Business of the House

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Thursday 29th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I can only reiterate what I said earlier. The most recent figures in the British crime survey, which indicates people’s experience of crime, show that notwithstanding some of the difficult challenges police forces have had to face up to, crime around the country is continuing to fall. I still believe there is scope for police officers and police forces to deliver new ways of working that bring down costs without affecting the front-line support they provide to our communities.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Labour-run Kirklees council has written off £850,000 in section 106 cash allocated to improve local infrastructure by house builders and developers. Can we have a debate on how such appalling situations are seeing our local communities lose confidence in the planning process?

[Chris Grayling]

I am aware of the issue my hon. Friend’s local authority has faced, and it raises questions about credit control and bringing in money when it is due. Local authorities have the power to set timelines, and even to get money in advance, for the section 106 payments they receive. Obviously, this is a matter of concern, and it might be that processes need to change, so I suggest that he raises it directly with the Department for Communities and Local Government, perhaps through an Adjournment debate or at the next time Question Time.

Harold Wilson

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Wednesday 28th October 2015 Westminster Hall

[Mr Sheerman]

My hon. Friend has deep knowledge of this period of British politics and of Harold Wilson, and I very much appreciate his remarks.

We are opening up a broader debate about Harold Wilson, his contribution, and the effect of this brilliant young man when he got into politics, and having a broad debate will do us a great deal of good in Parliament, because we will celebrate not just a party politician but a great parliamentarian and a great public speaker.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mr Sheerman]

I will, in two seconds.

We must remember that we want this centenary to be about more than just saying, “Yes, I have written to the Speaker and to the director-general of the BBC and others, and we are getting this concerted campaign to have a proper response.” We want to build something living. For example, the vice-chancellor of the University of Huddersfield, Bob Cryan, is launching 50 Harold Wilson scholarships during the centenary year. I hope that that will be replicated in other parts of the country and in different ways. Later today, I am meeting the vice-chancellor of the Open University, which, again, is something that Harold Wilson started. The list goes on and on.

I give way to my friend from Colne Valley.

[Jason McCartney]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman—I will call him my hon. Friend—on securing the debate. It is absolutely right that we celebrate and mark the centenary of the birth of Harold Wilson early next year. Does he agree that we should perhaps include his—and my—beloved Huddersfield Town? As a young boy, Harold Wilson stood on the terraces at Leeds Road with his father. We should include the people of Cowlersley in my constituency, as he was born on Warneford Road there, and include Royds Hall school, just on the edge of my constituency, because whenever I visit that school, I know how proud they are of the fact that Harold Wilson was educated there in his early life.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Thursday 22nd October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I will call Mr McCartney on condition he gives one short sentence.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Does the Minister agree that our national museums that offer free entry—the National Coal Mining museum has free science shows this weekend—are a fantastic free day out for families over the half-term break?

[Mr Vaizey]

Yes.

Business of the House

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Thursday 22nd October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I will ensure that that point is made to my right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor. Of course, these are difficult decisions, and I am sure he will want to make sure he gives hon. Members on both sides the opportunity to raise their concerns with him.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Love the Lorry week starts on Monday, and the Road Haulage Association estimates that 45,000 drivers will retire in the next few years, causing an acute shortage of drivers. May we have a debate on the state of our road haulage industry?

[Chris Grayling]

I know that this is a matter of great concern to my right hon. and hon. Friends in the Department for Transport. I hope that the Government’s focus on apprenticeships will provide a vehicle to bring more people into this important industry, which is a lifeline for many businesses in the country. We must do everything we can to ensure a steady flow of new drivers.

Business of the House

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

This issue has rightly caused enormous concern across the House. Many of our constituents have been touched by it, and the hon. Lady is not alone in having tragic circumstances in her constituency. I know that the matter is very much on the minds of the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State. It is our intention to respond in the timetable that was committed to.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

This summer I am very much looking forward to my annual week of volunteering, when I will join the volunteers of the National Trust, the Holme Valley mountain rescue team, the Pack Horse trail, Huddersfield Canal Society and The Cuckoo’s Nest in Marsden. May we have a debate about the wonderful service that volunteers provide in our communities day in, day out?

[Chris Grayling]

By the sounds of it my hon. Friend is not going to be getting much sleep that week! I hope he finds that that experience is helpful to him and enables him to do what we as Members of Parliament should all do, which is to pay tribute to the work that volunteers do in our society. Our society is a better and stronger place because of their work, and every one of us will have examples in our constituencies of people who go more than the extra mile to do good work for the areas where they live. We should praise every single one of them and be grateful to them for what they do.

Business of the House

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

May I commend the Father of the House for his continuing diligence on behalf of people in Manchester who have to deal—not often, but from time to time—with unacceptable employment practices of the kind that this House would always condemn? I cannot comment specifically on the case he has raised, but I will make the Department for Work and Pensions aware of his concerns and I hope he will take the opportunity to raise them directly with the Secretary of State as well.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

First, may I say that my Adjournment debate on stone theft is on Monday evening?

My local Kirklees Council does not have a local plan in place, resulting in a developers’ free-for-all, and I am encouraging local residents to submit their objections to the Grimescar Valley development. Could we have an urgent debate on such situations and on planning as a whole?

[Chris Grayling]

I wish my hon. Friend well with his debate on stone theft. We wait with interest to see whether the precedent set in the general election campaign will be followed by any of the Labour leadership candidates producing their own stone commitments.

The serious issue of planning affects many constituencies. The changes this Government have put in place are specifically designed to give greater power and authority to the local plan. I urge every council to move ahead as quickly as possible with the planning process, and I urge my hon. Friend to bring the matter to the attention of Ministers during Communities and Local Government questions in 10 days’ time.

Business of the House

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

During the general election campaign, the Prime Minister made some strong commitments in relation to the green belt. I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that, regardless of who owns the land, green belt provisions will still apply. The fact that his local council has decided to buy land does not mean that its decision will be given the go-ahead by the Planning Inspectorate or that it will be able legally to develop the land unless it is appropriate for it to do so.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Will the Leader of the House join me in passing his best wishes to those who were injured in Monday’s horrific crash on the M62, which closed part of the motorway for 20 hours? May we have an urgent debate on trans-Pennine motorway links, so that we can discuss congestion, alternative routes and new exits for the M62?

[Chris Grayling]

Our sympathies go out to everyone involved. We wish those who were injured a speedy recovery and commend all the members of the emergency services. Our firefighters cut people out of crashed cars, and our paramedics save lives. They do a fantastic job for all of us, as they clearly did in this instance. I will ensure that my hon. Friend’s concerns are drawn to the attention of the Transport Secretary, but he may also wish to consider applying for an Adjournment debate.

Business of the House

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Thursday 4th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. With short single-sentence supplementary questions and the continuation of the Leader of the House’s exemplary brief replies, I will not say that we will get through everybody, but we will make a pretty good stab at it.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

Places of worship in Kirklees were targeted 132 times by thieves in the last three years. There have been many stone thefts, and last night Scapegoat Hill Junior and Infant School had tiles stolen from its roof, just days after the scaffolding required to make repairs after previous thefts had gone. May we have an urgent debate on the scourge of stone thefts that are blighting our communities?

[Chris Grayling]

I am very sympathetic to those who have experienced both stone and metal theft. We have, of course, legislated to toughen the penalties for metal theft. What I did for the business community in my previous role was to provide an opportunity for them to explain in detail to a court the impact of the loss of what might sometimes appear to be a small amount in value terms but can be enormously important to the organisation involved. I encourage my hon. Friend to bring the issue forward for an Adjournment debate so that a Minister comes to the House to address it. I express my sympathies to those who have been the victims of this theft over the past 24 hours. Stealing from a place of worship is one of the most despicable crimes one can imagine in our society.

Business of the House

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Thursday 28th May 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

We will, of course, have a debate on health at the start of next week, and the hon. Gentleman will have the opportunity to raise those issues then if he wishes to do so.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

When can we expect a statement on the implications of the Penrose inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal, which reported just a few days before the start of the general election campaign?

[Chris Grayling]

First, may I praise my hon. Friend for the work he has done in this area? We are talking about a group of people who have suffered badly as a result of what happened. I will ask my colleague the Secretary of State for Health to respond to him and indicate what is planned next.

Business of the House

Jason McCartney Excerpts

Thursday 29th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point, and there would be all too many terrible situations in the world to refer to in such a debate, as he has described, including the fate of children in so many conflicts, such as those in Syria and Iraq, as well as the victims of terrorist attacks in Nigeria and Pakistan. That would be a welcome debate. Of course, it is primarily for the Backbench Business Committee to consider, but I think it would be welcomed across the House.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

In the past week, at a planning inquiry in Huddersfield, the excellent Save Butterley Spillway group has been fighting Yorkshire Water’s plans to rip out the unique Victorian heritage of a listed spillway in Marsden in my constituency and replace it with a concrete monstrosity. Will my right hon. Friend join me in praising the work of Diane Ellis, David Preston, Ian Ladbrooke, Tom Lonsdale and the many members of the group who have been campaigning to save the spillway and hoping that the inquiry will say that it can be made safe and our Victorian heritage preserved?

[Mr Hague]

As a Minister, I cannot comment on the individual case, but all decisions on such applications need to take into account the national planning policy framework, which is clear that heritage assets are an irreplaceable resource and sets out clear policies for cases where a proposal would harm a heritage asset. I certainly join my hon. Friend in praising local people who have engaged in the planning inquiry to make sure their views are heard, and I know he will be, as ever, a very strong spokesman for them.