All 33 Debates between John Bercow and Henry Smith

Thu 11th Apr 2019
Mon 17th Sep 2012
Thu 22nd Mar 2012
Tue 7th Feb 2012
Abu Qatada
Commons Chamber
(Urgent Question)

Business of the House

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Thursday 5th September 2019

(4 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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A single sentence. Henry Smith.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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May we have a statement from the Health Secretary on when NHS England’s new genomic medicine service will be fully operational?

Points of Order

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Thursday 11th April 2019

(4 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. I will indulge the hon. Member for Stone (Sir William Cash) further in a moment. I am perfectly clear about the position. There is a manifest incompatibility between the moving of motion 1 and the moving of motion 3, a point that has not been gainsaid by the Leader of the House. She has, in fact, explained that it was really a matter of prudent preparation, if I can put it that way, and contingency planning that the Government wanted to afford themselves what I would describe, without levity, as the backstop of motion 3 in the event that the circumstances warranted its deployment. The circumstances do not warrant its deployment, and therefore they resort, perfectly properly, to motion 1, which I rather anticipate, if we proceed in an orderly fashion, the Government will in due course move.

Of course, I always treat the hon. Gentleman with the very greatest of respect, like all Members. He is a serious authority on parliamentary procedure, and I will indulge him further in a moment, but not before I have heard other colleagues.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith
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On a point of order, Mr Speaker. When constituents send me—indeed, all of us—to this place, they expect us to be able to vote and have a voice on important issues that affect the future of the country. Therefore, Sir, can you advise me when we might get a chance to vote on the extension agreed yesterday evening at the European Council by the Prime Minister to the UK’s exit date from the EU to 31 October?

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Well, if the Government proceed as they intend to, there will not be such an opportunity today, but there is a prospect, or a possibility, of such an opportunity at a later date. If the hon. Gentleman is asking me whether I think there will be an opportunity today, in the light of the sequence of events and the way in which the Government intend to proceed, the answer is no, not today. That point I think has been anticipated and already, if you will, deprecated by his hon. Friend the Member for Stone. It may well be something that he also deprecates, which is the implication of his point of order, but nevertheless that is the situation with which we are confronted.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Monday 14th January 2019

(5 years, 2 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. Before we proceed, I feel sure that colleagues throughout the House will wish to join me in extending this afternoon a very warm welcome to the Speaker of the Malaysian Parliament, Mohamad Ariff, whom I had the privilege of welcoming to the Speaker’s briefing meeting this morning—welcome to you, Sir, and to your colleagues—and a similarly warm and effusive welcome to the Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, the right hon. Tony Smith. Sir, you are welcome; thank you for joining us and we wish you well in your important work.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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2. What steps his Department is taking to support civilian authorities to tackle illegal drone use at and around UK airports.

EU Exit: Article 50

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Monday 10th December 2018

(5 years, 3 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Well, it is principally about revocation, as the Secretary of State rightly states. Matters that appertain to article 50 would obviously be thought to be within scope. If it were thought that a Member were out of order, I would have received advice to that effect, and the House will have noted that I have not—I have received no such indication at all. I know that the Secretary of State—he is a most courteous individual—would not for one moment suggest that he should be the arbiter of scope. He can tell us what is in his statement, but he cannot tell us what should be raised by other Members. As I say, I have had no indication that anything that has been said so far has been in any way disorderly, but I am always alert, and if I find something that is, I shall rule on it accordingly.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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Further to the question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), it is certainly interesting that the ECJ has been able to hand down this judgment with great speed. The Brexit Secretary is far too diplomatic to agree with me that it is, of course, a political court. However, will he say that this is yet another reason why we need to comprehensively leave the European Union, including the jurisdiction of the ECJ?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Tuesday 20th March 2018

(6 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. In Question Time, as in the health service under all Governments, demand tends invariably to exceed supply. We have time only for two more—we do not really have time, but I am creating it.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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I would like to thank the Under-Secretary of State for Health, the hon. Member for Winchester (Steve Brine), for his response to the all-party parliamentary group on blood cancer report. Will he continue to ensure that cancer alliances and GPs are diagnosing early?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Thursday 27th April 2017

(6 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I call Tom Pursglove on question 15. [Interruption.] Aah, excellent! I was rather hoping that the hon. Member for Crawley (Henry Smith) would beetle into the Chamber just in time. In fact, I was prolonging the previous exchange in the confident expectation that he would arrive. He has done so, so we will reinstate question 13.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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13. What recent discussions his Department has had with the aerospace industry on the negotiations for the UK leaving the EU.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Tuesday 10th January 2017

(7 years, 2 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I could not be more grateful to the Minister.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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12. What recent discussions the Government have had with the incoming US administration.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Thursday 1st December 2016

(7 years, 3 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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On the principle of humanitarian assistance to the involuntarily delayed, I call Mr Henry Smith.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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T4. My sincere thanks, Mr Speaker, for your understanding. With regard to the EU exit negotiations, does my right hon. Friend agree that, for the first time in history perhaps, we start from an equal point, which is a great advantage to this country’s position?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Thursday 12th May 2016

(7 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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The Minister, rather like the hon. Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner), cannot be accused of excluding from her observations anything that might be in any way, at any time, to any degree material. She is certainly comprehensive; we are most grateful.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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T5. What progress has my right hon. Friend’s Department made in working with the big energy suppliers such as EDF Energy, partly located in my constituency, with regard to the roll-out of smart meters for the benefit of consumers?

European Council

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Monday 21st March 2016

(8 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. Now is the time for what I call considerate brevity.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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What recent discussions have been had with other NATO members on bearing down on and stopping the vile people-trafficking trade from Syria?

Foreign National Offenders (Exclusion from the UK) Bill

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Friday 11th March 2016

(8 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith
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I understand that this man is still being processed through the criminal justice system. I sincerely hope that, for two assaults within a week in my constituency, this Afghan national, who is a convicted murderer in the Netherlands, will receive a custodial sentence. I only wish that my hon. Friend’s Bill were on the statute book so that this man could be deported back to the Netherlands to serve his sentence. Alas, I do not think that your Bill will make it on to the statute book in time, but I hope this case illustrates that the Bill is very necessary.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. Two things. First, “pithiness personified” is normally the title that I would accord the hon. Gentleman, and I hope that he will want to recover that status. Secondly, he referred to “your Bill”. Debate, of course, goes through the Chair—I have no Bill before the House, but the hon. Member for Kettering has.

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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. Just before the hon. Member for Kettering takes an intervention from the hon. Gentleman, I just remind him that the Bill contains two clauses, the first of which is the only substantive clause, containing four subsections. The second clause is simply the short title and commencement date of the Bill, and the Bill itself takes up a little over one page. As the hon. Member for Kettering has now dilated very eloquently and with great courtesy for 53 minutes, he might perhaps consider focusing, with that laser-like precision for which he is renowned in all parts of the House, upon the first clause of his two-clause Bill.

G20 and Paris Attacks

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Tuesday 17th November 2015

(8 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. I think it is reasonable to move on at 2 o’clock, not beyond, so I appeal for brevity. If colleagues help each other, that would be really useful.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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Along with the hon. Members for Ilford South (Mike Gapes), for South Antrim (Danny Kinahan) and for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock), I was on the frontline against ISIL/Daesh south of Kirkuk in Iraqi Kurdistan last weekend. Indeed, we saw the amazing work that the peshmerga are doing in taking back territory and communities from that evil existence. We also visited some refugee and displaced persons camps, and saw the families affected. Does my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister agree that we need to ensure that we are protecting those minorities in the middle east?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Thursday 5th November 2015

(8 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Last but not least, I call Mr Henry Smith.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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Thank you, Mr Speaker.

I congratulate the Government on last year starting the national pollinator strategy. Will my right hon. Friend join me in welcoming the establishment of small bee habitats, particularly in urban areas, as set out by the BeeWorld initiative?

Tunisia, and European Council

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Monday 29th June 2015

(8 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. I am afraid that we have no time for questions with preambles, but if colleagues are willing to imitate the admirable example of the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Mr Jenkin)—the hon. Gentleman is beaming at his recognition—I shall do my best to accommodate them.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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Following last Friday’s terrorist attacks in Tunisia, my constituents John and Janet Stocker are still unaccounted for. May I have assurances from my right hon. Friend that all NHS records that may be required by the Tunisian authorities to identify victims will be made available?

Business of the House

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Thursday 3rd July 2014

(9 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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Earlier this year, Argentina absurdly started issuing a 50 peso note with a map on it of the Falklands Islands, in the colours of the Argentine flag. Far more sensibly, in contrast, earlier this year my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a new £1 coin, which will be more secure and reaches back to the heritage of our coinage. May we have a statement from the Treasury as to whether the tails side of that new £1 coin could feature the coat of arms of the Falkland Islands and of other overseas territories, in the same way as England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland feature?

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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The hon. Gentleman was too self-effacing to draw to the attention of the House that he is himself a renowned vexillologist.

Business of the House

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Thursday 8th May 2014

(9 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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On state visits and certain other occasions—although, interestingly, not during the recent Irish state visit—flags of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom and the overseas territories are flown from Parliament square and then taken down. May we have a statement from the Culture Secretary on the possibility of flags of the constituent countries of the UK and the overseas territories flying full-term from Parliament square?

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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The hon. Gentleman is of course a noted vexillologist, a fact that I thought I should draw to the attention of the House.

Point of Order

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Thursday 8th May 2014

(9 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Yesterday, during Prime Minister’s questions, the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) raised the issue of the possible takeover of the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca by Pfizer. It has since been reported that the Labour party has received significant donations from AstraZeneca. I seek your judgment on whether that should have been reported.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his point of order. The short answer is that such donations would not have been personal to any individual right hon. or hon. Member, and therefore the issue of declaration does not arise in this context. I hope that is helpful to him, and indeed to the House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Wednesday 4th September 2013

(10 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. There is still far too much noise in the Chamber. I understand the general excitement, which I am sure is in anticipation of the question from Mr Henry Smith.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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T3. I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the £10 billion- worth of efficiency savings that his Department has made on behalf of the taxpayer in the past year. What ambition does he have for the coming year?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Thursday 7th March 2013

(11 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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From Smith on floods to Smith on fish. I call Mr Henry Smith.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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10. What progress he has made on securing a ban on fish discards.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Tuesday 26th February 2013

(11 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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If the hon. Member for Crawley (Henry Smith) wishes to come in on this question, he may, but he is not obliged to do so.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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On Question 13, sir.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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We will get to No. 13 in due course. Never mind.

Points of Order

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Monday 3rd December 2012

(11 years, 3 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I am grateful to the right hon. and learned Member for North East Fife (Sir Menzies Campbell) and to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Sir Gerald Kaufman) for raising this point. With respect to the latter part of the right hon. and learned Gentleman’s point of order, I refer to his words directly: it is right that the House should be kept up to date on this matter. There will be precisely such an opportunity at Foreign and Commonwealth Office questions tomorrow. I am not psychic, but you don’t have to look into the crystal ball when you can read the book; judging from the historical evidence of FCO questions, I just have a hunch that the right hon. and learned Gentleman and the right hon. Gentleman will be in their places, and there is surely a reasonable chance that their eyes might catch mine. I hope that that is helpful.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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On a point of order, Mr Speaker. On 2 August, I wrote to the Home Office on behalf of my constituent Vanessa Watson with regard to a dangerous dogs issue, yet despite chasing that Department on many occasions, I have yet to receive a substantive response. May I seek the advice of the Chair as to what I should do next?

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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The short answer is: first, timely answers are not just desirable, but essential; secondly, the Home Secretary is on the Bench and is almost thirsting to rise from her seat—she can if she wishes; thirdly, I just point out to the hon. Gentleman that the Leader of the House is in his place and I know he will want to chase an early reply. If the Home Secretary wishes to come to the Dispatch Box, she may do so.

Points of Order

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Thursday 1st November 2012

(11 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Last week, the hon. Member for Derby North (Chris Williamson) accused me in a point of order of wrongdoing. I am pleased that you rejected his claims. May I seek your advice, sir, on the protocol, and not least the courtesy, that hon. Members should show each other in giving prior notice of when they are making an accusation against another hon. Member?

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his point of order. The position has been and remains entirely clear. If a right hon. or hon. Member is going to allege misconduct on the part of another Member, there is a duty to inform the subject of the complaint in advance of making that complaint on the Floor of the House.

Points of Order

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Monday 17th September 2012

(11 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her point of order, to which I make two points in response. First, Ministers should always reply in a timely fashion to letters from hon. and right hon. Members, as they should to questions from them. Secondly, I would say to the hon. Lady that if she has been assured that she will be kept informed in advance of announced decisions, that commitment should obviously be upheld, whether it was made on the Floor of the House or elsewhere. The Leader of the House is not present, but I would imagine that he is within the precincts of the Palace, and would very much hope—[Hon. Members: “The Deputy Leader of the House is present.”] The Deputy Leader of the House is here and we are extremely grateful to him. He has heard the message and will have digested it already by now, I feel sure.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I hesitate to raise this matter as a point of order, but I would appreciate your advice. I have been extremely concerned about the near-monopoly situation whereby prepaid envelopes are supplied to Members of Parliament without any competition. I have been in dispute—or my office has been in dispute—with Banner, suppliers of prepaid envelopes, for an extremely long period, with no resolution. It has got in the way of helping to deal with constituency correspondence, and I would appreciate your advice.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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The hon. Gentleman has raised an important point, but it is not one immediately for the Chair. I advise him to contact either the Administration Committee or the Finance and Services Committee, and if he is unsure and genuinely hesitating about which of the two should be his preference, he could always be bold and write to both.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Monday 3rd September 2012

(11 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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There is plenty of scope for an Adjournment debate on this matter, to judge by responses so far.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating Ifield youth services on providing a broader range of services to younger people through voluntary sector involvement? Does he agree that voluntary sector and faith involvement in providing youth services is extremely important for local communities?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Thursday 24th May 2012

(11 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I sometimes think that the Minister of State would like dedicated oral questions for himself alone, but I am not aware that the House has any plans to provide such, so I hope he can contain his disappointment at that news.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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9. What support his Department is giving to small and medium-sized businesses to enable them to grow.

Budget Leak Inquiry

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Thursday 22nd March 2012

(12 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.

Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.

This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. The hon. Gentleman will resume his seat. I made the position clear. This is a set of exchanges about a specific and narrowly crafted urgent question. It may be about many things within that context, but it is not about 1947. We will leave it there.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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The previous Labour Government leaked worse than the Titanic. Does my hon. Friend agree that, whatever the Labour party’s budgetary policies may be—we are not quite sure—they would be an equal disaster?

Abu Qatada

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Tuesday 7th February 2012

(12 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.

Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.

This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. These hypothetical ruminations are always very enjoyable, but perhaps we can return to the subject of Abu Qatada. I know I can rely on Mr Henry Smith to do that.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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Is not the absurdity of the European Court of Human Rights such that Abu Qatada could even challenge his stringent bail conditions, and does that not mean that we really should be moving towards a British Bill of Rights?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Tuesday 24th January 2012

(12 years, 2 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith
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I welcome yesterday’s announcement by the Government on mitigating excessive executive pay. With regard to the UK honours system, may I seek an assurance from my right hon. Friend that the Government will be more circumspect in regard to the honours that are suggested, unlike the—

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. I think that the hon. Gentleman might have been groping his way towards order, but he had not quite arrived. We will have to leave it there for today. We are specifically talking about excessive executive pay.

Business of the House

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Thursday 13th October 2011

(12 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. I remind the House that we are very pressed for time and I am not likely to be able to call many more Members, so there is a premium on brevity if we are to maximise the number of contributors.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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I have recently been dealing with a case on behalf of two constituents who were dismissed from their jobs with a commercial cleaning firm called Jani-King, allegedly for being British. May we have a debate on discrimination against British workers in this country?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Monday 14th March 2011

(13 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Last but not least, Henry Smith.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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We are entering a time of increasing geomagnetic solar flare activity. Will the Secretary of State say what mitigating effects are being considered to protect military communications?

Health and Social Care Bill

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Monday 31st January 2011

(13 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith
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Had the Bill been law 10 years ago, Crawley hospital would not have lost accident and emergency and maternity services. It seems that my hon. Friend thinks the same about hospital services in his constituency.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. The hon. Member for Enfield North (Nick de Bois) is being generous in giving way, but I remind him that the Front-Bench winding-up speeches begin at 9.39 pm.

Controlling Migration

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Tuesday 23rd November 2010

(13 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. A great many Members are seeking to catch my eye, and I should like to accommodate as many as possible, so brevity from the Back Benches and the Front Benches alike is required.

Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. She correctly mentioned student visas, and then mentioned consultation. Given that we have had 10 years of almost mass immigration, will she assure the House that that consultation will be swift?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Henry Smith
Thursday 10th June 2010

(13 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Henry Smith Portrait Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)
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Can the Secretary of State confirm that the new regulations to stop having to build on gardens will also apply to local authority-owned gardens, not just to privately owned gardens—

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. I must very gently tell the hon. Gentleman that that was the subject of Question 1, but we have moved on to Question 2, and we will now move on to Question 3.