Stephen Hammond: Let me say at the outset that I am chairman of the all-party groups on business travel and on Portugal, and I do not need to tell the Minister how the decision ignoring the data and the illogical decision about Portugal last week have caused widespread dismay. I have been speaking on hospitality and events in this House since March 2020, as many colleagues have. I am proud of the fact that in...
Stephen Hammond: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am sure the House will benefit from your strictures towards my speech, and I welcome the opportunity to make a short contribution on the amendments. As the hon. Member for Ealing North (James Murray) rightly says, the OECD-Biden proposals are an attempt to ensure a multinational, legal framework to ensure that multinational countries pay tax in the...
Stephen Hammond: I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement and for the extraordinary roll-out, which is still continuing, and I thank all the health workers across Wimbledon and south-west London. In his statement, my right hon. Friend was right to identify the risk of new variants and to mention genomic sequencing and...
Stephen Hammond: It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Swansea West (Geraint Davies). Before I begin my short remarks on the Finance Bill, I would like to put on record—because I was not able to be here yesterday—my condolences and those of my constituents to Her Majesty the Queen on the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. This Finance Bill follows a year of unprecedented economic disruption unknown...
Stephen Hammond: I urge the Government to think about learning the lessons of economic history in respect of the power of putting wider economic development zones and the encouragement that they bring alongside freeports. We all recognise that such zones need seedcorn grants from the Government; that could give the Government the opportunity to consider local recovery bonds. We have already seen the prospect...
Stephen Hammond: I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. The roll-out of the vaccine has been truly impressive and undoubtedly led to some heightened expectations. From experience, I recognise that the supply letter from NHS England to the system was not actually unusual. Does my right hon. Friend agree that there is a possibility that an equally appropriate phrase for the current supply fluctuation...
Stephen Hammond: This is an extremely wide-ranging Bill. I have raised in the House a number of times the reform of rehabilitation. This Bill will give the courts powers to give alternatives to custody for youth offenders, by piloting changes to youth rehabilitation orders. For adult offenders, a “problem-solving court approach” will be piloted for certain community and suspended sentences. This aims to...
Stephen Hammond: Like colleagues across the House, my condolences are with Sarah Everard’s family and friends. All women should feel safe, and no offender should think they can abuse women on the streets or anywhere else. Does my right hon. Friend agree with me that all reports of allegations of abuse must be seriously and more rigorously investigated, and that there must be confidence in the justice system...
Stephen Hammond: It is a pleasure to speak in the debate this evening. This Budget was produced after a year of extraordinary economic challenges and an extraordinary economic response to give support to families and businesses. No Chancellor would want to raise taxes or increase Government borrowing to the current record levels, but in this Budget the Chancellor has rightly recognised the need to continue to...
Stephen Hammond: It is a pleasure to follow my fellow London MP, the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), and to welcome the hon. Member for Cardiff Central (Jo Stevens) back to her place. At the outset of these remarks, I want to say how much I welcome and commend the Government’s support for entertainment. Throughout this pandemic, I have used these debates and questions to raise...
Stephen Hammond: I am pleased to make a small, short contribution to this afternoon’s debate and, like so many others, wish my right hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (James Brokenshire) all the best. For many in Wimbledon, the dream of home ownership —the aspiration to have a home—has gone from a dream to a nightmare because of these cladding and safety problems. I listened carefully to...
Stephen Hammond: I congratulate all those in the local health service and volunteers rolling out the successful vaccine programme in Wimbledon. I agree that we need effective border security. However, my right hon. Friend said earlier that new variants could emerge anywhere, so could he allay my concern that our efforts might be better spent on ensuring effective, rigorous and enforced home quarantine for all...
Stephen Hammond: I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his decisions of last year to guarantee the surplus supplies of vaccine, and I thank all the NHS staff and volunteers in Wimbledon who are delivering it. Clearly, getting the vaccine rolled out as fast as possible is key. Therefore, can he confirm that he will make sure that best practice advice is being given to every vaccine centre to ensure that there...
Stephen Hammond: What discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on equivalence recognition for financial services.
Stephen Hammond: I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Clearly, it would be disappointing if the EU could not follow the UK’s offer on equivalence, given the relative starting positions. Will my hon. Friend comment on the Government’s ambitions with regard to mutual recognition of professional qualifications? What are those ambitions and does he hope that they will be achieved by the signing of the...
Stephen Hammond: It is a great privilege to speak in this debate and to follow the hon. Member for Weaver Vale (Mike Amesbury), because this debate shows what a challenging, difficult decision many Members have to make tonight. I have listened to many of the contributions, and many have portrayed a choice between lives and livelihoods. As constituency MPs, however, we all know that behind that are stories of...
Stephen Hammond: What steps his Department is taking to support people who are subject to the loan charge.
Stephen Hammond: As my right hon. Friend rightly recognises, there are a number of people who cannot pay the amount either in full at the beginning or in instalments. Given that HMRC has now recognised that many of these people were victims of mis-selling, is it not time to have another review of the people who have been mis-sold these schemes, and would it not be right and appropriate for those who mis-sold...
Stephen Hammond: It is a great honour to serve under your chairmanship, Sir David, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Elliot Colburn) on securing the debate. It pains me to agree with the hon. Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter), which I do rarely, although this is the second time in a London debate that I have done so. He is right that we would look ridiculous...
Stephen Hammond: The news of the covid vaccine is great for both my constituents in Wimbledon and people across the country, but I believe that when my constituents get sick, they should have the right to access the highest-quality healthcare. The plans to improve and invest in St Helier Hospital would do just that. Will the Prime Minister work with me to ensure that those plans are brought forward as quickly...