Points of Order

Debate between John Bercow and Lucy Allan

Monday 28th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I have not received any indication of an intention by a Minister to make an oral statement to the House, but the hon. Lady’s words will have been heard by those on the Treasury Bench. In so far as she seeks my counsel on how best to proceed with this matter, that advice is persist, persist, persist. Use the Order Paper. Go to the Table Office. Air the concerns. As I often say in this place, repetition is not a novel phenomenon in the House of Commons. Keep going. Do not give up. Never say die.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

rose—

[Martin Whitfield (East Lothian) (Lab)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I will come to the hon. Gentleman. I am saving him up as a delectation of the House and a special taste.

[Lucy Allan]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. We all come to this place to fight for our constituents. From the very first day, I have used every avenue afforded to me to fight to keep A&E and women and children’s services in Telford. I have had 25 parliamentary questions, six parliamentary debates, 15 meetings with Ministers and 29 letters. Is it in order for the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to announce his decision on a six-year-long campaign of such importance to my constituents without meeting Telford’s elected representative to advise me of his decision, without notifying me by letter of his decision and without responding to multiple letters on the subject? Am I correct in my understanding, Mr Speaker, that all Ministers, as a matter of courtesy to the constituents we represent, have a duty to respond to and engage with Members on important constituency matters, no matter how junior the Member and no matter how important the Minister?

[Mr Speaker]

Well, I am certainly not suggesting that the hon. Lady is junior. She is now an experienced Member of the House. But in any case, in one very important respect—the most important respect—all Members in this place are equal: all Members have a responsibility to seek to advance the interests of their constituents. This is not, strictly speaking, a matter of order for the Chair. I am most grateful to her for ventilating her concerns and for her courtesy in giving me advance notice of her intention to do so—as well as informing me that she has given notice to the Secretary of State—but I can certainly confirm that the way in which Ministers respond to hon. Members on important constituency matters should in no way be affected by length of service of the constituency Member. I am moderately surprised by this, because the right hon. Member for West Suffolk (Matt Hancock) is a very keen Minister and he has not suffered over the years from a deficit of ambition. I think that the right hon. Gentleman would be gravely concerned to have incurred the hon. Lady’s wrath. My hunch is that a letter of concern and possibly even of apology will be winging its way to the hon. Lady, accompanied by offers of cups of tea and urgent meetings, because of the solicitous concern of the Secretary of State for the hon. Lady’s constituents, and, possibly, for his own future wellbeing. We will leave it there for now. She has done a very sensible thing in raising it in the Chamber. I congratulate her on her foresight.

Presidents Club Charity Dinner

Debate between John Bercow and Lucy Allan

Wednesday 24th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I selected this urgent question because I regard it as a matter of the utmost importance, and I would like to accommodate every colleague who wants to contribute. I ask colleagues to bear in mind that there is a ten-minute rule motion to follow and two Opposition day debates, the first of which is particularly heavily subscribed. If we can have brief questions and brief replies, that would be helpful, but I do want colleagues to be heard.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

I warmly welcome the Minister’s response and the resignation of the individual concerned. Does the Minister agree that there is much cross-party work that we could do to ensure that such events have no place in our society and that such behaviour is condemned?

Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation and Liability for Housing Standards) Bill

Debate between John Bercow and Lucy Allan

2nd reading: House of Commons
Friday 19th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Has the hon. Lady completed her speech?

[Lucy Allan]

I have, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

We are immensely grateful to the hon. Lady.

Is the hon. Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts) ready, or has he been detained by other matters? No; he is ready. Let us hear from the fellow.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Lucy Allan

Wednesday 29th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Splendid.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

4. What steps she is taking to promote value for money in aid spending.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Lucy Allan

Monday 10th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

There is no doubting the comprehensiveness of the replies, but if we could make slightly more timely progress, that would be appreciated by Back Benchers.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

9. What steps he is taking to strengthen the armed forces covenant.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Lucy Allan

Thursday 10th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Bob Blackman. Not here. Where is the chappie?

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

5. What steps his Department is taking to increase the frequency of trains between Birmingham and Telford.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Bercow and Lucy Allan

Thursday 14th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Carolyn Harris not here.

[Lucy Allan (Telford) (Con)]

9. When the Government plan to publish their response to the closing the gender pay gap consultation, published in July 2015.