Business of the House

John Spellar Excerpts

Thursday 3rd November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I certainly endorse the last remark. Now is not the time to go into the theology of the Wright Committee and the division of responsibilities between the Government and the Backbench Business Committee. My right hon. Friend will know that the four days for defence debates that were traditionally provided by the Government were transferred to the Backbench Business Committee. I understand why it has not been able to find time for them and, in recognition of that pressure, as he has said, we have now found a day for a debate on armed forces personnel. The Government will continue to do what they can to make sure that we do have adequate time for defence debates, and in the review of the Backbench Business Committee, I will see, in conjunction with the hon. Member for North East Derbyshire (Natascha Engel), whether we can move towards a different regime that meets the aspirations of my right hon. Friend and the responsibilities of the Backbench Business Committee.

[Mr John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)]

Yesterday, in the Chamber, the Prime Minister roundly and rightly denounced metal theft. But he then went on to say:

“We are working with the Association of Chief Police Officers to put in place an action plan to deal with this, which will involve looking again at the whole regulation of scrap metal dealers.”—[Official Report, 2 November 2011; Vol. 534, c. 918.]

That is totally unsatisfactory. Everyone knows the answer—it is to license the dealers and to prevent them from dealing in cash. So can the Leader of the House arrange for a debate when that can be explored or, better still, could he use the two spare days he has created in the week after next to put it through and stop what the Prime Minister rightly called “this appalling crime”?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman. It is an appalling crime and the current legislation is basically unenforceable. Dealers are meant to register with their local authority but there are no penalties if they do not do so. The Government are consulting on a range of measures, including the ones he has mentioned—the banning of cash payments, with everything being done by cheque, and having a much tougher regime. We are consulting to see whether we can have a better regime that reduces the damage done by all these thefts.

Business of the House

John Spellar Excerpts

Thursday 13th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I commend the hon. Gentleman for his work in promoting the interests of those who run pubs and who often face onerous Pubco terms. I am aware of the report the hon. Gentleman mentions, which basically says that the voluntary agreement has not worked. I cannot anticipate when the Government will respond to that, but I will inform the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills of the hon. Gentleman’s appetite for an early announcement.

[Mr John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)]

On 2 December last year I put a question about Southern Cross to the Minister of State, Department of Health, the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Burstow) and received the dismissive reply that it was a matter for local authorities. I think he subsequently came to regret that response. An article in today’s Financial Times claims that from the summer of that year the chief executive of Southern Cross had been informing the Department that he wanted a meeting with the Minister in order to explain the seriousness of the problems and the possible consequences, but, again, the Minister said his diary was too full. May we have a statement from the Minister explaining his actions—or, rather, explaining his complete inertia?

[Sir George Young]

A written ministerial statement on Southern Cross was published on Monday; the right hon. Gentleman may have seen it. Because of the piece in the press today, I have made some inquiries. There have been regular constructive discussions between the Government and Southern Cross representatives since the moment it became clear that the Government were in difficulty. Ministers took the situation seriously, and they were kept fully informed. There were numerous meetings between senior Department of Health officials, the company and others, to seek to formulate a solution that protected the health and well-being of the residents. Ministers were kept fully in the picture.

Business of the House

John Spellar Excerpts

Thursday 15th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I understand my hon. Friend’s concern. I do not know whether he was present for Transport questions earlier today and had an opportunity to raise the issue with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, but I am aware of the draft directive, and will raise it with my right hon. Friend and ask him to drop the hon. Gentleman a line.

[Mr John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)]

I think it is generally agreed that the Select Committee system is increasingly showing its worth, but the Leader of the House will be aware of two emerging difficulties: the refusal of witnesses to attend, and the level of veracity of the evidence given. Will he arrange a debate to explore possible remedies, or undertake to consider the issues and report back to the House?

[Sir George Young]

I understand the right hon. Gentleman’s concern, but I think the issue would be best explored in the first instance through an informal meeting between me and the Liaison Committee, as I imagine that it affects a number of Select Committees. I should be more than willing to engage in such a discussion to establish whether any further steps are necessary.

Business of the House

John Spellar Excerpts

Thursday 8th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. It is appalling that of the 80,000 pupils eligible for free school meals, only 40 went to Oxbridge. We are committed to enabling more people from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds to get to university by raising the maintenance grant, introducing a new national scholarship programme, and making the graduate repayment scheme much more progressive. On top of that, we are writing to sixth-formers to draw attention to the financial support that is made available to students. I hope that we can improve on the figures that I mentioned.

[Mr John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)]

Yesterday the Prime Minister told us that the extra cost of moving the election of police commissioners to November would be £25 million, yet on Tuesday, Lord McNally, in a reply to Lord Grocott, said that the cost of the alternative vote referendum, held on the same day as other elections across wide areas of the country, was £89 million—and that is without the cost that falls on the Electoral Commission. May we have a statement to clarify the real cost of this ridiculous November election and whether it will be borne by central Government and not fall on hard-pressed local councils?

[Sir George Young]

The election for police and crime commissioners is England-only, whereas the other referendum was nationwide. The £25 million figure is the correct one. As the Prime Minister said yesterday, the cost of this will not come out of the police budget.

Draft Financial Services Bill (Joint Committee)

John Spellar Excerpts

Monday 18th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Thomas Docherty]

The hon. Gentleman asks a valid question. As a new Member who unseated a former Member who had to pay back thousands of pounds, I am very much alive to these issues. I absolutely believe that if someone is forced to pay back £56,000 to which they were not entitled because they had knowingly misled the taxpayer—the Fees Office—they should be excluded from being a member of a committee that oversees the new financial services regulation. That goes to the heart of the issue. If the hon. Gentleman does not agree with me, I respect that, but I hope that he will indicate that that is his view. I do not see him indicating dissent, so I assume that he agrees.

[Mr John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is focusing largely on the Commons composition of the Committee. Does he believe that the Lords composition makes it any broader or, to take the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann), any more representative?

[Thomas Docherty]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Jones]

The hon. Gentleman is being a bit petulant—[Interruption.] Pedantic, even. I do not understand why. In my conversations with him, we have never agreed about anything, but we usually get on quite well.

[Mr Spellar]

My hon. Friend agrees with the hon. Gentleman about his Front Benchers’ defence policy.

Business of the House

John Spellar Excerpts

Thursday 7th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I read a digital version of The Times at 5.30 this morning, but I am not sure that all the advertisements appear in the digital version. However, my hon. Friend raises an important issue about whether the Government should continue to sponsor advertisements when the private sector has acted as he mentioned. I will raise the matter urgently with the Minister for the Cabinet Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), and see whether the House can be kept in the picture.

[Mr John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)]

There are increasing numbers of complaints from colleagues about being refused meetings with Ministers on constituency matters. I do not include the Leader of the House in this complaint—I never heard such a complaint made about him while he was a departmental Minister—but as he knows, the fundamental route for Members in pursuing constituency cases is through such meetings. May we therefore have a debate to air this issue, and will he lay down proper guidelines for his fellow Ministers?

[Sir George Young]

The right hon. Gentleman raises a serious issue. I would welcome more information, if he is prepared to let me have it, on the exact instances in which my right hon. and hon. Friends have refused to meet hon. Members. I think that there is a convention that, unless there are strong legal reasons not to do so, Ministers should meet MPs. If he could give me an appropriate list, I would be more than happy to take it up with my colleagues and facilitate every appropriate meeting.

Business of the House

John Spellar Excerpts

Monday 4th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend is quite right that there is now no need to move the motion that protects the Backbench Business Committee debate for 90 minutes. We do not propose to add that debate to the end of business on Thursday; it will have to be dealt with on another occasion.

[Mr John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)]

Obviously, no leader of the House likes having to change business, although that is often necessary under the force of circumstances. We fully understand why that is being done in this case and the Opposition have indicated that they support that. However, I hope that the Leader of the House has satisfied himself regarding this question: did officials, when they knew about this decision, not tell the Minister, or is it the case that the Minister was told and did not act on it? What is the answer?

Business of the House

John Spellar Excerpts

Thursday 19th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I agree. I am sure the whole House will welcome the drop in unemployment that was reported yesterday, and I am pleased to hear what is happening in Harlow. We have undertaken a number of measures to reduce youth unemployment, in particular. We have announced a new innovation fund with £10 million a year to fund organisations working with young people through social finance models and a package of additional support for 16 to 17-year-olds’ jobseeker’s allowance, including more adviser support, access to work clubs and work experience. I hope that we can build on these measures and make much more progress in Harlow and other constituencies.

[Mr John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)]

I should like to ask a further question regarding Baroness Warsi. Business before pleasure, however, and I must ask about the impact of compulsory water metering on gardeners—the water tax. Last Thursday, I asked the hapless Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs why she was even considering compulsory water metering, and her reply completely avoided the subject. Will the Leader of the House arrange for a statement next week—the week, incidentally, of the Chelsea flower show—in which the Secretary of State can categorically rule out compulsory domestic water metering?

[Sir George Young]

I will draw the right hon. Gentleman’s concern to my right hon. Friend’s attention and ask her to write to him about our policy on compulsory water metering. I am sure that he shares the concern of Members on both sides of the House about doing all we can to drive down water consumption and conserve water, and I hope that he will not rule out measures such as the one that he has touched on.

Business of the House

John Spellar Excerpts

Thursday 28th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[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.

Business of the House

John Spellar Excerpts

Thursday 31st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[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.