David Warburton: Certainly not; I am going as fast as I can. The activities carried out during such a trial assessment would not constitute work. If they did, the trial would need to be paid, and at least at the national minimum wage. As the House will know, that applies from the worker’s first day at work, regardless of whether the employer labels that as a trial. A trial is already not legitimate if an...
David Warburton: Surely one of the huge benefits of the empty homes premium is that it will mean that councils have more money, thereby reducing the burden on hard-pressed council taxpayers. I also want to stress that one hon. Member for North Dorset is more than this House can take, never mind another, so I caution my hon. Friend about wanting to emulate certain people in this House too much.
David Warburton: It is a genuine pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) in the closing stages of this important and significant Bill. We are also coming towards the closing stages of the parliamentary day. Hon. Members will be scurrying back to their many and various constituencies, and we will turn ourselves from parliamentary thoughts to constituency matters. Later tonight and over...
David Warburton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will introduce a seasonal agricultural workers scheme once the UK has left the EU.
David Warburton: Does my right hon. Friend agree that Global Britain means that post-Brexit the UK can negotiate trade deals and strengthen relationships with countries such as those in South America, with which we have perhaps not had the closest relationship in the past?
David Warburton: Some months ago, in this House, I reminded the Prime Minister of the fact that my constituency contains more cows than any other. I have that on firm authority, although the exact source has slipped my mind, and as far as I know Somerton and Frome’s bovine supremacy is under no immediate threat. Those cows, and our entire farming industry, face an enormous opportunity in the shape of the...
David Warburton: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I have also spoken to Arla and I understand that there are concerns around that issue. I suspect that, during the passage of this Bill, there will be much scope for tweaks and additions. Our food security must come from targeting support for domestic agriculture so that we achieve not only the stability of food supply, but the environmental outcomes that...
David Warburton: I add my voice to that of my right hon. Friend in hoping that Ministers are fully aware of the misbehaviours of supermarkets and are prepared to push them in the right direction, but farmers also need to know what to expect. My constituency is ornamented with innumerable orchards and fruit farms, from which pour the juices that make the finest—sometimes dangerously fine—cider. Clause 10...
David Warburton: What steps the Government have taken to enable industry to deliver the pensions dashboard.
David Warburton: Ten thousand of my constituents have been automatically enrolled on the pensions dashboard under this Government. Will the Minister confirm that this is one of many options for my constituents for receiving pensions information, and that the dashboard will remain firmly in place?
David Warburton: The Children’s Commissioner estimates that at least 46,000 children in England have been targeted by drug gangs and coerced by intimidation, violence and criminal incentives into the so-called county lines system of selling drugs across the country. What work is being done by my right hon. Friend’s Department to address this appalling exploitation of children and young people?
David Warburton: What steps he is taking to divert young people away from violent crime.
David Warburton: I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. I am delighted to speak to a Bill on a topic that, unfortunately, can be close to us all, and sadly can have a devastating and dramatic effect on our constituents and many of us—flooding. The sad reality is that many of our constituencies have at some point experienced flooding, and some, such as mine, face the risk regularly. Flooding...
David Warburton: My hon. Friend is right that the Bill refers to England alone. It does not cover the separate competency that the Scottish Parliament will have. I am sure that my hon. Friend the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will explain more about that. After the devastation of the 2014 floods came grief and blame, and finally—thankfully—a desire to take action. I am sure that these...