(4 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Speaker
We now come to the announcement of the results for the election of Select Committee Chairs. The results for Chairs who were unopposed were announced on Monday and the election for the contested votes were held by secret ballot today. Five hundred and eighty-six ballot papers were submitted. The results are as follows: Committee Elected Defence Mr Tobias Ellwood Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Julian Knight Environmental Audit Philip Dunne Foreign Affairs Tom Tugendhat Health and Social Care Jeremy Hunt International Development Sarah Champion International Trade Angus Brendan MacNeil Justice Sir Robert Neill Northern Ireland Affairs Simon Hoare Petitions Catherine McKinnell Procedure Karen Bradley Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Mr William Wragg Science and Technology Greg Clark Transport Huw Merriman Work and Pensions Stephen Timms
I congratulate colleagues who have been elected and thank all the candidates for taking part. The full breakdown of voting in each contest is set out in the paper that will be available shortly from the Vote Office and on the website. The Members elected take up their positions formally when the Committee has been nominated by the House.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Matt Hancock)
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Earlier this week at Health questions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chelsea and Fulham (Greg Hands) raised a question about scaremongering around the Parsons Green walk-in centre. The Parsons Green walk-in centre is not closing and anyone who claims that is not following the facts, but I wanted to come to the House at the earliest moment to apologise, Mr Speaker, to you, to the House, and to the hon. Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter), because I did not follow the parliamentary custom of letting him know in advance that I was going to mention him. I am afraid that I did not know the subject was going to come up, although I should not have been surprised given my right hon. Friend’s assiduousness. I do not apologise for the substance of what I said, nor for the force with which I said it, because I think that this sort of scaremongering worries the most vulnerable, but I do apologise for not letting the hon. Member know in advance.
Mr Speaker
I hope the Secretary of State will go a little bit further than that. Calling an hon. Member a total disgrace should be retracted.
Matt Hancock
I am very happy to retract that and I hope that this will be the end of the matter.