Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 12th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

I cannot add so quickly to what the Prime Minister said at Prime Minister’s questions, but the hon. Gentleman continues to raise the issue assiduously, and I will certainly remind my colleagues in the Department for Education that he has raised it again.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

The Government are to be congratulated on initiating the independent feasibility study into the resettlement of those in the British Indian Ocean Territory. As my right hon. Friend will know, the report was published earlier this week. May we have a debate on the resettlement of the Chagos islanders on the Floor of the House at the earliest possible moment and in Government time?

[Mr Hague]

My hon. Friend always speaks up for the concerns of the Chagos islanders. This is an important report, a feasibility study that I initiated when I was Foreign Secretary, and, as he says, it has now been published. I know that the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), plans to meet my hon. Friend and other members of the Chagos all-party parliamentary group on 23 February to listen to their views ahead of any Government decision. I cannot offer a debate at the moment, but that meeting might lead to a decision on how to take things forward in Parliament.

Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 15th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

The hon. Gentleman raises an important issue for his constituents and he will have opportunities to raise this, such as with the Home Secretary at the next Home Office questions. I will of course make sure that the Home Office is aware of his concerns. I know my right hon. Friends the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister take these matters very seriously, so I will make sure they are aware of the point the hon. Gentleman has made today.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

Perhaps because I am a vexillologist MP, I have been approached by the office of the majority leader in the US House of Representatives to see whether it might be possible to facilitate an exchange of the Union flag flying over the Victoria Tower and the flag flying over the US Capitol to mark the long historical and friendship links between the United Kingdom and the United States. I would be grateful for the advice of my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House—and indeed you, Mr Speaker—as to how that might be facilitated.

[Mr Hague]

Personally, I am a great enthusiast for reinforcing and commemorating the intimate links between the United States and the United Kingdom. The US is our most important bilateral relationship and our greatest ally in the world, so we must take this request seriously. I will have to discuss—no doubt with you, Mr Speaker, and others in the House—how we go about facilitating and deciding on any such flag exchange, so I will come back to my hon. Friend on this point.

Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 4th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

I do not think that the chief executive would necessarily agree with that interpretation of what has been said, but I cannot speak for Royal Mail at all. The universal service is of course an important issue for hon. Members across the House and their constituents, and it will be wholly legitimate for the hon. Gentleman to pursue that with Business Ministers and to seek debates on the matter by all the normal methods.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s independent feasibility study into resettlement of the Chagos islands is due to be published early in the new year. May we please have a debate in January on the Floor of the House to ensure that the matter is properly discussed?

[Mr Hague]

I am sure that the House will want to discuss that in some way. Until we have seen the feasibility study and the timing of its publication, we cannot make any decisions on it. However, I take my hon. Friend’s request as an early bid. I set up the feasibility study when I was Foreign Secretary and, like him, am looking forward to seeing its results. We are committed to ensuring that the review of any potential for resettlement is as transparent and inclusive as possible. I hope that will be welcomed by the many people of Chagossian heritage and origin who live in his constituency.

Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 20th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

I do not think there is any immediate need for a statement, because there will be Health questions in a few days, which will include Topical questions. The Secretary of State for Health and the ministerial team will be here on Tuesday to answer questions, so there is an early opportunity for the hon. Lady to pursue this issue.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

The Crawley Town Community Sports Foundation and Autism Sussex are finalists in the south-east People’s Millions for a project called Capers, which helps to encourage young people with autism to get involved in football. Voting takes place next Wednesday. As well as wishing the project well, may we have a debate on local community involvement in such volunteering projects which, as my right hon. Friend mentioned earlier, has increased in recent years?

[Mr Hague]

I hope that at some stage we can have a debate on how to encourage further volunteering. My hon. Friend speaks up very well, as always, for his constituents and for that project helping with autism in his constituency. There is, as he says and as I said earlier, a very clear rise in the number of people volunteering and trying to make a difference in so many ways. I am pleased that he is encouraging that too.

Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 6th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

I will certainly inform colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills that the hon. Gentleman has raised this matter. They will be answering questions in the House on 20 November, so he will have a further opportunity then to raise it with them directly. I will tell them of his concern in advance.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

As my right hon. Friend well knows, the Pitcairn Islands are one of the most remote British overseas territories, and their environment is pristine. Will he consider making time available for a statement from our right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary on establishing a marine environment protected zone around the territory’s thousands of square miles, as supported by the people of the Pitcairn Islands?

[Mr Hague]

We have a strong record of not only giving stronger and more coherent support to the overseas territories over the past four and a half years than ever happened in the previous decade, including taking a great deal of care over the Pitcairn Islands, but of advancing marine protected areas around some of them. What my hon. Friend asks for is absolutely in line with that, so I will encourage colleagues in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to provide more details.

Devolution (Scotland Referendum)

Henry Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 14th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

I acknowledge the hon. Gentleman’s point. Much of what we must do is make what we have already work better rather than invent new tiers of government anywhere in the UK.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

[Mr Hague]

I will first answer the point made by the hon. Member for Blackley and Broughton (Graham Stringer).

There is a legitimate demand for greater autonomy at a local level. We have an excellent record in recent years of devolving powers to the cities and regions, including to Manchester. I, like other members of the Government, hope that more can be done on decentralising power from Whitehall. In this Parliament, we have introduced city deals. Eight core deals were signed in the first wave, and we are close to finalising the conclusions on the second wave—18 of the 20 contracts have been signed. We have delivered local growth deals, and £2 billion will be devolved per year to local enterprise partnerships from next year. Many hon. Members would like more such progress, building on the excellent work of the Department for Communities and Local Government. That is part of what we need to do in the United Kingdom, including in England, but it does not resolve the basic issue of fairness that my hon. Friends have raised regarding decisions on legislation affecting England.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hague]

These issues are not mutually exclusive. It is entirely possible to believe that there should be greater autonomy at the local level, including for the hon. Lady’s constituents and mine. However, if she is talking, as she did at the beginning of her intervention, about what people feel, I think she will have to acknowledge that they also feel, whether it be in Yorkshire or County Durham, that Scottish Members should no longer be voting on matters that have been devolved to Scotland. That is the local opinion.

[Henry Smith]

The Leader of the House is absolutely right that we should have English votes for English Members of Parliament on English affairs. With regard to further devolution to the localities within England, I would ask that we do not just talk about cities but the historical counties of England, which deliver a lot of responsibilities already.

[Mr Hague]

Yes, absolutely. Some of the city deals already signed include, for instance, parts of Lancashire outside the cities, so this is a very important point. Localism and decentralisation are crucial to revitalising our cities.

Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 11th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

Net migration has fallen by a third since its peak and we have capped economic migration from outside the EU. My hon. Friend will welcome measures such as limiting EU jobseeker’s benefit to only six months, and removing entitlement to housing benefit. I am sure other hon. Members would welcome an opportunity to debate the matter. My hon. Friend may wish to seek such time from the Backbench Business Committee.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

I very much support the increase in the cancer drugs fund announced by the Government, and was delighted previously to open a new digital mammography unit at Crawley hospital. Nevertheless, I was concerned to see recently the results of an assessment of my constituency that indicated that cancer survival rates were below the national average, largely owing to the need to get early diagnosis. Will he consider a debate on the importance not only of cancer treatment but of awareness of cancer symptoms, so that people can be diagnosed and treated much more promptly?

[Mr Hague]

Yes, tackling diagnosis is vital. We have committed more than £450 million over the period of the spending review up to next year to support earlier diagnosis. We have debated related issues, most recently on Monday, when the House considered the e-petition on research funding and awareness of pancreatic cancer, but I am sure the House would benefit from further opportunities, particularly to coincide with the next early diagnosis reminder campaign, which is running in October and November.

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 10th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

Of course, nobody can claim to know what the figure will be in 2020, since we are only in 2014. A great deal of work has to be done, but we have greatly intensified the promotion of British exports. That is why I, in my time as Foreign Secretary, opened nearly 20 new embassies and consulates, including many that the Labour party closed when it was in power, and why we have revamped UK Trade & Investment. We have huge increases in exports to countries such as China, India and Brazil. Everybody, of all parties and businesses, must join in making a success of that by 2020.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

Q3. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition are rightly campaigning today for the future of our Union. With Gatwick in my constituency, I see on a daily basis the strong family and business links between my local airport and Scottish airports. Does my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House agree with me that our great kingdom is better together as a united Britain? I say that as somebody with proud Scottish ancestry.

[Mr Hague]

Yes, I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. What he can see at Gatwick airport and what we all experience around other parts of England and Wales is a very good example of his point. In fact, two thirds of Scottish exports are exported to the rest of the United Kingdom—twice as much as to the rest of the world put together. Why would anyone choose to place an international border where those exports are going, and to do so unnecessarily? My hon. Friend makes a very powerful point.

Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 3rd July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I have read my hon. Friend’s early-day motion and had the pleasure of hearing him and colleagues make their application for a debate to the Backbench Business Committee. It will be for that Committee to determine whether a debate should take place. I will say—I freely admit that this is a personal view—that although there is a hospital in my constituency with very high parking charges, I am concerned about deciding simply to subsidise or pay for car parking, as happens in Wales. This is money that would otherwise be available for clinical—[Interruption.] It is a simple fact that that money would otherwise be available for clinical services. When the NHS in Wales is underperforming on standards and achievements relative to England, one has to reflect on whether that subsidy could form part of the problem.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

Earlier this year, Argentina absurdly started issuing a 50 peso note with a map on it of the Falklands Islands, in the colours of the Argentine flag. Far more sensibly, in contrast, earlier this year my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a new £1 coin, which will be more secure and reaches back to the heritage of our coinage. May we have a statement from the Treasury as to whether the tails side of that new £1 coin could feature the coat of arms of the Falkland Islands and of other overseas territories, in the same way as England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland feature?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman was too self-effacing to draw to the attention of the House that he is himself a renowned vexillologist.

Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 8th May 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman planned his question but did not listen to the answer I just gave. There is no change in the planning for the better care fund. In response to what he and the shadow Leader of the House said, I should point out that this Government have taken the necessary steps to further integrate health and social care delivery. We made significant resources available to local authorities, in each of the first two years of this Parliament, to support social care-health service interaction. The health and wellbeing boards are creating a powerful structural mechanism to enable that to happen, and the better care fund will put the resources behind that capacity to deliver integrated care.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

On state visits and certain other occasions—although, interestingly, not during the recent Irish state visit—flags of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom and the overseas territories are flown from Parliament square and then taken down. May we have a statement from the Culture Secretary on the possibility of flags of the constituent countries of the UK and the overseas territories flying full-term from Parliament square?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman is of course a noted vexillologist, a fact that I thought I should draw to the attention of the House.