Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to respond to the enquiry of 24 January 2022 from the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney regarding Mr. Williams.
Gerald Jones: I rise to support the motion from my right hon. and hon. Friends. We all remember too well that during the 2019 general election campaign, just over two years ago, the Prime Minister said to voters: “Read my lips, we will not be raising taxes on income or VAT or national insurance.” The Chancellor of the Exchequer was also keen to point out that his plan was to cut taxes for the lowest...
Gerald Jones: No, I will not. Given that oil and gas producers in the North sea have posted huge profits during the pandemic, why do the Government not halt their unfair tax rise, back a windfall tax to help to fund a cut in VAT on home energy bills and ease the burden on working people? Government Members have also called on the Government not to go ahead with the rise. They have urged Ministers to make...
Gerald Jones: No, I will not. The Federation of Small Businesses warned that “this increase will stifle recruitment, investment and efforts to upskill and improve productivity in the years ahead.” The trade unions have joined the FSB in that regard. The FSB stated: “The Government’s regressive jobs tax hike will put jobs at risk, stifle start-ups and prevent new jobs from being created…It could...
Gerald Jones: I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly (Wayne David) for securing and leading this debate. His recent announcement that he would be standing down at the next election took some of us by surprise, and I hope he knows that his wisdom, his counsel and his huge contribution will be missed in this place. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting this debate, and I thank all...
Gerald Jones: What further steps she is taking to help businesses export to European markets.
Gerald Jones: Small businesses in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney continue to tell me the difficulties that they are having with exporting to the EU and the added bureaucracy, and I am really keen to hear from the Minister about further support. I heard what he said earlier, but I do not think the message is getting through. There is a lesson to be learned about communication and how to get that message to...
Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with representatives of Welsh companies that supply lateral flow tests on the long-term production of testing devices.
Gerald Jones: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I congratulate the hon. Member for Belfast South (Claire Hanna) on securing this debate. I declare my membership of the all-party parliamentary group on the shared prosperity fund. Since we heard about the shared prosperity fund way back in 2017, the whole thing has been shrouded in confusion. The Government have been less than...
Gerald Jones: I very much agree. We are seeing an opportunity to bypass devolution, which is a very real threat to what has been built up over the last 20 years. This is not the partnership approach we all could have supported; I fear that it is a real step backwards. I am deeply concerned, as I know others are, that Wales and areas across the UK are going to lose out as a result of the withdrawal of EU...
Gerald Jones: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West (Ruth Jones) on securing this debate. It has been a full and, on the whole, positive debate. As we have heard, Wales boasts a rich Muslim population; Islam is the largest non-Christian faith in Wales. Our Welsh-Muslim heritage is rich and vast, with the earliest recorded...
Gerald Jones: I want to start by paying tribute to the officers and civilian staff in both police forces that cover my constituency: South Wales police and Gwent police. I also pay tribute to the wider police family. I was fortunate enough a few years ago to take part in the police parliamentary scheme, and I did some shifts with the Met here in London. I know that we are all grateful for the dedication...
Gerald Jones: I absolutely agree. I do not have the exact figures, but the number of properties in band A in my constituency, and in his, is significant compared with other parts of the country. I want to talk about neighbourhood policing, because its decimation has been felt acutely across the country. Neighbourhood policing is a key foundation of policing, and it has two major benefits: providing...
Gerald Jones: The Conservative manifesto promised gigabit-capable broadband to every home and business across Wales, and across the UK, by 2025. How does the Minister justify the levelling down in his Government’s so-called levelling-up White Paper, which now only states targeting 70% to 80% by 2025?
Gerald Jones: I would like to refer to the Prime Minister’s answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds North East (Fabian Hamilton). The photograph referred to is all over social media; everybody can see the photo; the Prime Minister is in the photo. Can I ask him again, will he refer the matter to the police, because it is not one of the parties that are already being investigated by the Metropolitan...
Gerald Jones: Wales is set to be denied £4.6 billion as a result of the Government classifying HS2 as an England and Wales project, despite the Treasury finding that Wales would lose out on £150 million per annum as a result of HS2. That does not sound like levelling up to me. Does the Secretary of State agree?
Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people who have been affected by the under payment of benefits after transitioning from incapacity benefit to employment and support allowance in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney constituency.
Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussion he has had with companies in Wales on providing covid-19 lateral flow tests to meet the increase in demand.
Gerald Jones: I rise to speak briefly in support of the motion.
Gerald Jones: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Families in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney and across the country face a bleak start to the new year. Rising energy costs are especially concerning at the coldest time of year. The cost-of-living crisis is growing. Shopping baskets were £15 more expensive this Christmas than last Christmas because of inflation, and the price of petrol was 24% higher. Families...
