Business of the House

Debate between Lord Lansley and Ian Paisley

Thursday 10th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

May I take the opportunity to wish my right hon. Friend a happy birthday? I am sorry to report that due to an administrative error he was sent an incomplete and inadequate response to his letter to the Minister responsible for defence equipment, support and technology, my hon. Friend the Member for Ludlow (Mr Dunne). That did not follow the proper process, and I assure my right hon. Friend that the Minister will write to him with a comprehensive response. The Minister has offered briefings to all interested Members on the competitive process, and indicated that he is willing to meet the delegation from Cherwell district council to hear its concerns.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

On 17 July, the Hallett review into on-the-runs will be published, and I note that no space is available for a statement in the House. Will the Leader of the House make that space available and allow for a statement on that day?

[Mr Lansley]

The only reason I did not refer to the statement next Thursday is that I announced it last week. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will make a statement next Thursday on the Hallett review.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Lansley and Ian Paisley

Thursday 3rd July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend makes an interesting point, which might benefit from an application for an Adjournment debate, not least because there may be other Members elsewhere in the House who feel strongly, as he does, about this and their local authority’s decisions.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

Boxing, swimming, running and cycling, though not all at the same time, are incredibly well followed and practised sports across Northern Ireland. Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on the legacy of the Commonwealth games so that we can see how the benefit of those wonderful games will be applied to sportspeople across Northern Ireland?

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman makes an interesting point. I do not know whether we have time available before the Commonwealth games for such a debate. We are very much looking forward to the Commonwealth games, which will be a tremendous event, and to the opportunity to see this country, not least Scotland, showcasing itself as a venue for great sporting achievement. In that context, in Cambridge and in my constituency, we are also very much looking forward to seeing the Tour de France coming through on Monday.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Lansley and Ian Paisley

Thursday 26th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. He will recall the answer I gave at previous business questions about the Government’s position, which is that we feel we are currently striking the right balance in the law on Sunday trading. I know that the debate on consideration of the Consumer Rights Bill was abbreviated—it was short—but there was an opportunity for points to be made in the course of it. Of course, if my hon. Friend wishes to bring forward any proposals, he can seek an Adjournment debate to raise issues in the House.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

The Leader of the House will be aware that the letters to on-the-runs have aroused great anxiety in Northern Ireland and that efforts should be made to ensure that those letters cannot be allowed to let people evade justice, as appears to have been the case for one person. Without wishing to prejudge the outcome of the statement on 17 July, will the Leader of the House set aside parliamentary time if necessary to legislate on the annulment of those ministerial letters to on-the-runs?

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman will understand that I do not want to prejudice that statement and I do not think I can comment on his question at this stage. I think it is sufficient for now that the statement will be on 17 July, and separately in this House the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee is undertaking its own inquiry, which I can see is detailed, into all the matters surrounding the on-the-runs.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Lansley and Ian Paisley

Thursday 3rd April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am sure the House will completely understand and indeed endorse my hon. Friend’s view of the importance of regional airports—in this instance Manston—in his constituency and in other neighbouring constituencies across Kent, and Thanet in particular. As he knows, my hon. Friends at the Department for Transport are well aware of the issue, and in addition to what he said about the desirability of a debate in the House, I know that they will want to keep in touch with him and with the owners and operators out of Manston airport, recognising all the while that it is a commercial matter, but that the importance they attach to regional airports is undiminished.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

My constituent, Miss Perry, of Gracehill in Ballymena, recently received her house insurance premium, which is double what it was last year, and she was told by the insurance company that that is a direct result of the floods that affected England. Although those floods were terrible and awful, and thank God they did not affect Northern Ireland to the same extent, is it appropriate that premiums should be increased by that amount in Northern Ireland, and may we have a debate on the matter?

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman will understand that by its nature insurance is a pool of risk. The insurer to whom one goes, depending on the parameters of the insurance offer, will sometimes pool risk across very large populations and very big geographical areas. The Government do not interfere with the commercial operation of insurance markets, but the Water Bill, which has just completed its consideration in the House of Lords, will ensure that people can continue to have access to flood insurance. Flood Re, as a reinsurance mechanism to back that up, is very important, but it does not in itself reduce insurance overall. The £10 addition across all insurance premiums is necessary to meet the costs of Flood Re.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Lansley and Ian Paisley

Thursday 6th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I can tell my hon. Friend that, on more than one occasion in my constituency, flagging down an Openreach engineer’s van is exactly what my constituents have done.

I know that my hon. Friend will raise this issue with BT herself, but, exceptionally, I shall refer our exchange to BT and ask it to respond directly to her. Under the programme for extending superfast broadband access, contracts are now rolling out across the country, and we are trying to make that happen as quickly as possible. However, we need to ensure that we achieve not just notional access to superfast broadband, but reliable, good-quality access. I entirely take my hon. Friend’s point.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

May I draw the attention of the Leader of the House to the sad and tragic case of Colin Worton, who, as a soldier serving in Northern Ireland in 1983, was wrongly arrested and charged with a sectarian murder? He was subsequently released without conviction, but owing to the reputational damage that has followed him since, he has been unable to work. Would it be appropriate for us to have a debate about the case, and to see what recompense can be given to that former serving soldier?

[Mr Lansley]

It might be suitable for a case of that kind to be raised in an Adjournment debate, and the hon. Gentleman may wish to apply for such a debate. However, I know that the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), will be only too happy to talk to him about the case.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Lansley and Ian Paisley

Thursday 31st January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend and he is absolutely right. I value the way my own local authority and his have taken up the commitment to the armed forces covenant. He is right that we should make sure that it is understood, not least by veterans and their families. The first annual report on the military covenant showed good progress, but I know my colleagues, not least at the Ministry of Defence, will be very keen to take up his suggestion to consider how we can do more to publicise it.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

In the past 10 years, £1 billion has been stolen from the UK Exchequer through the illicit trade in and smuggling of fuels, yet in the past 10 years no one has been jailed in Northern Ireland for these crimes—an atrocious record. Given that today another oil-laundering plant has been smashed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, is it not time for a statement from the Treasury on the sentencing and arrest policy of HMRC officers, so that we can get these criminals behind bars where they belong?

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that point. He will forgive me if I do not know HMRC’s immediate response, but I will of course talk to my colleagues at the Treasury and encourage them not only to respond to him but to update the House at an early point.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Lansley and Ian Paisley

Thursday 1st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[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.

Swine Flu

Debate between Lord Lansley and Ian Paisley

Monday 10th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I share the hon. Gentleman’s deep regret. H1N1, unlike many previous flu strains, does not particularly impact on the elderly; it impacts on younger people and on younger adults in particular. That is the principal reason why we are seeing a relatively larger number of people occupying critical care beds. The NHS response has been to accelerate the provision of critical care capacity and of ECMO beds in particular.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

The Secretary of State will be aware that tragically there have been 14 flu-related deaths in Northern Ireland during this winter. Given that that figure is proportionately higher than in other parts of the United Kingdom, what discussions has he had or does he intend to have with his counterpart in Northern Ireland to assess why the proportion is so much higher and whether there is a black spot with regard to that disease?

[Mr Lansley]

The figure of 50 deaths to which I have referred is the total number of deaths verified by the Health Protection Agency. There have been more deaths than that, but they have not been verified to have been caused by flu. I cannot comment on the relationship between the number that I quoted for the United Kingdom as a whole and that for Northern Ireland, because we are not dealing with comparable figures. My colleagues in the devolved Administrations and I will continue to keep in touch. It is important for us not to be simplistic about this. There are differences in vaccine take-up between Administrations—they are not major, but they exist. There are differences in the prevalence of swine flu, and the prevalence of flu in Northern Ireland is very high compared with England—it is even a great deal higher than that in Scotland. Happily, the number of deaths is only ever a very small proportion of the people who contract flu. To that extent, it is difficult to draw from the number of deaths conclusions about the nature of the response to flu overall, not least because the prevalence is overwhelmingly among people who are not in the at-risk groups, who, I hope, were vaccinated.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Lansley and Ian Paisley

Tuesday 7th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

As I said in response to a previous question, one of the four criteria that I set out on 21 May was that reconfigurations must have the support of local general practitioners as the future commissioners of services. To that extent, a reconfiguration that did not have the support of local general practices would not be able to meet that test.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

What discussions, if any, has the Secretary of State had with the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland about making Avastin and other specialist cancer drugs available on the same terms and conditions under which they are available to people who suffer from cancer here on the mainland? Will those drugs be made available in Northern Ireland under the same terms and conditions?