Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim Cunningham and John Bercow

Monday 24th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Mr Graham Allen. Not here.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

European Council

Debate between Jim Cunningham and John Bercow

Monday 27th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

If the hon. Gentleman was in the Chamber at the start of the statement, I will call him, but if he was not, I will not.

[Mr Cunningham]

indicated assent.

[Mr Speaker]

He was. I will very happily take his word.

[Mr Cunningham]

Is the Prime Minister prepared to compromise over the rebate, because so far he has made no statement to rule that out?

Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill

Debate between Jim Cunningham and John Bercow

Monday 20th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Cunningham]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The Minister is a legendarily diligent and conscientious fellow and among the most courteous of Members. He was on the path of virtue. He was led astray by the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman), albeit with his characteristic charm and insistence; but the Minister should not persist away from the path of virtue even if it is Members with decades of experience who are naughtily seeking to tempt him in that direction. We must now focus on amendment 1, as we are not having a Second Reading debate. Being the sort of dutiful, law-abiding fellow that the hon. Member for Coventry South (Mr Cunningham) is, I am sure his intervention will be entirely in order.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim Cunningham and John Bercow

Wednesday 3rd September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Eric Joyce. Not here.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

Q2. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 3 September.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim Cunningham and John Bercow

Tuesday 15th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Mr George Mudie. Not here.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

May I remind the Secretary of State that it takes seven years to train a doctor and most of the doctors he boasts about were trained under a Labour Government? What is he doing about the disparity between GPs surgeries and the service that they offer? Some months ago I made some visits in Coventry and I was amazed by the difference in the levels of service.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim Cunningham and John Bercow

Wednesday 25th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

T5. The Government agreed to refund the Big Lottery Fund the £675 million taken for the Olympics. With the sales of the Olympic assets, is that still going ahead? How will the lottery be refunded if Olympic assets are leased instead of sold?

[Mr Speaker]

If the Minister heard that, I congratulate him on his hearing. The acoustics were not great.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim Cunningham and John Bercow

Thursday 6th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

It is always useful to have a bit of additional information.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim Cunningham and John Bercow

Thursday 30th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Cunningham]

I am sure the Minister knows about the dispute between Coventry city council and Coventry football club, since I and my colleagues have made representations to her Department in the past. The Culture, Media and Sport Committee report on football governance from July 2011 found the Football Association in need of urgent reform and called on the Government to introduce legislation if drastic changes were not made. In April 2013, the then sports Minister stated that he agreed with the Committee and that his officials had started working up a draft Bill. Where is the Bill? Let us have some action.

[Mr Speaker]

I think some of these matters could be usefully pursued through Adjournment debates, and will probably have to be.

Local Government Finance

Debate between Jim Cunningham and John Bercow

Wednesday 18th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

The Minister’s justifications for inflicting cuts on local government sound like something that we would expect to hear from the North Korean regime. When Ministers start talking about cutting back-room staff, we know right away that they have no answers. More importantly, Coventry will have to find between 15% and 20% cuts over the next three years. Translated one way, that means more than 1,000 jobs. Translated another way, it means that we would have to find £48 million.

[Mr Speaker]

I have to say politely to the hon. Gentleman that I have struggled to find the question mark at the end of his observation. Perhaps he was asking a rhetorical question. If the Minister wants to reply, he is welcome to do so, but he is under no obligation. No? Fair enough.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim Cunningham and John Bercow

Monday 16th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

T2. Last time I asked the Secretary of State a question about the reserves, he said that he had a better track record than me as Secretary of State, although as I have never been Secretary of State I could not have a better track record in that regard. When and why did the Government’s policy change so that reductions to regular forces are no longer contingent on an uplift in reserves recruitment?

[Mr Speaker]

I do not wish to disappoint the hon. Gentleman or the Secretary of State, but frankly I have no recollection of that exchange, and I expect that my experience is widely shared in the House.

Helicopter Crash (Glasgow)

Debate between Jim Cunningham and John Bercow

Monday 2nd December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Just before I call the hon. Gentleman, I simply mention that I have heard what has been said and I can see no difficulty whatever with the idea. It makes a great deal of sense and should be capable of being introduced without delay. My understanding from past precedent is that ordinarily such a book of condolence would be lodged in the Library, and that might suit Members. An alternative might be that it could be lodged in my office. If we are agreed on the principle, it is simply a case of facilitating it in practice, and I will attend to that.

Hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr Cunningham: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Cunningham]

On behalf of the people of Coventry, may I offer our condolences and support to the people of Glasgow? Coventry is no stranger to these situations, as we have seen from the war. More importantly, about 15 or 16 years ago, an aircraft came down on a Willenhall council estate and killed five people. Anybody who has experienced such an accident, particularly if they are an MP or a member of the public, will know that it is very traumatic and that it takes a long time to recover from, so the area needs all the help that it can get.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim Cunningham and John Bercow

Monday 23rd January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Jim Cunningham, not necessarily on the subject of work-outs, but on whatever appeals to him.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

May I ask the Minister whether employers can still take a pensions contributions holiday and, if so, how many?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim Cunningham and John Bercow

Tuesday 8th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

May I encourage Ministers to face the House, so that we get the full force of their eloquence head-on?

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

T2. Has the Minister done an impact assessment on the effect of the legal aid reforms on women?

Building Schools for the Future

Debate between Jim Cunningham and John Bercow

Monday 14th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

Will the Secretary of State tell us when he is going to make an announcement about a replacement for BSF for Coventry schools? A large number of our schools are dilapidated or have scaffolding around the buildings, and this situation cannot go on. I do not want him to blame the previous Government. You are in charge now. You put this question earlier: what did we do over the past 13 years? Well, we had 18 years of your previous Government when capital programmes were cut.

[Mr Speaker]

I am not in charge of anything other than the chairing of this session, but I look forward to what the Secretary of State has to say.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim Cunningham and John Bercow

Wednesday 13th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

If it was not heard, let us hear it.

[Mr Cunningham]

Will the Prime Minister retain the winter fuel allowance without any changes to the criteria used?