Mike Weatherley MP

16th April 2012

Mike Weatherley: How many people aged 16 to 18 started an apprenticeship in (a) Hove constituency, (b) the south-west and (c) England in 2011.

16th April 2012

Mike Weatherley: I congratulate my hon. Friend on the outstanding progress he has made in promoting apprenticeships. The previous Government provided for so-called “apprenticeships” without even a requirement for apprentices to have a job. Will he reassure me that under this Government the requirement to be in proper work will remain the core of our apprenticeship offering?

22nd March 2012

Mike Weatherley: Will my hon. Friend welcome with me the measures for the video games industry, which are so important to Brighton and Hove, protect jobs in this country and stop them going abroad?

22nd March 2012

Mike Weatherley: Will the Minister welcome with me and the digital economy in Hove the news yesterday that Hove will be included in the next round of superfast broadband bids?

13th March 2012

Mike Weatherley: How many prosecutions have been brought in respect of illegal encampments involving vehicles on public parks in the last 12 months.

13th March 2012

Mike Weatherley: Will the Minister consider a review of the powers of local authorities to prosecute trespassers effectively and/or to charge occupants fees so that there is an effective deterrent against uninvited encampments and so that some of the costs associated with unwelcome activity can be recouped?

13th March 2012

Mike Weatherley: I thank the Minister for a detailed reply. On that specific point, have the Government initiated any inquiries into alternatives, or are they waiting for the industry to come back to them?

13th March 2012

Mike Weatherley: I understand the point about criminality, but what about the ownership of the performance? There has been no mention of that. Surely, performers owning their product is at the heart of our creative industries.

13th March 2012

Mike Weatherley: Will the Minister commit the Government to look at the French example to see why it was put into statute-going live today-and what the benefits or problems will be once it has gone live?

13th March 2012

Mike Weatherley: It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Crausby. I believe that the free market is by far and away the best method by which to allocate resources effectively. Provided the often-quoted five criteria regarding the definition of perfect markets-identical product, all firms are price takers, all firms have a relatively small market share, perfect knowledge, and no barriers to...

13th March 2012

Mike Weatherley: Absolutely. I agree-it is a drain on the Exchequer. Of course, some secondary ticketing organisations pay tax, but there is an amount of VAT and so on that is not necessarily reclaimed. The issue is recognised by some of the music and sports industries’ leading names. The list of those who joined me to meet with the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport last...

13th March 2012

Mike Weatherley: I could not agree more. I will come on to that point in a moment-it is on an industrial scale now. The intention of the person buying the ticket is important. If the intention is to make a profit, I argue that that is to the detriment of the industry. It can be argued that there are occasions where intermediaries, such as agents, or, in this example, ticket touts, provide a supply and...

13th March 2012

Mike Weatherley: I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention and I applaud her efforts in this field, without which I would never have been alerted to the issue. I thank her for that. I agree and France does, too. As I said, France has gone live today with a law specifically about this form of ticket touting, which is along the lines of the hon. Lady’s private Member’s Bill, which although...

13th March 2012

Mike Weatherley: I agree. Some 20 years ago, ticket touting at events was a quaint issue, but now it is on an industrial scale. We live in rapidly changing times. I agree that the internet is a huge game changer. The UK Government need to catch up. It is worth noting, as I said earlier, that a secondary ticketing law goes live in France today. The French are leading the way, the Olympics demanded it, the...

27th February 2012

Mike Weatherley: Does my hon. Friend agree that just the sight of the torch going through places such as my constituency of Hove will inspire people?

27th February 2012

Mike Weatherley: As my hon. Friend will be aware, ticketing raised £527 million up to December 2011, and could have raised considerably more had it been based on a free-market approach. Given that the model of secondary ticketing has been banned in the Olympics and given the inspirational nature of the Olympics and other cultural and sporting events, does he agree that the same model should be considered...

23rd February 2012

Mike Weatherley: In Brighton and Hove, we have very successful routes on the seafront with shared pedestrian access. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that we should be encouraging Brighton and Hove council to mark that space in bright colours? The safety of cyclists is about not only roads, but where we have shared access on pavements.

8th February 2012

Mike Weatherley: I am sorry to intervene so early. I speak as someone who owned a manufacturing company that won two Queen’s Awards for Export in the 1990s, and which exported to 49 countries around the world. Does my hon. Friend agree that part of the problem for small and medium-sized enterprises is the equity gap between what the banks will lend-usually up to £100,000-and what...

2nd February 2012

Mike Weatherley: Does my hon. Friend agree that part of the problem is the blame culture that has developed at various points in Network Rail’s history?

2nd February 2012

Mike Weatherley: Will my hon. Friend comment on cases where the judges might have got something wrong and what routes of recompense there are in those circumstances? I speak as chairman of the all-party group on retail and business crime. I hear a number of instances from independent retailers where judges have given questionable summaries, so these retailers are unsure whether the justice system works in...