Joe Robertson MP: speeches

Speeches

• 25 Feb 2025 · Affordable Rural Housing · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Member for Reading West and Mid Berkshire (Olivia Bailey) on securing this important debate. I think it is true that all of us would like to see more affordable housing delivered for our constituents, but does the Minister agree that top-down housing targets for all areas of the United Kingdom are not always suitable? I am thinking of my own constituency on the Isle of Wight, where on average we deliver 300 homes a year and are committed, through our local plan, to deliver 450. The Government are asking us to deliver 1,000. Does the Minister agree that there have to be some areas of the United Kingdom where the standard method does not apply?

• 12 Feb 2025 · Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  If I may, I will take this opportunity to explore some of my right hon. Friend’s knowledge and expertise in this area. Will he comment on the balance in this Bill between safeguards on the one hand and freedom on the other? I would be interested in his thoughts.

• 12 Feb 2025 · Support for Pensioners · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend mentions dementia. Nearly 1 million pensioners in this country are living with dementia. Two weeks ago, NHS England published its priorities, and dementia had been removed, as had the target for diagnosing it. Does he agree that that is a huge concern, not only for those living with dementia, but for the millions of family members and friends who support them?

• 11 Feb 2025 · Dementia Diagnosis Rates · Hansard source

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  Nearly 1 million people are living with dementia—it is the biggest cause of death in the country today—and by the end of the 2030s that figure is set to rise to 1.4 million. Early diagnosis is one of the best things we can do to support people living with dementia, so will the Secretary of State explain why the dementia diagnosis target no longer features in NHS England’s priorities, as published two weeks ago? Will he commit to reinstating both dementia and the commitment to a diagnosis target in NHS England’s priority guidelines?

• 11 Feb 2025 · Dementia Diagnosis Rates · Hansard source

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  12. What steps his Department is taking to help reach the national dementia diagnosis rate target.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Police Forces · Hansard source

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  Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Government must know that this policy is damaging the ability of the police to operate? The Government know it is causing damage to the public sector, and that is why they have exempted the NHS, but they have failed to exempt other public sector services such as the police. They cannot pretend that this policy is not causing damage.

• 10 Feb 2025 · Inheritance Tax Relief: Farms · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady spoke about the pessimism that the Government will U-turn on this, but does she share my optimism that they may well U-turn if enough of their Back Benchers make a point?

• 5 Feb 2025 · English Devolution and Local Government · Hansard source

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  The Isle of Wight council is already a unitary authority. Given that the Deputy Prime Minister is postponing our elections, can she confirm that that will mean the future reorganisation of the council is on the negotiating table? Otherwise, why would she be cancelling our elections?

• 27 Jan 2025 · Creative Industries · Hansard source

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  I regret that I do not have the extensive music lyric knowledge of my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Dame Caroline Dinenage). Neither did I have a career in a rock band like the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Mr Kohler), who, from what he said, seems to have been single-handedly responsible for shutting down a favourite music venue. I have a constituency with a small but growing and thriving creative sector on the Isle of Wight. I am grateful to the Minister for taking my earlier intervention. I will say something about my constituency in a moment, but I will briefly reflect on the national picture. Clearly, there is a consensus across the House that the creative sector is hugely important and needs continuing support from the Government. From 2010 to 2022, it was one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK economy, growing by 50%. I was encouraged by the Minister’s warm words from the Dispatch Box, but clearly support for the creative industries has to go further than warm words. I have no doubt that he is sincere about backing them up with action, but we cannot take that for granted. Neither can we ignore the damaging effects of decisions in the Budget. It was entirely right that the shadow Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Stuart Andrew), raised the negative impact of the increases to national insurance employer contributions on the creative sector. We have rightly heard much in the last few months about the negative impact of national insurance contribution rises on businesses, large companies, and the health sector, and I will continue to make those arguments, but I worry that the negative impact on the creative industries has not fully been recognised. Other Opposition Members mentioned it. I hope that the Minister has done this already, but I urge him to ensure that the Treasury does something to compensate the creative industries for the money that this rise will take. He might distribute £60 million, but it will mean little if some, or most, of it is taken back by the Treasury in taxes. The Isle of Wight is well known for lots of things, and is increasingly known as a location for films. That is helped by Osborne House, the former home of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. Films based on her life are often shot on location there, though I have to say that it is not in my constituency but the neighbouring constituency of Isle of Wight West. We have small creative organisations such as Ventnor Exchange, Monkton Arts, and Department in Ryde, which is due to open next month with money from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. We also have historical buildings that are kept alive only by the creative industries that operate in and around them, such as Shanklin theatre, which could not survive without all the volunteer work that is done. In small and large towns across the country, fantastic buildings are kept alive only because of the creative industries that make use of them. I thank the Minister for the offer of a meeting with him or his Department about a film studio on the Isle of Wight. Allow me to make a correction: sadly, the location for the film studio is in the neighbouring constituency of Isle of Wight West. I have already notified the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Mr Quigley) that he has received an offer of a meeting through me, which I am sure he will be delighted about. I would like to join him if I can be of assistance, because clearly it will benefit both constituencies on the Isle of Wight to realise that studio. The issue is that while micro-organisations benefit from pots of funding that are suitable for small-scale projects, and clearly national projects of national interest can access money, medium-sized projects such as rural film studios possibly struggle. I look forward to a conversation about that another time.

• 27 Jan 2025 · Creative Industries · Hansard source

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  The Minister makes the good point that creative industries need to be backed with finance that they can access. Will he ensure that grassroots, small-scale projects away from the big cities, such as on the Isle of Wight where my constituency is, receive the finance they need, so we can realise our aim and endeavour of getting a film studio set up?

• 24 Jan 2025 · Unity Contract · Hansard source

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  Immediately before the Minister came to the House, we were debating environmental protections to secure our country and the future of our globe. In the spirit of unity, will the Minister agree that there is little point in talking about environmental protections and security without also securing our world through robust defence spending? There is nothing worse for the environment and humanity than war, and we need to invest in defence in order to secure our globe and to secure this country.

• 24 Jan 2025 · Gambling Act 2005 (Monetary Limits for Lotteries) Bill · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to speak on behalf of His Majesty’s loyal Opposition on this important matter. I congratulate the hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) on bringing forward this Bill. She has spoken with passion and knowledge on an issue that she clearly knows and cares much about. I also thank her for supporting my Westminster Hall debate on a related issue that is particularly important for charities: the impact of this Government’s national insurance increases. The simple and well-intentioned aim behind the Bill is to allow charities to raise more money to deliver on their charitable aims, and the hon. Lady seeks to do that by disposing of the limits imposed by the Gambling Act 2005. She has already referred to the People’s Postcode Lottery, and we have heard how much it does to support charities in our constituencies up and down the country, including in mine on the Isle of Wight. Who would not want to support charities such as the People’s Postcode Lottery? The leading argument against restricting the cap on charity lotteries is that they might then compete with the national lottery, which is not subject to this cap. That is a legitimate concern. It is in all our interests that the national lottery continues to thrive, but research has been done on competition between charity lotteries and the national lottery. In 2017, the Gambling Commission found “no statistically significant effect of Charity Lotteries affecting National Lottery sales.” Indeed, it remarked that the national lottery and society lotteries have continued to grow side by side. Consequently, the previous Conservative Government partially liberalised charity lottery sales and prize limits in 2020. Two years later, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee took evidence on the matter, and its subsequent report, “What next for the National Lottery?”, said: “We do not consider that society lotteries pose a threat to the charitable giving of the National Lottery, in line with the views of the Gambling Commission and the Department.” The Conservatives support the principle of allowing charities to raise more money, including from society lotteries, and reducing the regulatory burden placed upon them. The previous Government commissioned independent research, as the hon. Member has referred to, and she asked some questions of the Minister, which I endorse. Can the Minister say whether the research has been received at the Department, and will she give an indication of its summary? Before finishing, I will briefly discuss the importance of charities’ work in delivering £17 billion of public services each year, without which the public sector could not do its work. This Government bear greater responsibility to support charities through additional fundraising than might otherwise have been the case, because they are taking an estimated £1.4 billion from charities through their increases to national insurance contributions in the Budget. The Government know that will damage the public services that charities deliver. That is why they exempted the NHS, but they provided no such exemption for charities delivering health and social care, charities supporting people who need housing, charities trying to lift people out of poverty, charities trying to cure disease, and charities supporting victims of violence against women and girls. I urge the Government to act. They owe charities the support and they owe charities compensation for the money they are taking off them in extra tax. This Bill would just be a start. I thank the hon. Member once again for bringing this important issue before the House, and I wish her every success in realising the aims and objectives behind the Bill.

• 23 Jan 2025 · Attorney General’s Office: Conflicts of Interest · Hansard source

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  Like the Solicitor General I also practise as a solicitor. She must know that the questions that are being put are not calling into question a barrister’s right to represent clients. This is about a barrister who is now the Attorney General. Does she accept that the Law Officers’ convention is being extended in the interests of the Attorney General not answering legitimate questions about recusal and conflict of interest, and that nobody should seek to extend that principle beyond its intention in order to remain silent?

• 23 Jan 2025 · Ministerial Travel: Cost · Hansard source

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  The Minister refers to helicopter travel, and she has given her description of the previous Government. Does she not accept that the Government are using VIP helicopter travel, not through the Ministry of Defence budget but through the Cabinet Office budget? Does that not make this Government grossly hypocritical, and is that not a symbol of how out of touch they are with the British public?

• 23 Jan 2025 · Ministerial Travel: Cost · Hansard source

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  8. What steps he is taking to reduce the cost of ministerial travel.

• 17 Jan 2025 · New Homes (Solar Generation) Bill · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on introducing the Bill. He talks about the nuclear power that may not be needed if we have solar panels on houses. Does he have a view on how much pressure we could take off demand on green land for solar farms, because many people have concerns about that use of green land, if we had solar panels on new builds?

• 16 Jan 2025 · Marine Renewables Industry · Hansard source

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  I congratulate the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) on securing this important debate. The hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) refers to rolling the technologies out at scale. The only eligible English project that has the marine lease, environmental licence and network connection offer is in my constituency, on the Isle of Wight. Does he agree that local communities must benefit directly from projects in their areas—through direct jobs, obviously, but also through other indirect benefits?

• 15 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Residents of the Isle of Wight are expecting full elections this May. The no-overall-control unitary authority has asked the Government to be part of a priority devolution deal with Hampshire, but not local authority reorganisation, which is not on the table. We are not being asked to do that because we are already a unitary. Does the Minister agree, therefore, that there is no good reason to delay elections when the Isle of Wight council’s future and viability is not under discussion? That is an accepted point. Why should a democracy have to have elections when the council will continue?

• 15 Jan 2025 · Health and Social Care: Winter Update · Hansard source

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  The Secretary of State referred to social care in his update on winter pressures, and he is of course right that social care has an important role to play in taking pressure off hospitals. However, surely he can understand the frustration that the sector and those in receipt of social care feel about his pushing the issue into a three-year review, which Sir Andrew Dilnot says is an inappropriately long time. Why will it take so long? Please can he put pressure on the review? I am sure that Baroness Casey is well capable of doing it in a shorter time.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q11. My constituents on the Isle of Wight are entirely reliant on foreign-owned, debt-laden, unregulated ferry companies for essential travel, but public transport in the United Kingdom, such as buses trains and Scottish ferries, is regulated and subsidised. Does the Prime Minister agree that the Isle of Wight anomaly must come to an end? Will the Government intervene to protect passengers from excessive ferry prices and bad services?

• 7 Jan 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities · Hansard source

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  I agree that the Minister needs to go back and do that. That is why I secured the debate. The chief executive of Crisis said: “Increasing employers’ National Insurance contributions will have a dreadful impact on charities at a time when we are seeing unprecedented demand for our services.” Some 75% of charities are reducing or considering withdrawing from public service delivery. Who will pick up that shortfall? In the worst case, no one will pick up where charities withdraw, or the Government and the public sector will have to, and I am fairly sure it will cost them more than £1.4 billion to do so. I prefer to put my trust in charities with experience in what they do, rather than the Government having to put emergency measures in place because charities are forced to withdraw. Some 61% of them are likely to cut staff. The Government’s stated aim is not backed by their tax policy in three areas in particular: in health and social care, which we have already spoken much about; in poverty and homelessness; and for vulnerable groups.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities · Hansard source

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  I agree, and would like to share the hon. Member’s optimism that the Government do intend to make improvements in this area. This debate is a second chance for them to go away, then come back and provide relief to all charities, but particularly those that are operating in what might be called emergency services, because nobody else is doing what those charities are doing. Earlier today I spoke to a journalist who was involved in reporting the criminality and repulsive scandal in Rotherham. He said that when he went there, it was charities that were providing those emergency services—no one else was doing it—yet those are the groups that are having money taken off them in order to fund the Government. Women’s Aid is a conglomerate representing 175 member organisations across England. It says that the national insurance contribution rises will effectively negate gift aid. The Government are giving a tax relief through gift aid and then taking it back through the Budget NIC rises.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for coming here to address the arguments that have been made, particularly as they were about a set of decisions that were not made by her personally or by her Department. I thank her for assuring Members in this debate that she will go back and make strong representations to her colleagues. There is probably no option other than to do so, given the strength of feeling she has heard today, particularly from Opposition Members. This is not her fault, butthere is no compelling argument that money had to be taken from charities to deliver the Government’s objectives. I urge her to say to the Chancellor, “Please give charities their money back. This is their money—give it back.” Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the impact of changes to employers’ National Insurance contributions on the charity sector.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities · Hansard source

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  I will make a little progress and then come back to the hon. Gentleman. Most charities are suffering as they try to raise charitable funds, yet the Government have decided to take some of those charitable funds for themselves. For charities that support older people, such as Age UK, the simultaneous impact of the withdrawal of winter fuel payments has meant that more people are using their services, and at the same time the Government are taking money off them.

• 7 Jan 2025 · Employer National Insurance Contributions: Charities · Hansard source

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  I do agree. It looks like the Government do not understand that healthcare is delivered not only by the NHS, so when they chose to exempt the NHS from the damaging rises, they either did not understand or had disregard for all the other healthcare providers, without which the NHS could not function properly.