Business of the House
Robert Halfon Excerpts(9 years, 2 months ago)
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Mr Hague
I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I congratulate her very much on all she has done to highlight this issue. I am delighted that the Backbench Business Committee has allocated time on the Floor of the House, not on 12 March but on 5 March, next week, for a debate to mark international women’s day. That will allow Members to raise issues celebrating the achievements of women but also about tackling violence against women. It is right that the House keeps that on the agenda, and I am determined to keep it on the international agenda. I welcome everything my hon. Friend does on this, including helping to bring people to the House to discuss these things on 12 March.
Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
May we have an urgent statement on the fact that doctors are charging families £80 every time they sign a cremation consent form? A resident in my constituency, Lee Dangerfield, had to pay £160 to doctors when his father sadly passed away, causing him financial hardship at what was already a difficult time. In 2010, it was estimated that doctors were topping up their salaries by an extra £15 million a year by signing these forms. Will my right hon. Friend write to the Health Secretary about this to see why these fees are necessary, given that this practice seems to be part of the day-to-day job of being a doctor in the free NHS?
Mr Hague
As my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary is in his place and has been listening to that question, I shall not need to write to him about it; he has taken note of it. The Government are committed to reform of the death certification system. When a patient dies, it is the statutory duty of the doctor who has attended them in their last illness to issue a medical certificate of cause of death. There is no fee payable for completing that, but there are other forms before cremation of a deceased patient. The proposed reform of the system to which the Government are committed would remove the need for cremation form fees. My right hon. Friend has heard my hon. Friend’s point about the urgency of tackling this.
Business of the House
Robert Halfon Excerpts(9 years, 3 months ago)
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Mr Hague
This is also an important issue. I know that the Government Departments work together to ensure that the problem is dealt with effectively. We must never rest in our attempts to make sure that criminal gangs cannot make profits in this or any other way. I cannot offer a debate about it in the near future, but I will draw the issue that he has raised to the attention of my colleagues in the Northern Ireland Office and all the other relevant Departments.
Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
May we have an urgent statement on the role of private car park owners such as NCP? My constituents have been fleeced by NCP, which has signposted restricted areas improperly and then fined people who innocently park in them. Furthermore, it has fined people for allegedly displaying their ticket in the wrong place on the car’s dashboard. Will my right hon. Friend contact the Secretaries of State for Transport and for Business, Innovation and Skills and call for an urgent inquiry into this disgraceful behaviour by NCP?
Mr Hague
My hon. Friend is an ardent campaigner on behalf of his constituents and he will understand that in such car parks—for example those owned by train operators—the charges are a commercial matter. It may aid him and his constituents to know that it is for the Office of Rail Regulation to consider any complaint that a car parking charge at a station is excessive. It has issued guidance, setting out the circumstances in which it will investigate, but I will let my ministerial colleagues know of his concerns, and they may contact him to guide him further on it.
Business of the House
Robert Halfon Excerpts(9 years, 3 months ago)
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Mr Hague
The hon. Lady is entitled to raise issues from her constituency, including concerns about local employment, and I defend her right to say whatever she wants on that. On the question of employment in general, there will be job losses even in a growing economy, and there have been big changes in the grocery sector, as we were discussing a few moments ago. Nevertheless, the overall outlook in all regions of the country is very strong, with record numbers of people in work, including across the north and in Yorkshire and the Humber. The unemployed claimant count is down nearly 600,000, and is now at its lowest since July 2008. So the overall outlook is very good, and we will always be able to discuss that when we discuss economic matters in the House.
Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
May we have a statement on street lights in Essex? I am currently campaigning for Essex council to allow Harlow council to turn the lights back on, following Essex council’s decision to turn them off after midnight. Will my right hon. Friend look into this matter, and will he ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to speak to Essex council, to see how Harlow can be helped?
Mr Hague
My hon. Friend has raised this issue before, and I welcome the work that he does on behalf of his constituents—as I am sure they do—on this important matter. He understands all too well that street lighting in Harlow is the responsibility of Essex county council, as the local highway authority, and that central Government are unable to intervene in local matters such as this. I encourage him to continue to make representations to the county council so that it can consider this important issue further and perhaps reach an agreement on street lighting in Harlow.
Business of the House
Robert Halfon Excerpts(9 years, 4 months ago)
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Mr Hague
We have just had Department for Business, Innovation and Skills questions, where there were opportunities to raise that. We had an urgent question some weeks ago about the matter, and of course there are continuing concerns. The hon. Gentleman will be able to continue to raise the matter with BIS Ministers. There will also be opportunities to debate the economy in general over the coming months. There is a strongly improved outlook from the British Chambers of Commerce survey published only today. The hon. Gentleman will be able to find many opportunities to continue to pursue the subject, as he always does.
Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
My right hon. Friend will be aware that in Harlow we have had over 100 illegal traveller encampments over the past year and sadly we have a police commissioner who seems to have adopted the unwise mantle of the three monkeys—hear nothing, say nothing and do nothing. Now he wants to increase the police precept and hit the most vulnerable residents across Essex and in my constituency, Harlow. May we have an urgent debate on the police precept? Will my right hon. Friend, with the Home Secretary, ensure that the police commissioner consults local residents before putting up taxes, and will he do everything he can to stop that?
Mr Hague
My hon. Friend, as always, raises an issue that is important to his local communities. There is already a statutory requirement for police and crime commissioners to consult their police and crime panel regarding any proposals in relation to the council tax precept, and the police and crime panel has the power to veto the proposed precept and ask the PCC to set it at a higher or lower level. Ultimately, one of the virtues of PCCs being elected is that they are periodically accountable to the local voters for their decisions if they want to stand for re-election.
Business of the House
Robert Halfon Excerpts(9 years, 4 months ago)
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Mr Hague
As a former Foreign Secretary, I do not see any change of policy in that; it will be a change in facilities for British ships based in Bahrain. The hon. Gentleman may know that Royal Navy minesweepers have been based in Bahrain for a long time—they are based there now—and play an important part in ensuring the safety of navigation in the strait of Hormuz. For them to have improved facilities in Bahrain can hardly be described as a complete change in defence and foreign policy.
Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
May we have a debate on the identity of political parties? Given that nearly 31 million people are now in work, the highest level on record, youth unemployment is at its lowest level since the 1970s and we have 2 million more apprentices, is it not the case that we on the Government Benches are now the party of labour and the workers and those on the Opposition Benches are the party of dependency, welfare and reactionary conservatism?
Mr Hague
Yes. That is a most perceptive question from my hon. Friend. Of course, we are going to have a debate on the identity of political parties in a few months—it is called a general election. I am sure that debate will take place fully across the country. He is right that for the millions of people lifted out of income tax altogether and the 2 million people who have been able to start an apprenticeship, this Government have stood up for working people, and we will do even more in the months ahead.
Business of the House
Robert Halfon Excerpts(9 years, 5 months ago)
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Mr Hague
Our trade with all parts of the world, including Europe, is an extremely important issue. Given the poor performance of the eurozone and the flatness of our export markets in Europe, which is driving some of the figures that my hon. Friend cites, the proportion of Britain’s exports going outside the European Union has increased in recent times. There have been particularly sharp increases in our exports to countries in the far east and to some countries in Latin America. It is vital to continue that, and to improve our export performance overall. That is why the Chancellor yesterday announced further resources for the Foreign Office and UK Trade & Investment to do that. This is one of the important issues to discuss in all our debates on yesterday’s autumn statement.
Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
As we approach small business Saturday, may we have a statement on white van woman? Under this Government, more women than ever are in employment, 20% of small businesses are now run by women compared with 14% under the previous Government, and the majority—55%—of apprenticeship starters are now female. Given those figures, is it not correct that this Government are the true Government of white van woman, and may we look at what further help can be given?
Mr Hague
Yes, absolutely. We do not know where the former shadow Attorney-General, the hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry), is at the moment, but she might be in training to be a white van woman after what happened a couple of weeks ago.
My hon. Friend has coined an important new phrase. It is very important that we continue our progress in making sure that women participate fully in our economy, and that is happening under this Government. The gender pay gap for those under the age of 40 has been closed for the first time. There are now women on the boards of all the FTSE 100 companies, which was certainly not the case when the previous Government were in power. I think that white van woman must also play her part, and the measures announced yesterday—to support small businesses, encourage enterprise, and help people who work hard and try to get on in life—will be very supportive of white van woman.
Business of the House
Robert Halfon Excerpts(9 years, 5 months ago)
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Mr Hague
The hon. Lady raises an important issue. The development of the internet is bringing immense social and economic benefits, but it is also bringing dangers and more crime is moving on to the web. As a result, people need to know how to deal with such crime. That would be quite a good subject for a debate, but I encourage her to put it to the Backbench Business Committee or for an Adjournment debate. I cannot offer her Government time, since a lot of our time has been given to the Backbench Business Committee for such subjects, but I encourage her to put it forward.
Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
May we have a statement on planning laws and protecting the rights of villagers? Many villagers in Nazeing in my constituency are concerned about a development of 45 houses on green-belt land, and have been urging the local authority to listen to them. Does my right hon. Friend agree that villagers’ rights should be protected, and will he write to the planning Minister about this case?
Mr Hague
It is very important to protect the green belt from development, and I will of course tell Ministers in the Department for Communities and Local Government about my hon. Friend’s question. The Government have already taken much action to protect villages in the situation that he describes, including by abolishing the previous Government’s top-down regional strategies, selling surplus brownfield land for redevelopment and introducing more flexible planning rights so that empty and underused buildings can be brought back into productive use. We have done a lot on this, but I will of course refer what he says to the relevant Ministers.
Business of the House
Robert Halfon Excerpts(9 years, 7 months ago)
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Mr Hague
My hon. Friend may recall that we had quite a big debate three years ago called a national referendum, in which the entire country took part. Many millions of people voted and the result was emphatic. If a 55% result in Scotland is meant to be for a generation or a lifetime, which I hope that it is, a 67% result on electoral reform—I think that that was the outcome—might also last for a generation or a lifetime.
Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
May we have an urgent debate and a statement about the application of existing laws on illegal Traveller encampments? Harlow has been under siege, with illegal encampments all over the town during the past year resulting in clean-up costs to Harlow taxpayers of £41,000. More than 1,700 residents have signed my petition calling for action. Will my right hon. Friend urge the Home Secretary to contact the chief constable of Essex and ask for a zero-tolerance approach to help to put an end to this intolerable situation?
Mr Hague
This is a serious issue, and not only in my hon. Friend’s constituency. Operational decisions on the use of police powers are, of course, a matter for chief constables, as must be the case, but I will bring the issues he raises to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary. My hon. Friend and others might also want to send representations to the Department for Communities and Local Government because it is consulting on a series of changes to planning policy for Traveller sites, including with regard to unauthorised development.
Business of the House
Robert Halfon Excerpts(9 years, 8 months ago)
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Mr Hague
That was an important and well-attended debate. I know that many people across the country paid great attention to it and that there was much anticipation of it around the country. The Department of Health will have listened carefully to what was said. I cannot make any announcement at the moment about any proposals, but I will ensure that when they are ready, the hon. Gentleman will be well informed.
Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
May we have a debate on university technical colleges so that we can see how Government policy is transforming skills and vocations right across the country? Will my right hon. Friend congratulate Sir Charles Kao UTC in Harlow, which the Prime Minister visited when it was being built? It has just opened this month and will transform opportunities for young people in my constituency.
Mr Hague
I am pleased to offer my congratulations to everyone involved in the establishment of the Sir Charles Kao UTC in Harlow. We have now established 17 university technical colleges. I am sure that Harlow will enjoy the same benefits that are already being seen in other towns and cities. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for backing the UTC, and we look forward to the future successes of the students in Harlow, which will be partly due to his efforts.
Business of the House
Robert Halfon Excerpts(9 years, 10 months ago)
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Mr Hague
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about the number of crises in the world; any discordant note simply shows the way Yorkshire Members are used to speaking to each other anyway. I know that my right hon. Friends the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary are well on top of all those issues. Having long-running crises in the world does not mean that exactly the same people have to deal with them all the time; there is a balance between experience and renewal, as I said on Monday night. I made a statement, as Foreign Secretary, about Gaza on Monday. I know that my successor will want to keep the House well informed. We have Foreign and Commonwealth Office questions next Tuesday, so there will be an opportunity to discuss this next week.
Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
Last week I met my local nurses’ union in the Princess Alexandra hospital in Harlow to discuss nurses’ pay and conditions and hospital car parking charges. May we have a statement on nurses’ pay and hospital car parking charges so that we can do everything possible to alleviate the problems that lower-paid nurses are facing and ensure that all nurses are paid fairly? [Interruption.] I also ask my right hon. Friend to suggest to the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Thomas Docherty) that he keeps his trap shut, because the Opposition do not have a policy on this—
Mr Speaker
Order. That is enough. It is unlike the hon. Gentleman, who is a very competent parliamentarian, but that was tasteless. Also, I say in all courtesy to the hon. Gentleman, whose interest and commitment I always seek to accommodate, that his question was simply too long.