Votes and Proceedings - 14 October 2020

Contents

Chamber business

The House met at 11.30 am.

Prayers

1Speaker’s Statement: Queen’s consent on the Fisheries Bill [Lords], 13 October 2020

2Questions to the Secretary of State for Wales

3Speaker’s Statement: Virtual participation in proceedings

4Questions to the Prime Minister

5Election Candidates (All-ethnic-minority Shortlists) Bill: Presentation (Standing Order No. 57)

Wera Hobhouse presented a Bill to amend the Equality Act 2010 to permit political parties to use all-ethnic-minority shortlists for the selection of election candidates.

Bill read the first time; to be read a second time on Friday 12 March 2021, and to be printed (Bill 196).

6Dogs and Domestic Animals (Accommodation and Protection): Motion for leave to bring in a Bill (Standing Order No. 23)

Ordered, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to establish rights to keep dogs and other animals in domestic accommodation; to make provision about the protection of the welfare of dogs and other domestic animals; and for connected purposes;

That Andrew Rosindell, Robert Halfon, Andrea Leadsom, Mrs Sheryll Murray, Sir David Amess, Theresa Villiers, Henry Smith, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, Chris Bryant, Tim Farron, Ian Lavery and Ms Lyn Brown present the Bill.

Andrew Rosindell accordingly presented the Bill.

Bill read the first time; to be read a second time on Friday 29 January 2021, and to be printed (Bill 197).

7Opposition Day: Leader of the Opposition (12th allotted day (Standing Order No. 14))

(1) COVID-19 economic support package

Motion made and Question proposed, That this House believes the Government should do what it takes to support areas with additional local restrictions, currently the North of England and parts of the Midlands, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, by reforming the Job Support Scheme so it incentivises employers to keep staff on rather than letting them go; ensuring no-one is pushed into poverty when they do the right thing; providing clear, consistent and fair funding that goes hand-in-hand with the imposition of new restrictions, including using the £1.3 billion underspend on the grants fund to support local jobs; fixing gaps in support for the self-employed; and extending the ban on evictions.—(Anneliese Dodds.)

Amendment proposed, in line 1, to leave out from ‘House’ to end and add ‘welcomes the Government’s package of support worth over £200 billion to help protect jobs and businesses through the coronavirus pandemic, including the eight-month long Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, £1,000 Job Retention Bonus, unprecedented loan schemes, business grants and tax cuts; further welcomes the pledge to protect, create and support jobs through measures in the £30 billion Plan for Jobs such as Eat Out to Help Out, VAT and stamp duty cuts and the £2 billion Kickstart Scheme; acknowledges the further support for jobs with increased cash grants and the expanded Job Support Scheme to support those businesses legally required to close due to national or local lockdowns; and further acknowledges that this is one of the most comprehensive and generous packages of support anywhere in the world.’.–(The Chancellor of the Exchequer.)

Question proposed, That the original words stand part of the Question.

The Speaker announced a time limit on backbench speeches (Standing Order No. 47(1)).

Question put.

The House divided.

Division No. 136

Ayes: 261 (Tellers: Colleen Fletcher, Bambos Charalambous)

Noes: 338 (Tellers: Tom Pursglove, David T C Davies)

Question accordingly negatived.

Question, That the proposed words be there added, put forthwith (Standing Order No. 31(2)).

Question agreed to.

The Deputy Speaker declared the Main Question, as amended, agreed to (Standing Order No. 31(2)).

Resolved, That this House welcomes the Government’s package of support worth over £200 billion to help protect jobs and businesses through the coronavirus pandemic, including the eight-month long Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, £1,000 Job Retention Bonus, unprecedented loan schemes, business grants and tax cuts; further welcomes the pledge to protect, create and support jobs through measures in the £30 billion Plan for Jobs such as Eat Out to Help Out, VAT and stamp duty cuts and the £2 billion Kickstart Scheme; acknowledges the further support for jobs with increased cash grants and the expanded Job Support Scheme to support those businesses legally required to close due to national or local lockdowns; and further acknowledges that this is one of the most comprehensive and generous packages of support anywhere in the world.

(2) Local contact tracing

Motion made and Question proposed, That this House notes the consistently high performance of local contact tracing systems when compared with the centralised system established by the Government; notes the wealth of evidence that the considerable sums of public money spent so far on the national system would deliver better public health outcomes if devolved to local authorities and public health experts; and calls on the Government to extend the additional funding for contact tracing available in Tier 3 areas to all parts of the country and ensure that councils and local public health teams receive the resources and powers they require.—(Rachel Reeves.)

Amendment proposed, in line 2, to leave out from ‘when’ to end and insert ‘working in conjunction with NHS Test and Trace; welcomes the huge expansion of testing to a capacity of over 340,000 tests a day; applauds the efforts of all involved in testing and contact tracing both at a national and local level; recognises that 650,000 people have now have been asked to isolate thanks to the work of NHS Test and Trace, and supports the Government’s efforts to expand testing and tracing yet further.’.—(Jo Churchill.)

Question proposed, That the original words stand part of the Question (Standing Order No. 31(2)).

The Deputy Speaker announced a time limit on backbench speeches (Standing Order No. 47(1)).

Question put.

The House divided.

Division No. 137

Ayes: 258 (Tellers: Colleen Fletcher, Bambos Charalambous)

Noes: 338 (Tellers: David T C Davies, Tom Pursglove)

Question accordingly negatived.

Question, That the proposed words be there added, put forthwith (Standing Order No. 31(2)).

Question agreed to.

Main Question, as amended, put and agreed to.

Resolved, That this House notes the consistently high performance of local contact tracing systems working in conjunction with NHS Test and Trace; welcomes the huge expansion of testing to a capacity of over 340,000 tests a day; applauds the efforts of all involved in testing and contact tracing both at a national and local level; recognises that 650,000 people have now have been asked to isolate thanks to the work of NHS Test and Trace, and supports the Government’s efforts to expand testing and tracing yet further.

8Statutory Instruments: Motions for Approval

(1) Motion made and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 118(6)), That the Pension Protection Fund (Moratorium and Arrangements and Reconstructions for Companies in Financial Difficulty) (Amendment and Revocation) Regulations 2020 (SI, 2020, No. 990), dated 14 September 2020, a copy of which was laid before this House on 15 September, be approved.—(Maria Caulfield.)

Question agreed to.

(2) Motion made and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 118(6)), That the draft Immigration Skills Charge (Amendment) Regulations 2020, which were laid before this House on 10 September, be approved.—(Maria Caulfield.)

Question agreed to.

9Public petitions

A public petition from residents of the constituency of Kilmarnock and Loudoun relating to support for the travel industry was presented and read by Alan Brown.

10Adjournment

Subject: Electricity generation and the right to become local suppliers (Ben Lake)

Resolved, That this House do now adjourn.—(Maria Caulfield.)

Adjourned at 7.44 pm until tomorrow.