Health Service Commissioner for England (Complaint Handling) Bill

Debate between Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom and John Bercow

Friday 27th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr James Arbuthnot (North East Hampshire) (Con)]

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

[Mr Speaker]

With this it will be convenient to discuss new clause 2—Information for the persons making the complaint—

‘The Health Service Commissioner shall make available to the complainant, at the outset of an investigation, an estimate of the period within which the investigation is likely to be completed.’

[Mr Arbuthnot]

May I begin by congratulating my right hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice and Howden (Mr Davis) on getting the Bill through Second Reading without any discussion whatsoever, then through Committee without any amendment and now on Report? On Tuesday, in the Committee deliberating on the National Health Service (Amended Duties and Powers) Bill, during which hon. Members had the misfortune of having to listen to me speak for a little longer than normal, I said that in 28 years in this House I have never had a private Member’s Bill, so my right hon. Friend’s achievement is considerable.

Local Government (Review of Decisions) Bill

Debate between Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom and John Bercow

Friday 23rd January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Arbuthnot]

I beg to move amendment 2, page 2, line 43, at end insert—

‘( ) For the purposes of this Act the Local Commissioner shall have power to instruct the authority to pay compensation for any costs or inconvenience caused by the authority’s having unreasonably attempted to restrict or block an event.

( ) Any compensation payable under subsection () above in relation to inconvenience shall not exceed the total amount that it would have cost to put on the event.”

[Mr Speaker]

With this it will be convenient to discuss amendment 3, page 2, line 43, at end insert—

‘( ) Section 25 of the Local Government Act 1974 (Authorities subject to investigation) is amended as follows—

( ) In subsection (1) after “(a)”, insert “() parish councils,”.”

[Mr Arbuthnot]

Amendment 2 would allow the local government ombudsman to award compensation in cases covered by the Bill. Under existing legislation, the decisions of the ombudsman on cases of maladministration are not binding on local authorities. The ombudsman can recommend that a council should give compensation, but ultimately it is up to the council to decide whether to do so. When that happens, it is understandable that a constituent who is already aggrieved becomes absolutely infuriated. It was for that reason that in 2008-09 the previous Labour Government held a redress review, which floated the idea of mandatory compensation payments when local public services went wrong. Nothing ever came of that and it was all kicked into the long grass, as, of course, were the previous Labour Government.

Amendment 2 is designed to give the ombudsman an explicit power to instruct a local authority to pay compensation for costs wasted and inconvenience caused by the unreasonable hindering or blocking of an event. Again, the proposal arises out of the report by my noble Friend Lord Young of Graffham, which recommended:

“If it transpires that the local authority officials banned an event without a legitimate reason, the Government should give individuals and organisations a route for redress where they can challenge those decisions and, if appropriate, compensate them.”

It continued:

“If appropriate, the Ombudsman may award damages where it is not possible to reinstate an event. If the Ombudsman’s role requires further strengthening, then legislation should be considered.”

The amendment provides for precisely that compensation.

Lord Young’s recommendation is not contained in the Bill and my probing amendment is intended to discover whether the Government think it might be needed at some stage. My purpose in providing for compensation is not to ensure that local authorities are penalised or put out of pocket, but to ensure that the inhibiting jobsworth behaviour does not happen in the first place.

Amendment 3 would extend the requirement for a review to parish councils. At the moment, the ombudsman cannot investigate parish councils, but they can be just as overzealous as anyone else in applying what they think are the health and safety rules, so why should the legislation not apply to them too?

Prayers

Debate between Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom and John Bercow

Friday 23rd January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr James Arbuthnot (North East Hampshire) (Con)]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. My right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve) has made an entirely sensible point. I have tabled one or two amendments to the first Bill, but I very much hope that they will not take up too much time and that my right hon. and learned Friend will have ample time in which to discuss the important matters that he wishes to raise.

[Mr Speaker]

That is characteristically solicitous of the right hon. Gentleman, and I am sure that it will be appreciated by the right hon. and learned Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve) and the right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), not to mention the hon. Member for Christchurch (Mr Chope). In answer to the right hon. and learned Member for Beaconsfield, I note his point and it is certainly something that the Procedure Committee could usefully consider. I know that he will not take it the wrong way when I say that he might not have had cause to raise this point before now, but because the way in which this operates affects him adversely, it is now a source of grievance in a way that it might not previously have been. However, that does not automatically negate its value, and it might even be thought that he has done us a public service in highlighting it. I hope that the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Mr Walker) will be similarly minded when he hears of the right hon. and learned Gentleman’s concern.

Afghanistan

Debate between Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom and John Bercow

Thursday 17th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. This is an important statement, but I remind the House that there are two debates to follow under the auspices of the Backbench Business Committee, the first of which is especially heavily subscribed, so I must appeal to colleagues to ask single, short supplementary questions, without preamble, and to the Secretary of State for her customarily pithy replies.

[Mr James Arbuthnot (North East Hampshire) (Con)]

What does my right hon. Friend regard as the greatest strategic threat to the longer-term success of our mission in Afghanistan?

[Mr Speaker]

A master class from the Chairman of the Defence Committee.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom and John Bercow

Thursday 23rd June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. A further 38 right hon. and hon. Members are seeking to catch my eye. As always, I should like to accommodate them, but I remind the House that two debates are taking place today under the auspices of the Backbench Business Committee, both of which are well subscribed. Brevity from Back Benchers and Front Benchers alike is therefore of the essence.

[Mr James Arbuthnot (North East Hampshire) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend share my disappointment that he was unable to announce today a debate on the armed forces? Is he aware that the Backbench Business Committee—through no fault of its Chair, I have to say—has refused my request for a debate on the armed forces, although we have not had one since September last year, in favour of a request to debate eight or 28 circus animals? That is an important subject that would be appropriate for a debate in Westminster Hall, but I understand that that already happened a couple of weeks ago.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Debate between Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom and John Bercow

Tuesday 19th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I say to the hon. Gentleman that he must calm himself, however strongly he feels. I want to hear the Chair of the Defence Select Committee.

[Mr James Arbuthnot (North East Hampshire) (Con)]

The Defence Select Committee will wish to give the review very close scrutiny. It seems to take a real gamble with the short term in order to provide security and stability in the longer term, but how will my right hon. Friend answer those who say, as they will, “If we can get away with no fast jet aircraft carriers for 10 years, why do we need them at all?” Will he defend the Defence budget against such an attack?