Business of the House

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 16th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

That debate will be initiated in a few moments’ time by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, who will make a statement. My hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Alun Cairns) is right to say that we need to reform the financial services regime, which manifestly failed, if the City is to continue to be a centre of wealth, enterprise and encouraging employment. I hope that he will remain in his place for a few minutes longer, so that he can get a more authoritative reply from the Financial Secretary.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

As this is carers week, may we have a debate on the support for carers? I understand that the chief executive of Carers UK has welcomed the fact that the carer’s allowance will remain non-means-tested outside the universal credit. In that debate, we could discuss the extensive additional support that the Government are putting into respite care for carers.

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend rightly reminds us that this is carers week. Tomorrow, I will be at the Princess Royal Trust for Carers’ Andover branch, praising those carers, who save this country a huge sum. My hon. Friend is also right to say that we have found additional resources for respite care for parents of disabled children and also for others via the NHS. We have also ring-fenced the carer’s allowance, so that it is not subsumed within universal credit.

Business of the House

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 5th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

As the hon. Gentleman will know, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education made a statement about the replacement regime for EMA a few weeks ago, and that statement was generally well received and the sum of money allocated was higher than many commentators had thought. It is no part of our agenda to discriminate in any way against the groups that the hon. Gentleman mentions. I will draw his comments to my right hon. Friend’s attention and invite him to respond appropriately.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

May we have a debate in Government time on the Winsor review? Like many other hon. Members across the House, I have received letters from serving police officers, and such a debate would help to clarify the situation. I understand that all parties agreed that it was appropriate to consider police overtime and shift patterns.

Business of the House

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 24th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[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.

Business of the House

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 17th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[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.

Business of the House

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 3rd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I look forward to my hon. Friend’s contribution to the Budget debate. He makes a good point. The bank levy is a permanent levy that will produce in one year more than the one-off net amount raised in tax by the Labour party, which has been overspent many times and will pay for the reduction in VAT, the cancellation of the increase in petrol duty, and a number of other reforms. I hope that we shall be able to have an open debate on how the Opposition’s mathematics add up.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

On Tuesday we heard a welcome statement from the Secretary of State for International Development about his tough value-for-money review of international aid spending. May we have a debate in Government time on the transparency of international aid? Letters in my mailbag certainly suggest that people are still concerned about the fact that international aid money is being used to fund, for example, the limousines of dictators.

[Sir George Young]

The Select Committee on International Development might wish to consider the well-received statement of which my hon. Friend has reminded the House, and, in particular, the arrangements that we are making for transparency. What we have outlined, however, is a more focused and effective regime that will not only provide better value for the taxpayer but enhance confidence by being much more transparent and open about where the money goes, so that people can see that they are receiving value for money for the contributions that are made.

Oral Answers to Questions

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 3rd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

If the hon. Gentleman had been listening to my earlier response, he would have heard me say that I have the statement here and am happy to deliver it at any time, but Mr Speaker has generously given me a slot at 3 o’clock, when I will address all the issues that he and other hon. Members wish to raise.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

T5. May I add my congratulations to everyone involved in the success of “The King’s Speech”? It has also been a major commercial success, and it was funded partly by lottery funding. Can the Secretary of State give us an idea of how much revenue that will bring in to the UK taxpayer?

[Mr Hunt]

As I understand it, the commercial deal around “The King’s Speech”, which could gross up to £200 million worldwide, means that 34% of the money that it may generate that came from financiers will come back to the UK to invest in future film production, which is an excellent thing.

Business of the House

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 10th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

I draw your attention, Mr Speaker, to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a board member of the Social Investment Business. May we have a debate in Government time on yesterday’s fantastic news about £200 million of private sector money going into the big society bank? I am sure that all Members would welcome that and want to attend, particularly the Leader of the Opposition, who tried to get that going in 2007 when he was in the Cabinet Office?

[Sir George Young]

I agree that such a debate would be well supported. My hon. Friend underlines the point that we managed to secure that from the banks, which Opposition Members totally failed to do when in government. The £200 million—a huge sum—will be put to fantastic use by those who believe in the big society.

Business of the House

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 27th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I believe that the replacement of the RDAs by local economic partnerships will save money and be more effective. I will ask my hon. Friend to write to the hon. Gentleman about the £100 million.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

I note that the outrageous filibustering tactics of Labour Lords in the other place have still not been brought under control by the Leader of the Opposition. Will the Leader of the House please let us know when we might have a chance to debate the amendments to the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Before the Leader of the House replies, I wish to say that I recognise that there are real tensions between the two Chambers on this matter, but I remind the House—and this may be of particular benefit to new Members—that we must preserve some basic courtesies in the way in which we deal with the other place, as we expect them to do with us.

Business of the House

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 20th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The right hon. Gentleman will know that the Foreign Secretary made a statement on Tunisia earlier this week, so it is not the case that the Government do not take that matter seriously. I understand that the vast majority of British nationals have now left Tunisia in line with the advice. The Foreign Secretary has called for a rapid return to law and order in that country. We welcome the efforts of the Tunisian authorities to hold elections as soon as possible, and we hope that those elections are free and fair. I do not share the right hon. Gentleman’s view that this House does not place adequate importance on foreign affairs, but it is of course open to the Backbench Business Committee, and indeed to him, to make a bid for specific subjects that it is thought deserve greater attention.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

Will the Leader of the House ensure that the debate on parliamentary reform in Westminster Hall is broad enough to cover the outrageous filibustering tactics of Labour Lords this week in the other place, which does not benefit from the tender ministrations of our Speaker?

[Sir George Young]

As I understand it, the debate is on parliamentary reform—it does not come much broader than that. I share my hon. Friend’s concern about what is happening down the other end. When I came into this House some time ago, all the rough trade was down here, and down the other end there were non-partisan, short, focused debates in a revising Chamber. The rough trade now seems to have gone down the other end. The other place runs the risk of losing the moral high tone if its Members continue to proceed as they are.

Business of the House

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 13th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I reject the assertion that any promises made by Ministers have been broken, but I shall draw the right hon. Gentleman’s assertions to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Education Secretary and invite him to rebut them in a letter as quickly as possible.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

May we have a debate in Government time on black holes? My constituents were extremely alarmed to hear in the media during the recess about almost £20 billion of unfunded tax cuts promised by the Leader of the Opposition.

[Sir George Young]

I would welcome such a debate. I do not know whether my hon. Friend has looked at The Times or The Guardian today, but apparently at a meeting of the shadow Cabinet, the Leader of the Opposition at last recognised that they had been in deficit denial and they decided to abandon such a policy. I hope that we can have a debate on the black hole and welcome the fact that the Labour party, which was responsible for the black hole, now recognises that. Labour will have no credibility at all until it comes up with some proposals for dealing with it.