Business of the House

Lord Lansley Excerpts

Thursday 1st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Ms Angela Eagle (Wallasey) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House give us the business for the next week?

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

The business for next will be:

Monday 5 November—Second Reading of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill.

Tuesday 6 November—Second Reading of the European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill, followed by motion to approve European documents relating to banking union and economic and monetary union.

Wednesday 7 November—Opposition day (8th allotted day). There will be a debate on regional pay in the NHS, followed by a further debate on a subject to be announced. Both debates will arise on an Opposition motion.

Thursday 8 November—A debate on a motion relating to the medium-term financial plan for the House of Commons administration and savings programme, followed by a general debate on stimulating growth through better use of the prompt payment code. The subjects for these debates have been nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.

Friday 9 November—Private Members’ Bills.

The provisional business for the following week will include:

Monday 12 November—Opposition day (9th allotted day). There will be a debate on an Opposition motion. Subject to be announced.

Tuesday 13 November—Business to be nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.

I should also like to inform the House of business in Westminster Hall:

Thursday 22 November—A debate on the Transport Select Committee’s report on air travel organisers’ licensing reform, followed by a debate on the Committee’s report on flight time limitations.

Thursday 6 December—A debate on fisheries.

[Ms Eagle]

I thank the Leader of the House for announcing the business for next week.

Last week, I welcomed the new Chief Whip to his position. This week, I should congratulate him on another parliamentary record. John Wakeham, his predecessor, lost a Commons vote within 40 days in the job; this Chief Whip has done it in only 13 days. At least his experience in John Major’s Cabinet means that he knows what it is like to serve under a weak Prime Minister who is unable to control his parliamentary party.

Yesterday lunchtime, the Prime Minister said he was in favour of cutting the EU budget, but yesterday evening he voted against cutting the EU budget. It says something about his unique negotiating strategy that he thinks he strengthens his position by voting against the very thing he says he will argue for; and it says something about his approach to party management that, ahead of last night’s vote, he told his Back Benchers—in colourful terms—that the House

“is not some…sixth-form debating society”.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister said the Government were seeking a real-terms cut in the EU budget, but today the Deputy Prime Minister has ruled that out. Who speaks for the Government?

Two weeks ago, the House voted against the scrapping of 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, and the Government ignored the vote; last week, the House voted against the badger cull and the Government carry on regardless; but they must not ignore the vote of the House last night—after all, this is not a “sixth-form debating society”. May we therefore have an urgent statement from the Foreign Secretary on what steps the Government will now take?

I am afraid I owe the House an apology. Last week, I tipped Flashman for the 4.25 at Doncaster, but when it came to it Flashman over-promised and under-delivered. He turned out to be a great disappointment. There is a lesson in that for Conservative Back Benchers: don’t waste your money on a gelding called Flashman.

Back in September, the Prime Minister announced with great fanfare that he was setting up a growth implementation committee. He said it would be

“a forum which will be focused on implementation and driving implementation.”

When asked, the Business Secretary—vice-chair of the committee—could not remember its even being set up. So unmemorable and unimportant was the committee on “driving implementation” that the Business Secretary’s officials had to remind him that the committee had in fact met twice and that he had been there. There we have it: the PR Prime Minister announces by press release a drive for growth, and nothing happens.

It is no wonder that, halfway through the life of this Government, they had to ask Lord Heseltine to report on how to drive economic growth. His report concluded:

“the UK does not have a strategy for growth”.

They did not need to ask Lord Heseltine to find that out. So far, we have had a growth implementation committee and a growth report, and next week we will debate the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, but since the Government were formed and over the entire period they have been in office, the economy has grown in total by just 0.6%. Whether plan B or plan H, the Government need a plan for growth, so may we have an urgent statement from the Chancellor on what the Government are doing to implement the report’s recommendations?

The Conservative Energy Minister said this week about onshore wind farms that “enough is enough”. Hours later, up popped his boss, the Liberal Democrat Secretary of State, to announce the opposite. For good measure, a “source” told the Guardian that the errant Energy Minister “has been very silly”. We clearly need an urgent statement from the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change so that we can find out precisely what this Government’s policy on onshore wind farms really is, because it did not become any clearer in today’s questions. We also need an assurance that his junior Minister will not contradict the policy the day after it is announced.

Then there is Trident. This week, the Defence Secretary announced one position, and then the Deputy Prime Minister announced a different one. We have not heard from the Leader of the House on the subject, so maybe he would like to announce a third.

This week we have had two defence policies and two wind farm policies and today we have got two EU budget policies. Even a sixth-form debating society would do better than this.

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to the shadow Leader of the House for her tip last week, but I was looking forward to one this week. It turns out that all we get from the Labour party is a non-starter. The hon. Lady has to get it right—if the horse does not run, you keep your money, and that is what we are going to do. We are going to keep the money.

The hon. Lady is right: we are not a sixth-form debating society, but people might have thought differently from the way the Labour party approached yesterday’s debate. It was a classic of student politics—do one thing and say another. This is a party which in government saw the EU budget rise by 47%. It said it would go and negotiate toughly on the budget, but gave away the rebate and saw the budget go up by £8 billion. That is not a party that has any credibility. On the contrary, our Prime Minister will go to those negotiations looking for a cut, not—as the shadow Leader said—aiming for no cut. We have already started with the toughest position ever achieved in relation to the EU budget, with the Prime Minister already having done what the Labour party talked about but never did—creating allies in Europe for constraining the EU budget, as he did in December 2010. Contrary to what the Labour party says, the Prime Minister is prepared to use the veto on the EU budget if necessary, whereas Labour says it would not.

The hon. Lady did ask a question—I always search for them. She asked whether the Chancellor would make a statement about Lord Heseltine’s report “No Stone Unturned”. The Prime Minister and Chancellor commissioned that report and welcomed it. It rightly stressed that we are on the right track. Anyone who knows Michael Heseltine well—as I do—will recognise that he always wants to be pushing forward, and that is what we will do. The Chancellor will make the autumn statement on 5 December and show how we are taking forward growth, because from our point of view it is vital to achieve growth in the economy.

The hon. Lady asked about Trident. All that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence was doing was announcing the next phase of what was announced back in May in relation to the design and development process. There was nothing new or exceptional about that. The shadow Leader of the House seems to have written her response to the business statement before she came to the House to listen to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change respond to questions. He and his Ministers could not have been clearer. We are achieving improvements in renewable and green technologies in ways that Labour could only dream of.

I remind the shadow Leader of the House that she told her constituents in the Wirral News yesterday that

“we desperately need…some good news on the economy.”

I find that astonishing. Does she not realise that we have reduced Labour’s deficit by a quarter? Under this Government, there are more than 1 million more people working in the private sector and an increase in employment of 750,000. The number of people claiming the main out-of-work benefits has fallen by 170,000. Furthermore, 950,000 people have started apprenticeships in the past two years, and more new businesses have been created than in any other year on record. That is happening under this Government. Only Labour believes in a plan B— B for borrowing!

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Mr Charles Walker (Broxbourne) (Con)]

May we find time for an urgent debate on the shocking performance of the East of England ambulance service? I am in no doubt that the performance of the chairman, Maria Ball, and the chief executive, Hayden Newton, is falling well short of acceptable.

[Mr Lansley]

May I take this opportunity to congratulate my hon. Friend on his election to the chairmanship of the Procedure Committee and say how much we look forward to working with him in discharging our business efficiently and effectively and in making the procedures of the House increasingly accessible, so that the public can engage with what the House does?

[Thomas Docherty (Dunfermline and West Fife) (Lab)]

We’re over here!

[Mr Lansley]

I am addressing Mr Speaker, if that is all right with the hon. Gentleman, as I think I am required to do.

The East of England ambulance service, like all other ambulance trusts across the country, has for the first time met all its category A response times, but it is important that it continue to do so right across the territory, not just on an aggregate basis. It is important for colleagues to raise this matter, and my hon. Friend and his colleagues might have the opportunity to pursue it in an Adjournment debate.

[Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)]

Last week, the Leader of the House’s successor in the Department of Health made some strong comments in the media about the need to improve the regulatory regime around medical implants. The Science and Technology Committee has just published an important report on this subject. Given the anxiety among the public, may we have an urgent statement from the Secretary of State so he can explain what he is doing about this important subject?

[Mr Lansley]

Given my knowledge of these subjects, the hon. Gentleman will know that although I recognise that his Committee’s report is an important contribution, my noble Friend Lord Howe and other Health Ministers have never regarded this matter as anything other than important and urgent, and I am sure that they will endeavour to inform the House fully of any matters that arise. Their work not only in response to the breast implant scandal but, in particular, on how hip implants are regulated is proceeding apace.

[Mr Christopher Chope (Christchurch) (Con)]

May we have an early debate on the lack of accountability of NHS foundation trusts? The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Foundation Trust is proposing to merge with the Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The Office of Fair Trading has given a two-week opportunity for public comment, but the trust has refused to supply me, under the Freedom of Information Act, with the 50-page document purporting to set out the public benefits. Without that document, it is very difficult for a Member of Parliament to comment constructively on the merits or otherwise of such a proposed merger. Is this not an outrage?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend will recall that the arrangements reducing the accountability of NHS foundation trusts to this House were established in legislation passed under the last Government, but in the future the NHS competition provisions will be transferred from the OFT to Monitor, which should enhance accountability. He raises an important point, however, about the application of the Freedom of Information Act to NHS foundation trusts, and I will ask my colleagues in the Department of Health to respond to that matter.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Health professionals say that 125 amputations occur weekly owing to diabetes, yet 80% are preventable. The National Audit Office says that we could save £34 million annually if late referrals to specialist teams were halved. In the interests of patients and NHS budgets, may we have a debate on how to prevent amputations from diabetes?

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I do not recall: does he have an early-day motion on this matter?

[Nick Smith]

indicated dissent.

[Mr Lansley]

I hope there will be opportunities to discuss these issues. The hon. Gentleman might talk to his colleagues on the Opposition Front Bench. Instead of a debate on regional pay in the NHS, which is not proposed, he might have invited his colleagues to have a debate on improving outcomes in the NHS, which is what this Government are setting out to do. Where diabetes is concerned, that is one of our priorities.

[Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Greg Mulholland]

May we have an urgent debate on the nonsense of empty properties having to pay rates? It is hugely damaging and is preventing business. Wharfebank business centre in my constituency renovates old mill space to provide wonderful office space. The business is desperate for tenants, yet it cannot renovate further space, because if it does it will be forced to pay full rates on it. It does not make sense and is holding back growth.

[Mr Lansley]

Many Members will be aware of this issue, and my hon. Friend makes an important point. I will not dwell on the arguments, but he might note that, given the importance of the issue to small businesses, there will be an opportunity to consider it in the context of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, which I have announced is due for debate on Monday.

[Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Moor View) (Lab)]

I draw the House’s attention to my indirect interests, in relation to this question and the one I asked in Energy and Climate Change questions.

The NAO report “Managing the impact of Housing Benefit reform”, which is published today, makes it clear that private and social rents are rising fast—private rents in the south-west are expected to rise by 48% in the next eight years—and that the housing benefit budget is rocketing as more people in work find it more difficult to meet their housing costs. May we have a debate on the report and the desperate failure of the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Communities and Local Government to understand the implications of their own shambolic policies?

[Mr Lansley]

I do not recognise what the hon. Lady describes as the view inside the Department for Work and Pensions, which is well aware of the necessity of reducing what under the last Government became the ballooning costs of housing benefit, but in a way that recognises the difficulties that people may have. That is why the Government are providing additional funding, totalling £190 million, to smooth the transition over the next five years. If the hon. Lady wishes to raise the matter again, there will be opportunities to do so at Work and Pensions questions on Monday.

[Bob Stewart (Beckenham) (Con)]

The 6 December is the 30th anniversary of the Ballykelly bombing, when 17 people were killed—murdered, rather. Six of them were civilians and 11 were soldiers, six of whom were from my company. May I ask the Leader of the House, on our behalf, to note this very sad anniversary and, on behalf of all of us, to pass on our thoughts to the relatives, who are still grieving after 30 years?

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this, as I think colleagues across the House will be. It is important that we take opportunities in this House not only to debate current issues but sometimes to stand back and to recognise and commemorate losses in the past. The sadness of those losses lasts to this day and will continue to do so.

[Mr Nigel Dodds (Belfast North) (DUP)]

Following the question from the hon. Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart), next week marks the 25th anniversary of the Poppy Day massacre in Enniskillen, in which 11 people were murdered by the IRA. Clearly the House will want to join me in expressing condolences to the victims and their families. Today’s dastardly news of the murder of a prison officer by terrorists in Northern Ireland reminds the entire House that the battle against terrorism and for democracy and freedom continues in Northern Ireland and across this kingdom. We wish to send our condolences and sympathy to the family of the victim this morning.

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman; he is absolutely right. Members across the House know that we must never relent in the fight against terrorism. Equally, building democracy and creating the opportunities for people to take charge of their own destiny in a way that is peaceful in the long term is something that we have all contributed to and that we all support.

[Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)]

May we have debate on localism? In a referendum with a 49% turnout in Menston in my constituency, 98% of those who voted opposed a proposed 300-house development in that village. However, Labour and Lib Dem councillors from other parts of the Bradford district came in and voted to impose that housing development on the village, which was clearly against the express wishes of the local people. Until the Government resolve issues such as these, localism will seem like a pipe dream to my constituents.

[Mr Lansley]

I understand my hon. Friend’s point. In my experience, we should have more locally led planning decisions, which this Government are making possible. Also, local authorities’ use of neighbourhood plans can give further force to local decision making, but that has to be pursued within each local authority.

[Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab)]

Sir Howard Davies has been appointed by the Government to look into aviation. Lord Heseltine, echoing the call from the shadow Secretary of State for Transport, says that the report due in 2015 will be far too slow in arriving, and Mayor Boris Johnson is threatening legal action against the Government if they do not advance that timetable. Is there any indication from the Department for Transport that it will be issuing a statement accepting that advice and bringing forward the report earlier?

[Mr Lansley]

Ministers have been clear about the nature of the complexities involved and the task required of Sir Howard Davies, and said that an interim report will be available next year.

[Richard Fuller (Bedford) (Con)]

May we have an early debate on career progression opportunities for black and minority ethnic employees in the health and care sector? There are hundreds of thousands of BME employees at the lower levels, but it would be good to see more at the higher levels, where there is just a handful at the moment.

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. I do not have an immediate opportunity for a debate on that subject, but he might like to pursue the matter through other routes, such as an Adjournment debate. This is an important issue. I know how important it is that the national health service should pursue equality and diversity policies that are truly effective. To that end, I will ask my colleagues in the Department of Health to contact my hon. Friend to tell him how they are doing that.

[Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)]

Despite having had three spare hours of debating time on Tuesday, the House has still done nothing effective to hold the Department of Health to account for its lack of action on the alleged abuses by Jimmy Savile on NHS premises. Those three hours could have been used to question the lack of an independent inquiry, and to ask why the Department believes that internal reviews overseen by NHS insiders are sufficient when abuses against children and vulnerable patients are being alleged. The Leader of the Opposition has called for a single independent inquiry. Will the Leader of the House now allocate available time for a debate on this vital issue?

[Mr Lansley]

I do not have time immediately available for a debate on the investigations and inquiries relating to Jimmy Savile. Indeed, it might be difficult to hold such a debate while police investigations are taking place. None the less, I will of course ask my right hon. Friends to reply to the hon. Lady on this. I would also say, as someone who knows Kate Lampard, that I am sure she will conduct her investigations in relation to the NHS independently and effectively.

[Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend grant us a debate on the employment figures? The Opposition seem to want to do down those figures, but I would particularly like to celebrate the fact that there are more women in employment now than ever before.

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. It is important to recognise that, if employment were not rising, Labour Members would have been the first to say that we should debate the matter. Instead, they dwell on bad news. Such, I suppose, is the nature of opposition. They seem to be wallowing in that kind of thing. They seem to like being in opposition, and I think we will leave them there for a long time. My hon. Friend is absolutely right, however. The increase in employment, especially among women, and the reduction in youth unemployment are things that we should take the opportunity to celebrate.

[Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab)]

May we have a statement from the appropriate Minister on Government endeavours to help get back from the US the UK citizens who are stranded there because of the hurricane? I am particularly concerned about a party of 38 school girls from Leicester high school who are stranded in New York. They have been offered a flight on Tuesday, but the problem is that many of them have exams next week, so may we have a statement and will the Government look at ways of getting those schoolgirls back in time for those exams?

[Mr Lansley]

Ministers from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office were here answering questions on Tuesday, when I think this issue might have arisen. The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. There are probably something approaching 50,000 British nationals in the most affected parts of the United States. The events, the damage, the distress and the loss of life and livelihood in America are dreadful. One of our responsibilities is to do as the hon. Gentleman asked and offer consular assistance wherever possible for those who need it, so I will contact my colleagues in the FCO to see if they can respond to him.

[Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

May we have a debate on unemployment? In my constituency, Dover and Deal have seen unemployment rocketing over the last Parliament. The latest quarterly claimant count figures are welcome, showing a decrease of 5%. That is a great result, but we should look at what more we can do to win the war on unemployment.

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. In that context, support for the Work programme is terrifically important. It is an unprecedented campaign to help the longer-term unemployed to get back into work. Encouraging as those employment figures were, we know that a substantial number of people have been out of work for some considerable time. The Work programme is directed to that, and 693,000 people are already accessing support through it.

[Sandra Osborne (Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) (Lab)]

May we have a debate on communication between Government Departments and Members of Parliament with regard to individual constituents’ issues? Until recently, I have had named individuals in the Department for Work and Pensions whom my office could contact to discuss benefit inquiries on behalf of very vulnerable individuals, but I have now been told to contact the general inquiry line. At a time when, thanks to this Government’s draconian policies, DWP offices are inundated with inquiries from vulnerable people, this is not an adequate response.

[Mr Lansley]

I was not aware of any reduction of such facilities, but I will of course talk to my colleagues in the DWP. I know from conversations I have had with them that they are looking for Members to continue to be able to access dedicated support in looking after their constituents’ interests, but I will take a personal interest in the matter and ask DWP colleagues to reply to the hon. Lady.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

Tragically, in 2006 Captain James Philippson was killed in Helmand province. Disturbingly, a year later, the Ministry of Defence blamed my constituent, Army Major Jonny Bristow, for his death, yet in 2007, a coroner’s inquest exonerated Major Bristow of any wrongdoing and, indeed, identified a lack of proper equipment supplied by the Ministry of Defence at the time. May we have a statement from the Defence Secretary about the lack of equipment that used to exist for our troops in Afghanistan and about the way in which the Ministry of Defence handles its justice procedures?

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this clearly important issue. I am aware that Major Bristow has submitted a formal service complaint, and I understand that the Ministry of Defence is in direct contact with him. That complaint is ongoing and is being considered at the highest level within the Army’s internal complaints mechanism. I am sure that my hon. Friend would not expect me to comment—it would be inappropriate for me to do so—while that process is continuing. He has had the opportunity to put the matter on the record; I will raise it with my right hon. and hon. Friends in the Ministry of Defence and ensure that they are made aware of it.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend the shadow Leader of the House was correct to mention the confusion at the heart of government with regard to the Cabinet Growth Implementation Committee. If that Committee has met twice, why have the Government refused to answer my parliamentary question about its membership? May we have an urgent statement on the membership of this Committee, when it has met and what will be on the agenda for its next meeting?

[Mr Lansley]

I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman appears not to be aware that the document listing the members of Committees and Cabinet Committees was published on Tuesday. He could have seen it already.

[Mr John Leech (Manchester, Withington) (LD)]

The number of my constituents who are waiting more than six months for the UK Border Agency to process their applications for indefinite leave to remain is on the increase. May we have a statement on the agency’s performance in that regard, and also an explanation for the delays?

[Mr Lansley]

I will of course ask my colleagues at the Home Office to respond to the specific point that my hon. Friend has raised, but let me say to all Members that we are continuously trying to improve the Border Agency’s performance. I hope that the Government will look for opportunities to update the House as soon as possible.

[Mr Andrew Love (Edmonton) (Lab/Co-op)]

Against the backdrop of growing concern about the fact that the local economic partnership strategy is simply not working, may we have an early debate on the Heseltine growth strategy paper? It contains radical proposals, not least for the shifting of resources from the centre of localities and a fundamental shake-up of local government. This is urgent, and we cannot wait for the Chancellor’s December statement.

[Mr Lansley]

I do not think for a minute that we are waiting for the autumn statement. Things are already happening. For example, the local enterprise partnerships are established, and 24 enterprise zones have been set up across the country. On the Friday before last the Deputy Prime Minister announced regional growth fund allocations for hundreds of projects all over the country, totalling more than £1 billion, and more than 60% of the projects in rounds 1 and 2 are up and running.

[Simon Kirby (Brighton, Kemptown) (Con)]

The St James’s street area of central Brighton is very important to the social life of the city. May we have a debate about the importance of city centres to the cultural and economic life of their communities, and about the need for the police to maintain order in such locations?

[Mr Lansley]

Yes. I cannot identify an immediate opportunity for such a debate, but my hon. Friend’s point about the vibrancy of city centres is important, and I think that many Members will share his view. The policing aspect is part of a wider issue, namely the need to ensure that people feel that they can go to such places confidently and in safety.

I hope that there will be an opportunity for the debate for which my hon. Friend has asked, but he may wish to look for one himself. For instance, it may be possible for him to raise the matter on the Adjournment.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

May we have a statement on the continuing mystery and whiff surrounding the decision by the former Secretary of State for International Development to restore aid to Rwanda? During international development questions yesterday, the present Secretary of State confirmed that the humanitarian situation in eastern Congo had worsened, but also said that she understood the decision to have been made on the basis of officials’ advice. May we have a statement so that that advice can be published and we can all see exactly what happened?

[Mr Lansley]

As the hon. Gentleman will know, the Prime Minister responded to a question about that on the Wednesday before last. However, I understand that the former International Development Secretary is due to give evidence to the International Development Committee, which will provide an opportunity for the position to be set out very clearly.

[Guto Bebb (Aberconwy) (Con)]

The interest rate swap mis-selling scandal, to which Members on both sides of the House have drawn attention, resulted in the setting up of a redress scheme by the Financial Services Authority. May we have a debate on the issue in Government time before Christmas, once the pilot programme for the scheme has been completed?

[Mr Lansley]

The issue of redress is important. As my hon. Friend knows, it is important for the pilot scheme for the review process to be completed—although it has now been extended for two weeks—and to focus on the need to provide redress for customers, when appropriate, as swiftly as possible, because of the impact on small businesses of the mis-selling of interest rate hedging products. I will ask my colleagues whether there will be any opportunities for the issue to be raised in a debate—I am not aware of one at present—but the hon. Gentleman should consider using the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, for instance, as a mechanism enabling him to raise the issue more extensively.

[Tom Greatrex (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Last week an individual collapsed suddenly right outside Hamilton jobcentre. A constituent of mine went to the aid of the individual and asked the jobcentre staff to phone for an ambulance. They refused to do so, citing rules that they were not allowed to call ambulances for outside their premises. May we have a statement from the Department for Work and Pensions on this appalling situation so that we can have common decency, good sense and even, perhaps, life-saving activity, rather than adherence to strange rules?

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman will understand that I am not aware of those circumstances, but I will, of course, talk to my DWP colleagues so that they can investigate what happened and respond to him.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

May we have an urgent debate on how to stop unnecessary EU regulations strangling UK businesses? My constituent Mr Hart from Leighton Buzzard is faced with losing his car transporter business because of EU regulation 1071, despite the fact that the Department for Transport has confirmed that there is no evidence for this whatever.

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend will be aware that the EU regulation he cites came into force in December last year, so the flexibility to exempt vehicles and small trailers of up to 6 tonnes that existed under the previous EU directive is no longer permitted. That adds burdens to some businesses using small trailers, but my hon. Friend will also be aware that vehicle and trailer combinations of over 3.5 tonnes that carry their own goods can still make use of the small trailer exemption. I hope that is some small comfort.

[Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

The unemployment rate in the north-east is almost 10%, which is the highest rate in the entire country. Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on the state of the economy in the north-east?

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Lady might like to talk to her colleagues about holding a debate on the economy in Opposition time. I have encouraged the shadow Leader of the House to consider that over the past two or three weeks, as good news on the economy has been emerging, which she has signally failed to recognise in her communications with her constituents. The hon. Lady, or her other colleagues representing north-east constituencies, might like to seek an opportunity to raise the topic of the economy on a regional basis in an Adjournment debate, when they could celebrate the fact that on Friday the Deputy Prime Minister announced £120 million, I think, of the regional growth fund round 3 moneys for the north-east, which is the largest sum of regional growth fund moneys.

[John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)]

Many bank complaints are not dealt with internally by banks, but are referred to the financial ombudsman, causing massive delays and adverse credit ratings for individuals, including my constituent Mr Ashley. Will the Leader of the House make time for a statement on the complaints procedures of banks and the performance of the financial ombudsman?

[Mr Lansley]

I fear, Mr Speaker, that I am at risk of repeating a number of times that there is an opportunity to raise issues with the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards. It is examining a very important area, and it could consider the topic my hon. Friend raises. I will also make sure that we take it into account as we look at opportunities for discussions relating to banking, perhaps as legislation on banking reform comes forward in the new year.

[Helen Jones (Warrington North) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House find time for a debate on transparency in pay and taxation, because I am sure the House would like an opportunity to debate recent reports that the interim chief executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority is being paid off the books through a company, thus, one assumes, saving a great deal in tax and national insurance contributions? Could we also then debate why IPSA, an organisation dedicated to transparency, refuses to publish details of these arrangements and say to its press officers that no matter how many stories they then leak, we will keep raising this issue?

[Mr Lansley]

I remind the hon. Lady that we will—not immediately, but at a future date—have an opportunity to discuss the appointments of further lay members to IPSA, which might enable her to raise such issues. On the specific point about the temporary chief executive, I should point out that it was very much a temporary appointment, with a contract for a short period of time, and those are precisely the circumstances in which, as is the case in business life, one would tend to have a special contracting procedure.

[Gavin Barwell (Croydon Central) (Con)]

With help from the Government and the Mayor of London, Croydon council is today announcing a package of nearly £9 million to regenerate west Croydon and the London road area, which was so badly affected by last year’s riots. However, many businesses are still waiting for compensation through the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 or from their insurance companies. May we have a debate about how government—local and national—and the insurance industry have helped the areas affected by those riots?

[Mr Lansley]

I am sure that the House will welcome what my hon. Friends says about the support being given by Croydon council to west Croydon as a consequence of the riots. I will ask my colleagues at the Home Office to write to him about what is being done in relation to the Riot (Damages) Act.

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

In the past few days, a number of important reports have been published, including one from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation suggesting that far from lifting people out of poverty, universal credit may leave them in poverty, and one from Gingerbread saying that universal credit will not get more single parents back to work. So will the Leader of the House make time during Government business to discuss those important reports?

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Lady will be aware that there will be Work and Pensions questions on Monday, which is one occasion when this matter can be raised. She referred to a number of reports, so may I draw her attention to the one from the Resolution Foundation, which rightly pointed out how important it is for low-income and middle-income households in this country to move from dependence on benefits into work? Work is the best solution to poverty.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

The independent Safe and Sustainable review into children’s heart units has recommended that Bristol children’s hospital be designated as one of the centres of excellence, but yesterday it became clear that the Care Quality Commission has issued a formal warning about staffing levels on one of its cardiac wards. That has resulted in a reduced programme of cardiac surgery. Many of us have had grave concerns about the validity of the Safe and Sustainable review’s decision. May we have a statement on this, because the warning raises new concerns, and means that the review’s decisions are now dangerously flawed and that all confidence in them has been lost?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend will be aware, not least from the debates that have taken place in Westminster Hall, that following the Safe and Sustainable review, which was carried out as an independent review within the NHS of child heart surgery, and the referral of these matters to the Secretary of State, he has asked the independent reconfiguration panel to look at the review’s recommendations. So, if I may, I will not trespass on the panel further than that.

[Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab)]

Last night, the Government were attempting to argue that there should be public expenditure cuts in all member states of the European Union but not in the EU itself. This morning, the Government seem to have changed their position somewhat. May we have a debate about precisely what the Government’s position is now on the EU budget?

[Mr Lansley]

I think that the House heard from right hon. Friends very clearly what the Government’s position is. The Government will listen to and hear what the House said in yesterday’s debate and vote. As I said earlier, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister will set out at the European Council to deliver the very best deal he can for this country. He has already demonstrated his determination to do that by building alliances on the EU budget and by his willingness to use the veto, if necessary.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

Please may we have a debate about Government investment in skills training, particularly on what further can be done to tailor it to the needs of young people who have not yet been able to get a job, despite the encouraging economic news recently, including the news from my constituency, where the youth unemployment rate is 3.5% and falling?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend makes an important point, not least in relation to the commendable enterprise in his constituency. I draw the House’s attention to what is really important about the Youth Contract, launched by the Deputy Prime Minister, which is its fantastic range of support for young people. In addition to apprenticeships, it involves: 250,000 work experience or sector-based work academy places; 160,000 wage incentives to take on 18 to 24-year-olds; 20,000 incentive payments specifically to support additional young apprenticeships; and £126 million to support the hardest to reach 16 and 17-year-olds. The Youth Contract will make the biggest difference we have seen yet in helping young people into work experience and then into work.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

I know that the House will be saddened and outraged in equal measure to learn of the dastardly murder of a prison officer this morning in Northern Ireland, ambushed on his way along a motorway in our country. Given that that happened 10 days after the security threat level was reassessed across the whole United Kingdom, will the Leader of the House ensure that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland comes to the House at her earliest convenience and makes a statement about the current security threat level in Ulster and what she is doing about it?

[Mr Lansley]

The House will share the hon. Gentleman’s sense of shock and outrage in relation to that death. My understanding—I am happy to correct this if I am wrong—is that the Home Secretary made it clear that there was a change in the security assessment for mainland Britain, but not for Northern Ireland. I will talk to my hon. Friends at the Home Office, who continuously consider and assess these matters.

[Mike Crockart (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

Today is the first day of Movember, and who can forget the transformation in a previous year of the Deputy Leader of the House into Tom Selleck? Can time be set aside for a debate on men’s health and awareness of prostate and testicular cancer in particular? We need to do all we can to overcome men’s reluctance to discuss these issues and drive down the high number of preventable deaths.

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend makes an important point and I share his view. I hope that tens of thousands of people across the country will demonstrate their support for Movember. We need to ensure that there is just as much recognition of the symptoms and of the necessity of seeking medical advice and diagnosis for cancers that affect men, particularly prostate and testicular cancer, as there is about breast cancer for women. In the past, we have made some successful steps forward on breast cancer that have led to improvements in diagnosis and survival for women, and we now want to see that happening for men with prostate cancer.

[Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend will be aware that there have been a number of questions asked about the poor performance of London Midland trains, particularly in the west midlands. Despite that, their performance continues to be absolutely atrocious. Given London Midland’s habitual underperformance, will the Transport Secretary make a statement on how that pitiful situation can be resolved?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend will know that London Midland has been experiencing a high level of cancellations for about two months now. London Midland is not yet technically in breach of its obligations, but if improvements are not seen in very short order, the Department for Transport will need to consider taking action against the train operator. I will talk to my colleagues and ensure that they update relevant and interested Members.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Earls high school, an excellent academy in my constituency, recently received a grant from a local company to invest in an innovative scheme to teach primary school children mathematics. May we have a debate on what more the Government can do to encourage innovative teaching methods, particularly in maths and science?

[Mr Lansley]

I will, of course, talk to my colleagues at the Department for Education about whether and when we might have an opportunity to do that. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State was in Cambridge to talk to the department of mathematics there to see precisely how we can ensure improvements in mathematics teaching and I know that he, like my hon. Friend, is very exercised about improving standards in that respect. I shall seek advice about when we might be able to debate that further.

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

I understand that this week the House of Commons Commission met to discuss the future of this great building. Will the Leader of the House clarify when Members will be given the opportunity to have some input into those considerations?

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who is right that the House of Commons Commission and the House Committee in the other place considered the internal study group report. In this House, we took the clear view that we know our responsibilities are to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of the business of this House while protecting a building that is vital, historically and otherwise, and protecting value for money. We have asked collectively for further challenging work to be done on those options. Part of that challenge will be to ensure that the House of Commons Commission and the House Committee know well and fully the views of members of both Houses about the options.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

Last year my constituent Rebecca Coriam went missing from a Bahamian-registered Disney cruise ship off the coast of Mexico. The Bahamas authorities have apparently conducted an investigation and provided a summary to Cheshire police but, despite assurances given to me personally by the high commissioner, they have not granted the police permission to release it to Rebecca’s family. May we have a debate on the appalling record of some Governments to investigate thoroughly and openly incidents on ships flying flags of convenience?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to pursue the interests of his constituents as fully and rigorously as he can. As the ship in question was off the Mexican coast, Foreign and Commonwealth Office consular staff have been actively pursuing the initial police report from the Mexican authorities and, as he knows, are in contact with the family, Cheshire police and relevant local authorities. He also raises the issue of ships flying flags of convenience, and I will raise that with colleagues at the Department for Transport and ask them to get in touch with him about it.

[Natascha Engel (North East Derbyshire) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House has witnessed for himself the large number of Back Benchers who come to the Backbench Business Committee and seen the high quality, topicality and importance of the debates brought to us. As a business manager, he will also be aware that Government business sometimes collapses before the full allotted time. Will he work with the Committee to ensure that precious parliamentary time is put to best use and to see whether Back-Bench business debates can be slotted in on those occasions when it is quite predictable that Government business might collapse?

[Mr Lansley]

As a relatively new business manager, I will of course be very glad to discuss these matters with colleagues, not least the House authorities and my hon. Friend the Member for Broxbourne (Mr Walker)—he is no longer in his place—who chairs the Procedure Committee. [Interruption.] I know, as does the hon. Lady, that there are circumstances in which it is proper to allow time for debate and not proper to assume that there will not be a substantive debate on an issue that will take all the time available, so it can sometimes be difficult to anticipate when business will finish sooner than it might otherwise do.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

The improved economic figures are clearly welcome, but it is important that we improve our trade with developing nations. The Indian state of Gujarat has achieved record year-on-year growth, yet its First Minister, Narendra Modi, was denied access to the UK by the previous Government. May we have a statement from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office facilitating a state visit by Shri Narendra Modi to this country so that we can hear at first hand what wonders he has performed in Gujarat?

[Mr Lansley]

I will, of course, talk with colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills about what opportunities there might be to look at Gujarat’s economic performance, but I remind my hon. Friend that, as he probably knows, over the past two years British exports of goods have increased to China by 72%, to India by 94% and to Russia by 109%. The Government are only too conscious of the importance of developing our trade with these leading emerging economies and will continue to give that real push.

[Christopher Pincher (Tamworth) (Con)]

Will the Leader of the House find time for a debate on local jobs fairs? I am holding a jobs fair in Tamworth tomorrow, where 40 employers, local and national, big and small, are coming to offer jobs to local people. I think that a debate would highlight the value of such fairs and the role that Members of Parliament can play in helping our communities get into work.

[Mr Lansley]

Yes. I congratulate my hon. Friend on the steps he is taking and am sure that his constituents really value his support for the jobs fair. It is vitally important. We all know how frustrating it is that there are continuing and persistent levels of long-term unemployment in circumstances in which the number of vacancies is approaching 500,000, so providing opportunities for people who are out of work to find work is something we can all support and work towards.

[Mr Speaker]

I have been saving up the hon. Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon).

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.

Has my right hon. Friend seen my early-day motion 669?

[That this House notes the Chancellor’s strong support for motorists thus far, in particular the 1p cut in fuel duty in 2011 and the overall freeze in fuel duty that has lasted for two years; urges the Government to stop the 3p fuel duty rise planned for January 2013; and believes that this is an issue of social justice, as highlighted by the PetrolPromise.com website, showing that a 3p petrol tax will cost motorists an extra £60 at the pumps in 2013 and the Office for National Statistics, which shows that fuel duty is regressive, hitting poorest citizens the hardest.]

The 3p fuel duty rise in January will cost motorists £60 next year; for anyone who has to drive to work, that undoes one third of the benefit of raising the tax threshold. Will my right hon. Friend do everything possible to lobby the Treasury to stop the January rise and may we have a debate on the cost of living and fuel duty?

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend; I have indeed seen his early-day motion. He will know, and it is important to remember, that as a result of the steps that the Government, not least Treasury Ministers, have taken, pump prices are now approximately 10p per litre lower than if we had stuck with the Labour party’s plans. That is tremendously important.

On the cost of living, if somebody is on the minimum wage and in full-time work, the effect of the increase in allowances coming through in April next year will be to halve the income tax that they pay. That, too, is an important point about the cost of living, among other things.

Business of the House

Lord Lansley Excerpts

Monday 29th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

With permission, Mr Speaker, and in the light of the statement earlier this afternoon by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, I should like to make a short business statement. The business for tomorrow will now be:

Tuesday 30 October—Proceedings on a business of the House motion, followed by all stages of the Mental Health (Approval Functions) Bill.

The business for the rest of this week will be substantially unchanged.

Wednesday 31 October—Consideration of Lords amendments to the Local Government Finance Bill, followed by a motion to approve European documents relating to the multi-annual financial framework. The House may also be asked to consider any Lords amendments that may be received, and the Speaker shall not adjourn the House until he has reported the Royal Assent to any Act agreed on by both Houses.

Thursday 1 November—A debate on a motion relating to beer duty escalator, followed by a debate on a motion relating to air passenger duty. The subjects for these debates have been nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.

Friday 2 November—Private Members’ Bills.

I will announce, as usual, further business during the business statement on Thursday.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Ms Angela Eagle (Wallasey) (Lab)]

I thank the Leader of the House for his business statement, which was inevitable following the earlier statement by the Secretary of State for Health. Will the Leader of the House do something to reassure us about the practicalities of a sudden switch to consider all stages of a Bill that has just this minute been published? In the words of my right hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham), the shadow Secretary of State, we will be legislating tomorrow on something that the Government, or certainly we in this Parliament, have only found out about today.

Will the Leader of the House explain why there is such a rush and why all the Bill’s stages have to be taken tomorrow? Will he reassure hon. Members, who would usually be given adequate time to ask parliamentary questions and to discuss or even hold hearings on aspects of the Bill? Is there anything he can do as Leader of the House to ensure that adequate help is given to those who wish to consider the Bill, which has only just been published, at such short notice? Are there any extra things that the Department of Health could do to reassure hon. Members about the reasons for this? Perhaps it could be more open than would usually be the case, given that all stages of the Bill are now due to be taken tomorrow. I would appreciate it if he could go into a little detail for those who are interested in taking part in the debates, and if he could reassure the House and those outside that the matter has been adequately examined.

I particularly wish for some reassurance about stakeholders. The explanatory memorandum to the Bill mentions stakeholder involvement, but only medical involvement, not user involvement.

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to the shadow Leader of the House for her response, and to the shadow Secretary of State for Health for how the Opposition responded to my right hon. Friend’s statement.

On the practicalities of the matter, hon. Members will of course be concerned to know that tomorrow’s business of the House motion, which I will table later, ensures that they can raise issues by tabling amendments, including before Second Reading. I hope that the motion will permit that to take place, to allow the full debate that Members will wish to have in Committee.

My colleagues, including the Secretary of State for Health, and I of course looked carefully at the requirement for the proceedings on the Bill to be conducted on such a time scale. As the hon. Lady will recall from my right hon. Friend’s responses to questions following his statement, a 72-hour period is allowed to put in place the assessment necessary to make a section under the Mental Health Acts. By extension, once it is clear that there is any procedural irregularity, there is a risk of legal proceedings being raised by the patients concerned. The legal advice makes it clear that it is desirable to achieve clarity as quickly as possible, otherwise there is a risk of large numbers of assessments having to be entered into. I know that our collective judgment will have been explained to the shadow Secretary of State.

I hope that along with the Department of Health, we will be able to take every step that we can. The Department has published the Bill and explanatory notes, which the hon. Lady will have seen. She will know that the Bill contains one substantive clause plus those on commencement, extent and short title, and I hope that today’s statement and the explanatory notes make it clear that it is focused specifically on the point in question.

As far as stakeholders are concerned, the issue that has arisen is about the approval of medical professionals. We were therefore particularly focused on the Royal College of Psychiatrists. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made clear, patients’ rights and interests have not been prejudiced, and I hope that they will take reassurance from that. I have no doubt that immediately following his informing the House of the situation, my colleagues at the Department of Health will have ensured that all those in a position to represent patients’ interests have been given the necessary details and that they will have the opportunity to contact the Department and Members over the next 24 hours.

[Grahame M. Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

Can the Leader of the House clarify what will happen to the Second Reading of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, which was planned for tomorrow? Have I misunderstood, or will it be rescheduled?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Lansley]

No, the hon. Gentleman has not misunderstood. As I said, I will announce further business for next week and provisional business for the week after in the business statement on Thursday.

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the Leader of the House, the shadow Leader of the House and the hon. Member for Easington (Grahame M. Morris).

Business of the House

Lord Lansley Excerpts

Thursday 25th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Ms Angela Eagle (Wallasey) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House give us the business for next week?

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

The business for next week is as follows:

Monday 29 October—Second Reading of the Public Service Pensions Bill.

Tuesday 30 October—Second Reading of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill.

Wednesday 31 October—Consideration of Lords amendments to the Local Government Finance Bill, followed by a motion to approve European documents relating to EU budget simplification and the multi-annual financial framework.

Thursday 1 November—A debate on a motion relating to the beer duty escalator, followed by a debate on a motion relating to air passenger duty. The subjects for these debates have been nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.

Friday 2 November—Private Members’ Bills.

The provisional business for the week commencing 5 November will include:

Monday 5 November—Second Reading of the European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill.

Tuesday 6 November—Second Reading of the HGV Road User Levy Bill, followed by a motion to approve European documents relating to banking union and economic and monetary union.

Wednesday 7 November—Opposition Day [8th allotted day]. There will be a debate on an Opposition motion. The subject is to be announced.

Thursday 8 November—A debate on a motion relating to the medium-term financial plan for the House of Commons administration and savings programme. The subject for this debate has been nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.

Friday 9 November—Private Members’ Bills.



I should also like to inform the House that the business in Westminster Hall for 8 November will be:

Thursday 8 November—A debate on regulation of claims management companies.

[Ms Eagle]

I thank the Leader of the House for announcing the business for next week. We welcome the fact that Britain has finally emerged from recession, but we should never have been in a double-dip recession in the first place. It was a recession created in Downing street by a part-time Chancellor who cut too far, too fast.

The Jimmy Savile case has rightly caused widespread disgust. There are serious questions for the BBC to answer, questions that were not answered during the director-general’s unsatisfactory appearance before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, but the issue goes much further. As happened in the Rochdale scandal only this year, it appears that in the Jimmy Savile case victims’ complaints were not taken seriously. We need to learn these lessons and, for the sake of the victims, uncover the truth. An independent inquiry is needed, so may we have an urgent statement from the Home Secretary?

I have been keeping a list of the occasions when Ministers blame the weather for the omnishambles. So far, the Government have blamed the poor performance of the economy on the snow, before deciding that the reason was in fact too much rain. Then the Immigration Minister blamed the chaos at Heathrow border control on the wrong type of wind. Now the Environment Minister has blamed too much rain for the U-turn on the badger cull. We have seen the badger U-turn, the Energy Bill shambles, the west coast main line fiasco, plebgate, and only today it appears that Ministers have got their sums wrong on tuition fees. It is not the weather that is to blame; it is the Government’s incompetence. Ministers need to get a grip, so may we have an urgent statement on what has gone wrong from the man who is meant to be in charge of Government competence: the Deputy Prime Minister?

The abolition of child benefit for higher earning taxpayers was one of the Government’s first shambles. The complex rules introduced by the Chancellor mean that from January an estimated half a million households will have to complete self-assessment tax forms for the first time. Many people have raised concerns that, weeks away from this change, Revenue and Customs has not written to families to warn them. There are those who have suggested that the Government’s reluctance to send out those letters might have something to do with the upcoming elections for police and crime commissioners. May we have an urgent statement from the Chancellor setting out how his Department will let families know of impending child benefit changes?

Only a few weeks ago, following the Prime Minister’s botched reshuffle, at business questions I paid tribute to the right hon. Member for North West Hampshire (Sir George Young), saying:

“Over the years, he has surprised political pundits with his Lazarus-style tendencies, and perhaps even this time he is merely on a sabbatical and will be back.”—[Official Report, 6 September 2012; Vol. 549, c. 383.]

And he is back! It is a miracle. Given my predictive powers, the House might be interested to know that my tip for the 4.25 at Doncaster tomorrow is Flashman. I also predict that there will be another omnishambles along soon.

May we have a statement from the Transport Secretary on fare dodgers? Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the conductor on the Virgin train service who refused to let the Chancellor have a free ride? The hapless part-time Chancellor was bundled out of the goods exit at Euston to avoid the waiting media, and it was left to the hon. Member for North East Somerset (Jacob Rees-Mogg) to bat for the Government. His explanation was that “train tickets are so confusing it is easy to get into the wrong carriage.” No wonder this Government have gone off the rails.

This week the man in charge of crisis management in No. 10 emerged from the bunker, blinking into the light of day, to offer his own explanation for the shambles. In a bizarre interview, he said that

“you’ll get surprised by what’s going on”

and that he was

“surprised on a day-to-day basis”.

But Government Back Benchers will be pleased to know that Mr Dowden—for it is he—has a strategy:

“the first thing I do in the morning”,

he said, is to

“turn on the Today programme and hear what’s going on”.

So two and a half years into office, the Government are divided, Back Benchers are in revolt, and Government policies are unravelling daily, and the best strategy that No. 10 has come up with is to listen to the “Today” programme. We just can’t go on like this.

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to the shadow Leader of the House; I enjoyed that. I am not a betting man, but if I were I would never bet against my right hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire (Sir George Young)—that’s for sure. It is a pleasure to have him back among our colleagues, although I have always valued my right hon. Friend the former Chief Whip as a colleague and pay tribute to his time in Government. We should all reflect on what a tremendous contribution he has made around the world as International Development Secretary.

To pursue the hon. Lady’s analogy, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and, indeed, the Government are on the right track. The figures published this morning for quarter 3 growth, to which she referred for about 12 seconds, are a reflection of the right approach being taken by this Government. I understood her to say that we should not have been in this position; indeed we should not. We were in this position because we inherited an economy that was close to bankruptcy from a Government who had spent without thought and put us into enormous debt. The debt has been at the heart of this, and Labour Members seem never to learn. They never seem to understand that the answer to this country’s problems in resolving the deficit and the debts is not more borrowing.

What the shadow Leader of the House said was entertaining, but, when it comes down to it, it was, frankly, trivia. What really matters is what is actually happening in this country, and she neglected that. This morning’s growth statistics are very encouraging and illustrative of the progress that is being made. The Chancellor said at an early stage that the recovery would be choppy, and indeed it has been, but these figures illustrate where we are going.

Another illustration of our being on the right track is that the employment situation is so much improved. The latest statistics show that there are over 1 million more people in private sector employment since the election, that youth employment is improving, that the number of people on out-of-work benefits is down, that inflation is down, and that new company creation in 2011 was the best ever, with over 1,230 new companies being created per day.

Beyond the economic sphere, the latest figures show that crime rates are down by 6%. In the NHS, which is of course closest to my heart, waiting times are among the very best we have ever seen, including a reduction in the number of those waiting over a year for their treatment in the NHS, which was some 18,000-plus at the time of the last election and is now down to nearly 2,000. I hope that the shadow Leader of the House will reflect on the realities across the country rather than on Westminster trivia.

The hon. Lady made an important point about the investigations relating to Jimmy Savile. Independent inquiries are being undertaken by the police, as a criminal investigation, and by Kate Lampard on behalf of the NHS, and there are two BBC inquiries led by Nick Pollard and by Dame Janet Smith. All those inquiries are independent and I see no reason at this stage for us to think that there would be any merit in seeking to overturn those inquiries, which are making progress. We must simply make sure that, as I know they will, they all respect and understand the fact that the police’s criminal investigation must take precedence.

The shadow Leader of the House also asked about business relating to—[Interruption.] Actually, perhaps she did not ask any other questions, so I will leave it there.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Caroline Nokes (Romsey and Southampton North) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend the Leader of the House will no doubt be aware of the announcement by Ford today of the closure of the Transit factory in Swaythling in my constituency, with the loss of 500 manufacturing jobs and potential further losses in the supply chain. Will he please find time for a debate on this serious matter, which affects not just my constituency, but the surrounding constituencies of many right hon. and hon. Members?

[Mr Lansley]

I am sure that the whole House will share my hon. Friend’s regret at the loss of any jobs, particularly those in a major plant in her constituency. She will know that Ministers will be focused, as they have been elsewhere, on trying to provide whatever help and support they can. She will also know that this is in the context of many very positive announcements in recent months by the motor vehicle industry, including that this country is a net exporter of cars for the first time in many years, and of investments at Honda, Nissan, BMW and Jaguar; but that does not take away at all from the distress that today’s announcement will no doubt have caused in my hon. Friend’s constituency. I undertake that Ministers will respond and keep the House informed on action to support the staff affected.

[Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab)]

May we have a debate on early-day motion 607?

[That this House notes that Ministers have recently repeated the claim that the lives of British soldiers should be put at risk in Afghanistan to counter the alleged Afghan Taliban terrorist threat to the UK; believes that there is no truth in this claim and that the lives of British soldiers should not be sacrificed when no threat to the UK exists; and calls on the Coalition Government to adopt an independent foreign policy.]

Canadian and Dutch soldiers have returned to their own countries from Afghanistan with their heads held high after large sacrifices in blood and treasure. We have heard today the dreadful news of two further deaths of British soldiers. There will be many tributes to them that will be sincere and heartfelt, but will not history judge that their epitaph should be, “They died to protect the reputation of cowardly Ministers”?

[Mr Lansley]

The House knows not only that we will pay heartfelt tribute to service personnel, including the two who it was announced yesterday have tragically died in Afghanistan, but that the people of this country and this House will take the view that they have died in defence of the interests of this country and to protect this country and that we are in Afghanistan to combat a terrorist threat and, alongside that, to help put in place in Afghanistan a sustainable and more democratic country for the future. That is why they are there and we should honour and value the contribution that service personnel make.

[Mr John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the £1 billion-plus of losses in derivative trading by Network Rail? Some of us would like that money spent on trains and bridges over railway lines instead of in a second-grade investment bank.

[Mr Lansley]

I do not have an immediate opportunity for a debate on that subject, but if I contact my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary, he may well be able to give a reply to my right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (Mr Redwood).

[Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion) (Green)]

After nearly 11 years of being held without charge or trial, British resident Shaker Aamer is still in Guantanamo Bay, in spite of the fact that both US and UK authorities have said that he can be released. May we have an urgent debate to try to understand what the obstacles are to getting this man released and make that a real priority?

[Mr Lansley]

I know that hon. Members of all parties have taken a close interest in the situation of those who are at Guantanamo Bay. The hon. Lady may care to consider raising the matter at Foreign Office questions next Tuesday, but it also seems to me to be a subject on which she might like to seek a debate on the Adjournment.

[Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

May we have a debate on the independence of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority? You will recall, Mr Speaker, that in February I established through a written question that Ministers had met IPSA on nine occasions in the previous four months. I suspect the dead hand of the Treasury, because I asked a question in September, and the answer given this Monday at column 636 of Hansard refused to give information on the number of occasions on which the Treasury and Treasury Ministers had had discussions with IPSA.

[Mr Lansley]

I can tell the House that I have met IPSA since becoming Leader of the House, and nobody at that meeting would have regarded it as in any way compromising IPSA’s independence. I regard it as my responsibility to be fully informed, not least as a member of the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, so that we can express views to IPSA. Members have rightly taken the view that there should be independent scrutiny of their pay, pensions and terms and conditions through IPSA. It is important that having established that independence, we make it real.

[Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)]

The Government’s council grant cuts, housing benefit cuts, welfare benefit cuts and health funding cuts are having the worst effect on the poorest families and individuals. May we have a debate on the overall impact that all the Government’s cuts are having on the poorest families and communities?

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman should recognise that our policy is about the reform of the benefits system. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is making clear today, if we can encourage people into work, that is the best route out of poverty. The benefit reforms will change the culture for good.

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

May we have a debate on university technical colleges? They have been a great success story, and Members have not had an opportunity to examine what drives that success so that we might see more and more of them.

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. Many Members might envy the position that I am in, because a university technical college is being established in Cambridge, which is enabling many young people to come forward and acquire training in skills that will support the life sciences industry. That is a tremendous step forward, and I pay tribute to the Baker Dearing Educational Trust and those who have taken the initiative forward. I hope that many Members, like my hon. Friend, will encourage UTCs in their area. She might like to raise the matter with our colleagues at Education questions on Monday.

[Mr David Hamilton (Midlothian) (Lab)]

In 2010, the Government decided to defer a decision about sport on free-to-air television, because they were waiting until digital TV came fully into operation. It is now fully operational, but Culture Ministers have told us that there will not be a discussion on the matter. Will the Leader of the House find time for a debate? After all, top sport should be for the masses, not the few.

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising the matter. I must say, I was struck last week at business questions—perhaps it will be true again this week—that there is a lot of interest in sport, from governance through to the Olympic and Paralympic legacy and on the point that he raises. That might make it appropriate for issues related to sport to be debated in the House at some point. Perhaps those of us who timetable business can discuss that.

[Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)]

May I ask my right hon. Friend a question in my capacity as Second Church Estates Commissioner? The Scrap Metal Dealers Bill will soon have its Third Reading debate. It has had two years of hard work put into it, with consultation with Home Office officials and other Departments, and there is support for it throughout the House. If it is frustrated and talked out on Report or Third Reading by just one Member, will he undertake to find Government time for it to complete its passage through the House? Churches, communities and the transport system up and down the country cannot allow Back-Bench filibustering to prevent the Bill from passing into law.

[Mr Lansley]

I heard what my hon. Friend said when he responded to questions on that matter on behalf of the Church Commissioners. He knows that the Government fully support the Bill tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon South (Richard Ottaway). Members throughout the House will know, as I do from my constituency, of the damage, distress and expense caused by metal theft. That is true not only in relation to churches but perhaps particularly in relation to the theft of metal from memorials in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday. I cannot give him the undertaking that he seeks, not least because I am hopeful that the Bill will attract the House’s support on the day in question.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Has the new Leader of the House seen the Chartered Management Institute’s commissioned report on the quality of management in Britain, which shows that 38% of managers—public and private sector—are awful, and that only 40% of managers in our country have any training at all? Does he find it worrying that very few of those GPs who will be running clinical commissioning groups have any management training?

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman may like to look at the composition of clinical commissioning groups with great care. They combine managerial and clinical expertise, and he should not diminish the importance of clinicians being directly involved in the commissioning process. Securing the right medical and clinical services for patients in an area is not simply a managerial task; it is both managerial and clinical.

[Guy Opperman (Hexham) (Con)]

May we have a debate on equal pay for women? That request arises first out of yesterday’s landmark decision on the issue by the Supreme Court, but also because county councils up and down the country are facing a problem caused by a failure to pay the women they have employed over the years. In Northumberland, for example, hundreds of my constituents face a five-year delay to be paid.

[Mr Lansley]

The Government very much support equal pay—yesterday’s decision seemed a bit of a “Made in Dagenham” moment, did it not? Although the circumstances of that case are particular to it and relate to time limits and jurisdiction, I hope that it conveys a message about how to ensure equality and equal pay in every work force, which should be in every employer’s mind.

[Mr Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) (Lab)]

May we have a debate on plans by the NHS in south-west England to introduce regional pay? Those plans are opposed by south-west MPs from all political parties, and we are still waiting for a delegation to see the Minister. I have asked for a debate several times, and we need to have one urgently.

[Mr Lansley]

I attended Health questions earlier in the week, and thought that that issue was ably responded to by the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich (Dr Poulter). What he said is clear: the Government support the “Agenda for Change” framework and, like NHS employers, we support the reform of that agenda to provide the flexibility that employers are looking for, so that it can be achieved within a national framework. That is what we are looking for.

[Simon Kirby (Brighton, Kemptown) (Con)]

Given today’s excellent GDP figures, will the Leader of the House find time for a debate on whether plan B is now redundant?

[Mr Lansley]

As my hon. Friend will appreciate, the debate scheduled for next week on the Growth and Infrastructure Bill will no doubt afford an opportunity to demonstrate that the Government are on the right track, as demonstrated by the GDP figures. Quarterly figures have been, and will be, choppy, but it is important to establish the right framework for the longer term. That is about achieving investment in infrastructure, and instilling confidence so that we can see that investment coming through. It is about deregulation and ensuring that business has a lower-cost environment, and recognising that we are in a global race and must ensure we are competitive in terms of tax, regulation and skills. The Government are making positive progress on all those things.

[Ann Coffey (Stockport) (Lab)]

The children and families Bill will be a significant piece of legislation in a complex area, and I fully support its aims. Will the Leader of the House ensure that when it reaches Report, sufficient time will be made available so that hon. Members who may not have been on the Bill Committee have a full opportunity to discuss the legislation’s complex provisions?

[Mr Lansley]

As the hon. Lady will be aware, since the election we have been able to timetable more opportunities for debate on Report, and I pay tribute to my predecessor and the Whips for ensuring that. Often, not just one but two days have been allocated for the Report stage of major Bills. As the hon. Lady says, the children and families Bill is very important. It has not yet been introduced, although we look forward to that.

[Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)]

May we have a debate on the issues faced by older people who are seeking to save money for retirement? The all-party group for ageing and older people has just launched a report on older savers which shows that £13 billion is lost through poor advice and a failure by banks to switch accounts.

[Mr Lansley]

I take note of what my hon. Friend says. People feel strongly about that very important issue. We will of course look at the business, and no doubt the Opposition and the Backbench Business Committee will also consider the matter. It could be considered in the context of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards and the approach taken by banks to their customers.

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House investigate the delay in publishing the results of the pilot scheme on recording Atos assessments, and ensure that they are published as soon as possible?

[Mr Lansley]

I cannot answer the hon. Lady’s question at this moment, but I will ask my colleagues at the Department for Work and Pensions to respond to her.

[Gavin Barwell (Croydon Central) (Con)]

With the economy growing, inflation lower than expected, public borrowing lower than expected and more people in work than at any time in our history, I am sure the Opposition will use the next Opposition day to talk about the economy, but if for some inconceivable reason they do not, will the Leader of the House ensure that Government time is made available?

[Mr Lansley]

Yes; I reiterate my hon. Friend’s extremely good point and commend it to the shadow Leader of the House when she considers the business on—I believe— 7 November, when the Opposition will no doubt take the opportunity to debate the latest positive figures on growth, employment and the reduction of inflation, and the simple fact that since the Government came to office, we have cut the deficit we inherited by a quarter.

[Grahame M. Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

I understand the Leader of the House used to have an interest in health. In that case, will he use his influence with the current Health Secretary to persuade him either to have a debate, or at least to make an oral statement, on access to radiotherapy? There was an announcement at the Tory party conference, which the Health Secretary mentioned in question time, but it would be a courtesy to the House if we were allowed to understand the detail. The issue is about not just capital, but revenue.

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman might like to know that the Leader of the House still has an interest in health, and I was at Health questions this week. He is right that the Health Secretary made it clear that he has made an announcement relating to a new radiotherapy innovation fund, which will support hospitals to ensure that patients have intensity-modulated radiotherapy if it is appropriate for them and that there is more access to stereotactic ablative therapy, both of which the hon. Gentleman has asked for and both of which this Government are now supporting.

[Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)]

Northern Lincolnshire has had some promising announcements recently to boost the local economy, but yesterday Kimberly-Clark announced the closure of its factory at Barton-upon-Humber in my constituency with the loss of 378 permanent jobs and 120 others. Will the Leader of the House find time for a statement to give details of additional Government support that might be made available to benefit the local economy?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Lansley]

As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes), that is further evidence of the choppy waters through which the economy is moving, which are a consequence of global competition. The investment that is coming to this country, which is positive, and contrary announcements that cause us considerable regret, are both a consequence of global competition. Our job is to ensure that, whenever we can, this country is the best possible place for investment. This is about rebalancing the economy, which is bringing additional investment into manufacturing. Rebalancing is important, but I entirely take my hon. Friend’s point that it will also mean that we ensure we give support to individual businesses to maximise their activity in this country—as we are doing, through, for example, the regional growth fund and local enterprise partnerships. I will ask my hon. Friends in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to respond on the issues my hon. Friend raises.

[Mr Denis MacShane (Rotherham) (Lab)]

May we have an early debate on the emergence of two-nation Britain, because, although the figures are good for London and the south, according to House of Commons figures given to me today, in Barnsley unemployment is up 6% on last year, in Bradford 9%, in Leeds 3% and in my own constituency 1%? We are now seeing an emerging disconnect between the north and the Tory and Liberal Democrat shires of the south. We need a one-nation Government, not this Government of the south, by the south, for the south.

[Mr Lansley]

As a one-nation Conservative, I believe that we are a one-nation Government. If the right hon. Gentleman wanted any more evidence of that, he would have paid more attention to the announcements made by the Deputy Prime Minister last Friday, I think, on regional growth 3, which will support the kind of innovative investment in the north of England that is integral to its economic development.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

Not only has the number of jobseeker’s allowance claimants in Stafford fallen by 14% since April 2010, but we have just had the welcome news that a record 272 new companies were formed in the first six months. May we have a debate on how to support these new companies, so that they create the jobs and pay the taxes we need?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend makes an important point, and I am happy to say that those figures are reflected in many constituencies across the country. Stafford is clearly working well, and I applaud what they are doing there. Yes, I hope we will have the opportunity, not least in the debate on the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, to see how we are creating that kind of environment. I would draw particular attention to the work being done through the youth contract and apprenticeships to ensure that young people are finding the kinds of jobs with skills training attached that will enable them to support industrial development in the future.

[Derek Twigg (Halton) (Lab)]

May we have an urgent debate or statement from a Minister to explain why the Minister with responsibility for welfare reform, Lord Freud, has agreed that in Northern Ireland payment of housing benefit directly to landlords will continue, while in the rest of the country payment must be made directly to tenants—despite all the problems, highlighted by many people, with that—and to explain the unique circumstances for this decision?

[Mr Lansley]

I will of course talk to my hon. Friends at the Department for Work and Pensions, so that they reply specifically to the hon. Gentleman, but my understanding is not that the changes to universal credit rule out the possibility of direct payment, but merely that it is important that they be assessed and examined to ensure they are appropriate. Wherever possible, we want those in receipt of universal credit to feel like they are in work. We do not want to change the sense of that, so that they get their pay and it is their responsibility to live within their means.

[Oliver Colvile (Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) (Con)]

Earlier this week, I attended a meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Glasgow. One issue discussed was that of marine and renewable energy. It appeared that few people were aware of the role that the south-west was playing in delivering that. May we have a debate on this important issue, so that we can promote the south-west and its contribution in this area?

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, not least for attending the BIPA, which I know is valued on both sides of the Irish sea. I hope that we will have the opportunity for that debate. He might want to look to have it when we consider the Energy Bill. The Government attach considerable importance to this matter and have invested more than £17 million in testing and academic facilities for marine energy in the south-west, and are encouraging the region to become the first UK marine energy park. I am sure he will want to illustrate that contribution to our future energy requirements and security during our debate on the Energy Bill.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

Last week, the quiet rituals of Friday afternoon in west Cardiff were shattered by a series of hit-and-run incidents that left a young mother dead, her three children motherless and many more injured and traumatised by the events. Will the Leader of the House find a slot where I can put on the record my thanks to the emergency services—the police, the fire service, the ambulance service and the NHS—whose swift and well-co-ordinated actions undoubtedly saved many lives?

[Mr Lansley]

I am sure that the House will join me in expressing our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the young lady who died and in extending our best wishes to those who were injured. We were all shocked by what happened. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to express appreciation for the emergency services. We in this House should do so every time we have the opportunity, because these terrible, shocking moments illustrate how much we depend on their prompt and effective action.

[Michael Ellis (Northampton North) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend support the planting of a Red Windsor apple tree in honour of the Queen’s diamond jubilee by Mr Speaker on Speaker’s Green next Wednesday at half-past 2? Will he attend the planting and will he encourage Members on both sides of the House to do so too, to support the Woodland Trust, among others, which is planting 6 million trees for the environment of this country this year?

[Mr Lansley]

Yes, I do indeed support that. I and the Deputy Leader of the House look forward to being there, and I think the shadow Leader of the House hopes to be there too. I am sure that that is supported by hon. Members on both sides of the House and look forward to the Speaker joining us in expressing our appreciation to Her Majesty on her diamond jubilee.

[Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House find time to remember Noor Inayat Khan who was an operative in Winston Churchill’s Special Operations Executive? May I express my thanks to the Speaker for helping in the campaign and to Members of the House who signed early-day motion 109?

[That this House congratulates the Memorial Trust of Noor Inayat Khan set up to honour and to recognise her extraordinary bravery; notes that Noor Inayat Khan was posthumously awarded the George Cross as one of only three women in Winston Churchill's Special Operations Executive and was also awarded the Croix de Guerre by France; recalls that under the code name Madeleine she was the first female radio operator in occupied France in 1943; further notes that despite being tortured she remained silent and her last word was Liberté; further notes that she was executed in Dachau at the age of 30; welcomes the permission given by the Vice Chancellor of the University of London for a bust to be installed in Gordon Square, near the house where Noor lived and from where she left on her fatal mission; further notes that the majority of the funds needed to fund the statue has already been raised by the Trust; congratulates the donors; encourages further donations to the Fund; and looks forward to the unveiling of the first memorial to a British Asian woman when the sculpture by Karen Newman is completed in Autumn 2012.]

May I also thank the university of London, which agreed to my request to place a memorial to Noor on its land in Gordon square? The sculpture by Karen Newman will be unveiled on 8 November. Noor was executed in Dachau concentration camp; this will be an opportunity for us to remember a true British heroine.

[Mr Lansley]

I am sure that the House is grateful to the hon. Lady, especially at this time of year, for drawing attention to the courage and example of the men and women of the Special Operations Executive, and of Noor Inayat Khan in particular. The House will also recall early-day motion 109 in that respect. I hope that the memorial to her—the sculpture to which the hon. Lady referred—will constantly remind people of the remarkable courage of those in the Special Operations Executive and the contribution they made.

[Dr Julian Huppert (Cambridge) (LD)]

The leader of Cambridgeshire county council recently wrote that global warming “may not exist” and that if it does, it is

“not caused by human activity”.

He described it as a theory espoused by “bourgeois left-wing academics”. Does the Leader of the House join me in condemning this irresponsible and anti-scientific position, and will he find time for a debate about evidence-informed policy?

[Mr Lansley]

I will not join my hon. Friend in that respect, although that does not mean that I agree with the leader of Cambridgeshire county council. We are all allowed our views, and he is allowed his. My hon. Friend and I will have talked to many of the scientists at the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge. When one does so, it amply illustrates the character of climate change, what is really going on and the threat it poses.

[Mr Tom Harris (Glasgow South) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House offer a helping hand to Scotland’s First Minister, who recently mislaid some important legal advice on the future of an independent Scotland in the EU? We have searched everywhere for it. It may be under the sofa; the First Minister may have left it on a bus; his dog may have eaten it—we just do not know. It could have been mislaid in the Foreign Office—and it is the Foreign Office, not the Scottish Government, that has responsibility for external relations with the European Union. Will the right hon. Gentleman implement a cross-departmental hunt for the advice? It must exist; the First Minister says so and the only alternative is that he is a liar, and that would be unthinkable.

[Mr Lansley]

To be honest, in this context I suspect that the hon. Gentleman would be better to instigate a search for the credibility of the First Minister in Scotland, because as far as I can see, earlier in the year he was saying that he had legal advice, but then it turned out that he had not even asked for it. As the Prime Minister quite rightly said yesterday at Prime Minister’s questions, that just exposes the lack of credibility of the arguments being presented by the Scottish National party for the break-up of the Union.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

My Twitter feed is often packed with comments from Opposition Members whenever there is negative economic news, but today it is remarkably empty. Will my right hon. Friend arrange a debate on the economy so that we can discuss today’s data as well as recent positive data?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. Although parliamentary time is tight, it is awfully tempting to arrange a debate on the economic figures—on growth, employment, inflation and borrowing. I fear, however, that we might not be able to do so. I reiterate the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon Central (Gavin Barwell): as the Opposition have time available in the week after next, perhaps they might like to debate the issues.

[Dame Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating the Clerks and staff of the House, including Hansard, on their enabling us to make a smooth transition to our earlier sitting hours? Will he quash the ugly rumours that this is a mere experiment and confirm there are no plans to review the earlier hours?

[Mr Lansley]

I of course share the right hon. Lady’s appreciation of the way in which the Clerk and staff of the House assist us in our business. The House was invited to make a decision and a decision was made.

[Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the creation of the excellent new Blue Collar Conservatives group last week? As the Labour party has abandoned the working classes and appears to want to stand up only for people who do not want to work and appears to believe in suppression rather than aspiration, would not such a debate show that the natural political home for anyone in the working classes is the Conservative party?

[Mr Lansley]

Yes, I share my hon. Friend’s view. We are now in a coalition Government, but the Conservative party has always been most successful when it has reached out to all the nation. That is why I am a one-nation Conservative and why in the 1980s more trade unionists voted Conservative than voted Labour. They were right to do so and our country has consequently been transformed. It continues to be my ambition and that of my party that we continue to be a home for people of aspiration, wherever they come from.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

On the theme of aspiration and working people, may we have a debate and statement on why the Government regard people doing unpaid work experience as being in employment?

[Mr Lansley]

I shall gladly ask my friends at the Department for Work and Pensions to reply on how the statistics are calculated. The latest figures show an increase of more than 50,000 in the number of young people in employment and a decrease in the number of people on out-of-work benefits, and he should celebrate that.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

My local council, Kirklees, is going through the latest stage of its consultation on the local development framework. May we have a debate on the five-year land supply and the scrapping of the regional spatial strategy housing targets to ensure that development is sustainable?

[Mr Lansley]

I know from my own circumstances of the importance that was attached to abolishing top-down housing targets set under the regional spatial strategy, and why the local development framework is so important. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has said that the local development framework must meet the test of providing locations for sustainable housing sufficient to meet an area’s need for a number of years ahead. To help my hon. Friend, I shall ask my right hon. Friend to write to him.

[Lisa Nandy (Wigan) (Lab)]

The Foreign Office is due to publish its landmark strategy on business and human rights any day now. Will the Leader of the House talk to Ministers about exactly when the strategy will be published and ensure that time is found for a ministerial statement to the House to accompany its much-awaited publication?

[Mr Lansley]

I know that my colleagues at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are well aware of the hon. Lady’s points, but I shall draw their attention to them. She might like to bear it in mind that an opportunity to ask that question will arise at Foreign and Commonwealth Office questions on Tuesday.

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

E-petitions have garnered considerable public interest and attention, so may we have a debate on their impact?

[Mr Lansley]

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that. It is worth our making the point in our constituencies and to our constituents that Parliament is connecting with the public in a way that has never happened before. Fourteen e-petitions have crossed the 100,000-signature threshold, and we and the Backbench Business Committee have enabled debate to be held on all of them. In addition, the Government will respond to every petition that passes the 10,000-signature threshold. On behalf of the Government I am putting the responses on the website, and some 20 will have gone up by now. I hope to complete the process of responding to all those that have passed the 10,000-signature threshold in the next few days.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Improving home energy efficiency is essential to combat fuel poverty. The Insulation Industry Forum has just told me that there will be 16,000 job losses in its sector soon. May we have an urgent debate to help prevent this loss of key skills, given that investment in energy efficiency is so important?

[Mr Lansley]

It is tremendously important, and it is the green deal, which began its implementation at the beginning of October, that will make such a difference in enabling that to happen. The green deal support, the largest such programme we have ever seen, is specifically designed to support some of the measures, such as insulation, that will make the biggest difference to energy efficiency. I hope that exactly that will happen as we get behind this programme.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Unemployment in my constituency is now at a lower level than it was at the general election. May we have a debate about how the Government can make it easier for small charities, such as Black Country Foodbank and Loaves and Fishes in my constituency, to take on jobseekers on work experience without those jobseekers fearing that they will lose their benefits?

[Mr Lansley]

I share with my hon. Friend the feeling of encouragement that we get from the employment figures, as they show the number of people in work and reflect the support we are giving them. I will, of course, ask my hon. Friends at the Department for Work and Pensions to address the specific point he raises.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

In the Harrogate area, this year is on track to be the record year for the opening of new business bank accounts. Last year saw a record half a million new businesses created in the UK. Before coming to this place, I was involved in starting businesses, and I am sure they play an important role in our economic recovery. May we have a debate to recognise the progress made and to explore what more could be done to make the UK the best place to start a business?

[Mr Lansley]

As my hon. Friend says, the progress is tremendously encouraging. The rate of new business creation in 2011 was the highest ever at more than 1,230 a day. Along with my colleagues, I will try to encourage debate on this issue and take advantage of whatever opportunities we can. New business formation is vital. As we know, the support we can give for small business—including finance for lending and small business lending—and the initiatives we have announced will make a considerable difference, but we are looking tirelessly at how we can stimulate effective lending to businesses to enable those businesses that are being created at an unprecedented rate to go on to grow and expand.

Business of the House

Lord Lansley Excerpts

Thursday 18th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Ms Angela Eagle (Wallasey) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House please give us the business for next week?

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

Before I turn to the future business of the House, may I take the opportunity to say, on behalf of the House, with what sadness we learned of the loss of two of our colleagues. We continue to send our sympathies and condolences to their families and friends. Malcolm Wicks was an immensely liked and respected Member of the House, who served as Chairman of the Education Committee before performing very distinguished service in government. Sir Stuart Bell, also a much valued colleague, served this House in many capacities over a number of years, not least as Chairman of the Finance and Services Committee and a member of the House of Commons Commission. Both colleagues will be sorely missed.

The business for next week is as follows:

Monday 22 October—General debate on Hillsborough. In addition, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister plans to make a statement on the EU Council.

Tuesday 23 October—Motion to approve a financial resolution relating to an HGV Road User Levy Bill, followed by motion to approve a money resolution on the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Bill.

Wednesday 24 October—Opposition Day [7th Allotted Day]. There will be a debate on the police. The debate will arise on an Opposition motion.

Thursday 25 October—Presentation of a report by the International Development Select Committee: DFID’s work in Afghanistan. This is expected to last 20 minutes. It will be followed by a debate on a motion relating to the badger cull. The subject for this debate has been nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.

Friday 26 October—Private Members’ Bills.

The provisional business for the week commencing 29 October will include:

Monday 29 October—Second Reading of the Public Service Pensions Bill.

Tuesday 30 October—Second Reading of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill.

Wednesday 31 October—Consideration of Lords amendments to the Local Government Finance Bill, followed by motion to approve European documents relating to EU budget simplification and the multi-annual financial framework.

Thursday 1 November—Business to be nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.

Friday 2 November—Private Members’ Bills.

I should also like to inform the House that the business in Westminster Hall for 22 and 25 October and 1 November will be:

Monday 22 October—A debate on the e-petition relating to children’s cardiac surgery at the East Midlands congenital heart centre at Glenfield.

Thursday 25 October—A debate on the Work and Pensions Select Committee report on Government support towards the additional living costs of working-age disabled people.

Thursday 1 November—A debate on the Transport Select Committee report on air travel organisers’ licensing reform, followed by a debate on the Transport Select Committee report on flight time limitations.

Colleagues will also wish to know that, subject to the progress of business, the House will rise for the Christmas recess on Thursday 20 December 2012 and return on Monday 7 January 2013. We will rise for the February recess on Thursday 14 February 2013 and return on Monday 25 February 2013. The House will rise for the Easter recess on Tuesday 26 March 2013 and return on Monday 15 April 2013. We will rise for the Whitsun recess on Tuesday 21 May 2013 and return on Monday 3 June 2013. The House will rise for the summer recess on Thursday 18 July 2013 and return on Monday 2 September 2013—I can see that this is the way to attract the attention of the House, Mr Speaker. The House will rise for the conference recess on Friday 13 September 2013 and return on Tuesday 8 October 2013. The House will rise for the November recess on Tuesday 12 November and return on Monday 18 November. Finally, the House will rise for the Christmas recess on Thursday 19 December 2013 and return on Monday 6 January 2014.

To remind themselves, colleagues may pick up a handy pocket calendar from the Vote Office.

[Ms Eagle]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his statement and for announcing the recess dates for the forthcoming year, which is always very convenient for Members of the House.

I thank the Leader of the House and join him in paying tribute to my two colleagues who recently passed away. Malcolm Wicks was elected to Parliament at the same time as me, in 1992, and had a distinguished career in government; he was also a deep thinker on family policy. Sir Stuart Bell was a Member of this House for almost 30 years, and during his long career he served with distinction, not least on the House of Commons Commission for more than a decade. They will both be sorely missed.

May I also thank the Attorney-General for his statement this week on Hillsborough and for producing clarity ahead of next week’s debate? It has been welcomed by the families and warmly welcomed on both sides of the House.

Yesterday’s Order Paper stated that there would be questions to the Prime Minister at noon. It is not explicit, I admit, but the assumption under which Members have always operated on such occasions is that the Prime Minister will actually answer the questions he is asked; he cannot simply throw his toys out of the pram and refuse to answer a question from an hon. Member. But that is exactly what he did yesterday, rather conveniently. Therefore, will the Leader of the House have a go at answering the questions that the Prime Minister refused to address: why did we discover this week that secret correspondence between the Prime Minister, Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson was not disclosed to the Leveson inquiry, and will the Prime Minister now surrender all that material to the inquiry that, after all, he set up?

Following the utter chaos caused by the Prime Minister making energy policy on the hoof during yesterday’s Prime Minister’s questions, we had hoped that our urgent question this morning would improve clarity and restore some sense to the situation amid soaring energy bills. Given that it so obviously did not and that the Government’s policy is now a shambles, may we have a further statement so that we can establish what on earth the Government’s policy on low-energy tariffs now is?

In his botched reshuffle, the Prime Minister appointed the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke) as a roving Minister. It appears that the Education Secretary also considers himself to be a roving Minister, as he has announced that he would vote to leave the European Union in a referendum. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] He is obviously gathering support from the Conservative Back Benches, perhaps for a leadership bid. It was then reported that a third of Cabinet members agree with him, so will the Leader of the House tell us whether he is one of them? May we have a debate on European policy following the European summit, rather than just a statement, to give Conservative Cabinet Ministers who want to sound off a forum in which to do so? They do not need to brief the media in secret; let them come to the House and tell us what they really think.

On Tuesday I received an invitation from the Bruges Group to a dinner marking the 20th anniversary of the Maastricht rebellion. It promised that there would be

“a rebel at every table”.

Sadly, diary commitments mean I am unable to attend what promises to be a fascinating occasion. Will the Leader of the House say whether the Work and Pensions Secretary—he was, after all, one of John Major’s backstabbers—will be attending to offer career advice to current Back-Bench Europe rebels?

The war in the Congo is the world’s deadliest conflict since the second world war. It is estimated that as many as 5 million people have died during the conflict—half of them children—from war, disease or famine. According to a United Nations report published this week, the Rwandan Defence Minister is effectively commanding a rebellion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On his last day in office, the previous International Development Secretary inexplicably reinstated aid to Rwanda despite the US, the EU and other major donors maintaining their suspension. May we therefore have an urgent statement from the current International Development Secretary to respond to the serious allegations being made about the case?

As the Leader of the House has announced, next week there will be an Opposition day debate on the police. There is a long-standing convention that Chief Whips should be seen but not heard. The current Government Chief Whip, who inexplicably is not in his place, would be well advised to observe that convention outside the House as well. We know the police’s account: they report that the Chief Whip said that police officers were “plebs” who should “know their place”—I have missed out the expletives. The Chief Whip keeps changing his story. Had he had the courtesy to the House to attend today, I would have said that he should come to the Dispatch Box and tell the House what he actually said, but perhaps he is too busy repairing relations with Conservative Back Benchers to bother attending business questions.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to the shadow Leader of the House for her opening remarks. I am not sure that she was listening to the Prime Minister yesterday, not least in relation to his clear and robust answer on our support to Rwanda and the reasons it is being given. He was absolutely clear that we are making clear to the Rwandan Government our opposition to any intervention on their part in the Congo. It is always tempting not to reply to the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant), but let me be absolutely clear that the Prime Minister gave the Leveson inquiry all the information requested.

The shadow Leader of the House was sitting in the Chamber this morning when the urgent question received the reply that was required, so her remarks are astonishing. It was made very clear, and more than once, as the Prime Minister said, that we will bring forward the Energy Bill shortly and legislate so that people get the best possible tariff. That is exactly what the Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, my hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes), said and what the Prime Minister said yesterday.

The hon. Lady asked about European debates. I remind her that we will indeed have a European debate in this House on Wednesday 31 October, as I have just announced as part of the provisional business, on a motion to approve European documents relating to EU budget simplification and the multi-annual financial framework. That will give an opportunity, in addition to the Prime Minister’s statement on the EU Council, for Members to debate the future of EU budgets. That is from a Government who are determined to ensure that we do not see increases in the EU budget of the kind we saw in the past and, still less, increases in this country’s contributions, such as those that followed the former Labour Prime Minister’s giving up the rebate that this country had enjoyed.

The hon. Lady asked about my right hon. Friend the Chief Whip. He is doing his job and doing it well. He is now in his place, but he also has many other duties elsewhere in the House. He knows, as he has made clear, that he made a mistake. He apologised for it, and the police officer concerned and the Metropolitan police accepted that apology. I will take no lectures today, or indeed during next Wednesday’s Opposition day debate on the police, about the support this Government give the police. In my constituency in Cambridgeshire we are seeing an increase in the number of police and additional police are being recruited. For my part, as someone whose brother was a senior officer in the Metropolitan police and whose niece and her husband are officers, I support them. We support them and will continue to do so.

[Mr Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)]

Clearly, we have a very light legislative programme this year. Rather than regretting that, should we not rejoice in it? After all, in the past 30 years, in which we have had large overall majorities, so much legislative rubbish has poured through this building, imposing more and more rules and regulations on people. Should not our motto be, to adapt Lord Falkland’s dictum, “When it is not necessary to legislate, it is necessary not to legislate”? Is that not a good motto for this Conservative Government?

[Mr Lansley]

I think that is always a good motto to pursue, but from our point of view it is sometimes necessary to legislate. That is what we are doing, not least in the progress that we have already made on the Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Bill, and also with the publication today of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill and the Bill relating to HGV road user levies. We are taking further measures that will promote growth and the development of infrastructure in this country, getting us the growth that we know is an absolute necessity, alongside deficit reduction, for improving our competitive position.

When the Leader of the Opposition is out marching with the TUC and it is saying that it wants long-term economic progress but does not think that political leaders today are offering that, he might reflect that that is exactly true in relation to him—that the Labour party’s leadership are not addressing the long-term economic problems of this country, they are denying the deficit and they have no policies for growth. We in the coalition are putting forward those policies for growth.

[Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House allow me to record my thanks to the many people who have made my job so simple during the 29-plus years that I have been in the House? I am thinking of the Clerks of the House and those who clean for us and staff the cafés and bars to make our lives straightforward.

I also offer my thanks and appreciation to colleagues on both sides of the House—more enthusiastically to some than to others, perhaps—for being part of the enormous privilege of serving my constituents in Stretford and Manchester Central over those years, in what is still a wonderful and great experiment in representative parliamentary democracy.

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. Members on both sides will appreciate not only his sentiments, but how he expressed them. I share in that and know that the staff of the House will appreciate it too.

[Penny Mordaunt (Portsmouth North) (Con)]

The Leader of the House will be aware of the heroic efforts of Portsmouth supporters trust in its quest to enable its community to own its club. It has often had to do battle with football governance rules that are not fit for purpose—not least the “fit and proper person” test, which is less rigorous than a five-minute session on Google. Given the importance of the national game to our communities, is it not time that we debated the reform of football governance and finance?

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who makes an important point. I am aware of how she has supported the Portsmouth supporters trust’s trailblazing bid, and I very much appreciate the sentiments that she has expressed. The Government share her view that we need to impress on the football authorities the need for stronger scrutiny of clubs at all levels and transparency about ownership. She will be aware of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee inquiry into football governance. I would be happy to refer the matter to the Sports Minister; she might also talk to him about the issue. There may be an opportunity, not least in light of the Committee’s inquiry, for the matter to be considered by the House.

[Natascha Engel (North East Derbyshire) (Lab)]

Hundreds of thousands of people have signed e-petitions, which resulted from the system that the Government launched last year. Unfortunately, that number does not translate into people’s being satisfied with the system. To avoid further frustration and anger among those who use the system, will the new Leader of the House work with the Backbench Business Committee to see whether we can bring the system into Parliament, as suggested by the Procedure Committee in the last Parliament, to make the system the success that it ought to be?

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady. It is indeed right that, under the coalition Government, not least through the e-petition system and the Backbench Business Committee reform, we are improving opportunities for public engagement. Those are being taken up and they are demonstrating their potential. In so far as there is confusion, we just have to work through it. I entirely understand the hon. Lady’s point. We will, of course, work together. I look forward to working with Opposition Front Benchers, the hon. Lady’s Committee and the Procedure Committee to ensure that public engagement, not least through the new e-petition system, is as good as we can make it.

[Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

In the Ministry of Defence there appears to be ignorance of Government policies on localism and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. May we have a debate, or at least an oral statement from a Minister, about garrison radio? I am talking about local garrison radio services such as those in Colchester, Aldershot and Catterick. There is urgency because on Monday the Ministry of Defence is due to sign away those local radio stations to the British Forces Broadcasting Service, which hitherto has shown no interest in local garrison radio.

[Mr Lansley]

I am interested in what my hon. Friend has to say. I remind him that Defence Ministers will be here for questions on Monday. He may find that to be the earliest, and therefore most appropriate, opportunity to raise the matter.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

I am delighted that the Prime Minister is going to be here on Monday because I have a question that I would like to ask him; with any luck I will manage to catch your eye, Mr Speaker.

May I ask the Leader of the House about the House business committee? The coalition agreement guarantees that that will be in place by the third year of the coalition Government. Many of us thought that meant by the beginning of the third year, but there are now only 18 Thursdays before the end of the third year. Will the Leader of the House scotch rumours, multiplying by the day, that he is trying to prevent the committee from coming into being?

[Mr Lansley]

I will simply repeat what I said, I think, at business questions last time around. It is a matter of weeks since I took up this post and I am absolutely clear about what the coalition programme has said about the introduction of a House business committee in 2013. There are no grounds for any rumours, but I will make it clear that there have already been important developments, not least the Backbench Business Committee, which is enabling the House to exercise more control over business; that is a very positive step, and my intention is to understand how that is being developed and ensure that we can develop it further.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

May we have a debate on NHS waiting times? Figures out today show that waiting lists have fallen to new record lows, with 95% of patients being seen within 18.6 weeks and the number waiting over a year also declining to a record low. Such a debate would allow Members on both sides of the House to put on the record their appreciation for the hard work of NHS staff.

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who is absolutely right. Not only the figures published today but also the document published today, which summarises the performance of the NHS in the first quarter of this financial year, through to the end of June, demonstrate that NHS staff are continuing to deliver continually improving performance. I heard Opposition Members show apparent disbelief about that; I remind them that when we came into office, more than 200,000 patients had waited beyond 18 weeks. We have brought that down by more than 50,000. Approaching 20,000 people had waited beyond a year for treatment and we have brought that figure down to below 5,000. That is in addition to many other aspects of improving performance in a service that, on the latest data, has already delivered, in a year and a quarter, £7 billion of the up to £20 billion efficiency savings required and continues to deliver an overall financial surplus.

[Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP)]

In the aftermath of the LIBOR scandal, we were told by the Chancellor and the Prime Minister in statements, debates and questions that changes could be made to the Financial Services Bill. Are we to take it from the current consultation on secondary legislation that the Government no longer plan to adjust or add to the primary legislation?

[Mr Lansley]

I direct the hon. Gentleman to what the Financial Secretary to the Treasury stated in a written ministerial statement to the House yesterday. That clearly set out the position.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

When we hold our debate on the police, I wonder whether we will be able to bear in mind this week’s report from Warwickshire police that levels of crime in the county are the lowest for six years. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating Chief Constable Andy Parker and his officers and agree that that means that the concerns of many officers about reforms to the service are unfounded?

[Mr Lansley]

I gladly join my hon. Friend in congratulating Warwickshire police. The reduction in crime is not least because of the Government’s focus on ensuring that we reduce bureaucracy, freeing up 4.5 million hours of police time in a year. That increases the proportion of police time involved in front-line duties, so that while we achieve the necessary financial performance for the police service, we also get more police providing front-line services, enabling us to continue reducing crime.

[Kate Hoey (Vauxhall) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House arrange for an urgent debate on the risk to the lives of Londoners of the proposed closure of 17 fire stations across London, including the very important one in Clapham in my constituency? Does he agree that Londoners will just not accept that, and that there must be other ways of saving money?

[Mr Lansley]

I will, if I may, ask my ministerial colleague from the Department for Communities and Local Government to respond to the hon. Lady. I do not know of any plans for a debate on the matter, although the hon. Lady may want to seek an Adjournment debate about it.

[John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)]

I welcome the news that the Government are working with industry to make £1 billion available for leading science projects. Porton Down in my constituency has the potential to build on its reputation as a hub of world-class research. Will the Leader of the House make time for a statement on the outcome of the recent applications for the regional growth fund, which would enable the Minister to reflect on the merits of Wiltshire’s bid to have a science park at Porton Down?

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I am aware that he, Wiltshire council and the institutes and businesses in his area are working to bring together Wiltshire science university and to exploit what is one of the leading centres for science and life sciences. Because of my previous ministerial responsibilities, I am very well aware of the world-leading character of the work that is being done at Porton Down, not least under the Health Protection Agency. In response to his question, I hope that there will be announcements very shortly in relation to the regional growth fund, where we are seeing many projects coming through and further resources being put behind projects that will enable us further to exploit our leading position in science.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on sports sponsorship, with the ultimate objective of putting in place a fit and proper companies test for future sponsorship of major sporting events? I name the likes of Atos and Wonga—companies which, in my belief, are pretty dubious in terms of being in a position to sponsor major events.

[Mr Lansley]

As the hon. Gentleman knows from the business I have announced, I have no immediate plans to do that. If he feels strongly about this issue, he might like to promote it by way of an Adjournment debate or through the Backbench Business Committee. As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Penny Mordaunt), the Culture, Media and Sport Committee is looking at many of the issues relating to the governance of sport, and he might like to correspond with it too.

[Andrew Percy (Brigg and Goole) (Con)]

There continues to be a lot of concern on both sides of the House about education funding. We know that this situation has not been established overnight but goes back many years. However, children in the poorest part of my constituency continue to receive hundreds of pounds less for their education than those in the wealthy part. May we have a debate on this important issue?

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I think he will recognise that under this coalition Government the pupil premium plays a vital part in ensuring that those who come from the most disadvantaged families and communities have education resources put behind them to enable them to achieve better results. That is particularly true this year because of the resources being made available for the catch-up premium for those in year 7. In addition, my right hon. Friend the Education Secretary has set out proposals on the future of education funding that are still subject to consultation.

[Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab)]

May we have a debate on the place of plebs in society? The worst aspect of what the Chief Whip said to those police officers was that they should know their place, and such a debate would not only give him the opportunity to get on his feet and give us the truth about what happened but give those of us who consider ourselves to be plebs an opportunity to know exactly what our place is.

[Mr Lansley]

I explained in response to the shadow Leader of the House how I feel about this. It is all very well Labour Members trying to make political capital out of this, but we support the police. We are getting on with that job, and the Chief Whip is getting on with that job and doing a grand job in doing so.

[Zac Goldsmith (Richmond Park) (Con)]

More or less everyone, whether opponent or advocate of the third runway, agrees that delaying the decision until after the election is both cynical and disruptive. Will the Leader of the House allow us time to debate the timing of the Davies review?

[Mr Lansley]

Clearly, my hon. Friend may seek opportunities for a debate, but it would be inappropriate for the Government to do so when we are in the midst of the further review undertaken by Howard Davies, which will provide an interim report next year and a final report in 2015. As my hon. Friend and the whole House knows, these are immensely complicated issues that it is not easy to resolve in a short period of time.

[Ian Mearns (Gateshead) (Lab)]

This year in Manchester two people have been arrested, charged, prosecuted and imprisoned for abusing police officers, and in South Shields in the north-east of England an arrest has taken place for a similar offence. May we have a debate on policing, prosecutions and sentencing as a matter of urgency, as it is very topical?

[Mr Lansley]

I think that members of the public watching our discussion might wonder whether it would not be better for Members to devote themselves to the interests of their constituents and new issues rather than constantly trying to contrive new ways of returning to an issue that, frankly, was closed weeks ago. The Chief Whip apologised and that apology was accepted, and on that basis the matter was closed.

[Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)]

May we have a statement from the Sports Minister on what is happening to deliver the Olympic and Paralympic legacy at community sports level? May I bring to his and the House’s attention the “Get Involved—Be Inspired” initiative, which organises events to get people involved in participating and volunteering, the first of which will be held at Lawnswood school in my constituency?

[Mr Lansley]

I am delighted to hear about how the Olympic legacy is giving rise to additional sporting activity in my hon. Friend’s constituency. I know that that will happen across the country, because the Olympic legacy is being followed up by my colleagues in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Communities and Local Government, and by Lord Coe. That is happening not only through activities such as the school games—which this year, for the first time, demonstrated the fantastic capacity for sporting participation across the whole school system; half the schools in this country took part, and back in the early summer I went to the Olympic park to see 35,000 children participating in the finals—but more generally, not least through the measures being taken by the Department of Health to encourage physical activity for every child, particularly at primary school level, so that when children are contemplating taking part in physical activity in later years they have a grounding that enables them to do so.

[Jim Sheridan (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (Lab)]

Important though it may be to some people, could the Leader of the House justify why he has allocated six hours of debate in this Chamber to badger culling? Given all the issues facing the country and our constituents, is that really a priority for this Government?

[Mr Lansley]

I gently remind the hon. Gentleman that the allocation of time for a debate on the badger cull was made through the Backbench Business Committee and not provided by the Government.

[Guto Bebb (Aberconwy) (Con)]

The Welsh Language Act 1993, which was championed in this House by my predecessor Lord Roberts, has been diluted by the Welsh language measure passed by the Labour-Plaid Administration in the Welsh Assembly in 2011—a change that has resulted in significantly less protection for the Welsh language in non-devolved matters. May we have a debate in this House to reaffirm the principles of the 1993 Act, which are being diluted by the actions of the Labour-Plaid Administration?

[Mr Lansley]

I understand my hon. Friend’s point, as will my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales. He and the Wales Office are addressing this issue and will continue to work with the Welsh Language Commissioner and with the non-devolved Departments and organisations to champion the Welsh language. I will further contact the Secretary of State and ask him to be aware of my hon. Friend’s comments and to respond.

[Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)]

It is 18 months since the then Health Minister promised to make the allocation for my local private finance initiative hospital in St Helens available to the trust, but it still has not got its budget and is weeks away from being required to set one. May we have a statement on when funding will be made available to those trusts?

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that Ministers from the Department of Health will be here on Tuesday, when he may wish to raise that issue. Under this Government, we as Health Ministers for the first time addressed the problems created by the mismanaged PFI programme under the previous Government. We made it clear that where the problems were most deep-seated, not least in relation to the St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we were prepared, on the basis of a good business plan, to give continuing support in order to resolve any problems.

[Chris White (Warwick and Leamington) (Con)]

During the recess I was pleased to visit two very important charities in my constituency: Myton Hospice and Guide Dogs UK. Both are involved in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our society and rely on the good will and support of our communities. Will the Leader of the House commit Government time to a debate on the importance of charities and the impact that they have on our communities, so that we can better support them?

[Mr Lansley]

That is an important representation for the use of Government time and, indeed, Backbench Business Committee time. My hon. Friend makes a good point. Guide Dogs UK illustrates how a charity can provide something integral to the life of a community—something that enables people to realise their potential—without which the whole community would be so much poorer.

Last year our noble friend Lord Hodgson looked at how to reduce the impact of red tape on charities and voluntary groups and made 117 recommendations in his report, “Unshackling Good Neighbours”. We are looking to implement as many of those as possible and have already reported back on our progress so far.

[Mr Denis MacShane (Rotherham) (Lab)]

Could the Minister with responsibility for sport make a statement about not just the racist incident in Serbia the other night, but the appalling reaction of the Serbian Football Association, which said that nothing happened and that it is all the fault of the English black player and his team mates? The former Serb leader Karadzic is denying Srebrenica in The Hague and the Serb Prime Minister in Belgrade is denying the existence of Kosovo. What is wrong with the Serbs? Does the Leader of the House agree that their national and club teams need to be suspended for the rest of this season, until they apologise for the disgraceful racist statement? The PM has already condemned it and we now need action from UEFA.

[Mr Lansley]

I did not have the opportunity to see the England under-21 match, but I have seen the news reports and news footage of it. I absolutely share the right hon. Gentleman’s sense of shock at the events, as does the Minister with responsibility for sport, who has made it absolutely clear that what happened was unacceptable. Any kind of racist abuse is unacceptable. He has urged UEFA to act and to do so quickly and strongly in relation to any such unacceptable actions.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

The UK has become a net exporter of cars and is at the centre of automotive research. Some fantastic innovative work is taking place, as I have seen at Nidec SR Drives in Harrogate in my constituency. Could we have a debate about the manufacturing success of the automotive sector, specifically looking at what more could be done to support it and whether there are any lessons from its success that could inform other sectors?

[Mr Lansley]

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. What he describes is part of an essential rebalancing of the economy. A million manufacturing jobs were lost under the previous Government as they neglected the industry in pursuit of the prawn cocktail circuit in the City of London. We now know that we have to have a balanced economy that enables us to pay our way in future. Nothing is more significant in that regard than our ability to promote competitiveness in manufacturing and exports. We have some world-leading manufacturing sectors. Vehicle manufacturing in this country has made tremendous strides forward. We have some of the most efficient plants anywhere in the world, and evidence from them must be used to inform how we can deliver advanced manufacturing elsewhere. The aim of the Government’s programmes through the Technology Strategy Board is to promote exactly that.

[Phil Wilson (Sedgefield) (Lab)]

The Northern Echo reports today that Durham Tees Valley airport, which is a strategic transport hub in the north-east and my constituency, will not receive the regional growth grant that it applied for to help create 1,500 jobs. Could we have an urgent statement from the Business Secretary on the ability of the regional growth fund to deliver regional growth, especially when only £60 million has reached front-line operations?

[Mr Lansley]

On the contrary, I heard the Deputy Prime Minister explain to the House the day before yesterday how a very high proportion of regional growth fund moneys are now reaching projects and delivering the promotion of growth. I will, however, seek a response from the Business Department to the case raised by the hon. Gentleman.

[Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the unacceptable practices of the banks in general and the Yorkshire bank in particular? It is treating its business customers in a most appalling manner, piling on unjustifiable costs and new terms, including a constituent of mine who has been a customer of the Yorkshire bank for 35 years and never missed a payment. When banks make risky investments that go wrong, surely they should stand the losses and not pass them on to their long-established, sound small business customers.

[Mr Lansley]

I will draw my hon. Friend’s important point to the attention of my Treasury colleagues. He may also like to raise it with the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, which is considering such issues.

[Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)]

Earlier this week the Home Secretary made it clear to the House that she is seeking to opt out of all justice and home affairs measures in the European Union. She is playing hokey-cokey by saying that she may want to opt in again, but there is no guarantee that it would be possible to opt back into the EU arrest warrant. May we have a debate in Government time on this vital issue? I am worried about the effect that the absence of an arrest warrant would have on justice for the victims of those who commit a crime and flee to European countries.

[Mr Lansley]

I will consider the hon. Lady’s request. The Home Secretary’s statement was clear. Using the opt-out in the way she proposes will give us the leverage to get the kinds of measures, if we want to opt into them, that are in this country’s interests. The Home Secretary set out an excellent approach that will enable us to focus on what is in this country’s interests and to secure those interests.

[Mr Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East) (Con)]

Will the Leader of the House join me in paying tribute to the Dorset security services and, indeed, the armed forces for their part in ensuring that the Weymouth-based Olympic events were safe and went without incident? Could we have a debate on the efficiency of local resilience forums and the work of tier 1 and tier 2 responders? It was clear in Dorset that existing structures would not have coped and that extra measures, which have now sadly been removed, were needed to keep the games safe.

[Mr Lansley]

I will ask my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to respond on the issue of local resilience forums and their effectiveness. I know from experience that they are being developed, enhanced and strengthened even now. I endorse entirely what my hon. Friend has said. I did not have an opportunity to visit Weymouth during the Olympics or Paralympics, but what I saw demonstrated that it was the most remarkable event. We are all grateful to the armed forces for their contribution to making it a remarkable success.

[Simon Danczuk (Rochdale) (Lab)]

A motion that I tabled appears in today’s Order Paper and reads:

“That, in the opinion of the House, the salary of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Government Chief Whip) be reduced by £1,000.”

That equates to the amount for which the Chief Whip would be prosecuted for doing what he did. Surely that is worthy of debate.

[Mr Lansley]

I answered that question earlier. It is interesting that nobody on the Opposition Benches has requested a debate on employment. Given that we have seen a further reduction in unemployment and a dramatic improvement in jobs in the private sector in this country since the election, it is interesting that they want to pursue a party political point rather than an issue that is in this country’s interests.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

In recent weeks there has been a spate of burglaries in my constituency and in other parts of the country, targeting the Asian community in particular. The issue has been heightened by the fact that many safety deposit boxes, which used to be available in banks and in which people could store their jewellery, are no longer available. Could we have a debate on the importance of the availability of safety deposit boxes in high street banks, so that people can keep their valuables safe?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend raises an important issue that also affects the constituencies of other hon. Members. The Association of Chief Police Officers lead on burglary is due to meet banks to establish the extent of the problem caused by the closure of secure storage and to offer crime prevention advice, including, where appropriate, the use of home safes. Moreover—I know that my hon. Friend will fully endorse this—this is further evidence of how police and crime commissioners, following their election, will be able to address such issues so that police forces can respond to them as part of their operational priorities.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Yesterday, the Prime Minister refused to answer a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) and for several weeks, the Chief Whip has struggled to answer questions about exactly what he said in Downing street. Is it time for a ministerial statement on ministerial answers?

[Mr Lansley]

No.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

I recently visited Graham Engineering, an excellent firm based in Nelson which specialises in the nuclear sector. It recently submitted an excellent grant application under the advanced manufacturing supply chain initiative. The proposal would create or secure a large number of jobs in my constituency, and support the supply chains in which they operate. I have raised the Graham Engineering proposal with a number of Ministers, but may we have a debate on supporting advanced manufacturing to ensure that such great firms continue to thrive under this Government?

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I am sure that Graham Engineering and other firms in his constituency are appreciative of his support. That firm has put in a bid for funding under the advanced manufacturing supply chain initiative, which is one of the initiatives to which I referred earlier that support the competitiveness of industry. Those bids are being assessed. Ministers will play no direct part in that process. The independent assessment board will meet on 14 November to decide on those bids.

[Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)]

I strongly endorse the call from the shadow Leader of the House for a further Government statement on energy tariffs. The Leader of the House should not underestimate the degree of disarray that will be caused to the energy industry by the combination of the Prime Minister’s answer yesterday and the answer to the urgent question today. The matter needs to be cleared up now, because companies will not know what the Government expect them to do on social tariffs and fuel poverty. On all these important issues, we need answers in days, not months.

[Mr Lansley]

I do not share the hon. Gentleman’s view. The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, my hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes) answered the urgent question and made it clear that simplification and tariff reform will form part of the Energy Bill, enabling us to deliver precisely what he and the Prime Minister said we would do, which is to use legislation to get consumers the best possible tariff.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

Two women who ran a business called Purple Mountain for many years recently lost the business due to a tendering process conducted by the Forestry Commission. May we have a debate on tendering processes, and will the Leader of the House ensure that the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs meets me and the two business owners so that we can explain the terrible circumstances that they have had to endure?

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman raises an issue of which I was not aware. I will contact my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and ask him to respond.

[Derek Twigg (Halton) (Lab)]

I am very hopeful because of what the Leader of the House has said about having an employment debate. May I ask him for an employment debate, specifically on the problem of Departments holding up decisions that affect the creation of jobs? Heath business and technical park in my constituency has a dispute with Manweb over electrical lines, which is holding up much-needed investment in jobs and housing. The Department of Energy and Climate Change is saying to me that it does not have the resources to make the decision quickly. It is many months since the matter went to DECC. If we cannot have a debate, will the Leader of the House intervene to remind the Department that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor want to ensure the speedy resolution of infrastructure and housing decisions?

[Mr Lansley]

I am encouraged by the hon. Gentleman’s support for a debate on employment. He might like to talk to his party’s Front Benchers, because so far this Session, including for the seventh allotted day, they have not sought one debate on employment. That is a great pity because, judging by what the Leader of the Opposition said yesterday, one would have thought that it was the matter with the greatest importance.

We need to debate employment because the figures are compelling: employment is up; there are more than 1 million more jobs in the private sector; we are tackling youth unemployment, not least through the youth contract; we are tackling long-term unemployment, not least through the Work programme, from which 693,000 people are already benefiting; and there has been a two-thirds year-on-year increase in the number of young people going into apprenticeships since the time of the Labour Government. Those are important things, but we are not complacent. There is more to be done and we are going to do it. A debate will help us to achieve that.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Is the Leader of the House aware of the concerns of the more than 1 million shooting enthusiasts in the UK over Royal Mail’s decision to ban the postage of firearms and their parts throughout the UK? More than 1,000 comments from shooting enthusiasts have already been registered. Will the Leader of the House agree to a statement or a debate on this important matter, which will potentially jeopardise rural businesses and legal leisure pursuits?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful for that question. I cannot promise a debate or a statement, but I will seek a response from my right hon. Friend to the point that the hon. Gentleman rightly makes.

[Alison Seabeck (Plymouth, Moor View) (Lab)]

A constituent wrote to me about the powers of the receiver under the Law of Property Acts. I forwarded the letter to the Ministry of Justice on 8 May. We chased it up on 19 July and my excellent caseworker chased it again on 24 August and 29 September. We did not get a reply or an acknowledgement. Will the Leader of the House please ensure that a Minister comes to the House to reassure Members from all parties that Departments will respond to letters from MPs in a timely manner and not leave it six months?

[Mr Lansley]

Across Government, it is always our intention to respond in a timely manner. I will talk to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State about the matter that she raises.

[Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)]

Further to the question raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Sedgefield (Phil Wilson), I again ask the Leader of the House to persuade the Business Secretary to come to the House to explain the decision not to give a regional growth fund grant to Durham Tees Valley airport. I would like to know why the decision was leaked to the media and why the Prime Minister’s pledge of support to the airport from the Dispatch Box just a few months ago counts for nothing.

[Mr Lansley]

As I said, I will talk to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and secure a response to the issues that have been raised. The hon. Gentleman may wish to raise the matter at Business, Innovation and Skills questions on 8 November.

[Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab)]

May we have an urgent debate on the sale of publicly owned freehold assets—the so-called family silver? In a written answer to me, the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Norwich North (Miss Smith) said that that information was not held centrally. Will the Leader of the House say how such matters are being audited and how there is accountability for this public money?

[Mr Lansley]

The House will remember that the gold was sold by a former Chancellor, losing this country £5 billion. From our point of view, not least following resource accounting, it is important that we use assets efficiently. It is the responsibility of Ministers across Government to ensure that they are aware of where they have freehold assets and to use them.

[Wayne David (Caerphilly) (Lab)]

In 1908, an organisation was set up to promote independent working-class education. It was called the Plebs’ League. Would the Leader of the House support an all-party parliamentary group whose purpose was to promote the principles behind that organisation once again?

[Mr Lansley]

I was not aware of that organisation, but I am happy to be advised of it. As is shown by the Workers’ Educational Association and the like, education is one of the routes of social mobility. That is something that this Government have focused on and we will continue to do so.

[Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab)]

Many Members have raised sports-related issues with the Leader of the House today. Will he consider having a general debate on sports matters, so that we can talk about Wonga sponsoring football stadiums? I am concerned that future sporting events, such as the rugby world cup in 2015, should be a great success. Does he agree that it is ridiculous that Leicester Tigers’ Welford Road stadium has been excluded from the list of venues for the rugby world cup in 2015?

[Mr Lansley]

I am not in the least surprised that sports issues have featured strongly in business questions, because the Olympics and Paralympics demonstrated the power of sport to inspire and enthuse people. I hope that we will follow through on that. Many of the issues that have been raised are about the governance of sport. I will discuss with my right hon. and hon. Friends at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Backbench Business Committee how we might provide an opportunity to discuss this range of issues.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Lansley Excerpts

Thursday 13th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Katy Clark (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)]

2. What plans he has to improve scrutiny of the Government by the House.

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

As Leader of the House, I want to ensure that the public see the Government reporting to and being accountable to this House. As a Government, we have increased the number of ministerial statements in comparison with the previous Government; given more time for the Report stages of Bills; and published more Bills in draft for pre-legislative scrutiny. We are also encouraging public engagement in the House’s scrutiny, with public reading stage pilots and, as I have announced today, a new 10,000-signature threshold for e-petitions to trigger a Government response.

[Katy Clark]

I understand that the Government plan to introduce a business Committee by the end of 2013. Will the Leader of the House tell us how he views the proposal at this stage, and whether he thinks that such a Committee will improve scrutiny by giving Back Benchers more of a say in, for example, the timetabling of Bills and opportunities to vote on amendments?

[Mr Lansley]

As the House will know, I have the greatest admiration for the reforms introduced by my predecessor, including the creation of the Backbench Business Committee, which has provided substantial opportunities. The hon. Lady rightly drew attention to the Government’s commitment in the coalition programme, and I look forward to constructive discussions about it.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

The Leader of the House could improve the quality of scrutiny immediately by making the post of Chairman of the Committee of Selection an elected post. Would it not be totally absurd if an independent Chairman of that Committee were replaced overnight by a former Whip?

[Mr Lansley]

Again, I pay tribute to my predecessor. The introduction of elections to membership of Select Committees represents a considerable step forward in terms of Members’ ability to determine the shape of decision making in the House. However, it is also important for the Committee of Selection to reflect the interests of the parties—

[Mr Bone]

Of the House.

[Mr Lansley]

Both sides of the House have an interest in getting business through, as well as respecting the rights of Back Benchers.

[David Wright (Telford) (Lab)]

Could we get rid of Deputy Prime Minister’s Question Time, because he is hopeless, and introduce a format enabling Boris Johnson to come and give evidence to the House, because he clearly has more influence over Government policy?

[Mr Lansley]

I seem to recall that Labour Members wanted the time for Deputy Prime Minister’s questions to be extended.

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

7. I welcome the Leader of the House to his new position. May I ask him to consider improving scrutiny of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by extending the time allocated to oral questions to its Secretary of State?

[Mr Lansley]

I am aware of my hon. Friend’s interest in that issue. I think that the time available for DEFRA questions has proved adequate, and we have no plans to change it at present.

[Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab)]

It is two and a half years since the Wright reform of the election of Chairmen of Select Committees was introduced. At that time there were very few candidates for some of the posts, and in the case of one Committee there was only one candidate. Would this not be a suitable time for the existing Chairmen to resign, so that all Members, including new Members, could have a chance to have their turn, in order that the work of Select Committees could be refreshed?

[Mr Lansley]

I do not think that I would hold myself or my predecessor responsible for whether people put themselves forward. I think it is perfectly reasonable to give Members that opportunity. If they do not take it up, that is a matter for them.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

I note what my right hon. Friend said earlier about responses to e-petitions with 10,000 signatures. Will he clarify that by telling us what time frame would be involved, and can he give us any more details?

[Mr Lansley]

I hope that it will be possible to respond rapidly to petitions with 10,000 signatures. I cannot tell the hon. Lady at this stage how quickly we will do it, but I hope that we will do it in a matter of weeks. I want members of the public to feel that they have a genuinely interactive relationship with scrutiny of the Government in the House, which involves direct responses to their use of the website and, indeed, to their e-mail addresses.

[Alun Michael (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)]

3. Whether the Government plan to impose penalties on Ministers who fail to observe the House's expectations in regard to statements.

--- Later in debate ---

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

4. What plans he has for pre-legislative scrutiny of Government Bills.

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

The Government are committed, wherever possible, to publishing legislation in draft with a view to pre-legislative scrutiny. We have published nine sets of draft measures so far this Session and will publish more as it progresses.

[Diana Johnson]

But given the right hon. Gentleman’s unfortunate experience with the Health and Social Care Bill, does he not agree that it would be best for all Government Bills to have extensive scrutiny before reaching the Floor of the House?

[Mr Lansley]

I think the hon. Lady and the House will recognise that it is not possible for all Bills to have pre-legislative scrutiny, but as I said, the Government have published a substantial number of such measures. When I was Secretary of State for Health, we published the Care and Support Bill in draft for pre-legislative scrutiny—I look forward to its commencement this autumn—and it has also been the subject of both consultation and a public reading stage.

Business of the House

Lord Lansley Excerpts

Thursday 13th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Ms Angela Eagle (Wallasey) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House give us the business for next week?

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

The business for next week will be:

Monday 17 September—Second Reading of the Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Bill.

Tuesday 18 September—Motion on the conference recess Adjournment, the format of which has been specified by the Backbench Business Committee. Colleagues will wish to be reminded that the House will meet at 11.30 am on this day.

The business for the week commencing 15 October will include:

Monday 15 October—Consideration in Committee and remaining stages of the Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Bill.

Tuesday 16 October—Remaining stages of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill (day one).

Wednesday 17 October—Conclusion of remaining stages of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill.

Thursday 18 October—A debate on a motion relating to the disbandment of the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, followed by a debate on a motion relating to the use of intercept evidence in courts and inquests. The subjects for these debates have been nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.

Friday 19 October—Private Members’ Bills.

The provisional business for the week commencing 22 October will include:

Monday 22 October—Second Reading of the Public Service Pensions Bill.

I should also like to inform the House that the business in Westminster Hall for 17 September and 18 October will be:

Monday 17 September—A debate on the e-petition relating to the west coast main line franchise decision.

Thursday 18 October—A general debate on community benefit for major infrastructure projects.

It is also my intention to provide time for a debate on Hillsborough, as announced by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister during his statement yesterday.

Colleagues will also wish to know that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will deliver the autumn statement on Wednesday 5 December.

[Ms Eagle]

The whole House will be shocked and saddened by the murder in Libya of the US ambassador and three other members of the United States diplomatic staff. It will inevitably raise concerns about the safety and security of our own diplomats in Libya and elsewhere in the region. May we have an urgent statement from the Foreign Secretary on what action the Government are taking to protect Foreign Office staff in the region?

We welcome the publication yesterday of the Government’s papers on the Hillsborough disaster and the report by the Bishop of Liverpool—that was a process we began in government. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) said yesterday, those of us in the Opposition fully associate ourselves with the very welcome apology the Prime Minister made to the families and to the people of Liverpool.

The contents of the report are scandalous. There is shock and anger at the revelations that an opportunity to save the lives of so many was missed. There is shock and anger at the despicable and self-serving lies told about the fans’ behaviour on the day. There is disbelief that the truth has been concealed for 23 long years. I pay tribute to the families who have campaigned for justice for so long—without them yesterday would not have been as it was. I also pay tribute to the work of all Members of this House representing Merseyside seats and others who have campaigned for justice, including my right hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham), and my hon. Friends the Members for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle) and for Liverpool, Walton (Steve Rotheram). Does the Leader of the House agree that this shows the value of Members of Parliament who represent and fight for the communities they serve?

Last night, the chief constable of South Yorkshire police said that it looked on the face of it as if some police officers had broken the law. This morning, the ex-chief constable of South Yorkshire, Richard Wells, said that it is “absolutely essential” to pursue prosecutions in the Hillsborough case. At the same time, one of those officers who appears to have been involved in orchestrating the cover up is currently a serving chief constable.

Yesterday, the House was united in its response. May I assure the Leader of the House that we stand ready to co-operate in any way that is helpful in finally achieving a just resolution? Will the Leader of the House explain what the Government’s course of action will now be to hold to account those who did wrong and deliver justice for the families, now that we finally have the truth? On setting aside the flawed coroners’ verdicts, will the Leader of the House arrange for the Attorney-General to make a statement before recess on the next steps? We welcome the fact that there was a statement yesterday and the commitment to a full debate in Government time. I note what the Leader of the House said in his statement, but many members will want to contribute to the debate, so could he be a little more forthcoming and update the House on when it will take place? I hope that it will take place on the Floor of this House and not in Westminster Hall.

The Chancellor has finally plucked up the courage to come to this House at the start of December to make his autumn statement. We know that the new Environment Secretary is a climate change sceptic, but the Chancellor clearly thinks the climate is warming because in his mind autumn now extends well into December. Given that this Government have decided that autumn now extends into December, can the Leader of the House assure us that the Prime Minister has no plans to cancel Christmas?

Yesterday, my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition asked the Prime Minister about the Government’s target to cut debt by 2015. Given that borrowing is up 25% and that the Government are briefing that the Chancellor will abandon his debt target completely, will the Leader of the House arrange for the Chancellor to make an urgent statement in this House on whether the Government are still committed to the target?

The hon. Member for West Suffolk (Matthew Hancock) gave an interview to The Spectator this week in which he compared himself favourably to Churchill, Pitt and Disraeli. Now, we all share his joy at his appointment to ministerial office after striving so hard to be noticed, but it is not immediately apparent to me, or I suspect to anyone else, why the Under-Secretary of State for Skills thinks he has quite matched the achievements of some outstanding British Prime Ministers. Will the Leader of the House arrange for the hon. Gentleman to make a statement before the recess to enlighten us on his obvious powers?

[Mr Lansley]

I think we share across the House a sense of outrage at the attacks on US diplomatic staff in Libya. As the hon. Lady rightly says, the Foreign Secretary, who was in Cairo, responded and made clear the Government’s condolences to the US Government. The attacks of course remind us of the dangers our diplomatic staff run, which we know very well from other such incidents. I know that the Foreign Secretary, if he can, will update the House on how arrangements to secure our staff around the world are being pursued.

Having sat here yesterday and heard the report from the Hillsborough Independent Panel, I share the House’s sense of shock and outrage. From my point of view, as a former Secretary of State for Health, I know that people might not always be able to achieve the standard in professional and public service responsibilities that so many of us believe they would want, but it is shocking that some would go to such lengths to deny the truth, spread misinformation, not follow the evidence or the science and, in those circumstances, leave the families with no awareness of what the post-mortems genuinely meant or what the possibilities had been. I completely share the hon. Lady’s sense of shock that that occurred.

As the hon. Lady rightly said, what has happened is very much to the credit of the families and Members of this House. In response to her question, it does indicate the value of Members of Parliament, and I pay tribute to the way Members have pursued the issues over many years. It says something about the value of this House that we are not part of the establishment, and should not see ourselves as such; we are beyond it, with people being accountable to this House. We should use this House and its powers and privileges to deliver that sense of accountability. In following up the panel’s report, we must continue to make the House exactly that kind of forum for achieving that sense of accountability.

Clearly, Ministers and other authorities must follow up the panel’s report. I know that the Attorney-General will keep the House informed, as the Prime Minister made clear yesterday, and I will of course keep in close touch with him about keeping the House updated on whatever decisions he might reach. I have announced a debate, which will take place on the Floor of the House, and I am sure that, with the usual channels, we will expedite that so that it can take place as soon as possible, and talk about when the appropriate moment for the debate will be.

The hon. Lady asked about fiscal policy. I have to tell her that the Government’s fiscal policy is very clear, and it enables our plans to meet the targets. With regard to forecasts, the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast, for example, is due at the autumn statement, which I announced today will take place on 5 December.

I am in favour of Christmas. Oliver Cromwell, when Lord Privy Seal—an office I now have the privilege of holding—abolished Christmas but, although we are fond of precedent in this place, I have no plans or intentions to do the same.

[Sir Peter Tapsell (Louth and Horncastle) (Con)]

Although many tributes were paid to him last week when I was in my constituency, may I, as Father of the House, thank the previous Leader of the House, my right hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire (Sir George Young), for his service to the House? I have known every Leader of the House since Harry Crookshank in the 1950s, and to my mind my right hon. Friend ranks high among the best of them.

[Mr Lansley]

The Father of the House, once again, rightly and appropriately speaks on behalf of us all.

[Natascha Engel (North East Derbyshire) (Lab)]

May I add my voice to those who support the statement and campaign of the families affected by the Hillsborough disaster? The campaigners used the then-new e-petitions system to take their campaign to the House so that Members could bring forward yesterday’s statement. That points out the importance of e-petitions to the House.

I welcome the announcement that the 10,000-signature threshold will now trigger a response from the Government. Will the Leader of the House work with the Backbench Business Committee to ensure that every single instigator and signatory of an e-petition will eventually get some kind of response from us?

[Mr Lansley]

I enjoyed listening to the work of the Backbench Business Committee this week. I intend to work with the hon. Lady and Members across the House, including my colleagues in the Government, to ensure that those who give their time and energy to bringing issues before the House feel that they are responded to properly and timeously.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[James Duddridge (Rochford and Southend East) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the future of the Shoeburyness-to-Fenchurch Street line, which is currently under tender? Specifically, can the Government give my commuter constituents reassurance that good rolling stock will not be replaced with old, dirty rolling stock without air conditioning?

[Mr Lansley]

The choice of rolling stock is a matter for the franchisee, but it must meet the franchise conditions. The competition to which my hon. Friend refers is, of course, live, so I shall not make any further comment on the bids.

[Mr John Denham (Southampton, Itchen) (Lab)]

May we have an early debate on the marking of GCSE English exams this summer? It is clear that tens of thousands of young people went home in June, confident that they had done everything that their teachers and the examiners asked them to do, only to get devastating results in August. As Ofqual is accountable to the House, should we not have the chance to debate whether the damage being done to those young people’s careers far outweighs any impact of regrading in line with the January assessments?

[Mr Lansley]

I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will have seen that the Education Committee is pursuing precisely those issues, and it is right that it should. The Secretary of State for Education was absolutely right to say that Ofqual is an independent regulator. He did not interfere with its decisions, and, frankly, the Welsh Education Minister is wrong in seeking to substitute his own judgment.

[Mr David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate) (Con)]

May we have a debate on bigotry, which will enable the many hon. Members who hold a traditional view of marriage not to declare an interest?

[Mr Lansley]

I am in favour of marriage and I do not think we need to debate bigotry because in the House we seek to engage with all our affairs in a way that respects good language. If my hon. Friend is referring to the draft of a speech for the Deputy Prime Minister, I reassure him that the Deputy Prime Minister did not make the remarks and nor did he intend to.

[Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)]

May we have an urgent debate on the situation in Yemen? On Tuesday, the Yemeni Defence Minister narrowly escaped assassination and today 5,000 Yemenis have stormed the American embassy in Sana’a. The country is sliding into civil war. Please may we have an urgent statement?

[Mr Lansley]

The right hon. Gentleman has raised an issue that we all recognise is both urgent and increasingly difficult. I will, of course, talk to my colleagues at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office about it. I do not have knowledge of any immediate opportunity for debate, but I will talk to them about how they might further report to the House.

[Mr John Leech (Manchester, Withington) (LD)]

Yesterday I hosted a meeting for MPs about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria. We heard numerous tales of aid not getting through to the people who really need it. When we return from the conference season, may we have a debate or statement on the effectiveness of aid and what changes need to be made to make sure that it is getting to the people who need it?

[Mr Lansley]

I will of course ask my colleagues how they might further report to the House. However, I remind hon. Members that the UK is the second largest bilateral donor to the Syrian people, and that it is helping to deliver emergency food aid to 80,000 people a month, shelter for 9,000 families, and urgent medical care for over 50,000 people affected by the fighting.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

We do need to have the debate about GCSE marking that was requested. Why will not the Government and Ofqual listen to Mike Whiting, the Conservative cabinet member in Kent county council who said that regrading should take place? Do we not need an urgent debate in the House in Government time?

[Mr Lansley]

I will not repeat what I have said other than to say that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education is absolutely right to say that there was no political interference. Ofqual is an independent regulator, and we should respect its independence and its determination to maintain standards.

[Bob Stewart (Beckenham) (Con)]

Four incredibly brave women of the Special Operations Executive were murdered by the SS in Ravensbrück concentration camp on or shortly before 5 February 1945. Their names were Denise Bloch, Cecily Lefort, Lilian Rolfe and Violette Szabo, who was later awarded the George Cross. Former Member of Parliament, Nicholas Bennett, recently visited Ravensbrück and can find no obvious memorial to those real heroes. I am sure that my right hon. Friend, and all Members of this House, will join me in calling on the Government to rectify this situation.

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend is right. The courage of the men and women of the Special Operations Executive was remarkable. Members of the House will recall that three years ago that courage was recognised with a memorial on the Albert embankment, including a statue of Violette Szabo. None the less, what my hon. Friend has said about Ravensbrück camp will no doubt have been noticed by the German embassy here.

[Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP)]

When, and from whom, may we expect a statement indicating that the Honours Forfeiture Committee is going to look at the honours attached to the names of anyone who was implicated in the scandalous syndicate of deceit that was exposed yesterday? When it does so, will it also consider the case of Derek Wilford, who was clearly indicted by the Saville report?

[Mr Lansley]

If I may, I will ask colleagues with those responsibilities to write to the hon. Gentleman about those matters, and ask that I be informed about what the timetable is for considering them.

[Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire) (Con)]

The Backbench Business Committee has been an outstanding success, and I pay particular tribute to the hon. Member for North East Derbyshire (Natascha Engel) for her leadership in it. However, does the Leader of the House agree that an excessively large number of set-piece debates that used to take place in Government time are now held in Backbench Business Committee time? Is there now an opportunity to increase the amount of time given to Backbench Business Committee debates or, alternatively, to bring back Government-time debates for defence and other things?

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his recognition of what a step forward the Backbench Business Committee is. We look forward to it continuing to do its work. As I understand it, part of the intention following the Wright Committee was that some of the debates that were scheduled in Government time should be treated as part of the responsibility of the Backbench Business Committee.

[Richard Burden (Birmingham, Northfield) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House ask the Foreign Secretary to come to the House before we rise for the recess to clarify the Government’s intentions if, as expected, the United Nations General Assembly is asked to vote before we reassemble on the admission of Palestine as a non-member state of the UN? Last year many hon. Members found it inexplicable, given the UK’s policies, that we should have abstained on the motion at the Security Council. At that time, the Foreign Secretary said that in the event of a motion at the UN General Assembly, different considerations would apply. As this matter could be resolved one way or the other before we reassemble, may we have a statement so that we can respond before the House rises?

[Mr Lansley]

The House will be aware of the Government’s view, which I think is widely shared, that the right route is to a two-state solution through negotiation. That will continue to be the Government’s approach. Indeed, depending on the events at the UN General Assembly, Her Majesty’s Government will be seeking to promote such a negotiated solution.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Has my right hon. Friend seen my early-day motion 489?

[That this House notes that the Charity Commission has formally recognised druids as a religion and granted them charitable status, even though they have just 300 members; questions why therefore the Charity Commission has not recognised the Christian Brethren church, which has 16,000 members and more than 300 churches across the country; further notes the extensive community and charitable outreach that the Brethren church does, which has significant public benefit; and finally calls on the Charity Commission to stop the discrimination against this Christian church and to have a level playing field for all religions.]

May we have a debate on the Charity Commission and the recognition of religious groups to find out why it recognises druids but does not recognise the Christian Brethren, who have 16,000 members and 300 churches across the country?

[Mr Lansley]

Yes, I have seen the early-day motion in my hon. Friend’s name. Of course, the Charity Commission is not a regulator of religion, and it should be explaining its responsibilities and doing so in a way that commands confidence.

[Fiona O’Donnell (East Lothian) (Lab)]

A high street payday loan broker in my constituency has been standing outside a primary school handing out balloons to children and leaflets asking whether they are struggling to afford a school uniform. May we have an urgent debate on effective regulation of this predatory sector?

[Mr Lansley]

I will, if I may, invite my hon. Friends from the Department for Education to respond on that issue, with which I confess I am not familiar.

[Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater and West Somerset) (Con)]

The ongoing saga of Post Office procurement is getting rather out of hand. There is still no information coming to sub-postmasters from the Post Office. If the Post Office loses the procurement bid, rural post offices will disappear. May we please have a statement or a debate in this House to discuss what is plan B should this go wrong?

[Mr Lansley]

I presume that my hon. Friend is talking about the vehicle excise duty contract. That is a live procurement and, as such, it would be incredibly difficult to have any kind of a debate about it. I assure him and the House that last year Government business passing through post offices increased in value, which it had not done for a number of years previously. I reiterate that, as I said last week, the post office local model is giving post offices additional possibilities and business opportunities, and I hope that that will continue.

[Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

May I draw the Leader of the House’s attention to early-day motion 523?

[That this House deplores the decision of HSBC to close its branch located in Shildon, County Durham; notes that in light of this decision the town of Shildon, home to over 10,000 residents, will be left without any banking facilities meaning residents will be forced to travel several miles to get to their nearest bank; further notes that this decision is especially deplorable in light of the fact that HSBC made a pre-tax profit of £13.7 billion last year and paid their Chief Executive just under £8 million; and finally calls for HSBC to review urgently its decision to close its branch in Shildon.]

The disgraceful proposal to close the HSBC bank branch in Shildon will leave 10,000 people without any banking facilities at all. Will the Leader of the House make time for us to have a debate on how the banks treat ordinary people?

[Mr Lansley]

I have every sympathy with the hon. Lady. I remember that in my own constituency, some 10-plus years ago, branches of HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds shut down in villages. As the years have gone on, much of that closure programme has made it increasingly difficult for people to obtain cash and to undertake some of their business. I know that this concerns the House, and I will raise it with my colleagues. It may come up again when banking reform proposals come before the House.

[Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)]

May we have an early debate on restoring public trust in the police? The majority of police are professional, hard-working and honest, but an increasing minority are not, and too often they are pensioned off after internal disciplinary procedures rather than going before the criminal courts, even when they are known to have committed a criminal act.

[Mr Lansley]

I think that that is one of the many reasons the whole House will have been shocked by the concerted effort, including by police officers, to misinform and mislead people about the nature of what happened at Hillsborough. This is, in a sense, part of a wider issue about culture. I hope that in discussions with my hon. Friends and the new Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice we may be able to address, together with the police service, further changes in culture. I would not say that there have not been substantial changes. I know personally many of those who feel that over the years there have been substantial changes in the right direction in the police service, but we must look critically at whether more can be done to make sure that there is a culture of openness, transparency and accountability.

[Barry Gardiner (Brent North) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House will recall from his previous position the importance of physical activity in promoting the health of the nation and programmes such as Move It that deliver it across the spectrum for thousands of young people. Will he therefore consider a debate on the Olympic legacy, particularly in relation to what that legacy can mean for the health of the nation?

[Mr Lansley]

Yes. I share the hon. Gentleman’s view. I hope there will be an opportunity for the House to debate not only the physical, economic and related legacies, but the legacy of promoting sport, which we will do through competitive games in schools, by extending the school games, by improving engagement with community sports clubs, and by promoting physical activity as well as competitive sport. That is what the Change4Life and Games4Life programmes have sought to do and will continue to do.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

Will the Leader of the House join me in paying tribute to all the athletes who took part in the British Transplant games, which were held in my constituency? Linked to that, may we have a debate on organ donation and transplants, which help save lives?

[Mr Lansley]

I will, of course, look at whether opportunities will emerge for a discussion about organ donation and I recognise that there is an ongoing debate in Wales about the character of the organ donation programme. I thank my hon. Friend for mentioning the Transplant games. Papworth and Addenbrooke’s hospitals in my constituency probably conduct more transplants in total than anywhere else in the country. I never fail to be amazed by what is achieved by those who provide transplant services.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

Following on from the Business Secretary’s answer to an urgent question on Monday, may we have a debate about this country’s industrial policy? It is hugely important. It is about how we pay our way in the world, how we ensure that we have a robust tax base and how we will provide high-paying jobs in the future, so it deserves a major debate in this House.

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman may wish to raise with his Front-Bench colleagues their choice of time for debates. What the Business Secretary said clearly is that not only are the Government focusing on an industrial strategy to deliver growth, but the range of measures and our ability to do so are increasing all the time.

[Sarah Newton (Truro and Falmouth) (Con)]

Yesterday the Department of Health announced the warm home scheme. May we have a debate on the wide range of measures that the Government are introducing to tackle fuel poverty, so that Members of this House can work with their communities to make sure that the people who most need the help get it this winter?

[Mr Lansley]

I am pleased that my colleagues at the Department of Health were able to follow up last year’s initiative of a warm homes healthy people fund and support local authorities and charities with further provision, which was announced earlier this year. It is all about taking practical steps to ensure that people who are vulnerable and frail can be supported by community action.

[Jim Sheridan (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (Lab)]

May we have a debate on ever-increasing energy costs? It is clear that neither we as politicians nor the regulatory bodies are doing anything to protect our constituents. Will the Leader of the House look at what powers this House has to say to major energy companies, “As long as you are recording record profits and as long as you are awarding yourselves £1 million bonuses, you are not doing it at the expense of our constituents”?

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman will recall how the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Secretary focused on the issue of energy costs more than a year ago. They, along with the regulator, Ofgem, have been focusing on how we can ensure that energy costs and opportunities for those who are at risk with regard to fuel costs are able to access the best possible price for energy.

[Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)]

When pre-legislative scrutiny takes place on the draft Care and Support Bill, how will my right hon. Friend ensure that every Member of the House will be able to engage in the detail, rather than its being a Second Reading debate on a grander scale?

[Mr Lansley]

Our intention is that the pre-legislative scrutiny will be undertaken jointly between the two Houses—I hope that that is what will happen. As with any pre-legislative scrutiny, all Members of this House will have an opportunity to make representations about the Bill’s character to the Joint Committee.

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

The GCSE fiasco is of major national significance. It affects the lives of thousands of young people in their ability to get apprenticeships and jobs and to go on to further study. We need a debate in this House and should not just leave it to the 11 members of the Education Committee. We owe it to the 376,000 young people who took their GCSEs this year to have a debate in this House.

[Mr Lansley]

If the hon. Gentleman feels strongly about that, he may wish to talk to his Front-Bench colleagues about how they choose to use Opposition time. I listened to my right hon. Friend the Education Secretary giving excellent answers when he gave evidence to the Education Committee, and I would think that that provides it with a very good basis for its own inquiry.

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

May we have an urgent debate on community health services? In Milton Keynes the strategic health authority has advised the primary care trust to progress with an NHS-only competitive procurement for our community health service. This goes against a strong local wish for a managed transfer and potentially undermines the innovation and benefit our integrated service is delivering.

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend and his neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North (Mark Lancaster), have discussed this and I had intended to meet him. I hope that this might be able to be pursued with my successor as Health Secretary. We are always clear where such changes take place that, while it is important to make progress, to do so quickly and to have a system that is viable, it is vital that it carries the confidence of the local decision makers—the council, the public and the clinical commissioners—in how we go forward.

[Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP)]

Will the Leader of the House give an assurance that the annual debate on fish quota allocations will take place in this House later this year, in advance of the completion of the negotiations in Brussels?

[Mr Lansley]

I will, if I may, make an announcement on that in business questions at a later date.

[Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)]

May we have a debate about donations to political parties and their influence? I and many colleagues are concerned about the unions that are calling for co-ordinated action to bring the country to its knees and the amount of money that they donate to the Opposition.

[Mr Lansley]

Yes, of course. As Leader of the House, I do not engage in any partisan activity, but it is important that all parties recognise on whose behalf we make representations to the House—we make them on behalf of our constituents. We should not do so, whether as individual Members or as parties, on the basis of outside vested interests, and that applies to the Labour party with regard to the trade unions.

[Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab)]

May we have a debate on tourism? Does the Leader of the House agree that the exciting discovery of what might be the remains of Richard III in a Leicester city car park has the potential hugely to benefit the city of Leicester in terms of tourism? Does he also agree that if those remains turn out to belong to Richard III, they should be laid to rest at Leicester cathedral?

[Mr Lansley]

I should probably not venture into the latter point, but I have followed this archaeological inquiry with great interest. It is an exciting potential discovery.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

May we have a statement or a debate in the light of last night’s announcement of the proposed merger between BAE Systems and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company? BAE employs tens of thousands of people in the UK, is our biggest export manufacturer and is a company in which the UK Government hold a golden share.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Lansley]

I recall that development. Clearly, these are commercial matters for the companies concerned, but there will be matters of substantial public interest in relation not only to the Government as a customer, but to the Government holding a golden share. I will make sure that my colleagues are aware of the need, as I am sure they are, to report to the House when the time comes.

[Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab)]

The Government appear to be indulging in a mashup, as popularised by the television programme “Glee”. Last week, the Leader of the House told me that there was no variance in policy on Sunday trading pre and post-Olympics; yet the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has told The Daily Telegraph that he is willing to take a long, hard look at different trading patterns. May we have an urgent statement to clear up this mashup?

[Mr Lansley]

What I said last week was accurate and continues to be true. The fact that one is continuously looking at issues, as one does in government—I know that only too well—does not mean that one has changed one’s position.

[Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)]

Many of my constituents who are members of trade unions are moderate people who do not think that the best way to lift this country out of recession is to cripple it with strikes. In view of the TUC’s comments this week and given that many strikes are held on the back of very low turnouts in strike ballots, will my right hon. Friend bring forward a debate on whether such a small minority of people should be able to hold the country to ransom at such a difficult time?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. I was interested to see that only 27% of members of the National Union of Teachers voted in its ballot. It seems to be utterly wrong for the education of young people potentially to be prejudiced on the basis of a clear lack of participation among members of that union.

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House will know that the Health and Safety Executive has described asbestos as

“the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK.”

Those of us who work in this building have a right to know, in detail, what is the situation with asbestos here. Please may we have a written statement so that we know precisely what is the situation, rather than having to rely on conversations with the men in white coats?

[Mr Lansley]

The right hon. Lady and the House will have heard what my hon. Friend the Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (John Thurso) said about that. He was entirely accurate. I do not need to be persuaded of the importance of ensuring that asbestos is dealt with properly and that people are not exposed to it. I have seen in friends of mine the consequences of exposure to asbestos and of mesothelioma. We will take every step to ensure the safety of Members, staff and visitors to the House.

[Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)]

May we have an early debate on the charges that some GPs impose on their low-income patients in relation to their housing needs? I was shocked to learn that one of my constituents was charged £35 for such a letter, which is half of his weekly benefit. That is wrong.

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. I will discuss it with my hon. Friends at the Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions and ensure that he receives a reply. GPs are not in a position to charge their patients for any NHS services or to provide private health care services directly to their patients. However, under their contracts and by agreement, there are a number of additional services that they can provide to their patients that are outside those that are provided by the NHS. I will, of course, ensure that he receives a reply.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

Given the concerns about the downgrading of school food standards and the influence of lobbying, may we have a debate on why Domino’s Pizza’s shareholders decided to donate £50,000 to the Education Secretary’s local Conservative association?

[Mr Lansley]

Well, I imagine it was because they think that my right hon. Friend is a first-rate Member of Parliament. I know that he would not, and am sure that he did not, allow that to influence any decision that he made. Opposition Members must recognise, as do Government Members, that it is important that the public support political parties, because otherwise they cannot exist, function or do their work. However, it is important that that does not cause any influence. Opposition Members should look to the beam in their own eye, because the trade unions not only provide the overwhelming majority of the Labour party’s money, but exert direct influence over its policy as a consequence.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

In March this year, in response to a written question, the Department for Education stated that it was considering proposals to form military academies. May we have an urgent debate on the role that military academies might play in addressing issues such as low aspiration and low social mobility, particularly in deprived areas?

[Mr Lansley]

Yes, I will ask my hon. Friends to respond on that. The Government welcome the role of military cadet forces, which can help tremendously to engage young people. We recently announced a £10.5 million-plus expansion of school-based cadet forces, which will create a further 200 units by 2015. Of course, free schools and academies have the flexibility to extend such an ethos in their schools. I am sure that the Department for Education and the Government would welcome that.

[David Wright (Telford) (Lab)]

The coverage of the Olympics and Paralympics on television was outstanding and brought the country together. Can we have a debate on free-to-air sports productions for UK consumers? Many people feel locked out from being able to watch major sporting events, such as the Ryder cup and test match cricket, live. Can we look again at the events that are on the national register?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Lansley]

I am sorry, but I was not here throughout Culture, Media and Sport questions, so I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman had a chance to raise that issue. I endorse his view that the coverage of the Olympics and Paralympics was excellent. In particular, although I am not always able to do these things, the ability to watch any of the many Olympic sports that were happening at any given moment was excellent.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

I am fighting to keep my local post offices open. That is why I support the campaign for the renewal of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency services contract. May I add my name to the cause for a debate on the importance of the renewal of that contract and of other Government work to safeguard a strong post office network?

[Mr Lansley]

As my hon. Friend will have heard, I urge Members to look at the positive steps that are being taken and at the increase last year in the Government revenue at post offices. That particular contract is a live contract. It would not be appropriate for Ministers to comment during the course of a live contract, nor for there to be a debate about a contract during the course of its procurement.

[Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire) (SNP)]

Will the Leader of the House do all he can to encourage the Labour Opposition to give us at least the topics of their Opposition day debates at the business statement prior to their taking place? I am not sure whether he is aware of what happened on Monday night. We had 20 minutes to prepare and submit an amendment to a Labour Opposition motion. That is totally unacceptable and is a gross discourtesy to the House, the Speaker and the officials. Will the Leader of the House get the Opposition to get their act together?

[Mr Lansley]

I read the hon. Gentleman’s point of order on that issue. In the spirit of the two Front Benches, I refer his question to the shadow Leader of the House to reply.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the importance of new transport infrastructure in regions such as the west midlands, focusing on the potential for investment in new airport capacity in Birmingham and on high-speed rail, to continue the important work of rebalancing the British economy?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend will have a good opportunity to raise that important point and related issues in the debate on the Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Bill on Monday. The Bill will enable us to do much more to provide such important infrastructure investment by using our credibility in the international money markets and the low cost of borrowing to drive forward long-term investment in infrastructure.

[Tom Greatrex (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab/Co-op)]

At oral questions last week, the Minister for the Cabinet Office suggested that gaps in the Contracts Finder website in relation to contracts between Atos Origin and Atos Healthcare and the Government were due to contracts signed under the previous Government. On checking that, I found that at least three significant contracts, including one worth £200 million between the Department for International Development and Atos, are not listed. May we have a statement from the Minister for the Cabinet Office about the accuracy of that website, which he promotes constantly?

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman will not be surprised to hear that I do not know whether what he says is true or what the position is. I will simply, if I may, refer the matter to my hon. Friends and ensure that he receives a response.

[John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)]

Dr Stuart Smallwood, the respected headmaster of Bishop Wordsworth’s school in Salisbury, wrote to me this week to express great concern that strike action has been approved by just over one in five members of the National Union of Teachers. Will my right hon. Friend urge the Education Secretary to bring forward legislation so that there is a minimum threshold before such disruptive action can take place?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend and the head teacher of the school in his constituency make an important point. From my conversations with leaders of trade unions over a number of years, I think that when they clearly do not have a compelling mandate for action, they should take that into consideration. I simply urge the teaching unions not to proceed with industrial action. It is not in the best interests of the children, and it is not justified by any grievance that they have brought forward.

[Phil Wilson (Sedgefield) (Lab)]

On 16 July, the then Secretary of State for Transport announced in a statement that a competition was to be launched to invite bids for new train stations. Since then, nothing has been heard. The competition could help Ferryhill in my constituency, which has been crying out for a new train station for years. May we have another statement on when exactly the competition will start and what the rules are, so that if possible, Ferryhill can get a bid together?

[Mr Lansley]

I was very impressed by the announcements that were made just before the summer on the future rail network, which were substantial and wide-ranging. I do not know the answer to that particular question, but I will ask my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport to respond.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

May I congratulate the Leader of the House on how he has answered all these difficult questions? May I ask him a gentle and easy one? Will he confirm that, as is political convention, the only business on tomorrow’s Order Paper will be private Members’ Bills?

[Mr Lansley]

So far as I am aware, yes.

[Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab)]

Our colleagues in the New Zealand Parliament have just decided to bring their troops out of Afghanistan a year earlier than planned. The Parliaments of Canada and the Netherlands have already brought their troops home and they are safely back in their own countries. With the situation in Afghanistan getting worse than ever and a record number of NATO troops having been murdered by the Afghans whom they are training, arming and funding, must we not now react to public opinion, which is saying that for goodness’ sake, we must bring our troops out of harm’s way and away from a war that has become a mission impossible?

[Mr Lansley]

My right hon. Friend the International Development Secretary is in her place and will be making the quarterly statement on Afghanistan immediately following business questions. If the hon. Gentleman seeks to catch your eye, Mr Speaker, he may have an opportunity to raise that issue.

[Mr Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)]

May we have a debate on the future management of acute hospitals, particularly in London? I ask because there is now survey evidence showing that a significant number of members of the Royal College of Physicians would not recommend their hospital for the treatment of their friends and family.

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman will recall that the Prime Minister and I have rightly emphasised the friends and family test. It involves both staff and patients being asked whether they would recommend their services. My colleagues at the Department of Health will continuously examine how we can improve acute hospital services. I have discussed the future hospital programme with the Royal College of Physicians, and what we are doing to modernise the NHS will absolutely address the issues that it raises. As it says, we should recognise that the increasing burden of ill health among older people, which is a consequence of increased life expectancy, should increasingly be managed through improvements to services in the community. That will mean that we can focus hospital services on patients who genuinely need to be in hospital.

[Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)]

In the north-west of England, the four police authorities are merging some civilian parts of the Forensic Science Service’s functions with unseemly haste on the back of the closure of the FSS, before the system has been able to bed in. Will the Leader of the House organise an urgent debate on that important subject, as that appears to be happening before the police and crime commissioner elections? Will he ask the Home Secretary to publish any documents that give guidance to chief constables on the matter?

[Mr Lansley]

I will of course ask the Home Secretary about that, but it strikes me that the hon. Gentleman might seek to secure a debate on the Adjournment about it.

[Katy Clark (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)]

On Monday, I attended the Delegated Legislation Committee on the criminal injuries compensation scheme. At the end of the debate the Minister in charge did not move the motion because of the level of opposition to the Government’s proposals to slash compensation for the victims of crime. May we now have a statement providing assurances that compensation will not be cut?

[Mr Lansley]

I think my colleagues at the Ministry of Justice will make a statement to the House in due course, but I will discuss with them when they might do that.

e-Petitions

Lord Lansley Excerpts

Thursday 13th September 2012 Written Statements

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

Since my predecessor launched the Government’s e-petitions site in July 2011, the site has received more than 6.4 million signatures, shared across more than 16,000 petitions. A total of 11 e-petitions have passed the 100,000 signature threshold, making them eligible for debate. All 11 of these have been debated, or in the case of the west coast main line e-petition have been scheduled for debate in the new Monday afternoon allocation in Westminster Hall.

e-petitions have been an important part of increasing public understanding of Parliament. To improve engagement with petitioners, I am today announcing a new threshold of 10,000 signatures to trigger written Government responses to e-petitions, in addition to the existing threshold of 100,000 signatures that makes e-petitions eligible for debate.

Once an e-petition has passed 10,000 signatures, Departments will provide a response that will appear on the website and be e-mailed to all signatories who opted in to receive updates on that petition. Responses will include a statement of the Government’s policy on the issue, and details of any relevant parliamentary processes that are ongoing.

All e-petitions currently open for signature on the site, which have more than 10,000 signatures, will receive a response from Departments; we expect most of these to be published before the House returns from the conference recess. Responses to e-petitions that subsequently pass the 10,000 signature threshold will be published on a rolling basis on the relevant page of http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk.

Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

Lord Lansley Excerpts

Wednesday 12th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr Andrew Lansley)]

I thank the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (John Thurso) for presenting the motion, which I too support.

As we heard from the shadow Leader of the House, the hon. Member for Wallasey (Ms Eagle), since 1995 the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has played an important role in the work of the House, advising Members on the code and the rules of conduct, guiding new Members on their responsibilities and conduct, investigating and reporting on complaints, and ensuring transparency through the operation of the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and the other registers. As the shadow Leader predicted, I am happy to add my support to the recommendation that the House should agree to the motion providing for the appointment of Kathryn Hudson to this role, and I wish her well.

Ms Hudson comes to the role with valuable experience of investigative processes, the capacity to make careful judgments in sensitive cases, and an ability to provide advice and support for Members. As the shadow Leader said, I know and appreciate only too well the way in which the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has performed similar functions in relation to equally sensitive processes.

As the shadow Leader also said, I became a member of the House of Commons Commission only a week ago, and therefore played no direct part in the recommendation before the House today. I thank the selection board, the right hon. Member for Rother Valley (Mr Barron) and his colleagues, and the Commission for their work.

I am pleased to note that, in line with other new public appointments, the Commission has been able to set a shorter working week and a salary that reflects that. However, it has done so with the understanding that the work load will vary from time to time, and it will not impose a restriction on the days per week that the commissioner considers necessary.

Let me take this opportunity to thank the outgoing commissioner, John Lyon, who inquired into many allegations, and—as was pointed out by the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross—did so in the circumstances of an unprecedented level of focus on the House of Commons as a result of the expenses scandal. Mr Lyon undertook that difficult role with a robust but fair approach, making a very important contribution to the work of restoring confidence in the House and its Members. These cases are not the sole marker of his tenure. He led a review of the code of conduct and rules, and oversaw the introduction of greater transparency on inquiries that were not formally reported to the Standards and Privileges Committee. I would also like to put on record my thanks to the staff of the House who continue to support the commissioner in delivering standards, and to the Chairman of the Standards and Privileges Committee for his work.

I reiterate my thanks to Mr Lyon for his work during what was undoubtedly a challenging time. We should always be appreciative of those who give time and service to the House. I hope that the House will endorse the motion. On that basis, I look forward to welcoming Kathryn Hudson to her new role from January 2013.