From: Greg Hands MP news@greghands.

com
Subject: News Bulletin from Greg Hands MP #475
Date: 27 February 2017 at 22:26
To: news@greghands.com

Issue 475 -Tuesday 28th February 2017

In this edition:

Greg Hands MPs Diary Since the last edition, Greg:

Website of the Week: Campaigned in the historic Copeland By-Election in Cumbria,
Tigers Taekwondo academy
seeing the election of Trudy Harrison, the first Conservative MP
Photo news: for Copeland since 1935.
Cameron House School
pupils visit Greg in As Minister of State for Trade and Investment, responded to a
Westminster House of Commons debate on the importance of trading
Hands in Parliament: relationships with the Commonwealth. For Gregs speech, see
Greg Hands MP responds below.
to a House of Commons
debate on Trade with the Met with NATS, the National Air Traffic Control group, to
Commonwealth discuss the future of airspace over London, particularly with
Photo news: reference to any Heathrow expansion.
Hands campaigns in the Attended and addressed the China APPG reception in
Copeland By-election
Westminster on the occasion of the Chinese New Year.
Greg Hands welcomes Participated in the UK Technology Investment Conference in
Local Unemployment
Halved under the Istanbul via video conference from London.
Conservatives Attended and addressed the dinner of the Hammersmith &
Photo news: Fulham Conservative Councillors and Candidates.
Hands welcomes Welcomed the Hungarian Trade Minister Dr Laszlo Szabo to
Hungarian Trade Minister to
Department for the Trade Department, for positive talks on the future of UK
International Trade Hungarian trade.
Greg Hands MPs Also campaigned in Stoke for the parliamentary by-lection in
Submission to Night Flights Stoke-on-Trent Central.
Consultation
Met with enthusiastic children from Cameron House School in
Photo news: Chelsea, and answered questions on what is means to be an
Hands visits Tigers Club in
Chelsea MP, and how one becomes an MP.
Met Ohio Governor John Kasich and talked about US
Apply Now for National
Lottery Money for First politics, the Buckeye State and how to attract inward
World War Centenary investment.
Projects in Chelsea &
Fulham Appeared before the EU Committee of the Scottish
Parliament, to give evidence on the UKs future trading
Photo news:
Constituency surgery at relationships post-Brexit.
Metro Bank, Fulham Attended a class with the Tigers Taekwondo Academy in
Broadway
Chelsea Methodist Church.
Greg Hands MP Urges Welcomed representatives and members of the North East
Constituents to Express
Their Concerns about England Chamber of Commerce to the House of Commons
Proposals to Change Royal to discuss Trade.
Brompton Hospital
Congenital Heart Services Met organisers in London of this years Future Energy Expo in
Astana, Kazakhstan.
Photo news:
Hands welcomes Ohio Voted in the Commons in support of the Government policy to
Governor to the House of ratify the Istanbul Convention.
Commons
Held his regular constituency surgery at Fulham Broadway,
Greg Hands speech on kindly hosted by Metro Bank. To request an appointment,
smart cities
please send an email to handsg@parliament.uk, or call 020
Hands in the papers: 7219 5448.
Dont pit peers against the
people, Lords warned as it
begins Brexit Bill debate

Hands in the papers:

The Return of the Native Website of the Week:
7 ways to contact www.taekwondotigerslondon.co.uk
Greg Hands
The website of Tigers Taekwondo academy, held every week at
Chelsea Methodist Church. Greg visited them this week.

Photo news:
Cameron House School pupils visit Greg in
Westminster

Greg Hands MP with pupils from Cameron House School,

Chelsea, in Parliament last week.

Hands in Parliament:
Greg Hands MP responds to a House of
Commons debate on Trade with the
Commonwealth
22nd February, 2017

Click on the image above to watch Greg's speech (starts at

16:03:56).

The Minister for Trade and Investment (Greg Hands): It is a great

pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for the first time, Mr Owen.
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and
Darwen (Jake Berry) on securing this debate about our current and
future trading relationships with the Commonwealth, which has truly
been remarkable, uplifting and enormously encouraging. It is
testimony to the popularity of the debate that I counted some 26 Back
Benchers in the Chamber, most of whom stayed for the duration
despite the Division. That shows the strength of interest in this subject.

In an uncertain and increasingly challenging world, the

Commonwealth is more important than ever. It is an enormous market,
but it is more than just a market. The Commonwealth charter has
prosperity at its very centre. Members are committed to an effective,
equitable, rules-based multilateral trading system and the freest
possible flow of multilateral trade.

I will try in the limited time available to answer the many questions and
points that were made, but I am happy to meet or write to Members if I
miss anything. My hon. Friend made a strong and compelling speech
and presented a comprehensive vision of our future trading relations
with the Commonwealth. He began by referencing the Commonwealth
Parliamentary Association, which was most appropriate here in the
mother of Parliaments. We should recognise the importance of
parliamentary diplomacy. Like many Members in the Chamber, I am a
long-standing supporter of the Commonwealth Parliamentary
Association. My hon. Friend mentioned a recent CPA conference. I
went to the one in New Delhi in 2007, which was quite an experience,
and have also participated in CPA visits to Nigeria, Sierra Leone and
Sri Lanka.

My hon. Friend mentioned that we have stood shoulder to shoulder in

conflict with the Commonwealth countries on our side. I am reminded
whenever I go to a Commonwealth country that there are sometimes
war memorials to our common endeavours in different conflicts in
small and surprising places. I remember seeing a memorial in the
town of Kumasi in Ghana to the important service of Ghanaian forces
in the small and in many ways forgottenit is probably not forgotten in
Ghanaconflict with German-occupied Togo. That is not to mention
the millions of people from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India,
Pakistan and other countries who have participated on our side in
conflicts.

My hon. Friend mentioned the kind offers from New Zealand and other
countries to help prepare our Department for negotiating free trade
agreements. We took up New Zealands offer, and a senior official
from New Zealand was seconded to the Department. I expect that we
would look favourably on further such offers, including from Australia
and Canada.

My hon. Friend mentioned that trade deals can take several years.
That is not necessarily the case. He mentioned the Comprehensive
Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada, which I will come back
to, but the North American Free Trade Agreement, which is pretty
comprehensive, took only 14 months to negotiate. That is not
necessarily the model for where we go from here, but it indicates the
potential spread of dates.

My hon. Friend also asked whether we should wait until 2019. I say to
him clearly that we will not. We are already out there. We have
working groups on trade with Australia, New Zealand and India.
Notably, the Prime Minister made her first bilateral trade mission to a
Commonwealth countryIndia. The Secretary of State and I
accompanied her on that mission. We have also made ministerial
visits to Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, Malaysia and so on.
We have six Commonwealth trade envoysone spoke in the debate
and at least one other was present. My hon. Friend the Member for
Gloucester (Richard Graham) rightly referred to the inaugural meeting
of Commonwealth Trade Ministers.

The hon. Member for Rochdale (Simon Danczuk) made important

points about the importance of human rights in trade talks. The UK
has always been at the forefront of ensuring that important issues
such as human rights, the environment and consumer protection are
at the heart of such deals.

My right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Sir Hugo Swire) has
in many ways been the very embodiment of the Commonwealth in Her
Majestys Government for the last four years. He and I had several
interactions during that time in all kinds of roles. He is quite right about
the importance of the coming meeting of Commonwealth Trade
Ministers. I expect that all four trade Ministers will play a role in
support of the Secretary of State. No. 10 will come to a decision about
the date and location of next years CHOGM in due course, but I am
sure other Commonwealth leaders will be consulted. After all, we want
them to come, so it stands to reason that we will check that date as far
as we reasonably can to ensure that we maximise their attendance.

Businesses will of course be involved. At the very centre of trade is

commerce and at the very centre of commerce is business and
businesses. How they will be involved at CHOGM will be a matter for
ongoing engagement. The Secretary of State and I meet businesses
on a regular basis.

The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) and my hon. Friend
the Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Mr Vara) mentioned the
importance of smaller countries. Some 80% of Commonwealth
countries benefit from preferential access to the UK via the general
scheme of preferences, economic partnership agreements, market
access regulation and so on. That is an important part of it.

My hon. Friend also mentioned the Commonwealth immigration

channel. I am keenly aware of a recent letter to the Home Secretary. I
understand that a meeting with my hon. Friend the Immigration
Minister is coming up for the people who wrote that letter. Immigration
queues are a matter for the Home Office, with input from the Foreign
Office and the Department for International Trade. We in the
Department for International Trade are always interested how we can
make business travel easier so that those people we depend on for
the free flow of trade between the UK and other nations are not
unfairly penalised when entering the country.

The hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Stuart Blair
Donaldson) said that trade was good for Scotland, and I totally agree.
That is exactly the point I was making earlier today in front of a
Scottish Parliament Committee on the European Union. What I have
to say to the Scottish National party is this: the most important market
for Scottish exports is the rest of the United Kingdom. Some 64% of
goods and services leaving Scotland go to the rest of the United
Kingdom, compared with just 15% to the European Union. Moreover,
the rate of growth in trade with the rest of the UK has been almost 10
times as fast as that with the European Union over the past nine years.

My hon. Friend the Member for Henley (John Howell), who is a trade
envoy to Nigeria, made an important point about trade with Nigeria.
Within that was an incredibly important point about the importance of
the diasporas to trade. That is a key UK unique selling point in terms
of our ability to trade with the Commonwealth, whether those are from
Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Caribbean or so on.

The hon. Member for City of Durham (Dr Blackman-Woods)

mentioned the importance of higher educationtrade and business is
incredibly dependent on access to the best talentand of ensuring
that universities are a key part of the UK offer in attracting foreign
direct investment.

My hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond)

talked about the importance of services. Some 80% of our economy is
in services and we need to ensure that the UK is playing an active role
in the Trade in Services Agreement, which we are.

My hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Sir Paul Beresford)
mentioned the importance of New Zealand. We have no better friend
in the world when it comes to trade than New Zealand. I mentioned
earlier the support it has been providing, and the recent visit of the
New Zealand Trade Minister was a strong sign as well.

My hon. Friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Sir Henry
Bellingham) is another person who has taken a strong interest in the
Commonwealth in recent years as head of the all-party parliamentary
group for the Commonwealth. I will take back his idea of a pre-meet
with Commonwealth high commissioners in advance of the trade
meeting and discuss that with the Secretary of State to see whether it
is practical in the time available.

I did not get a chance to address the main issues, but hopefully I have
got across the importance of the Commonwealth to the Government.
In the limited time I have left, I do have to say to the official Opposition
that they must sort themselves out. We heard from the right hon.
Member for Warley (Mr Spellar) in an intervention. He has said that, if
we cannot do a trade deal with Justin Trudeau-led Canada, with whom
can we do one?

The incredible sight last week of the official Opposition and the
nationalists on Monday deciding that they supported CETA, changing
their minds on Tuesday and calling a deferred Division, and then on
Wednesday voting against that very matter, was amazing to behold. I
am sure that was noted widely not only in the European Union but in
Canada and across the Commonwealth.

Photo news:
Hands campaigns in the Copeland By-
election

Greg Hands MP in Copeland last week with campaigners from

Conservative Way Forward, taking part in the historic by-election
win against Labour.

Greg Hands welcomes Local

Unemployment Halved under the
Conservatives

Greg Hands, Member of Parliament for Chelsea & Fulham, has

welcomed the news that employment across the UK has reached its
highest rate since records began, and that unemployment remains at
its lowest level for 11 years down more than 900,000 since 2010.

There is also great news for London, where 727,000 more people are
back in work in since 2010.

In Chelsea & Fulham, the number of people claiming the key out of
work benefits has fallen by 1,041 a 50 per cent drop since 2010.

Todays figures also show wages continuing to grow strongly, the

youth unemployment rate at its lowest since 2005, the rate of women
in employment at a record high, and the number of disabled people in
work up by nearly 600,000 over the past 3 years.

Local Member of Parliament for Chelsea & Fulham, Greg Hands, said:
"This is great news for our country and for local people, with the
number of people in Chelsea & Fulham relying on the key out of work
benefits down 50 per cent since 2010, while the employment level
nationwide has hit a record high.

"It shows that our on-going welfare reforms are working continuing
to incentivise work and making sure that the system is fair to all those
who need it and to those who pay for it.

"This Conservative majority Government has made real progress

creating a strong economy and helping people into work, and we will
continue that work as we build a country that works for everyone
with more people sharing in our countrys prosperity."

Photo news:
Hands welcomes Hungarian Trade Minister
to Department for International Trade

Greg Hands MP welcoming Hungarian Trade Minister, Dr Laszlo

Szabo, to the Department for International Trade earlier this
month.

Greg Hands MPs Submission to Night

Flights Consultation
On 23 February, Member of Parliament for Chelsea & Fulham, Greg
Hands made his submission to the Department for Transports public
consultation on night flight restrictions at Heathrow Airport and other
London airports. Greg reiterated his belief that there should be a
comprehensive ban on night flights at Heathrow Airport in order to
lessen the detrimental impact on the hundreds of thousands of
Londoners including his constituents in Chelsea & Fulham who
live beneath Heathrows flight path.

Greg is encouraging his constituents to make their views heard on

night flights and the Department for Transports two other public
consultations on the proposed third runway at Heathrow Airport, and
reforming UK airspace at the following websites:

>> https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/night-flight-
restrictions-at-gatwick-heathrow-and-stansted

>> https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/heathrow-
expansion-draft-airports-national-policy-statement

>> https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforming-
policy-on-the-design-and-use-of-uk-airspace

Gregs submission follows:

The Lord Ahmad

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport
Department for Transport
Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road
London SW1P 4DR

27 February 2017

Dear Tariq,

Submission to the Consultation on Night Flight Restrictions at

Heathrow Airport

As the Member of Parliament for Chelsea & Fulham, I welcome the

opportunity once again to make known my concerns about night
flights by responding to this new consultation. I shall only make
reference to night flight restrictions at Heathrow Airport, as it is
Heathrow which has a direct negative impact on my constituents.

For the past twenty-seven years, I have lived beneath the Heathrow
flight path and, like many hundreds of thousands of Londoners, I am
frequently woken up by aircraft noise. These Londoners have jobs to
do and families to look after, for which they require a good nights
sleep. Accordingly, not only are people losing sleep because of being
disturbed by aircraft noise during the night, but their daily lives are
being indirectly affected by it.

Essentially, my belief remains the same as during the previous

consultation: that there should be a comprehensive ban on night
flights at Heathrow Airport between 11pm and 6am.

I should like to take this opportunity to draw your attention once

again to the evidence from the World Heath Organization,[1] the Civil
Aviation Authority,[2] and the British Medical Journal,[3] on the
detrimental impact on health of sustained sleep deprivation as a result
of aircraft noise. I note that the Department for Transport does make
reference to similar studies in its consultation document, reminding us
that the Department is indeed aware of the risks to health posed by
sleep disturbance as a result of night flights.

I am also aware that one of the key arguments for night flights
involves the convenience for passengers travelling from destinations
in the Far East such as Hong Kong and Singapore who would
otherwise have to board their flights after midnight. I understand that
business between London and the Far East is very important.
Nevertheless, I gather that Frankfurt Airport the fourth busiest
airport in Europe since 4 April 2012 has banned night flights
between 11pm and 5am. Moreover, I am aware that several flights
from Singapore at least do not take off until 1am, establishing a
precedent that such flights can indeed take off after midnight.

I find it unacceptable, therefore, that the convenience, quality of sleep,

and health of millions of residents in London and the wider South
East under the flight path is sacrificed for the sake of a few thousand
inbound passengers per night.

I recognise that your proposals are separate from the Governments

preferred option for the expansion of airport capacity in the South
East by means of a third runway at Heathrow, and that they are
concerned specifically with night flight restrictions at Heathrow,
Gatwick, and Stansted from October 2017 for a period of five years to
2022. I should like to question your reference to bespoke arrangements
that reflect specific local circumstances that might come into effect
before October 2022. What exactly might these entail?

The sixteen flights per night at Heathrow is still sixteen flights too
many.[4] Accordingly, while I welcome the Departments stated
intention not to decrease the current restrictions but to encourage the
use of quieter aircraft, I remain convinced that there should be a
comprehensive ban on night flights at Heathrow Airport between
11pm and 6am.

Yours sincerely,

The Rt Hon. Greg Hands MP

Member of Parliament for Chelsea and Fulham

Photo news:
Hands visits Tigers Club in Chelsea

Greg Hands MP with Taekwondo students at the Taekwondo

Tigers club in Chelsea, last week.

Apply Now for National Lottery Money for

First World War Centenary Projects in
Chelsea & Fulham
Greg Hands MP urges Chelsea &
Fulham residents and stakeholders
to apply for Heritage Lottery Fund
grants for community projects
exploring the First World War during
its Centenary.

Following the phenomenal success

of its community grants programme
First World War: then and now, HLF has made 2million available this
year for communities looking to explore, conserve, and share local
heritage of the First World War. Grants are available between 3,000
and 10,000.

Thanks to National Lottery funding, thousands of young people and

communities throughout the UK have already been involved in
activities marking the Centenary such as: researching and recording
local heritage; conserving and finding out more about war memorials;
and using digital technology to share the fascinating stories they
uncover. We want as many people as possible to get involved to
explore a greater range of stories including those surrounding the
Battle of Gallipoli, the Battle of Jutland, the Battle of the Somme, and
Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres.

Commenting on these opportunities, Member of Parliament for

Chelsea & Fulham, Greg Hands, said: These projects and stories
have been an inspiration. Its so important that we remember the
impact of this war one hundred years on. There is still time to apply for
National Lottery money, and I would urge anyone in Chelsea &
Fulham with an idea for their own project to get in touch with the
Heritage Lottery Fund.

Sir Peter Luff, Chair of the HLF, said: The demand for National Lottery
funding for First World War projects has been phenomenal and so far
we have reached almost 83 per cent of UK constituencies. But we
want to make that 100 per cent. So we are urging everyone with an
idea for a project, even if you have been HLF funded before, to get in
touch.

There are now more than 1,620 First World War projects taking place
across the UK, thanks to more than 82million of investment from HLF.

The HLF film shows just some of the projects already underway and
outlines the breadth and scale of First World War stories being
explored and shared across the country:

https://www.hlf.org.uk/about-us/news-features/understanding-
first-world-war

More information on how to apply for HLF funding is available at

www.hlf.org.uk, and you can follow HLF on Twitter at
@heritagelottery with the hashtag #understandingWW1

Photo news:
Constituency surgery at Metro Bank,
Fulham Broadway

Greg Hands MP with staff at Metro Bank, Fulham Broadway.

Greg's regular surgeries (generally weekly) are held at Metro
Bank, either the Fulham Broadway or the Kings Road, Chelsea,
branch.

Greg Hands MP Urges Constituents to

Express Their Concerns about Proposals to
Change Royal Brompton Hospital
Congenital Heart Services
On Thursday, 9 February, NHS
England launched its delayed public
consultation on the national
congenital heart disease (CHD)
review, which includes proposals to
end CHD services at Royal
Brompton Hospital. The only CHD
consultation event in London is due
to take place on 7 March between
6pm and 8pm at the Coin Street
Neighbourhood Centre, London.

The consultation is due to run until 5

June this year.

Official figures show that Royal

Brompton operates the UKs largest
CHD service, and consistently has among the best patient outcomes
in the country. Clinical teams help over 14,000 patients, treating many
from birth through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. It also has
exceptionally high patient satisfaction levels, with over 98% of patients
saying that they would recommend the cardiology service. The UKs
CHD services as a whole are already considered to be among the
best in the world.

If the plans went ahead, Royal Brompton would be forced to withdraw

all CHD services, requiring both child and adult patients to find
another hospital to provide their care. The plans would also dismantle
Royal Bromptons world-leading adult CHD research team
responsible for publishing more papers than any other centre in the
world and would force the closure of its childrens intensive care unit.

Without intensive care the Trusts paediatric cystic fibrosis and difficult
asthma services, both of which are the largest service of their kind in
the UK, would also have to close. NHS Englands consultation
document does not include any plan for dealing with these, and other,
wider consequences.

NHS England plans to withdraw CHD services because it considers

that the Trust does not meet a new standard around co-location. This
requires certain paediatric services gastroenterology, nephrology
(kidney) and general surgery to be permanently co-located in the
same building as the CHD service. As Royal Brompton is a specialist
heart and lung hospital, these additional services are based at the
neighbouring Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, just a few minutes
walk away.

Staff from both hospitals have worked seamlessly together for years
under a formal Service Level Agreement, with joint rotas, ward rounds,
meetings and shared systems. The Trust has a 100 per cent record of
ensuring that any patient in need of these additional services receives
them at their bedside, whenever are needed, day or night.

The Trust asserts that, despite several requests, NHS England has
not explained what else would be achieved through co-location, or
how services at Trusts that are already co-located are in any way
better as a result. The Trust also states that NHS England has
admitted that there is no evidence showing any clinical benefits of co-
location, and state that many clinicians were opposed to its inclusion
as a compulsory standard.

Commenting on the consultation, local Member of Parliament for

Chelsea & Fulham, Greg Hands, said: As the Member of Parliament
for Royal Brompton Hospital since 2010, I have taken a great interest
in the Hospital, including in 2011 when the Safe and Sustainable
review was published threatening childrens CHD services, and was
subsequently abandoned.

I have raised this issue in person with the Secretary of State for
Health, and with NHS England. I am in the process of organising a
meeting with the Minister of State for Health, Philip Dunne MP within
whose purview this issue falls with representatives of Royal
Brompton Hospital, other concerned MPs, and representatives of the
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Commenting on the consultation, Dr Richard Grocott-Mason, medical

director at Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, said:
As a doctor, I cannot understand how this plan would result in
patients receiving better care. It makes no sense to try and improve
care by closing one of the biggest, well-performing services, or by
destroying research teams that are leading the way in finding new
treatments for the future. To do this without a sound basis in evidence
is nothing short of foolhardy.

We have held many meetings with NHS England, and provided

evidence showing how we already achieve excellent outcomes for
congenital heart disease patients. It is therefore regrettable that they
have moved ahead with an expensive public consultation without
addressing the key issues we and others have raised with them
repeatedly over the last few months.

This consultation document still does not explain how NHS England
expects these plans to improve the care patients with congenital heart
disease receive throughout their life. It fails to address how NHS
England will counteract the damage that will be done to future care
standards by the destruction of our world-leading research team, and
astonishingly, despite our requests, does not provide an impact
assessment of how other services such as those for children with
cystic fibrosis, difficult asthma and complex lung disease will be
affected by these plans. The damage to our work in genetics and high
risk pregnancy and to our inherited cardiac conditions service is
similarly ignored.

This public consultation gives patients and medical professionals

alike the opportunity to make their views known. I hope that NHS
England use the consultation to genuinely take note of these views
and to develop more sensible plans. We know the cost of this
unnecessary reconfiguration would run to many millions of pounds
and when resources are so stretched it seems impossible to
understand why they are being used in this way.

Details on NHS Englands consultation can be found here, and for

further information on NHS Englands CHD consultation including
the event on 7 March please Nicola Humberstone on 07789 770037
or at england.congenitalheart@nhs.net.

Photo news:
Hands welcomes Ohio Governor to the
House of Commons

Greg Hands MP with Ohio Governor John Kasich and Helen

Whately MP, in the House of Commons last week.

Greg Hands speech on smart cities

Wednesday 1st February 2017

Speech delivered at the New Year reception for the All-Party

Parliamentary Group (APPG) on smart cities at the House of
Commons.

I would like to thank Mark Prisk MP for inviting me here today, and
take this opportunity to recognise the important work of the APPG on
smart cities.

You are a vital voice in a necessary debate, and I look forward to

working with you and your members in my role as Minister of State at
the Department for International Trade.

As recently as 20 years ago, the term smart cities would not have
registered with most people - myself included!

It would have been incredulous to think of a city where every person

could access real time information on where there was a free car
parking space; a city where refuse collectors know exactly when your
recycling bins are full; and where urban parks are designed to
promote biodiversity, reduce CO2, and give you free wi-fi connection
throughout.

But the pace of change has been astonishing.

This is all happening right now!

In London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, and other cities across the UK

- services like these are becoming commonplace.

Though using data to understand and ultimately alleviate social

problems is nothing new.

In the 19th Century, John Snow created the cholera maps, which
located the source of Londons cholera epidemic in Soho.

At a similar time, Charles Booths surveys of working class life in

London created the famous poverty maps which etched a street by
street depiction of income levels across the capital.

We now live in a world where technology is ubiquitous and the ability

to collect and access data is easier than ever before.

We also live in a world of finite resources, coupled with a population

set to reach almost 10 billion by 2050, according to the UN.

This presents many challenges but also a golden opportunity to use

technology to enhance economic development, sustainability and
quality of life for people in urban environments from Manchester to
Mumbai.

So, my commitment to you today is simple. The UK will seize this

opportunity and this government will pull out all the stops to ensure
British business leads the way in making the cities of the UK and the
world smarter.

UK capability

There are 3 ways we will do this. First, we will continue building our
domestic capability.

Innovate UK - the governments innovation agency has, over the last

5 years, invested nearly 100 million in projects to help our cities
prepare for a sustainable future.

32 million has been spent on the UKs internet of things (IoT)

programme, including Cityverve in Manchester - a smart city
demonstrator that will help improve public services for local citizens,
such as transport, energy, health and culture.

Bristol and Milton Keynes are internationally recognised as leaders in

smart city technology. They are making use of sensors to monitor air
pollution levels, energy usage, water consumption, and even living
patterns at home to detect early signs of illness.

These examples are testament to the simple truth that open data
requires open minds.

We must continue to see technology as a key that unlocks the

potential of our cities - making them more responsive to their
inhabitants.

Opportunities overseas

Whilst we build our domestic capability around smart cities, we must

also be alive to the opportunity overseas, which brings me onto my
second point.

Arup estimates that the global market for smart cities could be worth
$400 billion per year by 2020.

The UK has internationally recognised strengths in integrating city-

wide systems around transport, energy and security networks; as well
as in data and spatial analytics.

Our excellent engineering and architectural firms have already used

their urban planning and design expertise to create smart cities
around the world.

And standards set by the British Standards Institute, on smart cities

and the internet of things, are used the world over.

The possibilities are endless. These exportable capabilities can make

the transport infrastructure of world cities more efficient, their
healthcare providers more dedicated, and their emergency systems
more responsive.

The Department for International Trades smart cities team will support
UK companies in taking advantage of these overseas opportunities,
as well as attracting inward investment for UK smart city projects.

The team and I will be in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, where
we will be showcasing British expertise in cloud technology, sensors
and artificial intelligence all on the UK stand.

British firms are already thriving abroad.

Space Syntax, our sponsors this evening, are working with AECOM on
designing the growth of Saudi Arabias port city, Jeddah; over 30
countries have implemented Essex-based Telensas smart street
lighting technology; and Finnish telecoms giant Nokia is investing in
the Bristol is Open smart city initiative, which is being led by the local
council and the University of Bristol.

In November, I accompanied the Prime Minister on her visit to India,

where she and Prime Minister Modi announced an Anglo-Indian
Partnership on smart cities and urban development, which could
unlock 2 billion worth of business.

Running parallel to the visit, my department led a trade mission of UK

companies to the India Tech Summit, before taking them onto Pune
and Kochi to see the smart city opportunities first hand.

Indias ambition to create 100 smart cities provides UK firms with a

huge opportunity.

In cities across Asia and Africa, smart cities arent a nice to have, but
a social necessity. With Indias urban population expected to reach
590 million by 2030, the problems of resource depletion and
demographic change are both immediate and acute.

This government will ensure our smart city capability is evolving to

meet the needs of urban populations the world over.

Ways of working

My final point on how the UK can continue to lead the world in smart
city capability, involves a change in how government and industry
work together.

If individual UK companies are already garnering success overseas,

imagine what we can achieve with greater levels of co-operation.

I would like to see our urban planners working with our security,
transport and e-health specialist companies, so we can present a
single UK smart city offer to the world.

This requires a step up in the co-operation between government and

industry. A step we should look to take.

For if we are to lead the world in smart cities, our approach too has to
be smart.

Conclusion

Before I close, I want to reiterate that the UK can be recognised as the

global hub of smart city technology.

We should be bold in our thinking and use our already enviable

capability in this area to make the worlds cities more sustainable,
responsive and smart.

Our aim should be to make peoples lives easier and more enjoyable.

Indeed, it was Shakespeare who said, What is a city but the people?
It is an exciting challenge. But one that the UK is more than ready to
accept.

Thank you.

Hands in the papers:

Dont pit peers against the people, Lords
warned as it begins Brexit Bill debate
Nicholas Cecil, Evening Standard
Monday 20th February 2017

A minister today told Remain and

Leave MPs it is their national duty
to ensure Britain thrives after Brexit.

International trade minister Greg Hands appealed to all

parliamentarians to join a drive to boost UK exports.

British companies are some of the most innovative in the world,

boasting enormous potential.

"They are perfectly placed to seize a world of opportunity, he was due

to say at a Facebook event in the Commons today. In every corner of
the UK, there lies a small business with the potential to export. We
must unearth and nurture this potential.

Chelsea and Fulham MP Mr Hands, himself a Remainer, pledged

Government support for this export campaign but also urged all MPs
to back it even if they are still unhappy about Brexit.

We now need to campaign for UK PLC. It is our national duty to

ensure Britain prospers, he was set to tell MPs at the meeting.

He also welcomed Facebooks commitment to open a new

headquarters office in London and create around 500 new jobs in the
UK.

He also stressed that currently only 11 per cent of UK businesses

export, accounting for just 27 per cent of UK GDP, the lowest
proportion in the EU.

Prominent Remain MP Alistair Burt also called for divisions over Brexit
to be buried.

The former Foreign Office minister said: Replaying the debate against
the backdrop of the new vicious style of political language,
encouraged by social media, is allowing for matters previously
unspoken to become common currency.

Hatred of the EU, of anything, leads us down dark paths. It is time we

turned a corner.

Hands in the papers:

The Return of the Native
Kevin O' Brien, Handelsblatt Global
Friday 3rd February 2017

This week in Dsseldorf, Britain and

Germany unofficially began their
two-year dialogue to part ways over
Brexit. Judging by the initial
reactions, it may be a long, hard
slog, writes Handelsblatt's editor-in-chief.

In a crowded hotel ballroom on Thursday in Dsseldorf, Britain and

Germany came face-to-face publicly for the first time, so to speak, to
begin the messy, laborious business of sorting out Brexit.

For 43 years, since Britain joined the European Union, these meetings
tended to be collegial, constructive, even warm. But on this evening,
the chemistry was different, the audience a tad distant, like lifelong
soccer fans watching the return to the pitch of their teams favorite
player.

But this time hes wearing the jersey of the opposing squad.

The U.K. was represented by Greg Hands, the Minister of State for
Trade and Investment in the newly created U.K. Department for
International Trade. The cabinet agency was set up last summer to
help Britain negotiate a trade agreement with the 28-nation bloc,
which buys about 44 percent of all U.K. exports.

In the audience were prominent representatives of German and

European industry, many with operations in Britain, including the
Dutch-born former Bayer CEO, Marijn Dekkers, now chairman of
Unilever, and other CEOs.

Mr. Hands, an articulate, persuasive internationalist who speaks

German and whose wife grew up in former East Berlin, outlined some
of the arguments Britain will lay out in coming months in Brussels,
Berlin and other E.U. capitals. The highlights: Britain will remain the
worlds biggest defender of free trade, even after it leaves the E.U.
Britain is not turning its back on the E.U., and wants the bloc to thrive
and survive after it leaves; its in Britains interest. Britains top priority:
Revive a strong trading relationship with the E.U.

This is our moment to build a truly global Britain, Mr. Hands said.

Britains ties to Germany are substantial and the mainline runs through
Dsseldorf, the capital of North Rhine Westphalia, a state in which
61,000 Germans work for 104 subsidiaries of British companies. In
Britain, 100,000 Britons work for 578 German firms.

For most executives in the audience, Brexit means nagging,

potentially costly, uncertainty, and most were hungry for insight.

One German executive working for a U.K.-based firm told me Brexit

may force his employer to move its headquarters at least for
accounting purposes out of Britain, because its financial results may
become too tied to fluctuations in the British pound. The firm only
makes a fraction of its global sales in Britain, but reports its financial
results in pounds, which was always a non-issue, but may become
one, after Brexit.

Mr. Hands told the audience investors werent abandoning Britain, on

the contrary.

Since Brexit, investors have ploughed 16 billion pounds into the

country, a vote of confidence in Britains future.

For Germany and the rest of the E.U., the British market, while
significant, is not essential it accounted for only 16 percent of E.U.
exports in 2015. In 2016, German exports to Britain fell by 3 percent,
and may fall even faster as Brexit kicks in, according to the DIHK
German Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

After his speech, Mr. Hands took questions. The discussion took place
under Chatham House rules, and I cant quote it here and identify the
speakers. Lets say the questioning was polite but probing and at
times, skeptical, with one CEO stating flat out: The Brexit vote was not
about trade; Brexit was about stemming immigration. A new trade
policy is the effect, not the cause.

Mr. Hands gamely fielded the queries, and at the end, received a loud
round of applause from his audience.

But like the applause at the end of a closely played sporting match,
this was only the beginning.

7 ways to contact Greg Hands MP:

By Phone: 020 7219 5448
By email: mail@greghands.com
By post: Greg Hands MP
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
In person: Click here for details of how
to book an appointment at
Greg Handss weekly
surgery

www.greghands.com

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Published & Promoted by Jonathan Fraser-Howells on behalf of Greg Hands, both of 44 Southern Row, London, W10 5AN

[1] World Health Organiza1on Europe (2009), Night Noise Guidelines for Europe,
hAp://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_le/0017/43316/E92845.pdf
[2] Civil Avia1on Authority (2013), AircraT Noise, Sleep Disturbance and Health Eects: A Review, ERCD Report 1208,
hAp://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/ERCD1208.pdf
[3] The Bri1sh Medical Journal (2013), Residen1al exposure to aircraT noise and hospital admissions for
cardiovascular diseases: mul1-airport retrospec1ve study, hAp://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f5561
[4] Department for Transport (2017), Night ight restric1ons at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted Consulta1on
Document, p.14 hAps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/aAachment_data/le/582863/night-ight-
restric1ons-at-heathrow-gatwick-and-stansted.pdf