Paul Holmes MP: speeches

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Speeches

9 Dec 2024 · Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill · Hansard source
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I hope the shadow Minister will forgive me for intervening once again, but I expressed concern about the “responsible person” element at the Dispatch Box on Second Reading. As he has outlined, smaller charity and voluntary sector bodies, such as theatres and community organisations, welcome the aims of the Bill, as do I, but when voluntary organisations are responsible for allocating someone who will be legally responsible to the Security Industry Authority, that spreads fear among those organisations, given the bureaucracy that they already face. Does he agree that we need to look carefully at how great a burden we put on theatre groups, and in particular on voluntary community associations, which will be subject to the regulations?
9 Dec 2024 · Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill · Hansard source
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Will the Minister give way?
9 Dec 2024 · Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend is correct. My constituency has a number of small football organisations, some of which are subject to legislation that is currently going through the Lords more slowly than we would necessarily expect a piece of legislation to progress. The income of small football groups will be the focus of that Bill. However, my hon. Friend is right: not only does this Bill cover small football venues and football clubs, but it covers all sorts of organisations, some of which I have mentioned. There are small community theatres, for example, which are the backbone of many small communities. People want to go to them with their family and watch amateur dramatics. The plays are sometimes better than in the west end—I have seen them—and the scale of some venues means that they will be in the lower tier under the Bill, but they have very small incomes. There are also charities with very small incomes that have been affected by fiscal decisions in the Budget. I assure the Minister that I am not being political, but as the impact assessment shows, and as the constituents I have spoken to have said, many charities will be affected by increased costs through their national insurance contributions and the different taxation that will come in. From what I have read, the average cost for smaller venues will be £330 a year and the cost for larger organisations will be £5,000 a year. Those are the latest figures that I can find, but perhaps the Minister will clarify that additional cost of £330 a year for smaller venues, because to many organisations, that will place a big burden on them. I met representatives of small theatres recently who were concerned that they have not been invited to a roundtable with the Minister to discuss the implications for the sector. I would be grateful if he outlined whether the Government intend to meet them, based on their concerns about the Bill. I will bring my comments within the scope of new clause 1. Given the issues that I have outlined, I think the proposal by my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Stamford to have a review process for the SIA is perfectly sensible. When we set up a new organisation that has some kind of independence, regulatory enforcement capacity or management capacity, it seems purely sensible that after the period set in the new clause, we look to see whether its action has been proportionate, whether there has been overreach and whether it is doing its job properly. Has it taken the full responsibilities outlined in the legislation? Members may not think that it is overworking; it might be that it is underworking and we need to give it more responsibilities in the long run. It seems perfectly sensible for the Government and the Minister to come to the Floor of the House. They should see new clause 1 in the spirit in which it is intended. Opposition Front Benchers, me and all my colleagues want the Bill to succeed, but we want it to be proportionate. When we set up an organisation with such responsibilities and an organisational jurisdiction, we want to ensure that it is reviewed, that it is conducting itself and taking its responsibilities seriously, and that the system is working.
9 Dec 2024 · Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill · Hansard source
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rose—
9 Dec 2024 · Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend is reasonable and a very good colleague in the way she carries out her duties in this House, so it will come as no surprise to hear that I absolutely agree with her. I do say that about some Government Members, so I am not being partisan— [ Interruption. ] Most of the time. However, my hon. Friend makes a good point. That is why the Minister should see new clause 1 in the spirit in which it is intended. We do not want to disrupt the passage of the Bill. We do not want to disrupt the good intentions and the outcomes that everybody, on both sides of the House, wants. As a Conservative, I naturally think that the state should not be big or oversized. When we set up organisations such as this, it is natural that the House and Members will want scrutiny functions to make sure that the organisation acts within the spirit of the law and within its jurisdiction and responsibilities. I think that is perfectly reasonable.
9 Dec 2024 · Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill · Hansard source
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As my hon. Friend knows, I piloted the measure as shadow Minister on Second Reading. I welcome the Minister to his place and thank him for his usual courtesy. This is genuinely not a political point, but does my hon. Friend agree that, with other measures currently burdening small business such as increases in taxation, business rates and national insurance contributions, this amendment helps because it allows venues to plan and make sure that not too much money is going out? That applies particularly to charities and smaller venues. That is why the remit of the SIA must be checked, and why this amendment should be backed.
9 Dec 2024 · Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill · Hansard source
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Thank you for your indulgence, Madam Deputy Speaker, as I had to nip upstairs to sit in a Bill Committee programming session. I am delighted to be here to speak on this legislation. As I mentioned earlier to the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton West (Matt Vickers), I had the privilege of working alongside the Minister when I was the shadow Home Affairs Minister who took the Bill through Second Reading. I say again to the Minister, and to the Home Secretary, that I am a big fan of his, as he knows. That is for genuine purposes: for the way he treated me as the shadow Home Affairs Minister at the time, with informal consultations and phone calls, and for genuinely opening up the spirit of cross-party working on this legislation. I congratulate him and pay tribute to him, his Department and all officials working on the legislation for making sure the Opposition were involved. I am very pleased that he is in his place this evening so that I can thank him for that spirit of co-operation. We know that the Bill is a key piece of legislation and a commitment that the Conservatives made at the last general election, and I am delighted that the Government have taken it forward. As he will know, I spoke of some concerns on Second Reading that I want to chase the Minister on, if he might be so bold as to try to answer them at the end. I have a number of concerns that I will speak about briefly, as you will be delighted hear, Madam Deputy Speaker. I cannot promise to be too brief, but I will be as brief as I can. You will have to excuse me if I am out of breath—I did run upstairs and then back downstairs to get here in time, and I am not the fittest person in the Chamber. I pay tribute to Figen Murray and Martyn’s family. As I said on Second Reading, it should not require circumstances such as those we have seen to bring about a change in legislation. However, Figen Murray can rest assured that Martyn has played a huge role in changing the law for the good, and Martyn’s family have a right to be proud of that legacy. I rise to speak in favour of new clause 1 and amendments 25 and 27, which stand in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Stamford (Alicia Kearns). We all support the aims of the Bill and want to see the legislation succeed. We want to make venues across the country safer and to ensure they have the correct apparatus in place so that people who use hospitality or other venues across the country, of all shapes and sizes, can do so with confidence that a system and a regulatory framework are in place. We want people to be safe when they use those venues. My constituents expect that. I expect that for myself and for my family. Just last night, my family and I used a hospitality venue for a good couple of pints. That will be one of the venues covered by this regulatory framework. Sitting there, looking forward at the parliamentary agenda, I thought how venues such as that one have a number of concerns. Those are the things I want to talk about this evening. In our constituencies, we have voluntary sector organisations, theatre groups, community centres and charities of all shapes and sizes who volunteer every day to do their best by their community, to represent the community and to work for the community in the best way possible. I remain concerned that, as has been outlined by a number of my hon. Friends, including the shadow Minister, there remains an undue burden that will be placed on those organisations, because of some of the environmental factors—I wondered how to put that, as I do not want this speech to be political at all—that have been placed on them in recent months.
9 Dec 2024 · Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill · Hansard source
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I would like to say that I have given that great thought, but as hon. Members across the House will know, after we came back in July, my tenure as a shadow Home Affairs Minister was rather short— [ Interruption. ] I thank the Minister, who said, “Shame”. That was after being shadow Northern Ireland Minister, shadow Foreign Affairs Minister and other Ministers, too. But I took this piece of legislation very seriously. The Government should make that decision, but I hope that the SIA is properly resourced and that it conducts its duties in the right way. That is why I think new clause 1 should be accepted this evening. I do not want to overstay my welcome, but I will speak briefly about one of the concerns that I raised on Second Reading about the responsible person element of the Bill. I remain seriously concerned about this, and it was also mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgwater (Sir Ashley Fox). Although I accept the scope of the Bill and the impact that it will have on the statute book, many organisations, particularly during cost of living crises and at this time of year, rely on their volunteers, and if we place undue and burdensome regulations on them, volunteers will simply not come forward and be in the voluntary sector. Charities are going through a difficult time. I remain concerned that if we tip slightly too much towards being overburdensome on those very small organisations, we will see a dearth of people in the voluntary sector. No one wants to discourage people from volunteering—we do not, and I know the shadow Minister and the Minister do not—but I worry that the thresholds set out in the Bill will have unintended consequences. I ask the Minister to look seriously at new clause 1 and amendments 25 and 26, which were tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Stamford. Many will be happy to know that I am drawing my comments to a close. However, I am personally delighted that this Bill is before the House in record time, five months after the Government came into office. I hope that the Minister will see that the Opposition are working, and will continue to work, in a constructive way to get this on to the statute book. It is sad that, in order to have a relatively major piece of legislation changed so rapidly, we had to go through the atrocities that we saw in Manchester and terrorist attacks around the United Kingdom. However, I know that the legacy that Martyn leaves is one that his family will be greatly proud of, as this country should be. This is a mainstream, major piece of legislation, and I hope that by working together, we will ensure that people who go to venues for many years to come will be protected, and they will be protected in Martyn’s name.
4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source
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I like the hon. Gentleman, so I will give way.
4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source
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It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Makerfield (Josh Simons). I rise to speak in favour of the motion on the Order Paper in the name of the Leader of the Opposition. I do not rise to speak in this House because I think the Labour party’s Budget is vindictive, but I do think that the national insurance rise we are debating today is a proposal that runs right through the Labour party’s DNA. Labour drives down growth, when growth should be the No. 1 priority for public services. It taxes the wealth creators and the small businesses, it borrows and makes the economic situation worse, and it is always the Conservative party that has to pick up the pieces after Labour has targeted the poorest people and smallest businesses in our society and made them suffer. Ultimately, the lack of growth that the Labour party and every Labour Member have signed up to means that public services will suffer, fewer jobs will be created and more businesses will close. I gently say to the Chief Secretary that he challenged us repeatedly to outline what we would do instead of this measure to make sure that we can fund public services, and I will tell him a few things that we would not do. [ Interruption. ] Well, I will tell him in a minute, and he can intervene and elaborate, and I will get an extra minute. As he asked me what we would do, I will tell him: we would increase growth, as was outlined by the OBR. We would have growth, and higher growth than this Government are proposing. However, what we would not be doing is borrowing as much as him and spending £9 billion on public sector pay rises for his trade union paymasters, funded from borrowing. Those are the things we would not do.
4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source
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The last Government gave the highest amount of investment into the national health service ever. I happened to jump out of a plane because I was very keen to do so, as I am a bit of a thrill seeker but also because I wanted to raise money for a good charity. If the hon. Gentleman votes for the Government measure or against the motion this evening, he will be ensuring that hospices across this country are unable to deliver the services they want to deliver and, as homelessness charities have said, that £50 million to £60 million will be taken out of frontline services. That will be the impact of this measure. Charities across this country are going to suffer under this Government’s proposal, as will hospitals and wealth creators, and I say to every Member who votes against this motion to protect frontline services that their constituents will be watching. We should not be surprised that, five months after taking office, the Labour party has reverted to type: tax the most vulnerable, tax small businesses and borrow on the public purse; with poorer public services out there and lower growth going forward. I cannot wait for its defeat at the next election and us fixing the problems.
4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source
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I simply say—and the Chief Secretary should know this because he supposedly wrote the Budget that we voted on a couple of weeks ago—that growth forecasts were higher under the last Government than those of the Government for whom he is now leading in the Treasury. I say to the Government that business confidence is at the lowest it has been for years.
4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source
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Does my right hon. Friend the shadow Chancellor remember any Labour MP in the last general election standing on a fully costed manifesto that would mean economic growth was forecast to be lower than under the previous Government? Perhaps the hon. Member for Swansea West (Torsten Bell) should remember that Labour MPs stood on a manifesto that was apparently fully costed but then had different commitments. We had a faster rate of growth under the last Government than is projected under this Government.
4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source
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I am not giving way. [ Interruption. ] Well, I do not have time. Let us look at the hospice sector. Many Labour Members probably hoped that the parachute leads had been cut, but I raised £10,000 by jumping out of an aeroplane for the Mountbatten hospice in my constituency. Some 70% of its income is from charitable donations, and 24% of its income is delivered by the national health service. At no time when this Minister or any other Minister has stood up in this House have they apologised to the hospice sector for the cuts in services that will have to be delivered because of this measure. Mountbatten will have to find an extra £1 million in income just because of this measure, and that means more hospital beds being used by people who are unable to access hospice services. Ultimately, the NHS will be in further crisis because of the short-term measure this Government are taking through.
4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source
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On that point, will the Minister give way?
4 Dec 2024 · Employer National Insurance Contributions · Hansard source
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I know the hon. Gentleman liked to pride himself on being the oracle of economics when he led a think-tank, but if he looks at the bare facts of business confidence out there, he will see that it has been lower under the five months of the Labour Government than it ever was under the 14 years of the Conservative Government. I want to mention some of the impacts that this measure will have on my constituency of Hamble Valley. There are 4,000 people employed in the hospitality sector in my constituency. Just last night, a business leader—a small business leader who owns three local venues—outlined to me that, because of the measures this Government have brought forward, he now has to find 5% extra of his total turnover to pay his taxes. That leads to a number of options: he can reduce staff count, meaning higher unemployment in my constituency and nationally; he can close venues, which again means lower employment and the death of our town centres—in every constituency, I remind Members—or he has to choose between not hiring local staff and stopping expansion, as every extra person he wants to take on will cost the business an extra £800 because of this national insurance contributions rise. That choice is facing businesses up and down the country, with lower growth, higher bureaucracy and higher taxes on the people who create jobs and wealth in every constituency in this country and drive the economy that we need to fund public services. What is most damaging about the Government’s proposal is the catastrophic impact it will have on charities across this country. I defy any Labour MP to stand up in this Chamber and say that they are willing to bring in and happy to vote for a measure that will mean frontline services delivered through our charitable sector are cut. There are other options the Government can take, and they have chosen not to.
3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source
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Okay. Well, was she intimidated by her Budget? I take it that she would be intimidated by the growth that has been revised downwards, by business confidence crashing, and by private sector employers stating that they will have to let employees go because of the red tape put on businesses, all through this Government’s Budget.
3 Dec 2024 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source
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The hon. Lady stated that she was intimidated by her Budget. I should imagine that is very true—
2 Dec 2024 · Social Housing Supply · Hansard source
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We can see that after just five months, the Government’s target of 1.5 million new homes lies in tatters. The National Housing Federation says that the Government will miss their target by 475,000 without more grant—last week the Housing Minister said the same—and now Labour-run South Tyneside council says that the plans are “wholly unrealistic”, with other Labour councils agreeing. Is it not time for the Government to admit defeat, come back with a deliverable plan and provide the sector with the certainty that it needs to deliver more social homes across the country?
2 Dec 2024 · Homelessness Reduction · Hansard source
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Sadly, homelessness is projected to rise by 27% this year. The Government’s broken promise on national insurance rises has wreaked havoc across the charitable sector, with 110 national homelessness charities warning the Chancellor that £50 million to £60 million will be lost in the sector and Homeless Link calling the increase “the final nail in the coffin” for the sector. Will the Minister listen to that warning, and what will she be doing to convey these concerns to the Chancellor and change this disastrous policy?
28 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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Mountbatten hospice, which serves my constituency and Hampshire more widely, receives 70% of its income through charitable donations. It has told me and my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight East (Joe Robertson) that its viability is under risk because of the national insurance contributions policy that this Government have brought forward. Can the Secretary of State outline what pressure she will put on the Treasury to make sure that the policy changes? The charitable sector is in real danger because of this Government’s decisions.
27 Nov 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source
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Does he agree with me that there seems to be a collective amnesia among colleagues on the Labour Benches? If we had taken their advice during covid, when we were making reasonable decisions, not only would we have seen the longer lockdowns that the now Prime Minister was calling for, but more economic damage, which they now deny ever happened in the first place.
27 Nov 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source
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The Minister is dedicated to extolling the virtues of his manifesto. When he sat down to write the Budget with his right hon. Friend the Chancellor, did he recall whether the manifesto put to the country at the general election stated that growth forecasts under this Government would be lower than they were under the previous Government? Was the taxing of small family farms for a total revenue of £590 million in his manifesto? He is very keen on the manifesto, but did it outline that growth would be lower under this Government?
27 Nov 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source
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Will the hon. Member give way?
27 Nov 2024 · Finance Bill · Hansard source
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If my hon. Friend will forgive me, will he give way?

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