Business of the House

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 31st October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I cannot immediately offer a debate, but I will discuss this with my right hon. and hon. Friends in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. They, along with Tata, recognise the strategic importance of that company to the United Kingdom and have together developed a joint Her Majesty’s Government-Tata Steel strategy to support the business and ensure that it is in the right position to support our growing economy in the future and to enable our competitiveness. Any redundancies are very regrettable, and we feel very much for the difficult time that the work force is experiencing. Jobcentre Plus and its rapid response service will be available and will do all it can to help to support those workers.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

I have never doubted my right hon. Friend’s backbone. When can we expect Second Reading of the Water Bill? It contains important provisions on competition and will have a big impact on customer bills and Flood Re insurance. There is enormous interest in the Backbench Business Committee debate next week, which unfortunately clashes with the meeting of the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, but I am sure we would all like to know when Second Reading will take place.

[Mr Lansley]

I recognise the interest, which is reflected in the acceptance of the debate by the Backbench Business Committee. I cannot tell my hon. Friend when Second Reading will be. She will understand that we set out to publish draft measures on flood insurance, which are important to Members across the House, and that they will benefit from consultation before we proceed with Second Reading and consideration of the Bill.

Business of the House

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 18th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I will of course look at the early-day motion to which the hon. Gentleman refers. These matters are specifically the responsibility of the Mayor of London, so I cannot promise a debate on them, but in order to help him I will convey his remarks to the Mayor and see what his reply might be.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

May I add my congratulations to Nelson Mandela on his 95th birthday? He is a truly remarkable man.

May I tempt the Leader of the House to give us a date for the Water Bill? We were expecting its Second Reading this month, but I note from the business forecast that it is not even scheduled for September. We have heard alarming reports today of possible disruption to our water supplies if there is a drought, and we are still awaiting the reservoir safety guidance from the Government, so it would be helpful if we could have a date.

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her question. It is always difficult for me to resist temptation, but in this instance I am afraid I cannot offer her any guidance on future business beyond what I have already announced. As she knows, however, it is a signal achievement that we have brought forward the Water Bill, including the much sought-after provisions that will enable flood insurance to be obtained by those at risk.

Business of the House

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 13th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

During last week’s volunteers week, I saw for myself, as I am sure that many Members will have done, very many examples of fantastic volunteering activity. These are often tough times for charities, and inevitably so, because of the economic circumstances in which we found ourselves at the end of the last decade. I hope that an opportunity for a debate will arise, but I cannot promise one in Government time. The House will consider through the Backbench Business Committee the relative priorities in providing time to debate such matters. Such a debate would enable us to see how the Government’s big society initiatives are having a dramatic, positive difference. Last week, for example, the Work and Pensions Secretary led internationally on how social investment can deliver benefits to communities.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

The House will be aware of the implications for farming of the 18 months of extreme bad weather: we expect a poorer harvest, milk production has dipped and there has been a reduction in farm incomes. Will my right hon. Friend allow a debate, preferably in Government time, on the implications for food security and farm incomes of the extreme bad weather?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend is very knowledgeable on these matters and I completely understand her point, not least because my constituency has substantial arable production. I cannot promise a debate at the moment, but I am sure it would not be beyond the bounds of possibility to cover some of these matters in next week’s debate on the reform of the common agricultural policy.

Business of the House

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 16th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am sorry, but that is completely wrong. The simple fact of the matter is that certain measures were not included in this Queen’s Speech because policy had not been finalised and consultations were continuing. That is not a consequence of lobbying; it is a consequence of the processes that are necessary to finalise policy.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend allow time during Government business to debate the 111 out-of-hours emergency number? He will recall that when he was Secretary of State for Health and I had cause through family experience to use that number, I drew to his attention some simple remedies that could be effected. A debate at the earliest opportunity would be very useful.

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend will recall that the Opposition chose health and care as the subject of Monday’s debate, when these issues were quite properly raised. There have clearly been operational difficulties associated with aspects of 111, in particular with the three new providers in the south-west, the south-east and Oxfordshire during its introduction in April. Equally, we could go back much further. For example, 10 areas of the country were running NHS 111 on a pilot basis when I left the Department of Health in September last year, and in many places it is operating successfully. What Members throughout the House need to understand is that the 111 service provides something that everybody has a right to expect, which is a straightforward non-emergency mechanism for accessing all aspects of the NHS.

Business of the House

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 25th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Miss Anne McIntosh.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

How incredibly kind, Mr Speaker.

Is the Leader of the House aware that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published its draft clauses for revising the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and asked the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to report by 29 April? We stand prepared to do that, but there is the slight problem that the House is not meeting next week to enable us to adopt our formal report. Prorogation is the only time when no Select Committee can meet. I ask the Leader of the House to use his good offices to ensure that the Department does not publish the clauses formally, but awaits the opinion of the Select Committee so that there is proper scrutiny and we do not repeat the situation that gave rise to the 1991 Act, which has caused so much concern that it now needs to be revised.

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. She raises an issue of timing. I will ensure that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs consults her. What may be done formally during Prorogation is limited, but rather more may be done informally. Clauses would not be published during Prorogation. We will wait until the new Session before proceeding, subject to what is in the Gracious Speech, with the publication of further legislation.

Business of the House

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 18th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman is an experienced Member of the House and will no doubt have taken the opportunity to raise those issues in the debate on the Finance Bill. I draw to his attention what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills said recently about the launch of the business bank, which will deliver billions of pounds of additional support through lending to businesses.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend the Leader of the House will notice that future business includes a motion on draft regulations under the Reservoirs Act 1975 that are to be considered shortly by the relevant Statutory Instrument Committee. It is an integral and essential part of those regulations that the safety guidance for reservoirs recommended by the Institution of Civil Engineers be approved and released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. A number of projects that are in the pipeline, such as the reservoir project in my own Pickering area, are dependent on that advice, which has been awaited since 2010. May I make an urgent request for the Secretary of State to come to the Dispatch Box to give the reasons for that delay or to publish that guidance forthwith?

[Mr Lansley]

I will, of course, ask my colleagues at DEFRA about the matter that my hon. Friend rightly raises and seek a response for her as soon as possible.

Business of the House

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 21st March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I have read the early-day motion. As the hon. Gentleman will understand, these are matters for the House of Commons Commission. In that respect, there are opportunities to ask questions of the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (John Thurso), who answers on behalf of the Commission. In this particular instance, I would say two things. As a member of the House of Commons Commission, I know that it has always sought to pursue the principle that the House should be an exceptionally good employer, and we set out to do that. That does not mean, however, that arrangements for pay should not reflect the issues that govern public service generally, and, indeed, it should not inhibit us from being prepared to modernise pay systems in this House.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

May I ask the Leader of the House to grant time for an early debate on the proposed reforms to the common agricultural policy? Broad political agreement is expected to be reached at EU level by the end of June. The key will be how these reforms are implemented and will impact on farmers in this country. They involve technical concepts such as who will be defined as the active farmer, how the moneys will be spent, and what will be the contribution from the UK Exchequer.

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend will know that my right hon. Friend the Environment Secretary and his colleagues are actively engaged in precisely the negotiations that she describes. Of course, as we all appreciate, this is happening against the backdrop of the success that the Prime Minister achieved in the EU budget negotiations, which is terrifically important. We do need further reform of the common agricultural policy, and that is what this Government have set out to achieve. In terms of a debate in this House, I suspect that in the course of this process the European Scrutiny Committee will have an opportunity to look at these proposals, and it is of course open to it to make a decision on whether to refer them to the House for debate.

Business of the House

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 7th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Lady was no doubt in the Chamber for questions to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. That subject might have been raised in the course of those questions, but I hope she will forgive me for not being here at the time, so I do not know whether it was. If it was not, and if she particularly wishes to pursue the matter, may I suggest that she seeks an Adjournment debate in order to do so?

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

You were incredibly kind to try to accommodate everybody in DEFRA questions, Mr Speaker. In the light of recent events, including the ash tree disease, chalara, and all that has happened over food adulteration, will the Leader of the House see fit to review the time allocated to questions to the Church Commissioners and, especially, to questions to DEFRA, so that we can go back to having the full hour for DEFRA questions that we once enjoyed?

[Mr Lansley]

I understand the point that my hon. Friend is making. These matters are discussed through the usual channels and determined by the House collectively. I will of course take the opportunity to discuss with colleagues whether there is a case for any change.

Business of the House

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 20th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I know the hon. Gentleman is assiduous in finding opportunities, and there will no doubt be early opportunities for a debate on diabetes care. His point is important, as we need not only to improve the quality of care so that best practice is achieved—the Public Accounts Committee identified in its report the quality of life and the number of lives saved that could be gained by implementing best practice in diabetes care, and although we are doing that we have more to do—but to use measures such as the health check system in the NHS and the preventive health strategies that are now being developed between the NHS and local authorities to reduce the rising prevalence of diabetes.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

I extend my best wishes to you, Mr Speaker, and to the whole House. I pay particular thanks to colleagues on the Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and especially to the staff, who have enabled us to achieve all that we have this year. It looks as though there is very little chance of a white Christmas this year, but there will be flooding in many parts of the country. Many people have already been displaced. Will my right hon. Friend look favourably on my request for an early debate in the new year on flooding and on what more we, local authorities and other agencies can do between floods, as well as on the question of insurance to replace the statement of principles that expires at the end of May?

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. As Chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, she has rightly raised an issue that will concern many of us in many constituencies across the country. We feel deeply for those in the west country and elsewhere who are at risk at Christmas of flooding, with all the horrible consequences that flow from that. The House will be aware that the Environment Agency, local authorities, fire and rescue services and others have been forewarned by the Flood Forecasting Centre and stand ready to deal with any emergencies. I know that Ministers at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will actively monitor that and will intervene and report to the House whenever necessary.

Flood insurance is a priority. Discussions with the Association of British Insurers are continuing. I cannot comment on the detail of that negotiation, but we are continuing to seek a new approach that is better than the statement of principles—one that genuinely secures affordable flood insurance without placing unsustainable costs on other policyholders or the taxpayer.

Business of the House

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 29th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The Leader of the House would probably like to lead an Adjournment debate on that matter. He would do so with great force and eloquence, and possibly at some length.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) for drawing attention to our letters to the Environment Secretary about flooding. Since there is cross-departmental responsibility for flood issues, will the Leader of the House call for an early debate, potentially with three Ministers to respond? There is the matter outstanding from the 2007 floods of sustainable drainage systems, recovery under the Bellwin formula and whether capital expenditure will be extended to roads and bridges, as well as reservoir safety guidance. In a week in which north Yorkshire suffered its second worst flooding since 2007, will the Leader of the House commit to a debate to which three Secretaries of State could respond: from DEFRA—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. This is too long. I am sorry but the hon. Lady is giving a dissertation. I am sure it is very interesting, but it is not a question.