism that it shows in dealing with complex regulatory matters is something that we should be very grateful for in this country. I also want to speak about the Financial Conduct Authority, because the Bill will give the FCA and the PRA a significant degree of responsibility.”
“Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Rishi Sunak) says, it is a critical industry for our country: it generates 10% of our tax revenues. That is why the framework that we are setting out today is so important. I pay tribute to Miles Celic at TheCityUK, to David Postings at UK Finance, to Catherine McGuinness and now Chris Hayward at the City of London Corporation, and to Huw Evans and now Hannah Gurga at the Association of British Insurers. They were instrumental in the constructive dialogue with Treasury officials to ensure that the policy that we arrived at met the needs of this complex industry. I thank them for their engagement during my tenure. At the risk of being accused of Stockholm syndrome, I also pay tribute to officials at the Treasury. Over the summer, a lot has been said about Treasury orthodoxy and about regulators.”
“There was no consensus, and there were significant predictions of the demise of the City of London. Over those four and a half years, I was very pleased—I am not saying that it was all my doing—to see the resilience of the City of London. The global hub of financial services in London has proved itself phenomenally resilient over the past three years. After a lot of discussion about dynamic alignments and thoughts about how things should be delivered, we had an election and we had clarity. We had a new, clear direction, eventually resulting in this Bill, which takes us back to the gold standard of the FSMA model. I welcome that. I also welcome the fact that the Bill has come about through deep dialogue with the City and the trade bodies that represent the financial services industry. As my right hon.”
“May I say what a great pleasure it is to speak in this debate? It will be of little surprise to the House that I support many of the measures in the Bill—20 separate measures, I think, over 335 pages. I would like to make a few comments on the process that led to the Bill, some observations on the policy content and, if I may, a few suggestions about some areas in which the Government might consider going further. It has been the greatest privilege of my political career to have been Economic Secretary to the Treasury for four and a half years. When I started in the role in January 2018, there was considerable ambiguity about the direction of Government policy. It feels a little heretical to say it, but there was great uncertainty about how financial services would land after the Brexit decision.”
“I cannot resist. I think there is great consensus in the House on this matter. It is not a question of a lack of political will; I can assure the hon. Lady that it is about the complexity of delivering that legislation. In fact, the intent’s having been stated will have a meaningful effect on market practices and will change, and is changing, behaviours in the marketplace.”
“The Government understand that millions of households across the UK are struggling to make their income stretch to cover the rising cost of living. As part of the £15 billion support package being provided by the Government, almost all the 8 million most vulnerable households across the UK will receive support of at least £1,200 this year, including a new, one-off £650 cost of living payment.”
“Most mainstream understanding of how the economy works recognises that we need wealth creators, but we also need a Government who recognise the strains that the country is facing. That is why three quarters of the support will go to vulnerable households, including specific additional top-ups such as the £12 million going to Liverpool for the household support fund. This Government will stand by wealth creators and innovators, however, because we need growth in the economy and a more productive economy.”
“The Government are constantly looking at new ideas. The regional angels programme and our reforms to financial services to make FinTech and banks more accessible to regional businesses are at the core of this Government’s agenda, and I will bring further measures to the House in the next few weeks.”
“What I believe in is a Government who make targeted support available to the most vulnerable. The Chancellor and this Government have on a number of occasions used fiscal events and bespoke interventions to support those vulnerable people. We have always been clear that we will not be able to ameliorate the full extent of the challenges facing the country, but we will continue to strive for greater growth and productivity that will bring us back to where we need to be.”
“The Government support the credit union sector and recognise the contribution that they make to our financial services sector more broadly and to the communities that they serve. The Government have released £100 million of dormant assets funding to Fair4All Finance to support the financial wellbeing of people in vulnerable circumstances.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for his question. He is an expert in this area, given his role in Barrow. We will be amending the Credit Union Act 1979 shortly, which will allow credit unions to offer more services such as hire purchase, conditional sale agreements and so on. With respect to the common bond—that being the link for all credit union members—we will need to see evidence that it supports the needs of the sector, but I have been working closely with the Association of British Credit Unions Limited, the trade body for 70% of credit unions, on its “Vision 2025” document. I visited its conference recently, and we will bring measures forward shortly in the financial services and markets Bill.”
“Over the years, we have had considerable dialogue on many of these measures. As I said, the legislation that the sector is looking for will be introduced in the next few weeks. I am aware of the Bill of the hon. Member for Preston (Sir Mark Hendrick), and I am seeking to have a meeting with him imminently—in the next few days or next week—to discuss it and to see what we can support.”
“We will of course keep the data under close review, and that includes monitoring the economic impact of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, but our focus will continue to be on the best solution for all: a growing economy that supports high-wage, high-skilled jobs.”
“But where we can act, we will.” The Government are taking significant action to support households this year, having announced an additional £15 billion of further support for households just over a fortnight ago, on top of the £22 billion announced at the spring statement. In the longer term, the Chancellor has set out his vision for a lower tax, higher growth, higher productivity economy based on the three pillars of capital, people and ideas. The plan for growth and the tax plan represent an ambitious strategy for boosting growth and productivity in the years ahead. The Government’s priority going forward is to put those into effect, including through significant investment in infrastructure, skills and innovation.”
“Testing volumes fell by 70% from March to April, which, alongside the impact from vaccines, detracted 0.5 percentage points from GDP growth in April. Looking through the impact of falling tests, we see that the rest of the economy actually grew by 0.1%. Importantly, GDP is still 0.9% above pre-pandemic levels, and support provided over the past two years has put the UK economy in a good position to deal with any economic headwinds, with record numbers of employees on payrolls and a strong economic recovery from the pandemic. As the Chancellor has also said: “The next few months will be tough.”
“Like other advanced economies, the UK is affected by global economic challenges, including the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine. As the Chancellor said a few weeks ago, “A perfect storm of global supply shocks is rolling through our economy simultaneously.” At the same time, the impact from the wind-down of the national covid testing scheme is dragging on UK GDP data. Overall, the figures for April, published by the Office for National Statistics this morning, show that output fell by 0.3% on the month, with the services sector falling by 0.2%, and production and construction declining by 0.6% and 0.4% respectively. As the ONS notes, the fall in GDP on the month is driven by the impact of the wind-down of the NHS covid testing programme.”
“The Chancellor has been clear in his long-term plan for growth and in his Mais lecture that the Government are committed to investing in research and development, investing in infrastructure and looking at how we can adjust the fiscal burden for business, in particular, to enable that growth to happen. Of course, in subsequent fiscal events, those options remain open to him.”
“As ever, I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his remarks. I do not accept his characterisation of the situation. What I said in my response to him was that today’s data point can be explained by the specific impact of the rapid fall-off in the testing programme. Mass testing ended on 1 April, and that constituted 0.5% of headline growth. We have also seen the impact of the Russian invasion and the impact on the supply chain across the economy. Many economies across the G7 are experiencing a significant impact on their economies and their level of growth.”
“We always listen carefully to my right hon. Friend. As he will know, we cut taxes earlier this year for hundreds of thousands of businesses though an increase in the employment allowance. We have also slashed fuel duty and halved business rates for eligible high street firms. We will continue to support growth through tax incentives, including the annual investment allowance and the super deduction—the biggest two-year business cuts in modern British history. As I said in my response to the right hon. Member for Wolverhampton South East (Mr McFadden) a few moments ago, we look forward to working closely with him and Back Benchers to construct the right agenda going into the future.”
“Lady’s characterisation of how the Government have handled the situation, but those are the facts, as she well knows.”