Business of the House
Bob Blackman Excerpts(2 weeks, 6 days ago)
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Mr Speaker
I call and welcome the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I urge the Leader of the House to publish the membership numbers for Select Committees, and urge the usual channels to get on with populating those Committees, in particular of course the Backbench Business Committee, so that we can start to schedule the debates that Back Benchers, rather than the Government, want to table.
The Leader of the House has not announced when the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will come back. In Committee, I and many Labour Members proposed amendments to the then Government’s Bill that we will want to progress. I realise that the matter will be considered by the Health Secretary. Will the Leader of the House also take away and consider the view that shisha lounges and the sale of paan need to be included in the measures? Otherwise, we will leave escape clauses for those who want to resist taking action on mouth, throat and lung cancer.
Lucy Powell
I welcome the hon. Gentleman, following his election, to his position as Chair of the Backbench Business Committee. I know what fantastic work he did as Vice-Chair of the Committee in the previous Parliament, as he and I were in these sessions together for many hours. I look forward to working with him, and have already been in touch with him to fix up a meeting at the earliest opportunity, so that we can table forthcoming business in the Chamber. We will absolutely work at pace to populate the Committees and get them up and running as quickly as possible.
We announced in the King’s Speech that we would take forward the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which will come to the House in due course. One issue that the Secretary of State is considering is how to strengthen the Bill before we introduce it by looking at amendments from the previous Session.
Business of the House
Bob Blackman Excerpts(3 weeks, 6 days ago)
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Lucy Powell
I thank my hon. Friend, who I know has been a doughty campaigner on health issues, issues around hospice funding and other issues over many years, and I thank her for bringing those to this House. The Minister of State for Care has recently met NHS England, and discussions have begun about how to reduce inequalities and variation in access to and quality of palliative care and end-of-life care across England. Funding issues, which I know are very important, will be considered as well and I am sure she would get a great deal of support for a general debate on hospice funding.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
On Monday the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government refused to rule out changes to council tax, and refused to rule out the abolition of the 25% discount for single person occupancy. I understand that this morning she has made announcements on what may happen with the right to buy. Given that that is a major change of policy, and Mr Speaker has always requested that major changes of policy should be announced in this place rather than in the media, will the Leader of the House arrange for the Secretary of State to make a statement on her proposals, so that we can hold her to account on them? While I am on my feet, may I gently remind the Leader of the House that the pre-recess Adjournment debate should be entitled the Sir David Amess pre-recess Adjournment debate, as was agreed cross-party?
Lucy Powell
I thank the hon. Gentleman. I am happy to put on record that we are granting the Sir David Amess debate next week, and I will ensure that business is amended to reflect that. As he will know, all Budget matters relating to tax and other issues are announced first to this House in a Budget, and we will be having a Budget on 30 October. I work hard across Government to ensure that big announcements are made first to this House, and that is why we have seen a record number of Government statements since we took office.
Business of the House
Bob Blackman Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
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Lucy Powell
I thank my hon. Friend for that great question. Given all the new Members in the House who represent coastal towns, I am sure that the important contribution of those areas would make a really good topic for an Adjournment or Westminster Hall debate after recess.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
Iran represents the biggest threat to peace in the middle east. It controls the Houthis, who attack British shipping; Hamas, who have caused the war in Gaza; and Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. When they were in opposition, the Government promised that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would be proscribed in its entirety, and its assets sequestrated and used for the benefit of the Iranian people. That was also the settled will of this House, so will the Leader of the House arrange for a debate in Government time to ensure that it becomes the policy of this new Administration, and that we get on with that job, which would be welcomed across the world?
Lucy Powell
The hon. Member is right; we raised these issues a number of times when in opposition. The Foreign Secretary has recently updated the House on a number of issues, and I know he plans to continue to do so. I will ensure that he has heard what the hon. Member has said today and provides some answers on that important point.