Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Young of Cookham Excerpts

Thursday 28th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

1. If he will bring forward proposals to implement the recommendations of the Procedure Committee relating to ministerial statements.

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)]

I have sent the Government’s response on its report to the Procedure Committee, which will be published in due course. It would be for the Backbench Business Committee to find time to debate proposals to reform ministerial statements.

[Mr Bone]

Under the last Government, it was routine for ministerial statements to be leaked to the press. There was a media grid and they were leaked, before a statement was made, in a routine manner. Unfortunately, that has continued under this Government. Until we have sanctions against Ministers for leaking, we will never get the problem under control. Will the Leader of the House tell us whether he thinks the proposals of the Procedure Committee go far enough?

[Sir George Young]

I recall the sanctions that my hon. Friend mentioned in his speech of 20 July: one was to string Ministers up from the roof and the other was to put them in stocks in Parliament square. I think even the Whips would agree that that was going slightly over the top. The Government’s view is that there are enough sanctions at the moment. A Minister can be summoned to the House in response to an urgent question; he can be grilled by a departmental Select Committee; and, under the arrangements we have just introduced, the Backbench Business Committee can table a motion for debate, including a motion deploring a Minister’s behaviour. Our view is that enough sanctions are already available.

[Mr Greg Knight (East Yorkshire) (Con)]

May I remind my right hon. Friend that the circumstances surrounding the preparation of this report were rather unusual in that it was, in effect, commissioned by the House, following a debate and a motion before the Chamber, which he supported? One does expect the Government to be accommodating on this matter. In an attempt to move this issue forward, may I invite him to return to the Procedure Committee for further discussions—hopefully sooner rather than later?

[Sir George Young]

I would be delighted to respond to my right hon. Friend’s invitation and attend his Committee at the earliest possible convenience.

[Greg Hands (Chelsea and Fulham) (Con)]

2. If he will assess the merits of the provision of training on the procedures of the House for hon. Members who are former Ministers.

--- Later in debate ---

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

7. For what reason the time allocated to questions for oral answer to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been reduced to 45 minutes; and if he will review that decision.

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)]

Following a request from the official Opposition, the Government increased the time allocation for questions for oral answer to the Deputy Prime Minister. As a consequence of the pressures on the time available for oral questions, it was necessary for changes to be made to the rota. The status of the oral questions rota will, of course, be kept under review.

[Miss McIntosh]

I am grateful to the Leader of the House for that reply. I know that you, Mr Speaker, and, indeed, the Leader of the House and the whole House, put great store on there being sufficient supervision of Departments of State. In asking the Leader of the House to review his decision, I would suggest that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is a Department whose responsibilities bear greater scrutiny than 45 minutes allows. We have had the unfortunate incident over the sale of forestry and a number of delayed decisions, which we on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee are not able to consider because of the delay before the summer recess—I am thinking here of bovine tuberculosis, the natural environment White Paper and the water White Paper. Please will the Leader of the House review his decision and give proper scrutiny of that great Department?

[Sir George Young]

May I pay tribute to the work that my hon. Friend does, as Chair of the appropriate Select Committee, in holding that Department to account? Of course we will keep this matter under review, but I just say to her that the time available for DEFRA questions is longer than that for 10 of the other oral questions sessions.

The hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, was asked—

Business of the House

Lord Young of Cookham Excerpts

Thursday 28th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)]

May I ask the Leader of the House to give us the forthcoming business?

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)]

The business for the week commending 2 May will be:

Monday 2 May—The House will not be sitting.

Tuesday 3 May—Consideration in Committee of the Finance (No.3) Bill (day 1).

Wednesday 4 May—Consideration in Committee of the Finance (No.3) Bill (day 2).

Thursday 5 May—General debate on social housing in London. The business has been nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.

The provisional business for the week commencing 9 May will include:

Monday 9 May—Opposition day [unallotted day] [half day]. There will be a half-day debate on an Opposition motion, subject to be announced, followed by a motion to approve an instruction relating to the Welfare Reform Bill, followed by a motion to approve a European document relating to trafficking.

Tuesday 10 May—Second Reading of the Energy Bill [Lords].

Wednesday 11 May—Consideration in Committee and remaining stages of the Armed Forces Bill.

Thursday 12 May—Business nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.

Friday 13 May—Private Members’ Bills.

I should also like to inform the House that the business in Westminster Hall for Thursday 5, 12 and 19 May will be:

Thursday 5 May—A general debate in which Members may raise any issue. This debate, nominated by the Backbench Business Committee, will follow a similar pattern to the pre-recess Adjournment debates in which Members were able to raise any issue. Members are advised to consult the Order Paper to seek information on how to provide advance notice of the subject they intend to raise. The debate will be responded to by the Deputy Leader of the House.

Thursday 12 May—Subject to be nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.

Thursday 19 May—A debate on the Severn crossings toll, followed by a debate on the constitutional implications for Wales of the Government’s proposals for constitutional reform.

Finally, I am sure that the whole House will want to wish Prince William and Kate Middleton the very best for tomorrow and a long and happy life together.

[Hilary Benn]

I am grateful to the Leader of the House for that reply. On behalf of the Opposition, I join him in sending best wishes to the happy couple for tomorrow.

Members welcomed Tuesday’s statement from the Foreign Secretary on Libya and the wider middle east, including the very disturbing developments in Syria, which I am sure those on both sides of the House will wish to condemn. I trust that we will continue to be kept informed.

Will the Leader of the House tell us when he will announce final sitting dates up to the next Queen’s Speech and on what date it will be held? Will he tell us when he expects the Health and Social Care Bill to return to the House following the current pause? As the Public Accounts Committee warned this week that there is no plan to deal with the risks being taken with the health service, and virtually everyone at the Royal College of Nursing conference expressed no confidence in the Secretary of State for Health, even this Government must realise that they have a very big problem on their hands. Mind you, Mr Speaker, the nurses were only taking their lead from the Prime Minister, who lost confidence in the right hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley) quite some time ago. The Health Secretary must be desperately hoping that his famous mantra,

“no decisions about me without me”,

will apply to his own career prospects.

Will the Leader of the House clarify the comments of the Deputy Prime Minister at this week’s listening event on the NHS reforms? He is reported as having said:

“We will make changes, we’ll make significant and substantive changes to the legislation which at the moment is—if you like—it’s suspended in the House of Commons”.

Will the Leader of the House tell us how long this suspension will last, whether there will be an oral statement on the outcome of the listening exercise before Report and when the Prime Minister will finally admit, as the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has now done publicly, that NHS waiting times are rising as a result of these botched plans?

Talking of which, when can we expect a statement from the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on university tuition fees, given that for some reason he did not take part in yesterday’s debate? The Government’s promise to students and parents could not have been clearer: fees of £9,000 would be charged only in exceptional circumstances. Now we know that that was another broken promise. Of the 80 universities that have so far revealed their plans, more than two thirds propose to charge the £9,000 maximum fee for some or all of their courses. Such is the incompetence of the Government that it seems never to have occurred to them that that would happen, so as well as qualified applicants losing out on university places this year, in future years universities are likely to face either more reductions in funding or fewer places for students as the Government desperately try to balance the books. When are we going to see the long-promised White Paper on higher education? Does its continued absence not prove the folly of pushing through a policy on fees before having determined a policy on higher education?

May we have a debate on Government policy on placements in Whitehall for those who would not normally get the opportunity to work there? I ask, of course, because a number of Liberal Democrats who have been given work experience as Government Ministers seem to be very unhappy about the way in which they are being treated. Tuesday’s edition of The Times reported that they are being frozen out of decisions within their Departments. One Lib Dem Minister was quoted as saying that he has “no idea” what his boss is doing, a Tory member of the Government has described his Lib Dem colleagues as “yapping dogs” and the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has threatened to sue fellow members of the Cabinet. I think the deputy leader of the Lib Dems got it right recently when he admitted:

“The coalition…is not a love affair, or a marriage or even a meeting of minds.”

Whatever it is, it is going horribly wrong.

I wonder whether the Leader of the House could suggest to the Prime Minister, notwithstanding his well-publicised concerns, that he might in this particular case consider taking out a super-injunction to prevent any more of these unseemly revelations and so protect this relationship from further public embarrassment. While he is at it, the Prime Minister could also seek one to cover the news this week that someone is making a musical about the Deputy Prime Minister. I would not wish that breach of privacy on anyone, least of all the right hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr Clegg).

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his questions. The fact that over six months he has not really pressed me on the forthcoming business shows, I think, a general level of satisfaction with the way in which the Government are conducting the business of the House.

On the serious issue of keeping the House in the picture, the right hon. Gentleman generously recognised that on Tuesday we had a statement from the Foreign Secretary. On the last day before the recess we found Government time for a debate on north Africa and the middle east. Next Tuesday is Foreign Office questions, and I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that we will want to keep the House in the picture on the disturbing position in north Africa and the middle east.

The dates that the right hon. Gentleman asked for will be given in due course, although it may be some time before we announce the date of the end of the Session. I seem to remember asking my predecessor for the dates of the Easter recess right up until the February before, so for him to press me on the date of the possible Dissolution next spring is perhaps just a little premature.

On the Health and Social Care Bill, the right hon. Gentleman will have seen that we are not planning to have its remaining stages within the next two weeks. There will be adequate time for the House to reflect on any amendments. May I say to him that the building blocks for that Bill were in position under the previous Government—foundation trusts, practice-based commission, patient choice and use of the private sector?

The right hon. Gentleman then asked a number of questions that were also asked in yesterday’s half-day Opposition day debate on higher education. The issues raised by the Opposition spokesman in that debate were replied to by the Minister for Universities and Science, my right hon. Friend the Member for Havant (Mr Willetts), and it seems to me entirely appropriate that he should deal with that issue.

On waiting times, I do not know whether the right hon. Gentleman has had an opportunity to look at the 2010 annual report from the Department of Health, but it makes it absolutely clear that for admitted patients,

“The median time waited has been relatively stable around 8 weeks since March 2008, but is subject to seasonality with previous years showing increases in average waiting times in the early part of the calendar year.”

Likewise, for non-admitted patients,

“The median time waited has been relatively stable around 4 weeks since March 2008, but is subject to seasonality with previous years showing increases in average waiting times in the early part of the calendar year.”

The statistics published a fortnight ago for the period up to February confirm that position.

Concerning the coalition, we have a coalition Government with two parties, and it is my view that there is more cohesion in government between those two parties than there was in the previous one-party Government when the two previous Prime Ministers were at war with each other.

I was interested to hear what the shadow Leader of the House was up to during the Easter recess. Like many of us, he was campaigning for local government elections, and I see from the Lincolnshire Echo that he was in Lincoln on 22 April. I am not sure what he was wearing, but the report said:

“The Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP visited the city to support Labour’s local election candidates. She joined Birchwood candidate and local campaigner Rosanne Kirk”.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

In February, I visited Syria in a delegation of MPs and we urged Government Ministers there at every opportunity not to ignore the cries for freedom that are sweeping through the region. Sadly, but predictably, they have resorted to violence against their own people. May I ask the Leader of the House to urge the Foreign Secretary to pursue international sanctions immediately against Syria and to urge our ally Turkey to do more? Also, can we have a debate on it?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. He will know that the Syrian ambassador’s invitation to the royal wedding has been withdrawn.

My hon. Friend will have an opportunity on Tuesday to ask my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary about the issue, but he will have seen reports in the press of the discussions that we are having with our allies about the possibility of sanctions against Syria.

[Mr David Winnick (Walsall North) (Lab)]

I acknowledge that the Foreign Secretary will be asked parliamentary questions when we return on Tuesday, but does the Leader of the House not recognise the need for another debate on the Libyan situation, bearing in mind the general unease about the fact that mission creep and regime change seem to be taking place despite denials by Ministers?

If I heard rightly that the invitation to the Syrian ambassador—the ambassador of that blood-stained regime—has been withdrawn, I very much welcome that.

[Sir George Young]

That invitation has indeed been withdrawn. A statement was made by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at 11 o’clock.

The Government are prepared to find time, where appropriate, for debates on the middle east and north Africa. Indeed, we have already found time for such debates. We want to keep the House informed and to give it opportunities to make its views known, so I can give the hon. Gentleman the assurance that we will be prepared to find time for a further debate if necessary.

[John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley) (LD)]

I have reports that in the Balderstone and Kirkholt ward in Rochdale someone is going around collecting postal ballots, opening them, removing and throwing away the Lib Dem local election vote while leaving the AV vote inside, resealing the envelopes with Sellotape and sending them off. Does the Leader of the House recognise that there remain concerns about the integrity of the postal voting process, and should the law be changed to deal with the Electoral Commission’s recommendations?

[Sir George Young]

That sounds rather like a criminal offence, and if there is any evidence that it is going on I hope that it will be referred to the police.

[Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)]

May we have an urgent statement next week about the call by France and Italy to reform the operation of the Schengen treaty? Although Britain is not part of Schengen, successive Governments have asked for greater border checks before people reach the UK border. May we have a statement on that very important matter?

[Sir George Young]

I cannot promise a statement next week, but as I said a moment ago, the Foreign Secretary will be answering questions on Tuesday. If the right hon. Gentleman does not have a question down, he may catch your eye, Mr Speaker, during topical questions. I will forewarn the Foreign Secretary that a question on the subject may be forthcoming from the right hon. Gentleman.

[Mr Edward Timpson (Crewe and Nantwich) (Con)]

With 3.5 million people in the UK—one in 17—suffering from a rare condition at some point in their lives, may we have a debate on how we can support those people and have better care and medical expertise at their disposal in order to help build on the excellent work done by rare disease charities, such as CLIMB in my constituency, which does excellent work on behalf of those with metabolic diseases?

[Sir George Young]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for raising that subject, which strikes me as an appropriate matter for a debate in Westminster Hall. I am sure that Members on both sides of the House will want to join him in raising the profile of some of the rare diseases that are often ignored within the medical profession and by medical research. Alternatively, the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee is in her place and will have heard his request, so he may wish to present himself at her salon at 1 o’clock on a Tuesday to bid for such a debate.

[Mrs Jenny Chapman (Darlington) (Lab)]

Two hundred manufacturing job losses were announced in Darlington yesterday. When can we have a debate on the Chancellor’s understanding of the word “growth”?

[Sir George Young]

I am obviously sorry to hear about the loss of jobs in Darlington, but as the hon. Lady will know, 400,000 new jobs have been created in the private sector over the past 12 months, and the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts a net increase in employment of 900,000 over the next five years, so there is evidence that the private sector is replacing the jobs that are lost in the public sector. I believe that the economy is on the right track.

[Chris White (Warwick and Leamington) (Con)]

On Good Friday, I had the great pleasure of attending an outstanding performance of the mystery plays at the Playbox theatre in Warwick, which is designed specifically to support young acting talent. It is an excellent example of how theatre can help to engage young people and develop their confidence and other skills, which is extremely valuable for their future careers and contribution to society. Will the Leader of the House provide Government time for a debate on how we can support and fund such initiatives?

[Sir George Young]

I applaud the Playbox theatre and the work that it is doing. My hon. Friend is right that we need to do more in that area, which is why the Government recently commissioned Darren Henley to lead an independent review of cultural education.

[Mr John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)]

May I thank the Leader of the House for finally getting a Minister to reply to my persistent questions on the disgraceful claim made by Baroness Warsi that the Conservatives failed to win an overall majority at the general election because of electoral fraud, predominantly in the Asian community? The claim was completely refuted by the Electoral Commission, which reported only two prosecutions and one conviction. However, the reply was from not Baroness Warsi but another Minister, and it did not apologise for, defend or mention her outrageous claims. I realise that Baroness Warsi is a serious embarrassment to the Government, but will the Leader of the House arrange for an oral statement from the Government to come clean about this shabby episode?

[Sir George Young]

I reject the right hon. Gentleman’s remarks about my noble Friend. He has had a reply from the Minister responsible for electoral administration, who was the appropriate Minister to reply to the allegations he made. He has received that letter, a copy of which I have in front of me, but if he believes that there are further issues he needs to raise, I am sure that he will reply and get a further answer.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Can we please have a debate about the achievements of Mrs Thatcher, so that we can kindly educate our coalition allies about how she turned Britain into a nation of home owners, restored our place in the world and crushed militant trade unionism?

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir George Young]

As someone who played a modest role in Baroness Thatcher’s Administration, with a slight hiatus at one point, I disagree with the reported comments of the president of the Liberal Democrat party. The two reforms that were highlighted in the speech, namely the right to buy and the privatisation of the utilities, were actually continued under the succeeding Labour Government, so they cannot have been all bad.

[Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Lab)]

I would like the Leader of the House to return to the question of Libya and the middle east. I acknowledge that the Government have made a number of statements on the situation in Libya, but it is very obvious that there has been an enormous amount of mission creep, that British military personnel are now involved in Libya and that increased arms supplies are going to what is now termed the transitional government. We need not just statements to the House, but a debate and a Government motion that can be voted on, because what is happening now is clearly a huge extension to the terms of the motion that we voted on a few weeks ago. Can the Leader of the House assure us that there will be such a debate, with a voteable and amendable motion?

[Sir George Young]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Government have provided time for a debate on a motion, so our good faith is there for all to see, but, as I said in response to an earlier question, I would not rule out a repetition of such a debate.

[Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

Given that the number of children’s heart surgery units will be reduced from 11 to six or seven, and that an NHS consultation document places Southampton in the top two of those 11 for quality ratings, can we have a statement from a Conservative Minister—an appropriate Minister—about why only one of four options being put forward includes the continuation of Southampton’s children’s surgery unit for heart problems? We would not want—would we?—a competition in which the people who won were actually declared the losers, in this field any more than in the general election.

[Sir George Young]

Like my hon. Friend, I have a constituency interest in Southampton general hospital and I have received a number of letters about the review of children’s heart surgery. Clinical experts consider that one of the core standards for improving care is to undertake a minimum of 400 child heart operations per year and an optimum of 500, and there is uncertainty about whether the Southampton centre can meet that key criterion. The review team is taking evidence about whether Southampton can achieve that in collaboration with the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford, and at this stage it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the merits of individual centres.

[Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)]

I do not know whether the Leader of the House has noticed this, but around the back of the Cabinet Office there is a bit of a whiff as the bonfire of the quangos smoulders on. Occasionally, a few things are dragged off and raked from the embers, but serious issues are starting to emerge as a result of some of the quangos that are being absorbed back into Government, given their statutory duties to provide independent advice to the Government. I have had representations from several people from several organisations, including the Health Protection Agency, stating a lack of clarity about how the Government are going to deal with the matter. Can we have an urgent debate about that important issue? I believe that the integrity of scientific advice, in particular, could be jeopardised if we do not have the correct formula.

[Sir George Young]

In one sense we can have an urgent debate, because we will shortly have the Second Reading of the Public Bodies Bill, currently in another place, in which the “bonfire of the quangos” to which the hon. Gentleman refers is taking place. There will be an opportunity to debate our proposals for public bodies and to ensure that adequate safeguards are in place.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Can we have a debate about the performance of the retail sector? The high streets in places such as Halesowen, Blackheath, Cradley Heath and Old Hill in my constituency are vital to the local economy, and I am not aware that we have been able to hold a specific debate about the retail sector.

[Sir George Young]

I welcome the information yesterday that retail sales in volume have increased by 1.3% over the past 12 months and in value by 4.5%. That is some evidence of the recovery to which the Prime Minister referred yesterday, and I should welcome such a debate. There will be a debate on the Finance Bill next week, and there may be an opportunity to debate some of the Government’s measures to promote economic recovery.

[Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab)]

The New Art Gallery Walsall, in my constituency, has an amazing collection that was started by Jacob Epstein and his family. The gallery is now closed on Sundays, the very day when people can visit, but it costs only £35,000 for it to open then. I have asked the relevant Minister to intervene, but he has refused, so can we have an urgent debate about what powers the Minister has to keep that vital resource open?

[Sir George Young]

I am not sure whether the hon. Lady was present during Culture, Media and Sport questions, but it strikes me that that would have been an appropriate question to have put during that session. I will pass her suggestions on to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport and see whether there is any role for him, the local authority, the Arts Council or some other funding body to play.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

Can we have a debate about local government finance? My local councils, including Staffordshire county council, have succeeded in freezing the council tax while protecting front-line services, yet people throughout the country are rightly concerned about those councils—and we know which party runs them—that are cutting public services while sitting on a huge cash reserve.

[Sir George Young]

I agree that the purpose of reserves that local authorities hold is to see them through difficult and challenging times such as these. I have noticed that authorities such as Manchester and Liverpool have been cutting services while sitting on very substantial reserves, but I commend the performance of my hon. Friend’s local authority.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

Can we have a debate about the effects of the Chancellor’s Budget on social and working men’s clubs? Clubs such as the TA club in Guisborough in my constituency provide an affordable venue for working people who need a meeting or reception space for christenings and weddings, and for other community groups. The 20% rate of VAT and the added duty on alcohol have had a severe effect on how much profit the club can bring in to keep that community space open, so can we please have a debate on the Floor of the House about the issue?

[Sir George Young]

We have just had a very substantial debate about the Budget, and we will deal with parts of the Finance Bill next week, so it might be appropriate for the hon. Gentleman to raise those subjects then. I commend the work done by the working clubs in his constituency.

[Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con)]

Small and medium-sized businesses play a major role in the economy of Great Yarmouth, particularly with reference to the importance of tourism, and I welcome the Government’s work to target the sector, recognising that it can drive growth. We can do more, however, particularly with regard to regulations, so can we have a debate in the House about the specific needs of SMEs?

[Sir George Young]

I commend the SMEs in my hon. Friend’s constituency, which are doing such heroic work, and measures have been announced in the Budget. A new capital fund is being set up to help SMEs to access capital, as identified by the Rowlands review; we have announced a moratorium exempting micro-businesses and start-ups from new domestic regulations for three years from 2011; and we are going to drop proposals for specific regulations that would have cost £350 million a year to implement. I am sure that SMEs in my hon. Friend’s constituency will welcome that.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House will be aware of the Government’s programme to reduce regulations on business, but the Government’s consultative Red Tape Challenge website asks the public whether the Equalities Act 2010, which is primary legislation, should be scrapped. Can we have an urgent statement in the House if that is the Government’s intention?

[Sir George Young]

We have no plans at the moment for primary legislation on that subject.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

Earlier this month Cheshire fire and rescue service was crowned fire service of the year at the inaugural emergency services awards. Cheshire has seen a 73% drop in fire-related injuries, a 64% drop in business fires and more than 300,000 home safety assessments completed over the past five years. Can we have a statement on fire service performance from the Minister responsible, allowing me to highlight the hard work and commitment of Cheshire fire and rescue service staff and to congratulate them?

[Sir George Young]

I join my hon. Friend—I am sure all Members in his county will—in commending the work of Cheshire fire and rescue service in bringing down fire-related injuries. I am sure that because of the fantastic work of that particular service there are people who are alive today who might not otherwise have been.

[Thomas Docherty (Dunfermline and West Fife) (Lab)]

You will recall, Mr Speaker, that I have previously raised with the Government the excellent report on firearms by the Home Affairs Committee. Can I press the Leader of the House to state whether the Government, when they get round to replying to the report, will simply issue a statement or publish a White Paper on firearms?

[Sir George Young]

I commend the work that the Home Affairs Committee has done on this important subject, in which I know the hon. Gentleman has a particular interest. The Government will be responding in full to that report, and I expect that to happen at the end of May or in early June. The response will take the normal form of a publication that will be available, and it might then be up to the Backbench Business Committee to decide whether it wanted a debate on the subject.

[Mr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

Councils and local authorities are working particularly hard to increase recycling rates in their areas. Is the Leader of the House aware that trade waste is not currently included in recycling rates? Can he advise on what measures the Government have to change that anomaly, and may we have a debate on the wider issue of recycling generally?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend raises a very important issue. I will take up the matter with the Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government to get a detailed response to the proposition that my hon. Friend has shared with the House.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

May we have a debate on reforming Prime Minister’s questions? The current Prime Minister sometimes seems to be quite casual—some might even say careless—with the facts at Prime Minister’s questions. If there was a hooter at the Clerk’s desk that sounded every time the Prime Minister made a factual error, that might help to prevent the patronising of people who are just putting him straight with the facts.

[Sir George Young]

But why should the hooter just be confined to the Prime Minister? Why should it not apply equally to Labour Members?

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Last Sunday, we heard the very sad news that Sathya Sai Baba had died in India. Sai Baba was a unique Hindu ascetic who was renowned among millions of followers worldwide and hundreds of thousands within the UK. There has been no Government statement issuing an expression of sympathy to the hundreds of thousands of followers in this country who are praying for his soul and for his return. Will my right hon. Friend prevail on the appropriate Government Minister to issue a suitable message of sympathy?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I would like to share his comments with my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, who is probably the Minister who has responsibility, to see whether an appropriate tribute might be made.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

I was recently contacted by my constituent Beryl Wilkinson about the distress caused by the mismanagement by Places for People and Hull city council in dealing with the cuts to the Supporting People grant. May we have a debate on how this coalition cut is hitting councils, housing associations and voluntary groups, but most importantly the vulnerable people whom the grant is supposed to support?

[Sir George Young]

I am sure that the management of the city of Hull is in much better hands than it was under the previous Labour Government, when it was one of the worst administered local authorities in the world—[Interruption]—or rather, in the country. The hon. Lady regularly raises issues about that local authority, but we had a debate on the revenue support grant before the amount was settled, and other local authorities have been able to cope with the allocations that were made without coming to the difficult decisions to which she has referred.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Many patients in my constituency will have been listening to Labour Members’ comments about NHS waiting times with increasing concern. May we therefore have an urgent debate on NHS waiting times so that I can have an opportunity to reassure my constituents and put facts before politics on this most emotive of issues?

[Sir George Young]

I very much hope that the Opposition choose the subject of the NHS for their half-day debate on Monday week. I commend to my hon. Friend’s attention the document I have here—the 2010 annual report—which has the statistics, and the press release that was put out earlier this week which brings waiting times up to date. He will also see in a separate publication that there are more cataract operations and more hip replacement operations, and I hope that his constituents will find that reassuring.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

May I urge the Leader of the House seriously to consider having a debate on Libya? The circumstances have changed, as we are now talking about regime change rather than a ceasefire. It would be helpful to the Government to have that debate and to have the support, or otherwise, of the House.

[Sir George Young]

I have listened to the representations that have been made in all parts of the House for a further debate in Government time. Without giving any assurances now, I would like to share that strong feeling in the House with my colleagues and reflect on whether it might be appropriate to have another debate in Government time on Libya and related matters.

Business of the House

Lord Young of Cookham Excerpts

Thursday 31st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)]

With permission, I should like to make a statement about the business for next week. The business for the week commencing 4 April will be:

Monday 4 April—Opposition Day (14th allotted day). There will be a debate entitled “Police Cuts” followed by a debate entitled “The Government’s Green Policy”. Both debates will arise on an Opposition motion.

Tuesday 5 April—General debate on Britain’s contribution to humanitarian relief and Libya, followed by a general debate on matters to be raised before the forthcoming Adjournment as nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.

Colleagues will wish to be reminded that the House will meet at 11.30 am on this day.

The business for the week commencing 25 April will include:

Monday 25 April—The House will not be sitting.

Tuesday 26 April—Second Reading of the Finance (No.3) Bill.

Wednesday 27 April—Opposition Day (15th allotted day). There will be a debate on an Opposition motion, subject to be announced, followed by a motion on section 5 of the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993.

Thursday 28 April—Second Reading of the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Amendment) Bill.

The provisional business for the week commencing 2 May will include:

Monday 2 May—The House will not be sitting.

Tuesday 3 May—Consideration in Committee of the Finance (No.3) Bill (day 1).

I should also like to inform the House that the business in Westminster Hall for 28 April 2011 will be:

Thursday 28 April 2011—A debate on Sudan.

[Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)]

I am grateful to the Leader of the House for that statement. First, may I join the House in offering our condolences to the hon. Member for South East Cornwall (Sheryll Murray) on her tragic loss? We are all thinking of her.

The House has welcomed the two statements this week on Libya, and we saw the news overnight that the former Foreign Minister has fled to the United Kingdom. Will the Leader of the House tell us what plans he has to keep Members informed during the recess, and whether he will consider seeking the recall of Parliament should circumstances warrant it? May I also welcome the changes he has made in response to my request to extend topical questions to the Department for International Development and the Cabinet Office? After the failure of Ministers from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to clarify matters in oral questions, may we have a full debate on the spectacular incompetence that is the Government’s policy on higher education? The White Paper has still not appeared, and most of today’s students will probably graduate before it does so. What was clearly promised as the exception—universities charging students fees of £9,000 a year—has become the norm, because the Government are simply incapable of getting their policy and their sums right.

May I say how much we are looking forward to Monday’s debate, so that we have the chance to discuss the Government’s complete mishandling of police cuts? Local communities will be astonished to discover that police officers are to be taken off the streets to be put into offices so that they can cover the work of civilian staff who are losing their jobs, and will be surprised by the news that special constables could be offered Nectar points to boost recruitment. Yesterday, the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice was completely unable to answer a very simple question: will front-line police numbers fall? Perhaps his boss will be able to do so on Monday.

As for the greatest disaster of all—the NHS reforms—may we have a statement from the Prime Minister, now that we read in The Times that he is cutting the Health Secretary loose and taking personal control because he is worried that the plans will backfire. A Government source is quoted as saying:

“Are we doing this in one step or a number of steps? There’s no settled course.”

In other words, they do not have a clue.

May we have a debate on personal privacy and the serious and persistent problem of open microphones being attached to members of the Cabinet? Is it not unfair that at a time at which the Deputy Prime Minister is desperately trying to distance himself from the policies of his own Government, we should discover by those underhand means that in fact he agrees with the Prime Minister on everything? So concerned is he that we read that he has asked for good news initiatives with which he could be associated. Does that sound familiar? Perhaps he could be frogmarched to the nearest cashpoint to pay back the young people who will still lose their education maintenance allowance despite this week’s U-turn?

We also learn that, as the Lib Dems face catastrophe at the polls, there are plans for a total rethink of their image which, according to insiders, could

“even include changing the name and logo”.

What a stroke of genius, so may we have a statement from the Deputy Prime Minister on whether he has any plans to change the law on party names and symbols to permit that? It would be a great pity to lose the bird completely. What about a dodo or an albatross, although I am not entirely sure that it would fit on the ballot paper? As for that embarrassing party name, I can quite understand why some Lib Dems want to get rid of it, so why not change it to, say, “the Conservative party” and just get on with it ?

Finally, has the Leader of the House seen the Private Member’s Bill that is due to be debated tomorrow that would abolish our much-loved national park authorities? Having seen off the Bill to cut the minimum wage, and after helping me to overturn Westminster’s barmy byelaw, the right hon. Gentleman is now on a hat-trick, so will he assure the House that he will oppose that measure too, and will he write about it in his blog? The House will have noticed with great sadness that he has not blogged since I began to read it. He once modestly wrote that he is just the B movie after Prime Minister’s questions, so may I assure him that if he begins again we will try to make a star of him yet? On that note, I wish the right hon. Gentleman, the Deputy Leader of the House, you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and all Members a very happy Easter.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir George Young]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his kind words about my hon. Friend the Member for South East Cornwall (Sheryll Murray) which were appreciated by Members from all parts of the House. It was a tragedy that took place after she had taken part in a debate on coastguards and marine safety. On recall, as I have said previously, we will keep the position under active consideration. The right hon. Gentleman will know that at the request of a Minister, Mr Speaker can recall Parliament. We will do so if circumstances require it.

On the defection of the Libyan Foreign Minister, there will be an opportunity on Tuesday morning in the debate on humanitarian aid and Libya to update the House. We want to encourage those around Gaddafi to abandon him, and we welcome the further defection, which we hope will allow political transition and real reform to take place. Moussa Koussa is one of the most senior members of the Gaddafi regime, and the Foreign Secretary has regularly been in touch with him, most recently last Friday.

On policing, we welcome the fact that there is a debate on that subject next Monday in Opposition time. It remains our view that the police can make the necessary savings while protecting front-line services and prioritising the visibility and availability of policing. On health, the one change that the Government will not make is the change advocated by the right hon. Gentleman’s party to reduce resources for the NHS—cuts that would plunge the NHS into crisis, put at risk cancer drug funds, thousands more health visitors and better support for carers, to which we are all committed.

The right hon. Gentleman took a sideswipe at the two previous Prime Ministers. I am surprised that he wanted to refresh our memory of the Gillian Duffy incident, and the embarrassment of the previous Prime Minister. He then took a side swipe at Tony Blair and his cashpoint policy. The distancing of the Labour party from its history is well under way.

I am happy to say that the Deputy Prime Minister will answer questions at the Dispatch Box on Tuesday. We have extended the length of time for questions to the Deputy Prime Minister to 40 minutes, which will give him ample time to sweep away the somewhat frivolous suggestions that we have just heard from the right hon. Gentleman. Finally, may I reassure the right hon. Gentleman that we will block the Bill to which he referred? We will all miss during the month of April the refreshing contributions that he makes every Thursday morning.

[David Tredinnick (Bosworth) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend update the House on the situation in Parliament square before an event at the end of April?

[Sir George Young]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s interest. There may be an opportunity later today in the remaining stages of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill to raise the issue. As he knows, we are changing the law so that in future police will have powers to remove those encampments. In the meantime, we welcome what the Greater London authority has done to remove the encampments on the green. We welcome the enforcement action taken by Westminster city council to deal with the encampments on the pavement, and further discussions are under way between the police and the relevant authorities to make sure that Parliament square is in a fit and proper condition for the royal wedding.

[Thomas Docherty (Dunfermline and West Fife) (Lab)]

The House will be shocked to learn that yesterday, during an evidence hearing held by the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told the Committee that she planned to restart the sale of Forestry Commission land. Will the Leader of the House update us as to why we have had yet another U-turn by the most hapless Secretary of State in Cabinet?

[Sir George Young]

We inherited an ongoing programme of sales of Forestry Commission land from the previous Government. All new sales of forestry land were halted on 17 February. We will decide on the level of any future sales and the conditions to be attached, but only once we have received advice from the independent panel that we recently set up.

[Sarah Newton (Truro and Falmouth) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend find time to allow the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning), who has responsibility for shipping, to make an oral statement in the Chamber at the conclusion of the current consultation on plans to modernise the coastguard service? My right hon. Friend will understand that the future of the UK coastguard is of great concern to Members from all nine parties represented in this House and across the UK. During two debates in Westminster Hall, 33 Members were able to speak, but many more were unable to do so because of a shortage of allotted time.

[Sir George Young]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s interest in this important subject. She will know that we have extended the consultation period. The Minister responsible has said that the Government will not give their response to the consultation until the Transport Committee, which is looking at the matter, has reported on it. She will know that this is a genuine consultation. We have already received 1,200 responses and look forward to getting more. The proposals will hopefully deliver a better joined-up and more resilient search and rescue co-ordination service.

[Angela Smith (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Lab)]

The regeneration of Barnsley town centre depends on Barnsley council being able to access the assets currently owned by Yorkshire Forward, the now defunct regional development agency, and yet the Government are determined to flog them off. May we have a debate on this crucial issue, which is important to communities up and down the country?

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Lady’s concern. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills is aware of the issue and is looking at the individual assets concerned to see whether he can come to a speedy decision. I will pass on her renewed concern to him and ask him to write to her.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

On the subject of distancing by parties, has the Leader of the House had any request to debate the implications of a party dropping the word “New” from its full e-mail addresses?

[Sir George Young]

I had not caught up with that piece of information. We look forward to seeing whether there are any further transformations as the Labour party tries to regain popularity with the public outside.

[Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)]

The Government were required by law to publish the child poverty strategy and appoint a commission to scrutinise it by midnight tonight. Will the Leader of the House explain the delay, when the strategy will be published and how it feels to be a law-breaker?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady. This subject has been raised in previous business questions. The answer is that the Government will launch the child poverty strategy before the House rises for the Easter recess. That statement will address the specific point, which she raised, of how the Government intend to proceed on the issue of legality on which she has just touched.

[Mrs Anne Main (St Albans) (Con)]

When asked, the majority of people in this country apparently describe themselves as middle class, yet there are concerns that they are being discriminated against positively. May we have a debate on the hard-pressed, squeezed middle class?

[Sir George Young]

I hope that I can identify myself with that part of the population. There will be an opportunity to look at that issue during the Second Reading of the Finance Bill. My hon. Friend will know that a wide range of measures have been introduced that I think will be welcomed by the middle class, and indeed by all classes, particularly some of the steps we have taken to promote growth. The freeze on council tax will be welcomed by upper, middle and lower classes, and indeed by every member of this society.

[Mr Elfyn Llwyd (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

Earlier this month there was a very disappointing announcement that the Cardiff to Swansea rail line would not be electrified by the Government, a decision that was predicated on what was called an unfavourable business case. In a written answer on 7 March, the Minister of State, Department for Transport, the right hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs Villiers) said that she would deposit the business case in the Library. It is yet to be deposited. May we have a debate in Government time on the need for observance of the ministerial code and timely responses from the Government?

[Sir George Young]

I was in the House when my right hon. Friend the Minister made that statement, which was warmly received. I recall that no extra time would be saved by the further electrification to which the hon. Gentleman refers, but I will of course pass on his request for more information to my right hon. Friend and see that it is promptly delivered.

[Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend will be well aware of my view, which is shared by many Members across the House, that the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority is an overly expensive and bureaucratic organisation. Will he confirm that I am right to be dismayed, having heard last week that in the near future it will preside over not only our salaries, but our pensions, with the inherent and astronomical costs that that will entail?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend may know that under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, IPSA will assume responsibility not only for allowances, but for pay and pensions. That is enshrined in statute. We believe that it makes sense to have one body responsible for allowances, pay and pensions, rather than divided responsibilities, which we have at the moment.

[John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House may be aware that the funding axe is hovering over certain long-standing national health service surveys that provide us all with information about public perceptions. That might not be unconnected with the fact that they show public satisfaction levels to be at an all-time high, roughly double or triple what they were in 1997. I had an Adjournment debate about that yesterday in Westminster Hall, but the answers were not forthcoming, so may we have a statement from the Dispatch Box from the Secretary of State for Health?

[Sir George Young]

As the hon. Gentleman has said, he has just had an Adjournment debate, and I am not sure that it would make sense immediately after that to repeat it at the Dispatch Box. I will pass on his concern to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and see if there is any way he can add to the information he was asked for in the debate.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Yesterday, I made some comments in the House for which I must unreservedly apologise to the Leader of the House, because I gave the impression that he had done a good job and I understand that that has affected his career prospects. To make up for that, would he make a statement next week about having another question time in the House? Would it not be a good idea to have the second most powerful Minister here to answer questions: the Chief Whip?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s earlier comments. I think that my career has peaked, so he need not be too worried about jeopardising my future. I am not sure that there is time in the congested programme for ministerial questions to squeeze in my right hon. Friend the Chief Whip, but his door is ever open, as my hon. Friend knows, and he is always particularly pleased to see him.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

Last week’s Budget did little to help hard-working people up and down the country. More than 55,000 families in Liverpool will pay on average an extra £450 in VAT this year. With inflation at 4.4%, food and energy bills rising rapidly, but wages staying flat, household budgets are really being squeezed. May we please have an urgent debate on falling standards of living and the Government’s lamentable response to the problem?

[Sir George Young]

The short answer is no. We have just had a four-day debate on the Budget, during which there was ample opportunity to make those points. Nonetheless, there will be the Second Reading of the Finance Bill when we return after Easter, during which the hon. Lady will have an opportunity to share her concerns and have them addressed by one of my hon. Friends.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Given the news that the banks in the Republic of Ireland are likely to need yet another €30 billion bail-out, may we please have a statement on the impact this will have on this country and, in particular, confirmation that we will not be adding to our existing liability under the Loans to Ireland Act 2010?

[Sir George Young]

As my hon. Friend knows, the Chancellor of the Exchequer made a statement earlier this year outlining the assistance we are giving to Ireland. Ireland is carrying out stress tests on its major banks. As I know from my time as a Treasury Minister, it is not always helpful to comment from the Dispatch Box on the stability or otherwise of other countries. He will understand if I do not comment any further.

[Mr John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)]

Last week I asked the Leader of the House how we could get an apology from his Cabinet colleague, Baroness Warsi, over the claim she made last year that the Conservatives failed to win an overall majority at the general election because of electoral fraud, predominantly in the Asian community. That accusation was completely refuted last month by the Electoral Commission, which reported that there had been only two prosecutions and one conviction. The Leader of the House generously replied last week that

“I am sure she will have heard what the right hon. Gentleman has said and will want to respond to it in the appropriate way.”—[Official Report, 24 March 2011; Vol. 525, c. 1103.]

I am sure that he will be shocked to hear that I have heard nothing from her. Will he persuade his colleague to provide an answer?

[Sir George Young]

I repeat what I said last week: I am sure that my noble Friend will have heard what the right hon. Gentleman has just said. I will make renewed attempts to ensure that he gets a reply to the issues he has raised.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

May we have a debate about the continued problem of antisocial behaviour in many of our communities? In particular, may we have a debate about the interesting proposals put forward by Baroness Newlove, which outline how communities in places like my constituency can take more control over the problem of combating antisocial behaviour?

[Sir George Young]

I welcome the Newlove report, which was published yesterday. My hon. Friend might have an opportunity later today in proceedings on the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill—perhaps on Third Reading—to develop his points, but we look to act upon Baroness Newlove’s imaginative recommendations to encourage local agencies and central Government to change and make a real difference to local communities.

[Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)]

Yesterday, Members from all parts of the House received an e-mail from the Financial Secretary to the Treasury with some helpful information about the financial services compensation scheme. The covering note, however, states:

“I hope you will find this helpful in replying to queries…. Please use this letter in responding to any constituent correspondence”

on the subject. Does this mean that specific queries will be ignored by the Treasury? Will the Leader of the House ensure that specific queries on that very important subject are responded to?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury was genuinely trying to assist the House, as I am sure the hon. Gentleman recognises, by letting Members have a response to a question that is asked quite frequently. Of course, it remains the case that any specific requests for more details or information will get prompt consideration from my hon. Friend.

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

May we have a debate about the daft decision by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to force the PAYE system on to town and parish councils?

[Sir George Young]

I was not aware that that was in the pipeline. There will be an opportunity on Second Reading of the Finance Bill to raise the matter, but in the meantime I will do so with my hon. Friends at the Treasury in order to find out what is going on.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

The Read it Together scheme in Hull, which has 200 volunteers working with six or seven children each in 69 schools in the city, has been going for 35 years and is a great success story. All its funding has been cut, however, because of the cut in funding from national Government to Hull city council. May we have a debate about why voluntary sector groups in some of the poorest areas in the country are being let down by the funding from councils and from the coalition Government, especially in areas where there is no private sector involvement?

[Sir George Young]

I welcome the resources of those who run the Read it Together scheme. We had a debate in February about local government finance, and it is up to Hull city council to decide how best to allocate resources to the scheme. I hope that the council will take those decisions sensibly and sensitively and do what other local authorities have done by protecting worthwhile schemes such as the one that the hon. Lady mentions.

[Gavin Barwell (Croydon Central) (Con)]

I am sure that my right hon. Friend will have seen the article in the Daily Express yesterday about the large proportion of the year when the House does not sit. May we have a debate about the parliamentary timetable and the ability of Members to hold the Government to account?

[Sir George Young]

I did indeed see the article, and of course my hon. Friend will know that when the House is not sitting it does not mean that MPs are not working; there is work to be done in the constituencies. We have made some significant changes to the way in which we organise the parliamentary calendar, and yesterday we actually added four days to the sitting calendar. This year we are going to sit longer than last year and, indeed, the year before, so any implication that we are working less hard is wholly unfounded.

[Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP)]

Given the opaque answer on coastguards provided to the hon. Member for Truro and Falmouth (Sarah Newton), may we have a debate about the coastguards, either in Government time or Backbench Business Committee time, before the relevant consultation ends? That would allow the Government to show how seriously they take our maritime insurance policy, namely the coastguards, especially as the two debates in Westminster Hall were inadequate in both time and structure.

[Sir George Young]

I am not sure that those two debates in Westminster Hall were inadequate; they enabled a large number of people to speak. I have no plans to hold another debate in Government time, but as I said earlier the Transport Committee is conducting an inquiry into the matter, and that might be an opportunity for the hon. Gentleman to make any points that he feels have not already been made.

[Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab)]

As no nuclear power station has ever been built on time or on budget, is there not an urgent need to extend the review of nuclear power in this country to include the cost, the timetable and the danger of an attack from a terrorist group—and in order to give the Deputy Prime Minister the opportunity to explain to the House his view that the fallout from Fukushima, both radioactive and political, may make our nuclear plans unaffordable?

[Sir George Young]

It remains the Government’s policy that nuclear has a key role to play in future power supply. We are doing a review under Dr Weightman to see whether there any lessons to be learned from what has happened in Japan, but there was enough delay to the matter under the previous Government, and we do not propose to add to that any more.

[Chris White (Warwick and Leamington) (Con)]

In south Leamington Spa, an employment club has been set up in the Brunswick healthy living centre, and it is proving successful at getting people back into work. It costs just £27 an hour to run and has so far helped more than 100 people, of whom 18 are now in employment again. Will the Leader of the House provide Government time for a debate about measures to boost employment and the use of such job clubs elsewhere?

[Sir George Young]

I welcome what my hon. Friend says about the work club in his constituency. He will know that, in the Budget the week before last, the Chancellor included additional funding for work clubs—for precisely the reason that my hon. Friend gives. They are effective ways of helping those who are out of work to find work; they give support to them in making contacts, finding opportunities and helping with CVs; and we very much want to continue our support for those worthwhile organisations.

[Mr David Winnick (Walsall North) (Lab)]

Given the situation in Libya, it seems unlikely that the House will not be recalled during the three-week recess, and I hope that the Leader of the House will reaffirm what he said a few moments ago. Can the House be informed, however, about the position of Libya’s former Foreign Minister, who undoubtedly had a great deal of involvement with terrorism? Should not the House be told as much information as possible about Lockerbie? As the person who effected it first and foremost, he would have the maximum amount of information, which I hope he would be willing to reveal to the British authorities.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir George Young]

As I said in response to the shadow Leader of the House, we will keep under review the need to recall the House. We have kept the House in the picture on Libya, with regular statements and debates in Government time, and there will be another opportunity on Tuesday to address the situation there. I believe that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development, who will open that debate, will update the House on the position, and if the hon. Gentleman is here on Tuesday, he may have an opportunity to speak in the debate and to develop the point that he has just made.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

A number of small to medium-sized enterprises in my constituency, Alcon, Forensic Pathways and Aspire to name just three, have raised concerns about the excessive bureaucracy that they have faced in the past, so will my right hon. Friend arrange for a debate about the reduction of bureaucracy for SMEs, so that we can learn more about what the Government propose to do to help such businesses to do more business?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who will know that the issue was covered to some extent in our debate about the Budget. We want SMEs to be the drivers of growth in this country, and there was a deregulation package in the Budget. We have extended the small business rate relief holiday, increased the SME rate for research and development tax credits and created enterprise zones, so I think that the Government are doing a lot to encourage SMEs to grow and develop.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

I declare my interest as a former college principal.

I was astounded to hear the Secretary of State for Education say on Monday that further education colleges, which the majority of post-16 students attend,

“do not have cafeterias or kitchens in place.”—[Official Report, 28 March 2011; Vol. 526, c. 59.]

Will the Leader of the House arrange for the Secretary of State to come to the House and put the record straight by apologising to students, staff and governors in colleges?

[Sir George Young]

I will relay those remarks to my right hon. Friend. I think he said “some” do not have those facilities, rather than “all”, but I will certainly relay the hon. Gentleman’s concern. As someone with an FE college in his constituency, I know that there was considerable confusion about the capital programme under the previous Government, and we are now busy trying to recover from that.

[Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) (Con)]

Businesses in my constituency and, indeed, the New Anglia local enterprise partnership are excited by the Chancellor’s announcement of enterprise zones, which my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House has just mentioned. Will he arrange for a debate in the House about the effect that such zones will have on the local economies of the areas where they go and, indeed, on the national economy?

[Sir George Young]

I am slightly surprised that the Opposition have not chosen enterprise zones as the subject for a debate on Monday. In view of the large number of Labour MPs who want one in their constituency, it would have been a popular subject for the Opposition to have chosen, but my hon. Friends in the Treasury will have noted the substantive bid that my hon. Friend has just made.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

I gather that after last week’s business questions, when the issue of the child poverty strategy was raised, there was then a frantic ring-round of child poverty campaign groups telling them that the strategy would be launched next Tuesday—5 April. Can the Leader of the House tell us why he did not think it fit to tell MPs that that was going to happen, and why it is being left until the last day before the recess when we are on a one-line Whip and not many MPs will be around? What is he trying to hide?

[Sir George Young]

Next Tuesday is a sitting day, and it seems an appropriate day on which to make a statement. I hope that the hon. Lady is not implying that I misled the House in any way in last week’s business statement, when I announced the business that I knew was forthcoming, as I have done this week. In response to an earlier question from the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson), I indicated that before the Easter recess the Government would make a statement on the child poverty strategy and deal with the legal situation that she raised with me.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

Can consideration be given to a debate on the criteria that mortgage lenders use to approve loans, particularly with respect to those who carry out community work? I have an example in my constituency of a foster carer whose legitimate income from community work is being denied by a major UK mortgage provider. I would very much welcome consideration of that.

[Sir George Young]

I am sorry to hear of the problems that confront my hon. Friend’s constituent. This might be an appropriate subject for an Adjournment debate, or he might like to raise it with Treasury Ministers to see whether they could pursue it with the mortgage lender to which he referred.

[Mike Gapes (Ilford South) (Lab/Co-op)]

Can we have an early debate on the contradictions between Government Departments’ policies? In particular, can he get the Secretary of State for Education to come here to explain why his Department, in connivance with the free schools organisation, E-ACT, has conspired with the Conservative-Liberal leadership of Redbridge council to evict, without consultation, elderly groups, ethnic minority groups, young people’s groups and disabled groups from a community centre in my borough without any right of scrutiny or recall?

[Sir George Young]

I will share the hon. Gentleman's concerns with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. I say to the hon. Gentleman, however, that there is a real appetite in many parts of London for a free school. The legislation has been warmly welcomed and a number of parents are very anxious that this initiative should be developed with great speed.

[Neil Carmichael (Stroud) (Con)]

In my constituency, farmers and residents are struggling to make known their views about the plans for reviewing the Severn estuary flood arrangements through the Environment Agency. There is concern about the need to listen to local views. May we therefore have a debate about the accountability mechanism for the Environment Agency, to encourage it to embrace a localism agenda?

[Sir George Young]

I am sure that the Environment Agency will have heard what my hon. Friend has said. It very much wants to work with community groups. I do not know whether he has flood wardens or flood action groups in his constituency, but the Environment Agency would very much like to liaise with them as it develops its plans and orders its priorities. I will bring his remarks to the attention of the EA.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Given the bombshell in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget speech about sweeping away planning protections, our green spaces and green belt are now vulnerable to any developer. Can we have an urgent debate on this, because middle-class folk, and all classes, are very concerned about the threat to our green spaces and our green belt? We have the local elections on 5 May. Surely the Government should come clean on green belt and green space protection before people vote in those elections.

[Sir George Young]

Green belt is specifically protected, so the hon. Gentleman should not have any concern about that. The rest of this issue lies in the context of the Localism Bill and the national planning strategy, and the hon. Gentleman should wait and see how the policy is developed in July.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Last year, we had the second highest recorded level of anti-Semitic incidents, and there is a strong feeling in the Jewish community that anti-Semitism is on the rise. Clearly, we as MPs have a right and a duty to set an example, but Cabinet Ministers have an even greater responsibility. Can the Leader of the House remind his right hon. Friends that it is unacceptable to accuse other colleagues of being Nazis or using Goebbels-type tactics in the media?

[Sir George Young]

Yes, I agree that not only Cabinet Ministers but every Member of the House should be very careful about the language that they use. I will certainly draw my hon. Friend’s remarks to the attention of my fellow Ministers. I am sure that you, Mr Deputy Speaker, will do all you can to ensure that no inappropriate remarks are made in this Chamber.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

This week at the Ebbw Vale metallurgical society, I met the top brass from the Tata steel company. They are very concerned about the Chancellor’s carbon floor price proposals, which impose massive unilateral costs on the UK steel industry—costs that no other European country will enforce. Can we have a statement from the Energy Secretary and a debate on this issue?

[Sir George Young]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Administration are committed to moving towards a less carbon-intensive future. At Business, Innovation and Skills questions earlier—he may have been in his place—my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said that he would have a good look at those who are intensive users of energy to see whether the problem that the hon. Gentleman has described might be overcome.

Points of Order

Lord Young of Cookham Excerpts

Thursday 31st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

That is not a point of order, but the hon. Gentleman has raised a very important point. Perhaps the Leader of the House would like to make a comment—it is up to him.

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)]

I am sorry if the hon. Gentleman has not received the e-mail, which I certainly received yesterday, and which had attached the certificate to be pinned up in my office and all the relevant offices. I will find out from IPSA what has gone on.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. May I raise the fact that there seems to be no consultation with Members of Parliament on the closure of the Members’ services centre in Portcullis House? It came as a total surprise to me when a member of staff said that it is all to be closed down imminently. If that is the case, it is disgraceful that Members of this House have not been consulted properly.

Oral Answers to Questions (Order)

Lord Young of Cookham Excerpts

Wednesday 30th March 2011 Written Statements

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)]

A revised “order of oral answers to questions” rota has been issued today, to cover the period when the House returns following the Easter recess.

It includes the following changes:

Topical questions have been introduced for the Cabinet Office and the Department for International Development. There will be a seven-minute slot for topical questions within their current total allocation of 30 minutes;

The amount of time allocated to the Deputy Prime Minister for questions has been increased to 40 minutes and, consequently, the length of time allocated for topical questions within this slot has been extended to 20 minutes. There will be an increase to 20 minutes for questions to the Attorney-General; and

As a consequence of the changes above, the days on which some questions are answered will move. Time allocated to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been reduced to 45 minutes.

Business of the House

Lord Young of Cookham Excerpts

Thursday 24th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)]

The business for next week will be:

Monday 28 March—Continuation of the Budget debate.

Tuesday 29 March—Conclusion of the Budget debate.

Wednesday 30 March—Remaining stages of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill (Day 1).

Thursday 31 March—Conclusion of remaining stages of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill (Day 2).

Friday 1 April—Private Members’ Bills.

The provisional business for the week commencing 4 April will include:

Monday 4 April—Opposition Day (14th allotted day). There will be a debate on an Opposition motion, subject to be announced.

Tuesday 5 April—General debate on Britain’s contribution to humanitarian relief in Libya, followed by a general debate on matters to be raised before the forthcoming Adjournment. The latter debate has been nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.

I should also like to inform the House that the business in Westminster Hall for 31 March 2011 will be:

Thursday 31 March 2011—A debate on high-speed rail.

[Hilary Benn]

I am grateful to the Leader of the House for that reply. The House will welcome today’s statement on Libya and will look forward to being further updated.

The Welfare Reform Bill will involve a large number of regulations being presented to the House. Will the Leader of the House assure Members that they will appear in good time to allow for full parliamentary scrutiny?

The Government gave a clear undertaking that they would talk to the Opposition about their draft legislation to increase—in a terrorist emergency—the number of days for which someone can be held from 14 to 28. To date, the shadow Home Secretary has not been consulted, despite a number of requests to the Home Secretary. Will the Leader of the House encourage his colleague to respond?

On section 44 stop-and-search powers, the Home Secretary has got herself into a difficulty and has had to introduce, by way of a remedial order, the new provisions on stop and search that were due to be included in the Protection of Freedoms Bill. She has done that by means of a written statement, thereby denying the House the chance to debate and scrutinise the change before it was made. May we have an explanation of why that happened?

Given that just about everything that we heard in yesterday's Budget statement had already been leaked to the media in advance, could the Leader of the House look at a different system for next year? Perhaps the Chancellor could get up, simply say, “I refer the House to the briefing I gave the newspapers a few days ago,” add anything new and sit down. Then we could move straight on to the Leader of the Opposition and the debate. It might help some Members to stay awake.

Will the Business Secretary make a statement on the failure of the Government’s much trumpeted one in, one out policy on new regulations? For the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills—the Department meant to be leading on the policy—it has been a case of 46 regulations in since May, and no regulations out. In fact, the majority of Departments have introduced more regulations than they have removed.

It seems that the policy is being observed only by the Liberal Democrats, although in their case they are applying it not to regulations, but to their principles. One principle out—opposition to trebling tuition fees; one new principle in—helping to undermine the NHS. We also read with interest that the Liberal Democrats are planning to issue a pocket-sized card listing every one of their many achievements in government. Will the Leader of the House find time for a statement on that? After all, it would not take very long.

May we have a statement from the Health Secretary explaining why the latest polling results from Ipsos MORI on public satisfaction with the NHS have still not been published, six months after they were submitted to the Department of Health? It is reported that they show that more members of the public than ever believe that the NHS is doing a good job—not exactly the message that Ministers have been seeking to convey. This is a very curious case of Ministers trying to bury good news.

Also on the health service, we read with great interest this week that the Deputy Prime Minister has told his MPs that he will be “taking the lead” in reining in his own Government’s plans for the national health service. He is said to be determined to make changes to the Health and Social Care Bill, which is currently in Committee, and a senior party source said that he had decided to “front up” the issue with the Health Secretary.

This is quite extraordinary, and presents a bit of a parliamentary challenge for the Leader of the House. Now, the right hon. Gentleman is a reformer, so I wonder whether he would be prepared to break new ground by organising a joint statement at the Dispatch Box from the Deputy Prime Minister and the Health Secretary, so that they can slug it out under the full glare of parliamentary accountability. Or perhaps we could make use of the Procedure Committee’s welcome recommendation—published in the last hour—that we allow the use of iPhones and iPads in the Chamber in place of paper, and the two members of the Cabinet can have an online argument instead. It could probably work, as long as Vodafone kept us all connected.

Finally, on Westminster council’s infamous ban on feeding the homeless, I am sure that the Leader of the House was as pleased as I was to read last week that a Home Office spokesman had said:

“The Home Secretary has no plans to ban soup runs.”

I am delighted that the coalition—if I may describe it as such—between the right hon. Gentleman and me has forced the Government finally to make their position clear. Will he simply confirm for us today that when Westminster’s draft byelaw is put to the Department for approval, it will be treated with the contempt that it deserves and sent packing?

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir George Young]

That was a marvellous smokescreen for the rather disappointing performance by the Leader of the Opposition yesterday. The shadow Leader of the House might want to recalibrate his performance in order to avoid this unhappy contrast.

On the Welfare Reform Bill, of course we will seek to publish the appropriate regulations well in advance so that the House has an opportunity to reflect on them. I will pass on the right hon. Gentleman’s request for more consultation between the shadow Home Secretary and my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary. On the Protection of Freedoms Bill and the written ministerial statement, the Bill is now before the House and I hope that there will be adequate opportunity for the House to cross-examine Ministers.

As for leaks, the right hon. Gentleman will know that there has always been a good deal of speculation before Budgets—and I have to say that he does not have much of a leg to stand on in this regard. He was a special adviser in 1997, and most of the Labour Government’s first Budget was systematically leaked to the Financial Times before the Chancellor had even got to his feet. Some years later, a BBC reporter interviewing the Treasury spin doctor Charlie Whelan asked him directly whether he had been responsible for the leak. Whelan replied:

“I might well have been. I can’t remember, to be honest. Probably was me. It could be Ed Balls, it could be me.”

So I hope that we will hear no more from Labour about Budget leaks.

If there is one person who is known to be able to stay awake during Budgets, it is my right hon. and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor, who delivered six excellent Budgets when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer. On the issue of regulations and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Business Secretary will be taking part in a debate later today about regulations, and will therefore have an ample opportunity to deal with the one in, one out policy.

Labour has had more than one policy on tuition fees over the past few years, and it would do well to reflect on that before starting to make that its currency. As for joint appearances at the Dispatch Box, I wonder how the then Prime Minister Tony Blair and the then Chancellor Gordon Brown would have got on if they had both appeared at the Dispatch Box, as members of the same party, to hammer out an agreed policy.

On health and social care, I do not think that the right hon. Gentleman should believe absolutely everything he reads in the press.

On Westminster city council, the right hon. Gentleman might know that the consultation ends on 25 March. The portfolio holder on the council has made it clear that he wants a non-legislative solution. He plans to have discussions with those running the soup runs, and two soup run providers have already agreed to provide their services in a more settled environment. I welcome that. The right hon. Gentleman might also look at some of the comments from those helping rough sleepers about the desirability of focusing the soup runs within an established building, rather than their acting as a magnet that attracts rough sleepers from all over the capital. I very much hope that he and I are at one on rough sleepers, and that we can support Westminster city council and the enlightened approach that it is now taking.

--- Later in debate ---

[Laura Sandys (South Thanet) (Con)]

Will the Leader of the House find time for a debate on the Department of Health’s drugs procurement process in relation to companies such as Pfizer, to ensure that corporate social responsibility comes into the process?

[Sir George Young]

I applaud my hon. Friend’s campaign on behalf of those in her constituency who are threatened by the decision taken by Pfizer. I will certainly draw the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health to her request for more corporate social responsibility. It might also be appropriate for her to intervene during the Budget debate, as that is a direct matter for businesses in this country.

[Natascha Engel (North East Derbyshire) (Lab)]

I thank the Leader of the House for his business statement, as well as for his written ministerial statement yesterday on extra time for private Members’ Bills, Opposition days and time allocated to Back Benchers. Will he tell the House exactly how many extra days will be allocated to Back Benchers? Will he also tell us how many of those debates will be in the Chamber? He has just announced that the pre-recess Adjournment debate—a Back-Bench debate—has been reduced from the normal six hours to three, to give the House the chance to have an important debate on Libya and humanitarian aid. I acknowledge how important it will be to have that debate, just before we break up for the recess, but will he explain why he cannot simply add an extra day on to the parliamentary calendar in order to give the pre-recess Adjournment debate and that important debate on Libya and humanitarian aid a whole day each? It is in the Government’s gift to do that. I am sure that this would never have crossed the mind of the Leader of the House, but perhaps that will not happen because the extra day would be a Wednesday, and the Prime Minister would therefore be forced to come to the Dispatch Box to answer questions.

[Sir George Young]

Let me rebut instantly the hon. Lady’s final suggestion. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister looks forward to every Wednesday with relish. On her question about the extra days, we have tabled a motion to extend the number of days for private Members’ Bills. We do not need to lay a comparable motion to deal with the days for the Backbench Business Committee. Since the Committee was established last July we have allocated roughly one day a week to it, and I propose to continue to do that. We do not need to table a motion in order to do so, however.

On the question of extending the sitting days to include next Wednesday, the House values the certainty of having a calendar published well in advance, and there are precedents for the pre-recess Adjournment debate taking half a day rather than a whole day. We have tried to reconcile the need for certainty with the need for the House to be updated on the difficult position on Libya and to contribute to that debate, as well as respecting the demands of the pre-recess Adjournment debate. I hope that we have struck a fair balance between those three demands. I can tell the hon. Lady that I propose to table a business motion so that the protected time of three hours for the pre-recess Adjournment debate will not suffer any injury as a result of any statements or other events on that day. I hope that when I table that motion, she will smile at it.

[Mr John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con)]

May we have a debate in Government time on the future of the euro and the economic governance arrangements in the European Union? Those of us who fought long and hard, and successfully, to keep Britain out of the euro would like ministerial reassurance that we are not going to be dragged into any of the financial or governmental consequences of its current problems, and that we will get something back for Britain when those countries need our consent to change.

[Sir George Young]

I understand my right hon. Friend’s concerns, but I cannot promise an imminent debate on that subject. Following the important meeting of the European Council that begins today, however, there might well be a statement early next week, which would give him an opportunity to share his concerns with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.

[Ms Karen Buck (Westminster North) (Lab)]

Today, 30,000 14 to 15-year-olds from 815 schools in every part of the country are working with the BBC to make the news, and 30,000 other young people have taken part in news-related projects during the year. Will the Leader of the House find time for a debate on how we can support the BBC in that work and recognise the incredible importance of the work in developing civic awareness and an understanding of the news among young people?

[Sir George Young]

I applaud the BBC’s initiative; I saw one of the programmes before I came into the Chamber. I cannot promise a debate, but there is an unallocated Opposition day on Monday week. The right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) will have heard the hon. Lady’s bid; perhaps part of that day could involve a debate on that important subject.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

The House holds the principle of one person, one vote to be absolutely sacrosanct. Will the Government find time between now and the referendum on 5 May to hold a debate in the Chamber on the referendum question?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend asks a very good question. We have not had a recent debate on the alternative vote, although we debated the matter when the legislation was going through. There is some confusion on AV. One person, when asked what the AV referendum was all about, thought that it was about whether Aston Villa would come top of the league this year. I hope that between now and 5 May there will be a good public debate on this matter. Again, the Opposition have not yet chosen their subject for Monday week. However, we know that there is some difference of opinion on AV within the Labour party, and for that reason it might not choose the subject for discussion on that day.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Will the Government make time for a debate on the proposed changes to the DNA database, following evidence to the Protection of Freedoms Public Bill Committee by the chief constable of the West Midlands, who said that 1,000 criminals would go free as a result of this Government’s changes?

[Sir George Young]

The Protection of Freedoms Bill is before Parliament at the moment; it is in a Public Bill Committee. Within that Bill are the clauses on DNA to which the hon. Gentleman has referred. I know that my hon. Friend the Minister who is taking the Bill through the House would like to respond to the hon. Gentleman’s assertion, with which the Government disagree.

[Nick de Bois (Enfield North) (Con)]

Any large corporations that enjoy public contracts also enjoy favourable payment terms. However, many of the small and medium-sized enterprises that support the same contracts do not benefit from equally favourable terms. Will my right hon. Friend require a statement from the Cabinet Office to ensure that current and future contracts are reviewed to help our SME businesses?

[Sir George Young]

I am sure that the Government want to be an enlightened party to contracts and wish to discharge their obligations and pay their bills on time. I will certainly convey my hon. Friend’s suggestion to my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and make it clear that in his opinion—I think it is a widely shared view—the Government should not make SMEs wait for payment due to them from the public sector.

[Mr John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)]

Parliamentary questions are an essential mechanism by which the House is able to hold Ministers to account. There are, however, some gaps in the system. One of those is a member of the Cabinet, Baroness Warsi, who last year claimed that the Conservatives failed to win an overall majority at the general election because of electoral fraud, predominantly within the Asian community. Will the Leader of the House find time next week for a statement at which the Baroness could either justify that statement or profoundly apologise for it?

[Sir George Young]

As the right hon. Gentleman knows, I cannot find time for such a debate, because the right hon. Lady would not be able to appear in this Chamber. However, I am sure she will have heard what the right hon. Gentleman has said and will want to respond to it in the appropriate way.

[Tessa Munt (Wells) (LD)]

When I was elected, I tried to do the right thing and save money by using second-class post. I discovered that of the five small envelopes used, three are, illogically, more expensive if second-class post is used rather than first-class post. One of the differences amounts to £2.24 for a 250 batch. According to my back-of-the-envelope maths, including the printing costs for two types of envelopes based on 2009 usage, a saving of £15,500 a year could be made. The print runs are huge; the set-up costs are minimal. The House of Commons uses 2,000,703 first-class envelopes, costing £1,000,646. If 5% were urgent and 95% were sent second class, the postage savings would amount to more than £250,000 of taxpayers’ money. Will the Business Secretary please promote and encourage the use of second-class envelopes by—

[Mr Speaker]

We have got the gist, but I am afraid that the question is too long. We have got the thrust of it, and we are grateful.

[Sir George Young]

I am sure that the envelope on which my hon. Friend did the maths was a second-class one! I will draw her comments to the attention of the House authorities, and I applaud the steps she is taking to save money by using second-class envelopes where appropriate. It seems anomalous if the position is as she described it, so, as I say, I will pass her comments on to the House authorities.

[Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Lab)]

Constituents regularly tell me of the difficulties they face in accessing local bus services—ranging from high fares and a lack of services after 6 o’clock to there being no direct routes to the hospital or to GP surgeries. In response, I have launched a campaign to improve local bus services. May we have a debate on what steps the Government are taking to improve accountability and value for money when it comes to local people having their say over bus services?

[Sir George Young]

I applaud the hon. Lady’s campaign to make bus services more accessible to her constituents, particularly when they need to go to hospital. I announced a few moments ago that we will have the normal pre-Easter recess Adjournment debate, and it strikes me that this would be an appropriate subject for her to raise on that occasion.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Following the Budget announcement yesterday about university technical colleges, will my right hon. Friend find time for a debate on UTCs—not just because they will transform vocational education for our youngsters but because Lord Baker visited Harlow college, which is leading a bid, with local businesses, to have a UTC there?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his kind words about my right hon. Friend Lord Baker, who listened with interest to yesterday’s statement that there would be not 12 but 24 high-quality, technically oriented UTCs. We are aware—and if we were not, we are now—of Harlow college’s interest in submitting an application. I can tell my hon. Friend that the intention is to select the first round of new technical academies to go forward by the early summer, following a competitive selection process.

[Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)]

May we have a statement on how the Government intend to ensure that the announced increases in tax on the fuel companies will not be passed on directly to hard-pressed motorists? Are we to take it from the statement that any further increases will be referred for scrutiny before they are allowed?

[Sir George Young]

Of course I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern—but I do not know whether he has had time to look at the regulatory impact assessment carried out in 2006, when his party was in government, on increased taxation on North sea producers. It said:

“Oil companies are price-takers, facing a globally-determined market price for their output, and so will absorb all costs. They will be unable to pass any costs on to consumers, and the impact will be distributed proportionately across producers with no adverse effects on competition”.

I hope that gives the hon. Gentleman the reassurance he was seeking.

[Kwasi Kwarteng (Spelthorne) (Con)]

Will the House have the opportunity to debate the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority review of MPs’ expenses, which will be published tomorrow?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend reminds the House that at one minute past midnight IPSA is due to publish the outcome of its review of the scheme. I understand that it hopes to inform hon. Members of its contents before then. As my hon. Friend will know, there is now a group that liaises between the House and IPSA and has regular meetings to discuss the scheme. I suggest that my hon. Friend, and indeed others, use that channel to communicate their views on the revised scheme, as they already do now.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

May we have a debate or a statement from the Transport Secretary on London Midland’s proposals to break the franchise commitment to staff all stations from the first to the last train. I believe that that has serious implications for the safety of passengers using those stations, and I am worried about the ease with which it is prepared to break its commitment. We need a statement or a debate.

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern, and I will draw the matter to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary. If it is a term of the contract that these services should be provided, they cannot be unilaterally abrogated.

[Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the provision of critical care beds, which are of such importance to our NHS generally, and particularly, in my part of the world, to my local hospital in York? I know that it will welcome the recently announced extra 3,700 beds.

[Sir George Young]

The Health and Social Care Bill will shortly return to the Floor of the House after its Committee stage. My hon. Friend is right: the Department of Health announced last month that 3,747 critical care beds were available in January this year—the highest number ever recorded. I am sure that the whole House will rejoice in those figures.

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

There is some disquiet about the UK Government’s proposed Calman-like process for Wales, which has implications for the way in which the Welsh Government are funded. Will the right hon. Gentleman ask the Secretary of State for Wales to make an oral statement on the Floor of the House so that we can debate this issue?

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir George Young]

I will pass on the hon. Gentleman’s concerns to my right hon. Friend and ensure that she communicates with him before the Easter recess.

[John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley) (LD)]

What happened on Monday was a good example of why business sometimes needs to change at short notice—but there has obviously been confusion about what is happening to the pre-recess Adjournment debate. What progress have the Government made in discussions about having a House business Committee, which might introduce greater transparency in the process of managing business?

[Sir George Young]

The coalition Government made a commitment that the previous Government did not make—that we would introduce a House business Committee. We remain committed to doing that within three years of the commencement of this Parliament. We propose to review how the Backbench Business Committee has worked after its first year, and then have discussions about the introduction of a House business Committee.

[Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House ensure that we have a statement next week on the Government’s child poverty strategy? Under the Child Poverty Act 2010 the Government are required to publish such a strategy by tomorrow, yet in a written answer from the Minister with responsibility for disabled people earlier this week, I was informed that she has not yet even seen fit to appoint the commission that is intended to advise on such a strategy.

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Lady has made a valid point, which has been addressed in a written ministerial statement. I know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions will want to regularise the position as soon as he can, and I will ensure that he informs the House in the near future of how he proposes to do that.

[Greg Hands (Chelsea and Fulham) (Con)]

May we have a debate on our country’s gold reserves? As my right hon. Friend will recall, the gold price crashed a decade ago when Britain sold its reserves, an event that became known as the “Brown bottom”. Does he think that this month’s record high will become known as the “Balls-up”?

[Sir George Young]

We are in the middle of a four-day debate on the Budget, during which I am sure it will be appropriate for my hon. Friend to amplify his remarks at greater length.

[Thomas Docherty (Dunfermline and West Fife) (Lab)]

The House will be shocked to learn that children as young as seven are being issued with firearms licences. Can the Leader of the House tell us when the Home Office plans to respond to the report that the Home Affairs Committee published before Christmas?

[Sir George Young]

I am sure that other Members will have heard a feature on the “Today” programme which highlighted the freedom of information responses to which the hon. Gentleman is referring. In fact we have some of the toughest gun controls in the world, and we are having another look at them. The age limits in the firearms law reflect the different levels of risk posed by different guns in different circumstances. If young people do have access to firearms and shotguns, it must be safe and controlled. We are considering the recommendations of the Home Affairs Committee, and we expect to respond in May or June.

[Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) (LD)]

The very long parliamentary Session offered the tantalising prospect of successful private Members’ legislation, which I hoped would include my Tied Public Houses (Code of Practice) Bill, but my aim has been frustrated by the fact that all the newly available sitting Fridays are dominated by dozens of Bills promoted by one or two Members. Would you, Mr Speaker, or the Leader of the House care to comment on the situation, and on whether it is frustrating the whole point of private Members’ legislation?

[Sir George Young]

I understand my hon. Friend’s frustration. However, the Bills that were successful in the ballot will take priority over those that may follow. I tried to extend the number of days available for private Members’ Bills by tabling a motion yesterday. We cannot make progress with that motion because an amendment to it has been tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Wellingborough (Mr Bone), but the Government intend to make more time available for private Members’ Bills, to reflect the length of the session.

[Anas Sarwar (Glasgow Central) (Lab)]

There is huge concern in Scotland over reports that the Scottish National party is to repeat its use of slogans on Scottish election ballot papers. Following the 2007 election fiasco during which nearly 150,000 papers were spoilt, the Gould review found that the use of slogans such as “Alex Salmond for First Minister” were “confusing and potentially misleading” for the electorate, and it was thought that it would be outlawed. May we have an urgent statement from the Secretary of State for Scotland to clarify the issue and avoid a repeat of what happened in 2007?

[Sir George Young]

I will draw the hon. Gentleman’s comments to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State of Scotland, unless the matter falls within the responsibility of the Scottish Electoral Commission. In either event, whoever is responsible will write to him.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Minerals can be extracted only from where they lie, and many mineral reserves lie in my constituency. My right hon. Friend will be well aware that minerals policy has been specifically excluded from the Localism Bill. Will he find time for a debate on minerals policy, and in particular on the distribution of the aggregates levy? I think it important for communities that suffer the blight of mineral extraction to have a fair share of the levy as a form of compensation.

[Sir George Young]

Many Members whose constituents contain aggregate sources such as gravel pits will share my hon. Friend’s concern, and the Backbench Business Committee may wish to find time for a debate. As my hon. Friend says, the aggregates levy sustainability fund reduces the environmental impact of the extraction of aggregates, but as a result of the October spending review settlement, the Government will have to discontinue the programme of work after the end of the current financial year. I will draw my hon. Friend’s concern to the attention of my colleagues who have responsibility for the matter.

[Grahame M. Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate or statement on an announcement made yesterday indicating that 900 million records of medicines prescribed by family doctors are to be published on line? That has many implications, not least the usefulness of such information to private drug companies and the impact on civil liberties.

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern, and will draw the matter to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. It may be another suitable subject for the pre-Easter recess Adjournment debate on Tuesday week.

[Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)]

Last month the Planning Inspectorate decided to impose a travelling showpeople’s site on the village of Tolleshunt Knights in my constituency. The decision was based on the regional spatial strategy and planning circulars issued by the last Government. Can my right hon. Friend tell us why those circulars are still in place, and when they will be scrapped?

[Sir George Young]

As I think my hon. Friend knows, we have announced our intention to withdraw the circulars and replace them with a new light-touch planning policy. We want to move quickly, but there is a proper process to be followed. Our proposed new policy will be published for public consultation shortly.

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

Given the Prime Minister’s apparent confusion yesterday over the future of the disability living allowance, may I raise the case of my constituent Scott Sheard, who has been refused the mobility component of DLA? He needs the allowance so that he can live at home, but he also needs to make a gradual transition. Will the Leader of the House ask his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to reconsider Scott’s case, and those of many other people with disabilities who need the mobility component in order to live independently?

[Sir George Young]

The regime that affects the hon. Gentleman’s constituent is the regime that we inherited. We propose to make changes to the DLA, but they require primary legislation, which will have to be approved by the House. We want to move from the current regime, which has not been examined for 20 years and results in conflict and overlap, to a new regime based on personal independence payments. We want to enhance the mobility and independence of people who are entitled to payments at the moment. This is not about saving money, but about introducing a better regime for those with real needs.

[Mr Edward Timpson (Crewe and Nantwich) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the Government’s commitment to delivering 250,000 more apprenticeships by 2015? That would allow us to discuss the crucial role played by apprenticeships in developing skills in our engineering sector, especially in the rail and motor industries that are so important to our economy, both in Crewe and Nantwich and elsewhere in the country.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir George Young]

I believe that yesterday’s announcement in the Budget of more resources for apprenticeships and work experience was warmly received. In a few moments my right hon. Friend the Business Secretary will be in his place. Today’s debate will provide a good opportunity for the House to discuss the value of apprenticeships to the community, and in particular, their reinforcement of our manufacturing and engineering capability, which has such a high profile in my hon. Friend’s constituency.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend the Member for Easington (Grahame M. Morris) drew attention to the possible publication of 900 million medical prescription records online. Given that banks, lenders, insurers, private health care employers, neighbours, foreign agencies and Governments would be able to gain access to those records, may we have a debate on the Floor of the House on how the proposal relates to the Data Protection Act, employment law and other legislation?

[Sir George Young]

I repeat the undertaking that I gave a few moments ago—and on Tuesday the Health Secretary will be answering questions in the House, when the hon. Gentleman may have an opportunity to raise the matter in either a direct or a topical question.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

Will the Leader of the House find time for a debate on the good news announced yesterday about the Government’s council tax freeze initiative? Both Pendle borough council and Lancashire county council have agreed not to increase the tax, but the initiative was not covered in recent debates on the local government finance settlement.

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend has drawn a contrast between the doubling of council tax under the Labour Government and the freeze introduced by the current Government. He may also know that we have abandoned plans for a council tax revaluation that would have meant soaring bills for millions of homes.

[Steve Rotheram (Liverpool, Walton) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House turned down my previous request, but will he now find time for a debate on pay structures in banks, following the revelation that last year RBS paid 323 staff more than £1 million each, Barclays paid 231 staff more than £1 million each, and HSBC paid 280 staff more than £1 million each? Does he agree that that requires an urgent debate, given that yesterday’s Budget failed to tackle such excess?

[Sir George Young]

If that requires an urgent debate, which I concede may well be the case, that urgent debate can take place over the next three days. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor has announced an increase in the bank levy. However, it would be perfectly in order for the hon. Gentleman to catch your eye, Mr Speaker, today or on Monday or Tuesday, and to receive a response from one of my Treasury colleagues.

[Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend find time for a debate on the role of the Electoral Commission? It is no longer offering guidance and advice to election officers, most of whom have a wealth of experience of running elections very well for many years, and has taken to bullying and imposing expensive and excessively bureaucratic top-down diktats ahead of the local elections and referendum that will take place in six weeks’ time.

[Sir George Young]

I will draw my hon. Friend’s comments to the attention of the chair of the Electoral Commission. There is the opportunity to cross-examine my hon. Friend the Member for South West Devon (Mr Streeter), who speaks for the Electoral Commission, on the Floor of the House, and my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Karl MᶜCartney) could also raise the matter with him informally outside the Chamber.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

Many MPs are very unhappy about the lack of clarity and content in departmental written answers. The responses to many questions are fudged, and many are answered as “unknown”. Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on this?

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman is entitled to receive enlightened and informed answers to written questions. It might help if he could be slightly more specific about which answers have caused concern, and if he does so I will raise the matter with the appropriate colleague.

[Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House outline how business leaders in my constituency and Derbyshire in general can put their ideas to the Chancellor in respect of his announcement yesterday on establishing more enterprise zones?

[Sir George Young]

As my hon. Friend will know, the Cabinet recently met in Derby in her county. We met wealth creators in Derby, and they pressed the case for more investment in the town and the county. Members will have an opportunity in today’s debate on the Budget and subsequent debates to make the case for an enterprise zone in their constituency, and I note that my hon. Friend has made an early bid.

[Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (Lab)]

The last Government put in place the victims of overseas terrorism compensation scheme. May we have a debate in Government time to ascertain when British victims of overseas terrorism will begin to receive compensation?

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman raises a serious issue that has already been raised on a number of occasions. As he knows, the Ministry of Justice is carrying out a review. I hope it will be completed shortly, because I understand the concern that is felt on both sides of House about the delay.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Seven schools in Harrow are currently consulting on becoming academies. They are doing so in the teeth of a campaign of misinformation by Labour-run Harrow council and outright hostility from the teaching unions. May we have an urgent statement from the Secretary of State for Education on what he is going to do to stop councils giving misinformation to schools that are trying to break free of the dead hand of the local education authority?

[Sir George Young]

I welcome that initiative in my hon. Friend’s constituency, which shows that parents want to use the freedoms given to them under this Government’s legislation. I will draw his concern to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education, so we can see whether further steps need to be taken to make sure that those who want to establish free schools or academies are not intimidated as a result of misinformation.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

Further to the request made by my hon. Friend the Member for Westminster North (Ms Buck), I draw the Leader of the House’s attention to early-day motion 1640, tabled yesterday, which seeks to save BBC Radio Merseyside.

[That this House believes BBC Radio Merseyside is a loved and valuable institution within Merseyside, providing local news and entertainment to over 300,000 listeners; notes that BBC local radio offers exceptional value for money at a cost of 3.2 pence per listener hour, in comparison with other stations such as BBC Parliament (14.1 pence) and Radio 3 (6.3 pence); further notes that BBC Radio Merseyside is the most listened to BBC local radio station outside London; further notes that for a third of its listeners, 100,000 people, it is the only BBC radio station that they choose to listen to; is highly concerned at proposals that would end daytime programming; and calls on the BBC to protect its proud history of broadcasting on Merseyside with a commitment to fund BBC Radio Merseyside.

There are no fewer than 40 BBC local radio stations throughout the UK, all of which are cherished by their communities and provide excellent value for money at 3.2p per listener hour, but the news that local programming may be scaled back to “drive time” and breakfast time is extremely worrying. Please may we have an urgent debate on the future of BBC local radio programming?

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Lady’s concern. It strikes me that this would be an appropriate subject for a Backbench Business Committee debate or an intervention during the pre-Easter recess Adjournment debate, but she has just made her case very effectively.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

If passed, motion 7 on the Order Paper would have the effect of cancelling all currently scheduled private Members’ sitting days and replacing them with four new days. Instead of getting the additional 13 days we should have because this is a two-year parliamentary Session, we would finish up with only four days. I think that is more cock-up than conspiracy, but may we have a debate on the matter next week?

[Sir George Young]

I am not sure that my hon. Friend has interpreted the motion correctly. The Government want to provide four more days to debate private Members’ Bills. My hon. Friend has blocked that by tabling an amendment which means that, as of today, that extra time will not be given. I very much hope we can resolve the matter. We have a bit of time, because we have announced the dates up to the end of the summer. I hope that between now and then we can find a satisfactory solution, and that my hon. Friend will not stand in the way of what the Government are trying to do, which is to give more time for private Members’ Bills.

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

People have welcomed the council tax freeze nationally, but may we have a debate on what people in my constituency and elsewhere can do if their council puts through large council tax rises in future?

[Sir George Young]

Help is on the way, because the Localism Bill contains a provision for local people to have a referendum if their local authority proposes high council tax increases.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Pincher.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker; I know my place.

Many of my constituents have raised concerns about clinical services in local hospitals, notably Good Hope hospital. May we have a debate on NHS staffing levels, so that we may learn about the progress being made in increasing the number of doctors and nurses and reducing the number of bureaucrats so beloved of the last Government?

[Sir George Young]

Since we took office, the number of managers has fallen by some 3,000, I think, and the number of doctors has increased by some 2,000, so help is on the way.

Private Members' Bills (2010-12 Session)

Lord Young of Cookham Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd March 2011 Written Statements

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)]

In September, I informed the House that the Government had decided that the current Session of Parliament should run until the spring of 2012. This was in order to ensure a smooth transition towards five, 12-month Sessions over a Parliament, which would be a beneficial consequence of Parliament agreeing the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill.

I have tabled a motion, which appears on the Order Paper today, which has the effect of providing extra days for the consideration of Private Members’ Bills in this Session. The extra dates to be provided are 9 September 2011, 21 October 2011, 25 November 2011 and 20 January 2012. Bills will have precedence on those days in accordance with the established order set out in paragraph (5) of Standing Order No.14.

The Government are also mindful that, due to the longer than usual current Session, extra provision will be necessary for Opposition days and Backbench Business days. No changes to Standing Orders are necessary to accommodate adequate extra provision in these two instances, and I will announce the provision of extra time through the weekly business statement as usual.

Members’ Salaries

Lord Young of Cookham Excerpts

Monday 21st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)]

I beg to move,

That the following provision shall be made with respect to the salaries of Members of this House—

(1) For the period beginning with 1 April 2011 and ending with the relevant day, the rates of—

(a) Members’ salaries, and

(b) additional salaries payable to Members under Resolutions of this House in respect of service as chairs of select or general committees, shall be the same as those salaries as at 31 March 2011.

(2) In paragraph (1) the “relevant day” means—

(a) the day before the day on which the first determination of Members’ salaries by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority comes into effect, or

(b) 31 March 2013,

whichever is the earlier.

(3) Paragraphs (9), (10) and (12)(b) of the Resolution of 3 July 2008 (Members’ Salaries (No. 2) (Money)) cease to have effect on the day this Resolution is passed.

(4) The remaining provisions of that Resolution cease to have effect on 1 April 2011.

We move now to MPs’ pay. [Interruption.] Mr Speaker—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I apologise for interrupting the right hon. Gentleman. I fully understand that right hon. and hon. Members are not that interested in hearing speeches about their own pay, but I hope that as a courtesy to the Leader of the House those Members who are disinterested and inclined to leave the Chamber will do so quickly and quietly, so that those who wish to hear the Leader of the House can do so.

[Sir George Young]

The whole House will be keenly aware of the country’s difficult financial situation, and both sides of the House accept that we have a substantial structural deficit, which must be brought down. The Government have had to take difficult decisions throughout the public sector, including imposing a two-year pay freeze on public sector workers earning more than £21,000. Hon. Members must now decide whether their constituents would welcome Parliament exempting itself from that policy and thus insulating itself from decisions that are affecting households throughout the country, or whether, as I believe, the public expect their elected representatives to be in step with what is being required of other public servants. I believe that it is right for us, as Members of Parliament, to forgo the pay increase that the current formula would have produced.

[Mr Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

I quite agree that Parliament should not exempt itself, but I was under the impression that we were never going to vote on our pay again.

[Sir George Young]

I will come in a moment to the point about whether we should overturn the decision that we took in July 2008. Let me briefly set out the background. On 3 July 2008, the House agreed a new formula for uprating Members’ salaries, which is what I think my hon. Friend was referring to. The annual percentage increase would be the median of a basket of public sector comparators, and this percentage would be calculated by the Senior Salaries Review Body and notified to you, Mr Speaker, in a letter from its chairman. That percentage increase would then take effect automatically from 1 April.

That system has considerable advantages. It provides a fixed uprating formula so that we do not determine our own salaries. It is transparent, as the formula and the SSRB’s determination are there for everyone to see. It is also fair in that it provides a link between the salary of a Member of Parliament and the salaries of others in the public sector. Those are the virtues that the Government usually believe should underpin any system for determining our salaries—independence, transparency and fairness. We have therefore not taken lightly the decision to set aside the pay increase and thereby abandon the formula.

As I said, the Government’s decision to invite the House to agree to a pay freeze is the product of the difficult fiscal situation in which we have to find significant cost savings across the public sector. As my predecessor as Leader of the House, the right hon. and learned Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman), said in the 2008 debate:

“given that MPs are paid from the public purse, we should show the same discipline in our pay increases as we expect from the public sector.”—[Official Report, 3 July 2008; Vol. 478, c. 1062.]

[Jim Dowd (Lewisham West and Penge) (Lab)]

The right hon. Gentleman is a decent fellow, but this is not quite the full story. The full story is that no Government have ever resisted the temptation to poke their nose into this business. We have set up mechanisms, to which the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Mr Leigh) referred, and said that they should be independent and we should go along with them, and then when it suits the Government of the day—not just this Government but any Government—they change the rules. That completely undermines any claim they make to believe in independent mechanisms. Either we come forward with what the independent review mechanism says, or we do not. This Government, like their predecessors, are poking their nose in where it does not belong.

[Sir George Young]

I should like to address very directly the hon. Gentleman’s point about the independence of the review that we are overturning. He rightly says that by bringing this motion before the House, a Government are once again asking Members to vote on their own remuneration—something that we believed we had put behind us. He asks the very good question as to why we are asking the House to reject the independent findings of the SSRB and whether the SSRB is unable to take on board issues of the kind that I have been talking about. The short answer is this: the system that was introduced in 2008 provided an objective mechanism for determining our pay, but it was a long way from being independent. The formula was devised by the previous Government and endorsed by the House, and in no sense could it be said to be independent.

For those, like the hon. Gentleman, who say that we are substituting our own judgment on this issue for that of the independent SSRB, I remind the House of what the chairman of the SSRB, Sir Bill Cockburn, said in his letter to you, Mr Speaker, on 19 January. He said:

“I should emphasise that the SSRB has no discretion in making this determination but simply applies the formula set out in the Resolution. We were not consulted when the Resolution was drawn up. The resulting figure is not what the SSRB would have recommended had we been able to have regard to all the circumstances including, this year, the Government’s pay freeze for public sector workers paid more that £21,000 a year.”

In a nutshell, the SSRB is saying that if its hands had not been tied by the House, it would not have recommended the 1% pay increase that came before us in January. If the hon. Gentleman looks at the pay recommendations for other professions published today by the SSRB and the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration, he will see that no uplifts are recommended for those earning more than £21,000.

[Mr Graham Allen (Nottingham North) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House is making a convincing argument that the SSRB, or whichever independent body we choose, should be more independent, not less. What he is doing tonight, of course, is renationalising the terms and conditions of MPs’ salaries, which is going in exactly the wrong direction. Does he accept that this matter will go on and on, and that MPs will be undermined consistently by the media and the public until we have a wholly independent authority that does not come back to this House or to the Government for a final decision?

[Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

We do not want IPSA.

[Sir George Young]

I say to the hon. Member for Nottingham North (Mr Allen) that that is exactly the process that we are moving towards, although it will disappoint the hon. Member for Colchester (Bob Russell). I will now come to what happens next.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

What I do not understand from the Leader of the House is, if this increase is based on an average of public service salaries, are we not simply getting what the rest of the public services are getting?

[Sir George Young]

If my hon. Friend looks at the comparator, he will see that it includes a number of people who earn less than £21,000 and that, crucially, it includes settlements that were made before the last election. To that extent, it lags behind the public sector pay freeze that we announced in the Budget.

To answer the point raised by the hon. Member for Nottingham North, the 2008 resolution also requires the SSRB to conduct a review of Members’ salaries in the first year of each new Parliament. By rescinding the resolution in its entirety, the motion removes the requirement for the SSRB to conduct such a review this year. The review of Members’ salaries will instead take place following the commencement of section 29 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, which will transfer the determination of our salaries to IPSA on a statutory basis. As I said at business questions last week, the Government intend to commence that section shortly. If, in future, the House wants to overturn any recommendations, it will require primary legislation, not a 90-minute debate such as we are having this evening.

[Mr Mark Field (Cities of London and Westminster) (Con)]

Given the self-denying ordinance that the Leader of the House is proposing today for salaries, will he give a commitment that he will bring in primary legislation to ensure that there will be no increase in allowances for the next two years under IPSA, or is this the same old story that we have had in the past of holding the salary in a blaze of glory, and turning around and seeing allowances increased?

[Sir George Young]

There is no intention of doing that.

The Government’s policy is to have a public sector pay freeze for those earning more than £21,000 a year. Members of Parliament clearly earn more than that. I think that it would be unacceptable for those earning just more than £21,000 to have no increase and for Members of Parliament earning three times that sum to get a salary increase of about £650. That is why I think it is right this evening to ask the House to freeze our salaries. I very much hope that the House will approve the motion in my name and that of the Deputy Leader of the House.

[Mr Speaker]

I have not selected the amendment, so the Question is as on the Order Paper.

Business of the House

Lord Young of Cookham Excerpts

Friday 18th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)]

With permission, I should like to make a short statement following on from the announcement that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has just made.

The business for the week commencing 21 March will now be:



Monday 21 March—Motion relating to the United Nations Security Council resolution on Libya, followed by motion relating to Members’ salaries.

Tuesday 22 March—Remaining stages of the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Bill [Lords].

Wednesday 23 March—My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will open his Budget statement.

Thursday 24 March—Continuation of the Budget debate.

The provisional business for the week commencing 28 March will remain the same.

[Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)]

I am grateful to the Leader of the House for his statement. The House should have an opportunity to debate the resolution that the United Nations passed yesterday evening and above all, its consequences for the people of Libya and, in particular, for the deployment of British forces. I also welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement that there will be a substantive motion before the House on Monday and the fact that it will be available later today. It is right that the House should have the chance to debate and vote, as was the case eight years ago today and in 1991, a few days after action began in the Gulf war. Will the Leader of the House assure us—I am sure that it will be the case—that the House will be kept informed of developments, with statements, as appropriate, from the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for Defence?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his support for the revised timetable. We plan to table a substantive motion later today that the House will debate on Monday, and to keep the House informed. We had a full day’s debate in Government time yesterday, a substantive statement from the Prime Minister today, and we will have a debate on Monday. I can give the right hon. Gentleman the undertaking he has just sought.

[Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

I welcome Monday’s debate. Will my right hon. Friend be able to see his way in weeks to come to organising another debate on the middle east in view of the great interest in yesterday’s middle east debate in the House, and of the fact that events are fast moving, complex and complicated, and that they engage profoundly British interests in many countries other than Libya?

[Sir George Young]

I think my hon. Friend recognises that we have a good record of keeping the House informed on matters concerning Afghanistan and Iraq, and indeed the middle east and north Africa. I can give him the undertaking that he has just sought. We will keep the House regularly informed, and I hope there will be opportunities to debate the matter again.

[Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Lab)]

I welcome the opportunity for the debate and the Leader of the House’s commitment to keeping the House regularly informed. That is most welcome—that is what Parliament is for. However, will he assure me that Members will have a facility to table amendments to the motion that is to be tabled later today? Clearly, if the motion is not tabled until, say, 2.30 today, it will be difficult to table an amendment. We will want an opportunity to debate amendments on Monday morning, so will he accept late amendments, and will they be acceptable?

[Sir George Young]

Whether amendments are acceptable is a matter for you, Mr Speaker, rather than for me. The motion will be like any other substantive motion and will be subject to amendments. I take the hon. Gentleman’s point, and we will seek to table the motion in good time so that those who wish to table amendments will have the opportunity so to do.

[Mr Bernard Jenkin (Harwich and North Essex) (Con)]

Although it is entirely desirable for the House to express its clear opinion before any military action is taken, will the Leader of the House make it clear that the Government do not consider themselves restrained from taking military action before the motion is carried if it is necessary to do so?

[Sir George Young]

Yes, that is indeed the position. If my hon. Friend looks at the statement that I made—I think—on 10 March, he will see that it refers to emergency action that might be necessary.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

I agree with the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Mr Jenkin). Having taken the temperature of the House today, it is clear that the Government have more or less the assent that they would broadly need.

It is unusual for us to discuss matters of great import on a Friday morning. We tend to have lengthy, protracted—sometimes deliberately so—debates on private Members’ Bills. Hon. Members have private Members’ Bills tabled for debate on 27 days over the next few months when the House does not intend to sit, 19 of those Bills come from one individual Member, and because of the two-year Session, the last day on which the Government have thus far announced Friday sittings is 17 June. When will the Leader of the House give us the next dates, or preferably change the whole system?

[Sir George Young]

I anticipate a written ministerial statement before the Easter recess outlining the Fridays on which the House will sit beyond those we have already identified.

[Mr William Cash (Stone) (Con)]

In the light of the earlier exchanges with the Prime Minister, when I asked about the arms embargo and the “notwithstanding” provision of the UN Security Council, will the Leader of the House be kind enough to refer the matter to the Attorney-General, so it can be addressed when the summary of the advice comes out?

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir George Young]

Notwithstanding that, Mr Speaker, I will refer my hon. Friend’s comments to the Attorney-General.

[Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson (Lagan Valley) (DUP)]

We welcome the opportunity to debate Libya. The Prime Minister mentioned that the position of British citizens affected in the past by Libyan-sponsored terrorism has not yet been settled. Will the Leader of the House allow time for a debate on that subject?

[Sir George Young]

It might be appropriate to raise that matter in the debate on Monday; it seems wholly relevant. The right hon. Gentleman may have heard the reply that my right hon. Friend gave, I think, at Prime Minister’s questions last week on the issue of compensation. The Ministry of Justice is considering the matter and hopes to come to a decision very soon.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Although I would have liked the debate to take place tomorrow, given that it will now be on Monday may I ask why we are having any other business on Monday? The debate on Members’ salaries, which now seems completely irrelevant, should be removed, and we should have the maximum amount of time to discuss this very important issue.

[Sir George Young]

I can assure my hon. Friend that the debate I have just announced will carry on until 10 o’clock, and the motion on Members’ salaries, which is protected business for 90 minutes, will happen after that.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

I thank the Leader of the House for keeping Members informed about the Libyan situation. Is he aware of any other mechanisms that could be used to keep Members informed, for instance over the critical next 48 hours, because there could be developments and by the time of the debate on Monday much action might already have been taken?

[Sir George Young]

The House will not be sitting for the next 48 hours, but there are other ways for Ministers to communicate with Members and the public, and I am sure that those avenues will be used if and when necessary.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

I congratulate the Leader of the House and the Government on how they have, through the House, handled the Libyan issue since it started. We have had regular statements, yesterday’s debate, the Prime Minister’s statement today and now the undertaking for a substantive motion on Monday. The Government deserve 10 out of 10 for how they have approached the House of Commons on this issue. However, although the House always benefits from wise counsel, through the good offices of the Leader of the House and you, Mr Speaker, can the House be assured that Monday’s debate will not be dominated by the usual suspects, and that many new Members will have a chance to participate, with an appropriate time limit being applied?

[Sir George Young]

Mr Speaker, you will have heard what I suspect was a concealed bid to be selected to speak on Monday. The matter is entirely in your hands and happily has nothing to do with the Leader of the House.

[Mr Speaker]

I have of course heard what the hon. Member for Kettering (Mr Hollobone) has said, as I always do, and will study it carefully, as he would expect.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

Will the Leader of the House not close the debate at 10 o’clock on Monday? This will be one of the most important debates in which I, as a Member of Parliament, could participate, and it is important that, although you, Mr Speaker, may impose a time limit, no Member lack the opportunity to participate in the debate.

[Sir George Young]

I hear what my hon. Friend says. I would say, however, that we had a whole day’s debate yesterday on Libya and north Africa, and it might well be that Monday is not the last time that we debate these matters. However, I believe that a full day’s debate on Monday is the appropriate decision for the time being.

[John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Lab)]

I want to follow up the comments made by the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Nicholas Soames). Things will move fast. We are entering serious and dangerous waters, and the Leader of the House should not hesitate to seek to recall the House either at weekends or during the recess so that we can debate the matter in detail.

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman is right that there are opportunities for the House to be recalled. A Minister of the Crown can make a request to you, Mr Speaker. That has been done in the past, and will be done in the future as and when necessary.

[Dan Byles (North Warwickshire) (Con)]

I urge the Leader of the House to reconsider his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey). Yesterday’s debate was not a debate about potentially committing British soldiers to military action, but the debate on Monday will be. I would say that they are substantively different, and I urge him to reconsider her request.

[Sir George Young]

I hear what my hon. Friend says. I think I am right in saying that the debate on Iraq seven years ago was a one-day debate that ended at the normal time. However, there might be other opportunities to debate the matter later.

Business of the House

Lord Young of Cookham Excerpts

Thursday 17th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)]

The business for the week commencing 21 March will be:

Monday 21 March—Remaining stages of the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Bill [Lords], followed by a motion relating to Members’ salaries.

Tuesday 22 March—Remaining stages of the Scotland Bill.

Wednesday 23 March—My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will open his Budget statement.

Thursday 24 March—Continuation of the Budget debate.

The provisional business for the week commencing 28 March will include:

Monday 28 March—Continuation of the Budget debate.

Tuesday 29 March—Conclusion of the Budget debate.

Wednesday 30 March—Remaining stages of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill (Day 1).

Thursday 31 March—Remaining stages of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill (Day 2).

Friday 1 April—Private Members’ Bills.

[Hilary Benn]

I am grateful to the Leader of the House for his reply.

Will the right hon. Gentleman join me in expressing our deep sorrow at the continuing suffering of the Japanese people as they seek to deal with the many disasters that have befallen them? Did he hear this morning’s report of protestors being fired on and killed in Bahrain, and will he join me in condemning that?

On Monday’s motion on the Senior Salaries Review Body report, will the Leader of the House indicate when he proposes to give effect to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority taking responsibility for MPs’ pay?

The humanitarian emergency response review is due to report shortly. May we have an oral statement from the International Development Secretary?

Two months ago I raised with the right hon. Gentleman the suggestion of extending topical questions to all Departments that do not currently have them. He said that he had a lot of sympathy with my proposal. Can he tell us when he plans to implement it?

It has been a very bad week for the Government’s NHS reforms, with revolting Lib Dems, 21 of whom failed to vote with the Government yesterday, angry doctors and Ministers reduced to pleading that their Bill has been misunderstood, a sure sign that they have lost the argument. Mind you, it takes a special kind of political genius to turn those whom they say they want to help—general practitioners—against them, so I have to hand it to the Secretary of State for Health. The more he talks about his Bill, the more he destroys public confidence in it.

Will the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government come to the House to explain why he decided to attend the recent meeting of the Young Britons’ Foundation, an organisation whose president has described the NHS as a 60-year mistake and whose chief executive has called for it to be scrapped? Was the Secretary of State there to pick up tips on how to destroy local government from people who want to destroy the NHS?

May we have a statement from the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on figures from his own Department that show that the housing benefit changes will leave 450,000 disabled people an average of £13 a week worse off? People are worried about having to leave their homes, which might have been specially adapted to their needs. What a waste of money. Can the Leader of the House reassure them that that will not happen?

Last week I raised Westminster city council’s odious new byelaw banning the distribution of free food to the homeless. Now we discover that the council has an accomplice: the Home Secretary. Will she make a statement during the report stage of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill to explain why clause 149 will give local councils the power to seize and retain property in connection with any contravention of that byelaw? It means that, as well as fining people up to £500 for giving out free food, Westminster city council will be given the power to seize, if it so wishes, the soup, the urns, the vans, the ladles, the bread, the tea bags and anything else that is distributed.

The byelaw will apply to an exclusion zone that includes Westminster cathedral. Will the Leader of the House clarify for us and for the Archbishop of Westminster whether, if there is a service of holy communion in the open air outside the cathedral, under the byelaw and the Bill, priests would face a fine and communion wine cups and wafers could be seized by zealous officials of Westminster city council? What on earth would St Patrick, whom we celebrate today, make of all that? It is quite clear that Westminster city council’s Tory members have completely taken leave of their senses, but why on earth are the Government helping them in this madness by a shabby piece of legislative complicity?

Finally, while we are on the subject of nasty Conservatives, I am afraid that I must tell the House that yet another private Member’s Bill trying to cut the minimum wage has made an appearance. This time it is the Training Wage Bill, which is due to be debated tomorrow. I was delighted that after my criticism of the previous Bill it mysteriously vanished from the Order Paper. Will the Leader of the House join me in condemning this Bill so that we can perhaps make it disappear as well?

[Sir George Young]

I endorse what the right hon. Gentleman said about Japan and Bahrain. In the debate that is to follow shortly, he might find that the Foreign Secretary will say much more about Bahrain and touch on the humanitarian issues in Japan and what is happening to UK citizens there. I certainly endorse what he said about the need for Bahrain to move towards democracy and not deal violently with those who are protesting peacefully.

On IPSA and the debate on Monday, the Government support the independent determination of MPs’ pay, as I said in my written statement of 20 January. I fully intend that that debate should not lead to Members routinely voting on their salaries, so I can confirm that I will commence the relevant parts of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 shortly to allow for fully independent determination of MPs’ salaries in future.

On DFID, the right hon. Gentleman will know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development made a full statement to the House on 1 March about the humanitarian work and the Department’s aid reviews, and since then the House has been kept informed about what we are doing in Christchurch, Japan and Libya. The humanitarian emergency response review, to which the right hon. Gentleman referred, is an independent review and, therefore, slightly different from the reviews that were the subject of the statement at the beginning of the month, but of course I will pass his views to my right hon. Friend about that very important report, which is being undertaken by Lord Ashdown.

On health, we had an extensive debate yesterday, but I was slightly disappointed at the relatively few Opposition Members in attendance, indicating a slight lack of interest in this very important subject. During the debate, we made clear our commitment to the NHS: we are spending more on it than the outgoing Labour Government planned to spend; we want to address the decline in NHS productivity that the Public Accounts Committee referred to earlier this year; and we want to drive up outcomes.

On housing benefit, the right hon. Gentleman will know that local authorities will have at their disposal substantial discretionary funds to avoid exactly the sort of situation to which he refers—people being displaced from their homes because of any shortfall in housing benefit as we introduce the changes. I very much hope that those discretionary funds, which have been increased, will be adequate to avoid the problems that he outlines.

On Westminster city council, I do think the right hon. Gentleman’s imagination slightly ran away with him, given what he said about the byelaws. I understand that the council has invited him to see what it is doing and how it is approaching the rough sleeping initiative, and I hope that he will accept that invitation. I hope also that that will give the council an opportunity to allay some of the concerns that he has raised. I pay tribute to the work of the nuns at Westminster cathedral, who run The Passage, a very sympathetic approach to helping those who are homeless, and I very much hope that Westminster city council can work with the volunteers and work as a team to address the problems of homelessness, which I think he and I would both like to see resolved.

Now—

[Hilary Benn]

Topical questions.

[Sir George Young]

Topical questions, yes.

On topical questions, it is indeed my intention to make progress. A number of Departments answer questions for only 30 minutes, and at the moment there are no opportunities to answer or, indeed, to ask topical questions. I am having discussions with ministerial colleagues to see whether we can change that. The most urgent one relates to DFID, where there has been a direct approach from the shadow Secretary of State, and I hope to make an announcement relatively soon, once I have completed the necessary consultations with my ministerial colleagues.

[Elizabeth Truss (South West Norfolk) (Con)]

My constituents were delighted to hear in the autumn comprehensive spending review that the final stretch of the A11 was to be dualled. This will have a magnificent impact on economic growth in the county and on local businesses, yet we are still to hear exactly when that major work will take place. Will the Leader of the House ask the Transport Minister to make a statement to the House about when that will happen?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I am afraid that when I was Secretary of State for Transport for two years I omitted to do as much as I should have about the A11, but it is now among the 14 schemes that the Highways Agency expects to be able to start before 2015, subject to the completion of statutory processes. I understand that the agency is now working on the detailed delivery of that particular scheme, and I will ask the Transport Minister to write to my hon. Friend.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Before the general election, there was cross-party support for a consultation on improving voting opportunities for service personnel serving overseas. That was also recommended by the Electoral Commission in its report on the administration of the 2010 general election. With only 500 of the 10,000 troops in Afghanistan exercising their right to vote last May, should not the Government have progressed the matter with much greater urgency? Can we have a statement on the postal voting arrangements for the forthcoming alternative vote referendum in respect of service personnel serving overseas?

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Lady is quite right. There was considerable concern in the previous Parliament at the problems that confronted a number of those in the armed services who wished to exercise their right to vote, and there was disappointment expressed, certainly by Opposition Members in that Parliament, at the failure to make progress. I will raise with the Electoral Commission the issue that she has mentioned. I am anxious, as I am sure is every hon. Member, that everyone should take part in the AV referendum on 5 May.

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

In the past, we have had themed days for the Budget debate. Can the Leader of the House tell us on what day we will be able to debate the claim by the Opposition that a cut in VAT on fuel could be paid for by the bank levy, given that Labour has pledged that money 10 times over?

[Sir George Young]

There will be discussions through the usual channels on which Ministers will be answering on which day, but I am confident that during the four-day debate that I have just announced there will be an opportunity for Opposition Members to shed some light on the rather plaintive comment made over the weekend by the Leader of the Opposition that, when it comes to the economy,

“I can make no commitment to do anything differently”.

[Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab)]

Two of my constituents are ex-soldiers in receipt of very small pensions of £60 and £124 a week. They have been told that they do not qualify for jobseeker’s allowance. Can we have an urgent debate to see whether the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions could use a discretion to exclude such small pensions so that these ex-soldiers who have served their country can qualify for benefits?

[Sir George Young]

As the hon. Lady knows, there are two accesses to JSA, one contribution-based and the other means-tested, and it sounds as though her constituents have fallen short on the one that is means-tested. I will certainly raise the issue with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence to see whether there is any possibility of a disregard in the circumstances she has outlined.

[Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)]

It is British tourism week, and the Tourism Alliance has produced an encouraging report showing good progress for Government tourist initiatives. That said, tourist chiefs in Cleethorpes and northern Lincolnshire tell me that additional support is needed to assist specific tourism business start-ups. Can the Leader of the House find time for a debate on the wider aspects of the benefits to the country of the tourism industry?

[Sir George Young]

As someone who produced a thesis on the future of the British tourism industry in 1972, this is a subject in which I still have some interest. My hon. Friend may find that there is an opportunity during the Budget debate to raise the issue of support for the tourism industry. I will certainly bring his comments to the attention of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

[Grahame M. Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

Would it be possible to have an oral statement from the relevant Health Minister about Government support to improve the health and lives of people with learning disabilities and, in particular, whether the Department will continue to support for a further two years a study on the health care needs of people with learning disabilities? The study is currently hosted by the North East of England Public Health Observatory.

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman may know that last week we announced a review of those who have special educational needs, and there may be an opportunity for him to take part in that. It is an important subject, and I hope that he might apply for an Adjournment debate so that we can explore the issues at greater length and see what more can be done to help the people to whom he refers.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Could the Leader of the House please confirm that the Committee stage of the Bill that will be required to ratify the proposed change to the treaty on the functioning of the European Union, which the House debated last night, will be taken on the Floor of the House? If he is not able to do that today, could we have a statement on the matter in the future?

[Sir George Young]

I will consider how we handle such a Bill when the opportunity presents itself.

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

Can we have a debate on the treatment of Bradley Manning, the young US soldier who is held in solitary confinement in the United States accused of passing on information to WikiLeaks? His mother is Welsh, and she attended a school in Wales for a time. There is considerable interest in his case. I would say his treatment is similar to that meted out to people at Guantanamo Bay.

[Sir George Young]

I understand the right hon. Lady’s concern, which I think is widely shared. I cannot promise a debate in Government time, but it sounds like an appropriate subject for a debate in Westminster Hall in the next few weeks.

[Neil Carmichael (Stroud) (Con)]

With localism in mind, could we have a debate about the future of local government finance, particularly the future of the business rate, in which my own council is very interested?

[Sir George Young]

There may be legislation in a future Session that addresses the issue of the business rate. As my hon. Friend knows, there are no such provisions in the Localism Bill that is before the House. The coalition Government propose to reform the arrangements for business rates, so there may be legislation in a future Session.

[Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

On 9 February, the Prime Minister told this House that Liverpool passport office, which has 400 employees, was being considered for closure. He said that the Minister for Immigration was choosing between Newport and Liverpool. I do not believe that a proper consultation has been carried out. Yesterday, I received a letter from the Minister for Immigration which said that the Prime Minister’s information was wrong. I have yet to receive a reply to my letter to the Prime Minister. Can we have a statement so that we know what is going on?

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Lady is certainly entitled to know what is going on. I would like to make some inquiries about the exchange of correspondence to which she referred, and will ensure that an accurate representation of what has taken place is communicated to her very soon.

[Mr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

The decision by officials at the Ministry of Defence to purchase and destroy the complete first print run of Toby Harnden’s book, “Dead Men Risen”, cost the UK taxpayer more than £150,000. The second edition that was printed today contains just 50 word changes. Given that the Ministry of Defence is seeking to address a budget deficit of £38 billion and in light of the book’s contents, will the Leader of the House allow for a debate on MOD procurement and spending decisions?

[Sir George Young]

I understand my hon. Friend’s concern. The Ministry of Defence rather reluctantly bought the entire first print run of the book because at a late stage the text was found to contain information that would damage national security and put at risk the lives of members of the armed forces. Faced with the stark choice between compromising that security and making the payment to the publisher for amendments, regrettably the MOD had little option but to pay the money. I will share the concerns expressed by my hon. Friend with Ministers at the MOD.

[Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)]

Yesterday, the Minister for Immigration chose to go to the stock exchange, rather than the House, to announce changes to the immigration rules. At midnight last night, the Select Committee on Home Affairs published its report on student visas. I appreciate that the Leader of the House will not have had a chance to read it since its publication. However, is it not important to debate immigration changes in the House in Government time, rather than announcements being made in places such as the stock exchange or in written statements?

[Sir George Young]

It is certainly the case that all important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance to the House when it is sitting. That does not mean that Ministers are not free to make speeches outside the House, as appropriate. I have not read the report to which the right hon. Gentleman refers, but I have heard details of it in the media. The Government will respond in due course to the report, which has just been published. We believe that the system is in need of reform and we want to reduce net inward migration from outside the EU from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands. The Select Committee will receive a considered response in due course.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

It has been a bad week for the shadow Chancellor. First, he was wrong about being able to obtain an EU derogation for VAT on fuel. Then he did not seem to know whether we were planning to cut—

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Recently in business questions, the Leader of the House was unhappy with the idea of confirmation hearings for Ministers. On reflection, I was clearly not being radical enough. Can we have a statement next week on whether we can reintroduce the procedure whereby if someone is appointed to be a Minister, they must resign their parliamentary seat and fight a by-election?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend is correct that that was the procedure until some time around 1920. I detect no particular appetite from those on either Front Bench to revert to that procedure. On reflection, I am not convinced that it would serve any useful purpose.

[Jim Sheridan (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (Lab)]

Notwithstanding the public sensitivities surrounding Members’ salaries, may I ask the Leader of the House in his dealings with IPSA to remind it gently that public opinion should not be the only criterion when deciding Members’ salaries, but that external comparators should also be used?

[Sir George Young]

I hope that when it comes to IPSA taking over responsibility for Members’ salaries, the hon. Gentleman will make representations. It is important that IPSA remembers that its task is to ensure that MPs have the resources that they need to do their job and to discharge their responsibilities. I am sure that we all await with interest the outcome of the review, which I think is due next week.

[Jessica Lee (Erewash) (Con)]

Following the Cabinet’s recent visit to Rolls-Royce in Derby, which is near my constituency of Erewash, and the Prime Minister’s announcement on enterprise zones, will my right hon. Friend consider making time available in this House for a debate on the important issues of wealth creation and support for businesses in the regions, perhaps with particular emphasis on the east midlands?

[Sir George Young]

My Cabinet colleagues and I enjoyed our visit to Derby last week, including the presentations from Rolls-Royce and from other entrepreneurs in the area. Enterprise zones are currently being considered. Having been a Minister in the 1980s, I think that enterprise zones were a particular success, for example in transforming the London docklands development area. I hope that my hon. Friend will have an opportunity in the four-day debate on the Budget to develop her views on how we might help the east midlands and the enterprises to which she referred.

[Owen Smith (Pontypridd) (Lab)]

During yesterday’s debate on the NHS, the Secretary of State for Health implied that the Health and Social Care Bill will not extend competition law into the NHS to a greater extent. That contradicts the Minister of State, Department of Health, the right hon. Member for Chelmsford (Mr Burns), who told the Public Bill Committee that competition law will affect the NHS to a much greater extent. Can we have an urgent statement on how competition law will bite on the NHS under the Bill?

[Sir George Young]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health made it crystal clear in yesterday’s debate that under the Bill before the House, there is no change in EU competition law.

[Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) (Con)]

The Leader of the House has referred to how thinly occupied the Opposition Benches were during yesterday’s debate on the NHS. Will he tell the House what pressure he can put on the Opposition to hold another debate on this important topic, so that we can discuss thoroughly the idea—

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend find time for an urgent debate on the sale of murderous knives on numerous internet sites? According to a presentation at Harlow college by my local police community support officers, Phyllis Chipchase and Karen Rogers, 100 people suffered from knife crime in Harlow last year. Will he take urgent action to ensure that the big society becomes the safe society?

[Sir George Young]

We want the big society to be the safe society. On 2 February, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced £18 million of funding over two years to tackle knife, gun and gang crime, and to prevent youth crime. The Government’s position is clear on what should happen when someone carries a knife. Any adult who commits a crime using a knife can expect to be sent to prison, and serious offenders can expect a long sentence.

[Mr Chuka Umunna (Streatham) (Lab)]

I, like others, was delighted for Prince William and Kate Middleton when the news of their engagement was announced. I look forward to celebrating their wedding with many of my constituents at street parties on the big day. However, this day of national celebration should not be exploited by fly-by-night companies looking to make a fast buck from the wedding, such as Eleven Events, which is planning to transform Clapham common in my constituency into a mass campsite for thousands of people to mark the occasion. The company is of questionable origin, having been in existence for only a year, and has no track record on such events. Can we have a statement from the appropriate Minister to tell us what the Government are doing to ensure that communities such as mine are protected from unscrupulous outfits trying to cash in on the royal wedding?

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern. As a former councillor in Lambeth who represented a bit of Clapham common, I have a residual and nostalgic interest in that part of south London. It sounds to me as if responsibility has been devolved to the local authority—either Lambeth council or the neighbouring Wandsworth council. I will ask my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether there is any locus for him to resolve the dilemma.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

Many churches in west Worcestershire have fundraising thermometers to monitor how much progress they are making on their fundraising. In light of next week’s Budget debate, could we discuss installing similar thermometers on either side of the House so that we can keep track of the spending commitments, and in particular of how many times the one-off bankers’ bonus levy can be spent?

[Sir George Young]

I understand my hon. Friend’s interest. I do not know whether Westminster city council would allow the installation of a giant thermometer outside New Palace Yard on which was calibrated the growing number of commitments made by the Opposition, but in principle I agree entirely.

[Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)]

Given that the Government have already damaged the economy in the north-west by doing away with the regional development agency and cutting regeneration funding by two thirds, may we have a debate on their latest proposals to sell off the assets of the RDA and return them to the Treasury?

[Sir George Young]

I dispute the premise on which the hon. Gentleman bases his question. The OECD report published yesterday states:

“The government is pursuing a necessary and wide ranging programme of fiscal consolidation and structural reforms aimed at achieving stronger growth and a rebalancing of the economy over time.”

That is a somewhat different position from the one that he suggested. If there are surplus assets that can be returned to the Treasury, I am sure they would be gratefully received.

[Stephen Metcalfe (South Basildon and East Thurrock) (Con)]

In my constituency, antisocial behaviour is an ongoing problem. I welcome the Government’s consultation, but will the Leader of the House consider holding a debate so that we can discuss that serious issue and demonstrate that we, unlike the previous Government, are serious about tackling antisocial behaviour?

[Sir George Young]

I announced in the forthcoming business two days of Report stage on the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill, and my hon. Friend may have an opportunity either to table amendments or to take part in the debates so that he can ventilate his concern and urge the Government to do even better.

[Barry Gardiner (Brent North) (Lab)]

I have a letter from the Comptroller and Auditor General, in which he states:

“It is not acceptable practice for those commissioning a service subsequently to be remunerated as contractors for that service…and it is not appropriate for one group of providers to have exclusive power to determine the value of that portion of the contract for which they will become the contracted party.”

In the light of that advice, will the Leader of the House ensure that there is a statement from the Health Secretary about probity and procurement in a health service with GP contractors?

[Sir George Young]

I am sure the hon. Gentleman is not casting any aspersions on the integrity of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, but I will share with my right hon. Friend the concern that he has just mentioned and seek to reassure him that there are no irregularities at all in the arrangements for GP commissioning.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

Members of Sandymoor parish council recently presented me with a petition signed by hundreds of parents in my constituency about a lack of secondary school choice in that new-build area. The root cause of the problem is the Labour council giving planning permission for many thousands of new homes without thinking to provide essential amenities such as schools. May we have a debate about planning policy and the importance of avoiding such problems in future developments?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend will know that it is not unusual for local authorities to use their section 106 planning powers to require a developer to make provision for a new primary or secondary school to cope with rising population. He will also know that we have passed legislation introducing free schools and reducing the planning barriers that confront them, to respond to parents’ wishes when they want a new school to be established in their area to provide high-quality education.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Leader of the House will have seen the dire unemployment figures this morning, particularly to do with the young unemployed. That is a mounting problem in our society and bodes very ill for the future. May we have an early statement and/or debate on that important matter? Members of all parties are deeply worried about the growing problem of youth unemployment.

[Sir George Young]

Of course, Members on both sides of the House share the concern about youth unemployment, which went up by some 40% during the period of the last Labour Government. There will be opportunities to debate unemployment during the four-day debate on the Budget. I hope the hon. Gentleman will take some comfort from the fact that 430,000 new private sector jobs have been created in the past year, and that more than 70,000 were created in the last three months of 2010, more than counterbalancing the 45,000 jobs lost in the public sector.

[Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)]

The Leader of the House has just announced the days for debate on the Budget. Has he had any indication of the day on which the former Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr Brown), has put in to speak?

[Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)]

Last week, our national elite female swimming squad were asked to do a naked underwater photo-shoot, which was apparently linked to funding for the team’s Olympic dream as sponsored by the national lottery and British Gas. I understand that the national lottery requires our elite athletes to do such public relations and photo-shoots as a condition of their funding. Will the Leader of the House provide time for a debate on how we are funding the Olympic ambitions of our elite athletes? Does he agree that it would be inappropriate if conditions and requirements for that sort of PR, which seems exploitative, started to be attached to funding?

[Sir George Young]

I will certainly raise the hon. Lady’s concerns with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport. There is total investment of £264 million in Olympic sports for the London four-year cycle, and funding for swimming has increased significantly in the past two Olympic cycles. It now receives the third-highest amount of public investment of the Olympic sports. I understand the concern that she has expressed, and I will share it with my right hon. Friend.

[Mr John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)]

May we have a statement next week on Southern Cross Healthcare? It is a company in financial crisis that has more than 750 care homes, about 31,000 residents and many worried employees. In a reply to me on 2 December, the Minister of State, Department of Health, the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Burstow), stated:

“Any discussions regarding continuing provision for residents of care homes should take place between care providers and CASSRs.”—[Official Report, 2 December 2010; Vol. 519, c. 1014W.]

CASSRs are councils with adult social services responsibilities. Will the Leader of the House get some urgency into the Department of Health and get it to take a grip of what is clearly a major national problem, and may we have a statement next week on the outcome?

[Sir George Young]

I understand the concern on behalf of Southern Cross residents in the light of the financial problems that confront that company. Southern Cross is having discussions with Government officials about the plans that it has in place to address its financial difficulties and, crucially, to ensure that services are maintained. Ministers will continue to keep in close touch with the situation and will work with local authorities, the Care Quality Commission and others to ensure that there is an effective response that delivers protection to everyone affected. I will ask the Minister of State, Department of Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Burstow), to write to the right hon. Gentleman.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

My 77-year-old constituent Mr Muir received a letter from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs stating that it was

“sending HMRC agents to your house to seize your possessions for sale at auction in order to pay your debt.”

That was for a £549 rebate that Mr Muir had received in HMRC’s error, which had already been repaid some months before. Such complaints about HMRC by my constituents are becoming regular. May we have an urgent debate or statement on the resources available to it to do its job effectively?

[Sir George Young]

I very much regret the sequence of events that the hon. Gentleman refers to, and I understand the distress that it has caused. There will be questions to Treasury Ministers on Tuesday, and he may like to raise the matter again then.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

Unemployment is at a 17-year high and running at 14% in Middlesbrough. Growth is sluggish according to the OECD, and public sector cuts are yet to come. May I echo the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman) in asking for a debate on the Floor of the House about unemployment and its consequences for communities such as mine in the north-east?

[Sir George Young]

As I have said before, there will be four days of debate on the Budget, and a Budget for growth has at its heart dealing with the unemployment problems to which the hon. Gentleman refers. There will be ample opportunities to discuss unemployment next week and the week after, but to put it in context, employment has also risen.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

As has been mentioned, young people’s unemployment is at a 30-year high, and the number not in education, employment or training continues to rise exponentially. We still do not know what the discretionary learner support to replace the education maintenance allowance will look like. Will the Leader of the House arrange for the appropriate Minister to come and make a statement to the House about what the Government’s policy for young people is?

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern. Those who are continuing with their education in September will want to know what regime is replacing EMA, which we believe had a lot of deadweight attached to it. We will shortly announce a replacement scheme for EMA that will enable low-income families to continue accessing further education. It will be aimed at eligible individuals aged between 16 and 19.

[Mr Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West) (Lab/Co-op)]

If a thermometer is to be erected outside the House, could it measure rising youth unemployment in this country? May we have a debate on that, shortly before a debate on the nationalist proposal for Scotland to have a separate time zone, which was recently before the House? I understand that Scotland’s time would be roughly an hour and a quarter different from London’s, so at noon in London it would be 13.14—Bannockburn time—in Scotland, thereby allowing the result of the Barnsley by-election to be announced in Scotland before the polls closed.

[Sir George Young]

I gather that that proposition received extensive attention during the debate on the Scotland Bill a few days ago. It was a very good joke the first time round, but it has diminishing returns. There are limits to the extent to which one can take devolution.

[Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)]

If there is to be no statement on the publication this week of the Hutton report—the Will Hutton report—which rejected a pay cut in the public sector alone and called for much greater transparency on pay in both the public and private sectors, may we have a debate on top pay in both, so that we can see what can be done about the arms race that has been going on in recent years?

[Sir George Young]

The Government are grateful to Will Hutton for his recently published report, and we will respond in due course. There will be an opportunity in the Budget debate to discuss differentials between low, medium and top pay, and approaches to reducing them.

[Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab)]

The decision to build new nuclear power stations was greatly influenced by the belief that there would be a shortfall in generating capacity within a decade. That shortfall will now not take place because of the extended life of many of our power stations. Would it not be right to extend debate on the Government’s very welcome decision to look at the safety of nuclear power stations to their very high cost and their impractical, unrealistic timetables?

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman raises a crucial point. He will know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has asked Dr Weightman to conduct a review in the light of the problems in Japan. The details of his report will be established shortly, but the review will be conducted in close co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and other international regulators to establish carefully what lessons can be learned. The reports will be put in the public domain and may well form the basis for a debate in due course.

[Thomas Docherty (Dunfermline and West Fife) (Lab)]

I am sure the Leader of the House has seen the newspaper reports this week that the leader and deputy leader of Edinburgh city council were caught lying to the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit Committee on the issue of the Gathering. Will the Government make a statement next week on probity in local government, so that such disgraceful behaviour does not happen again?

[Sir George Young]

I am not sure whether this would be in order, but the remaining stages of the Scotland Bill are before the House next Tuesday; with some ingenuity, the hon. Gentleman may be able to work the issue to which he refers into that debate.

[Angela Smith (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Lab)]

BBC Radio Sheffield provides a much-valued service for the people of South Yorkshire, especially in times of crises, such as when the area flooded in 2007. May we have a debate on the future of BBC local radio in the context of the threat to the future of the service from the BBC Trust?

[Sir George Young]

There will be an opportunity on 28 March to raise that matter with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The Chair of the Backbench Business Committee is in the Chamber and will have heard the hon. Lady’s question. A bid for a debate on local radio might be well supported by all Members, and the Committee might provide an opportunity for such a debate in future either here or in Westminster Hall.

[Natascha Engel (North East Derbyshire) (Lab)]

As you know, Mr Speaker, the Backbench Business Committee is given comparatively little time to allocate debates in the Chamber, and all Chamber time is liable to be withdrawn or eaten into by the Government at very short notice. Westminster Hall, on the other hand, has a regular, protected three-hour Thursday slot for Back Benchers, and it is just as effective at holding the Government to account as the Chamber. However, the more we look down our noses at Westminster Hall, the more difficult it will be to use the second Chamber as a way of holding the Government to account. Will the Leader of the House encourage Members to respond to the Procedure Committee’s sitting hours inquiry, including on the role of Westminster Hall, so that we can make full use of our second Chamber and not just see it as second best?

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Lady said at the beginning of her question that her Backbench Business Committee did not get enough days in the Chamber, but it gets 35 more days than it got in the previous Parliament, so at least we are moving in the right direction.

I agree entirely with the hon. Lady on the importance of Westminster Hall. My hon. Friend the Deputy Leader of the House will be there this afternoon for an important debate on privilege—I hope to look in on that. As she says, debates in Westminster Hall are not interrupted by statements or proceedings in the Chamber, and they take place at predictable times and for three hours. It is important that Westminster Hall is not seen as the poor relation of the Chamber. It is a partner and has a crucial role to play in our proceedings, and I would encourage all hon. Members, where appropriate, to take part.

Bill Presented

Tax and Financial Transparency Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

Caroline Lucas, Kate Green and Jeremy Corbyn presented a Bill to require the Secretary of State to take steps to require banks, corporations and trusts to provide information on their status, income arising and tax payments made in each jurisdiction in which they operate; and for connected purposes.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 10 June, and to be printed (Bill 166).