Business of the House

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Thursday 19th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I will draw the right hon. Gentleman’s concern to my right hon. Friend’s attention and ask her to write to him about our policy on compulsory water metering. I am sure that he shares the concern of Members on both sides of the House about doing all we can to drive down water consumption and conserve water, and I hope that he will not rule out measures such as the one that he has touched on.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

Last weekend, my youngest son went on his first cubs camp, and I went along as a helper. However, I was not able to stay at the camp overnight because I do not have an up-to-date Criminal Records Bureau check for the cubs. That is a pity, as I have helped out at the same Cheshire cubs branch, which my older son went to, for the past seven years. May we have a debate on the over-the-top CRB requirements that can be such a disincentive to volunteering?

[Sir George Young]

I would like to find time for such a debate, and perhaps the Backbench Business Committee could provide it. One of the unforeseen consequences of trying to protect children by introducing CRB checks is that fewer people are then able to help children through voluntary organisations such as the scouts. We have to try to get the right balance that gives children the protection to which they are entitled but does not discourage volunteers such as my hon. Friend from playing an active part in their activities.

Business of the House

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Thursday 12th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I would welcome a debate on the important issue of youth unemployment, where we inherited a substantial figure—I believe it was 1.4 million. My hon. Friend may have heard today’s announcement of £60 million to get more vulnerable young people into work, and he will know that we are committed to 250,000 more apprenticeships over the next four years and radical reforms to transform vocational training. I would welcome such a debate, but I am afraid that I cannot promise the time for it immediately.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

Parents in my constituency have come together to work to set up a free school in Sandymoor. This exciting development will bring a much-needed boost to local school choice and it has my full support. May we have a debate on the importance of providing top-quality advice and support to aspiring free school founders, so that we can help to make their efforts just that little bit easier?

[Sir George Young]

I am delighted to hear that parents in my hon. Friend’s constituency are planning to set up a free school and I welcome the support that he is giving them. It is important that those interested in setting up free schools have access to advice and support, which is why the Department for Education has funded the New Schools Network, an independent charitable organisation, to offer support to individuals and groups such as those he mentioned.

Business of the House

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Thursday 17th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am sure the hon. Gentleman is not casting any aspersions on the integrity of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, but I will share with my right hon. Friend the concern that he has just mentioned and seek to reassure him that there are no irregularities at all in the arrangements for GP commissioning.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

Members of Sandymoor parish council recently presented me with a petition signed by hundreds of parents in my constituency about a lack of secondary school choice in that new-build area. The root cause of the problem is the Labour council giving planning permission for many thousands of new homes without thinking to provide essential amenities such as schools. May we have a debate about planning policy and the importance of avoiding such problems in future developments?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend will know that it is not unusual for local authorities to use their section 106 planning powers to require a developer to make provision for a new primary or secondary school to cope with rising population. He will also know that we have passed legislation introducing free schools and reducing the planning barriers that confront them, to respond to parents’ wishes when they want a new school to be established in their area to provide high-quality education.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Thursday 3rd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vaizey]

It says here that that is from a statement made in August 2009 by Siôn Simon, the previous Labour Minister responsible for the creative industries. [Interruption.]

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

14. What steps he is taking to encourage young people to participate in competitive sport.

[The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson)]

It feels a little like the aftermath of the lord mayor’s show, Mr Speaker.

The Government are committed to encouraging young people to participate in competitive sport, principally through the introduction of the new school games tournament. The school games will roll out this September and give pupils of all abilities the chance to compete regularly against each other in a wide range of sports at local, county and national level. The first national finals will take place in the Olympic park in 2012.

[Graham Evans]

I thank the Minister for that reply and welcome plans for the school games, which should help to provide a lasting sporting legacy for London 2012. Such a lasting legacy was under threat from the previous Government’s constant diversion of national lottery funding away from sport to other pet projects. What have this Government done to prevent that from happening in future?

[Hugh Robertson]

The simple answer is that we have increased the amount of money that sport gets though the lottery back up to the 20% originally envisaged in the mid-1990s.

Business of the House

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Thursday 10th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern. I prefer to rest on the answer that I gave to the shadow Leader of the House. It is our intention to secure the LCM before we proceed with the Committee stage of the Bill.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

A recent e-mail to Members from the Stop HS2 campaign was riddled with inaccuracies, exaggerations and distortions. The high-speed rail link between London and Manchester is absolutely essential for promoting investment in northern constituencies such as mine, but unfortunately a ragtag alliance of luddites and nimbys appears to be making ludicrous arguments against the plans. May we have a debate on high-speed rail so that these falsehoods can be tackled head on?

[Sir George Young]

The Attorney-General will have heard the robust language used by my hon. Friend to describe other hon. Members. I think that I am right in saying that there is a bid to the Backbench Business Committee for a debate on HS2, and I hope that that will be an opportunity to debate the matter further. I remind my hon. Friend that, as he knows, it is the Government’s policy to proceed with this investment.

Business of the House

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Thursday 3rd February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The Government are committed to providing timely replies to hon. Members and I am sorry for the delay. I have seen the letter, which does offer an apology for the delay in responding, and I shall raise the matter again with my colleagues in the Treasury. Of course, there will be an opportunity for the hon. Gentleman to repeat his point on Tuesday, when Treasury Ministers will be here.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

The village of Sutton Weaver is divided by two separate postcodes, which has caused numerous problems to my constituents. Despite a very strong campaign by Sutton parish council, Royal Mail has refused to unify the village under a single postcode. May we have a debate on applications for postcode changes and enhancing local democracy?

[Sir George Young]

I understand my hon. Friend’s concern. I shall pass his comments on to my right hon. Friend the Business Secretary. My hon. Friend will be familiar with the code of practice that governs changes to Royal Mail’s postcode address file, known as PAF. Royal Mail will consider making changes only if they will not materially affect the efficiency of its nationwide network of operations.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Evans of Rainow Excerpts

Monday 25th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

10. What plans he has to roll out next generation broadband to rural areas.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

11. What progress he has made on his plans to roll out next generation broadband.

[Anne Marie Morris (Newton Abbot) (Con)]

13. What steps he is taking to ensure that all areas have access to high-speed broadband.

--- Later in debate ---

[Graham Evans]

When does my right hon. Friend expect the results from the rural broadband pilots to be gathered?

[Mr Hunt]

I hope the rural broadband pilots will start in the middle of next year and that, by the end of that year, we will be in a position to see how successful they have been. The broader issue with these pilots is that we have managed to secure nearly £1 billion of investment for this project—a lot more than the Opposition ever did—but it is going to take a lot more money than that, so we need to use this money to catalyse private sector investment. The point of the pilots is to understand the best way to achieve that, so that we can roll it out to the whole country at minimum cost to the taxpayer.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

1. What progress has been made on the establishment of a House business committee.

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

4. What progress has been made on the establishment of a House business Committee.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Office of the Leader of the House of Commons (Mr David Heath)]

The Government are committed to establishing a House business committee. The Backbench Business Committee, of which the hon. Member for Kettering (Mr Hollobone) is a member, has got off to a good start, and we shall seek its views on how the House business Committee might operate.

[Mr Heath]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that question. It is a fairly complex matter. If he re-reads the Wright Committee report, he will see that there is a degree of ambiguity about the precise interrelationship. I think the assumption is that the two Committees should sit alongside one another, with some common membership, but it is an area we need to discuss in detail with him and his hon. Friends on the Backbench Business Committee, and more widely in the House, so that we establish a system that will work for the whole House and make sure that both Back-Bench business and the interests of the House as a whole are protected.

[Graham Evans]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the creation of the Backbench Business Committee was a necessary step to restore the value of Back-Bench business, which was badly neglected under the previous Government?

[Mr Heath]

My hon. Friend will not be surprised to know that I entirely agree with him on that point. The Backbench Business Committee has made a good start in ensuring that important matters are brought before the House in a timely way. My greatest regret is the fact that the previous Government took so long to accede to the very reasonable request from the Wright Committee and many Members on both sides of the House to make that happen.