Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 14th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I was at Defence questions on Monday, where the future of the regiments was raised. Speaking from memory, I believe that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said that work was still under way on the appropriate configuration. There is a Westminster Hall debate on Armed Forces day next Tuesday, which may be an opportunity for the hon. Gentleman to raise the matter when a Defence Minister will be responding.

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

The previous Government left Wales as the only nation in the UK without a single mile of electrified railway. Many Government Members are lobbying the Secretary of State for Transport about the electrification of the railways. May we have a statement on the matter to find out her latest thinking?

[Sir George Young]

If I remember rightly, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has announced the electrification of the Great Western line to Cardiff. I am sure that that has been well received in Wales. There will be an opportunity the next time we have Transport questions to press the Government on their plans to invest further in the railways in Wales. Alternatively, my hon. Friend could seek a debate on the matter in Westminster Hall or on the Adjournment of the House.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 24th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I think that, in a sense, that question contained its own answer. I am delighted that all the parties co-operated—and I include you, Mr Speaker —in ensuring that the Backbench Business Committee was established pretty quickly at the beginning of the new Session. I am delighted that it is up and running. Any Members with bids should indeed turn up at 1 o’clock on Tuesday 12 June in order to put their submissions to the hon. Lady’s Committee.

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

I was pleased to see that unemployment in Vale of Glamorgan fell during the last quarter. I know that the Leader of the House will be more than familiar with Bruce Dickinson, the lead singer of the rock group Iron Maiden, who has committed to creating 1,000 jobs in my constituency in the St Athan enterprise zone over the next 18 months. May we have a debate on enterprise zones and their success or otherwise in creating new employment opportunities so that best practice can be shared across the whole United Kingdom?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend and delighted to hear of the initiative to which he has referred. On our first Monday back, there might be an opportunity to develop this further in the context of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill. One thing we wanted to do with enterprise zones was to encourage investment and employment growth in those parts of the country that had suffered from the recession. I am pleased to hear that that initiative is now having success, with companies locating in enterprise zones, taking advantage of the tax breaks and other incentives available there.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 17th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

As a former Housing Minister, I take a close interest in this matter and have seen the report to which the hon. Gentleman refers. We inherited a not very positive record from the previous Government: the lowest peacetime house building since the 1920s. I am sure he will welcome our affordable homes programme, which is set to exceed expectations and deliver up to 170,000 affordable homes and a £1.3 billion investment to get Britain building. I hope he will also welcome what we have done to enable planning decisions to be made more quickly, to make public land available to house builders, and to help first-time buyers. I hope, too, that he will welcome our fiscal decisions, which, crucially, enable interest rates to remain low, helping first-time home buyers.

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

Earlier this week, the Minister of State, Department for Education, the hon. Member for Brent Central (Sarah Teather), who has responsibility for children and families, responded to the Green Paper on special educational needs, which is an area of policy that has been ignored for far too long. Parents must battle for their children’s rights to receive the education they need. May we have a debate on this important area of policy so that we can push progress much more quickly?

[Sir George Young]

I would welcome such a debate. The Government are committed to a draft Bill on that matter, so there will be an opportunity to take things forward. We want to ensure that services for disabled children and young people, and those with special educational needs, are planned and commissioned jointly by local authorities and clinical commissioning groups. We want to give children who have challenges a much squarer deal than they have at the moment. When the Bill is introduced, there will be an opportunity to outline Government policy.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 22nd March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

This country has never adopted the practice that they have in the United States, whereby all those who stand for public office have to file their tax returns. If that is the hon. Gentleman’s proposition, I am sure that he can make the case during the Budget debate, but it is not our intention to introduce it. On the 50p tax rate, I just make the case that for 13 years, the Labour party did not introduce a 50p rate of tax. It left it to us, along with a letter saying that no money was left in the Treasury.

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

The Chancellor made the excellent announcement yesterday that Cardiff was to be included in the urban broadband fund. May we have a statement by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the details of the procurement and roll-out of that fund, to see whether neighbouring authorities can benefit from the investment in that area?

[Sir George Young]

There has just been an exchange on the Government’s broadband policy in Culture, Media and Sport questions, but I will follow up my hon. Friend’s question by asking the appropriate Minister to write to him to see to what extent companies and people outside the immediate area can benefit from the roll-out of broadband in Cardiff.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 15th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend and know that colleagues on both sides of the House regularly visit their jobcentres to see at first hand the heroic work being done to find suitable jobs for those currently out of work. She reminds the House that jobcentres are notified of around 10,000 new vacancies every day, and over the past 12 months Jobcentre Plus has received more than 4 million vacancies. The figures released yesterday show that the number of vacancies is up, so jobcentres have an important role to play in ensuring that those vacancies are taken up by people currently out of work.

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

The UK’s triple A credit rating is essential to our economic recovery. Will the Leader of the House agree to a debate on the logic or otherwise of the argument, presented by some Members, that the way to get out of a debt crisis is simply to borrow more money, and on the implications that would have on employment prospects?

[Sir George Young]

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend, who might like to catch your eye, Mr Speaker, during the Budget debate. It is important that we maintain our triple A status. A 1% increase in interest rates would cost the average family with the average mortgage £1,000 more a year, which is the last thing they want at the moment, and it reminds us of the importance of sticking to the deficit reduction strategy.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 8th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman might have seen the statement put out by the Department for Education at the weekend, cleared by the permanent secretary, which said that special advisers were not required to maintain records of deleted e-mails. All civil servants routinely delete or archive e-mails, taking account of their nature and content. I am not surprised that that is what happened in this particular case. On the broader issue, the Cabinet Office will issue advice shortly in the light of what the Information Commissioner announced in December.

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

The European Parliament has called for lower mobile data roaming charges—shortly to be discussed at the European Council. Will the Leader of the House arrange for a statement in the Chamber by the relevant Minister so that we can understand the Government’s latest position on this issue?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend has made such a statement redundant, as he has been successful in securing a debate on Wednesday 14 March in Westminster Hall, to which the Government will respond. He will know that we have the interests of consumers and competition uppermost in our mind in the negotiations. We have two basic principles: that wholesale price caps should not be set below cost, and that there should be a sufficient margin between wholesale and retail price caps to enable competition. I look forward to my hon. Friend’s debate.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 2nd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

It so happens that I have read Sue Cameron’s article in The Daily Telegraph, concerning the alleged letter written by Sir Gus O’Donnell to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee. [Hon. Members: “Alleged?”] I have not seen the letter. The right hon. Gentleman raises a serious point, and of course the PAC is one of the most important Select Committees in the House. As I understand it, it will be up to the PAC to decide how it wants to respond to that letter, and it may want to make a report to the House, to which the Government would respond. That is the appropriate way to take the issue forward.

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

The UK Government have prioritised health reform and committed to increasing spending, while devolving decision making to clinicians at local level and making it more accountable. Sadly, my constituents do not benefit from such changes. May we have a general debate on health care, so we can compare and contrast the different forms of health care provision within the UK and expose the fact that Labour is the only party in government in the UK that is cutting the health service?

[Sir George Young]

I am sorry that my hon. Friend’s constituents do not benefit from some of the reforms that will be the subject for debate when the Health and Social Care Bill comes back. He rightly points out that the Department of Health is allocating an extra £12 billion over the spending review period for investment in the NHS—spending the NHS would not have got, had the Opposition been returned to government.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 19th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for extending a generous invitation to my right hon. and hon. Friends at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which I will of course pass on. There was an opportunity on Tuesday, when we had Foreign and Commonwealth Office questions, for the hon. Gentleman to raise this matter. I will pass on his concerns to the Foreign Secretary and ask my right hon. Friend to write to him.

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

Teachers’ ability to instil discipline in schools plays an important part in driving up educational standards. May we have a debate on this issue to ensure that teachers have the necessary powers and clarity on policy to reintroduce discipline?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend is right: teachers need to be able to enforce discipline in their classes. We have issued new, simpler guidance for teachers on discipline, cutting the length from 600 pages to 50. The new guidance states that no-touch policies are unnecessary, that teachers can use reasonable force to control or physically restrain disruptive pupils, and that heads can search for items such as alcohol, illegal drugs and stolen property. I hope that that is a move in a direction that my hon. Friend can support.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 8th December 2011 Commons Chamber

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

The Government are investing heavily in improving broadband capacity, which can bring about some great innovations such as home working and flexible working that can enhance the work-life balance. May we have a debate on such issues to encourage as many private sector employers as possible, following on from Government initiatives, to enhance the work-life balance?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. The roll-out of broadband is a priority for this Government, and I know that BT is doing a lot of work in this area. I will share with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State the particular point that my hon. Friend has made and will ask him to write to him.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 15th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

It sounded from the question as though this is a matter that has been devolved to the Scottish Government. None the less, I will raise the issue that the hon. Gentleman has just touched on with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland to see whether there is a role for the Westminster Government to play.

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

A number of my constituents and 20,000 others across the United Kingdom have lost significant sums in the Arch Cru investment fund as a result of improper regulation. Will the Leader of the House agree to a debate on this subject, so that they can hear the issues being aired and, I hope, demand compensation?

[Sir George Young]

I commend the campaign being run by my hon. Friend. Many MPs have received letters from constituents who have been affected by that failure. As he may know, the Financial Services Authority is investigating the case, but I will raise his concerns with Treasury Ministers. Although I cannot promise a debate, I hope that I can promise him a letter.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 8th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

We will have a debate on the matter on Monday when we debate the very Bill that introduces police and crime commissioners. I do not understand this idea that we are using the back door, because it is in the Bill. There is nothing underhand about it at all; it is all in the public domain.

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

The deficit reduction plan is a key priority for the Government. Will the Leader of the House agree to a debate on the progress that has been made? Does he accept that history is extremely effective in contributing to such a debate? Will he time the debate so that it comes out after the political memoirs?

[Sir George Young]

There is a lot of advice floating around on how one reduces the deficit, but I thought that the previous Chancellor put it well in his memoirs when he said that Labour had no credible policy. Nothing has changed since he made that particular pronouncement.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 14th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The purpose behind one of the key components of the military covenant was precisely to help those leaving the armed forces to develop alternative careers. One particular opportunity was to encourage them to join the teaching profession, for which many of them have the necessary skills. However, I will raise with my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary the question of our progress, through the military covenant, on finding work for those retiring from our armed forces.

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

The number of jobseeker’s allowance claimants in the Vale of Glamorgan has fallen by 25% over the past year, and according to the latest figures unemployment fell across the whole of the UK. May we have a debate on unemployment to establish what policies are working best and why they are working in some areas better than in others?

[Sir George Young]

I am delighted to hear that unemployment has fallen in my hon. Friend’s constituency, and I hope that we will continue to make progress in bringing it down. As I said a few moments ago, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that there will be 900,000 extra jobs between now and 2015. There are encouraging signs in the labour market figures. The Work programme, which has just been introduced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, is encouraging new providers into the market to provide long-term jobs for those who are unemployed. I hope we will make some progress there. The challenge is to help people into employment and to help the recovery. The Work programme is up and running and will offer jobseekers flexible support tailored to their needs in order to help them into employment.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 7th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I hope that the hon. Lady will concede that we took a number of initiatives in the Budget to promote giving to the charitable sector. We also set up a transitional fund to help charities through what is a difficult time. There will be an opportunity on the final day before the recess for the hon. Lady to speak in one of the Adjournment debates that I announced at the beginning of business questions.

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

May we have a debate on the administration and regulation of the Arch Cru investment fund? Some 20,000 people were left hanging when the fund was suspended two years ago. A compensation package has been offered by some of the stakeholders involved, but it is highly conditional and seems quite inadequate.

[Sir George Young]

I am sorry to hear about the investors who lost their funds in the Arch Cru debacle. On 21 June, the Financial Services Authority announced a £54 million package for the investors, to which my hon. Friend has just referred. This is a matter for the FSA. The package will be used to make payments to eligible investors in Arch Cru funds, and will assist the return of a substantial part of their investment to them. I suggest that my hon. Friend pursue the matter further with the FSA.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 30th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

We are debating the Finance Bill again next week and I hope that there will be no repetition of this week’s inexplicable incident. The official Opposition failed to table an amendment in time on their flagship policy; they then refused to vote on an identical amendment tabled by another party, only to vote for some anodyne alternative. I hope that there will be no repetition of that embarrassment from the Opposition Front-Bench team.

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

May we please have a debate on the funding of political parties? At a time of industrial action, it would be useful to tease out the influence that trade unions can have on some parties’ policies.

[Sir George Young]

As my hon. Friend knows, Sir Christopher Kelly and the Committee on Standards in Public Life are looking at the important issue of party funding. My own view is that it is unhealthy that one political party is dependent for about 87% of its funding on the trade unions.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 16th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

That is an ingenious suggestion. As my hon. Friend will know, the Procedure Committee is examining the calendar. His proposition would certainly be within the terms of reference and I am sure that he has given evidence along those lines.

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

The Chancellor has talked about the need for a cultural change in banking regulation, given the failed system that was set up and led by the previous Administration. What plans does the Leader of the House have to allow a full debate on these issues, given that a White Paper has been published?

[Sir George Young]

That debate will be initiated in a few moments’ time by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, who will make a statement. My hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Alun Cairns) is right to say that we need to reform the financial services regime, which manifestly failed, if the City is to continue to be a centre of wealth, enterprise and encouraging employment. I hope that he will remain in his place for a few minutes longer, so that he can get a more authoritative reply from the Financial Secretary.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 10th March 2011 Commons Chamber

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

I welcome the comments made by the Leader of the House in response to the question by the hon. Member for Eltham (Clive Efford) on the special educational needs Green Paper. I remind my right hon. Friend that the current system has been described as not fit for purpose. The Green Paper has been broadly welcomed, but will he make time available for the House to consider it, as it is by its nature a Green Paper and deserves full consultation?

[Sir George Young]

I think that there is an appetite in the House for a debate on the Government’s proposals. There is widespread recognition that we need to change the system, and many Members on both sides of the House will have tried to help parents through the rather complicated process, which seems to take an infinity as meetings are cancelled and local authorities sometimes play for time. There is an appetite for a better system. I suggest that my hon. Friend goes to the Backbench Business Committee on a Tuesday morning and bids for a debate on the subject. I think that he will find that he has a lot of support on both sides of the House.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 3rd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the £1.5 million that has been donated to SkillForce to encourage those who are leaving the armed forces to take up a career in education and bring the necessary skills of leadership and discipline to schools. I should welcome such a debate. I cannot arrange one in Government time, but either the Backbench Business Committee or Westminster Hall might provide an opportunity. The troops to teachers programme is designed to bring the skills of service leavers quickly to our schools, and I think that many would benefit from those skills.

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

Will the Leader of the House arrange a debate on the bank levy before the Budget statement? Current projections suggest that it could raise £800 million a year, and the debate would give us an opportunity to establish how the Labour party can squeeze £27 billion-worth of spending promises from that £800 million.

[Sir George Young]

I look forward to my hon. Friend’s contribution to the Budget debate. He makes a good point. The bank levy is a permanent levy that will produce in one year more than the one-off net amount raised in tax by the Labour party, which has been overspent many times and will pay for the reduction in VAT, the cancellation of the increase in petrol duty, and a number of other reforms. I hope that we shall be able to have an open debate on how the Opposition’s mathematics add up.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 10th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

There will be opportunities to debate PAC reports. We welcome the report to which my hon. Friend refers, which was published on 8 February, on the mishandled M25 project. We are determined to get value for money for taxpayers and want to learn the lessons of the report and act on its recommendations.

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

Will the Leader of the House agree to a debate on financial regulation so that we can examine the failures of the system set up by the shadow Chancellor and move to a system in which banks can be competitive and yet pay their way?

[Sir George Young]

There will be legislation on financial regulation, as we hope to put right the regime that we inherited, which manifestly failed. When that Bill comes forward, in either substantive or draft form, my hon. Friend will have an opportunity to develop his arguments.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 27th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

There will be a debate on BIS next Wednesday. However, the current regime actually deters potential employers from taking people on, because of the circumstances that surround their potential dismissal. I honestly believe it right to try to recalibrate the balance of power between employer and employee, in order to encourage employment and remove one of the barriers to it.

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

Will the Leader of the House allow a debate on the progress made on rebalancing the economy? Some excellent manufacturing output data were published recently—they showed strong growth over the last two quarters—and such a debate would give the House an opportunity to reflect on them.

[Sir George Young]

There have indeed been some very encouraging manufacturing figures, to which my hon. Friend refers, and some buoyant export orders, which I also welcome. Coupled with our proposals to cut corporation tax and cancel the increase to employers’ national insurance contributions, and other steps to promote growth and prosperity, the background that he outlines gives us reasons for optimism.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Alun Cairns

Thursday 13th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I read out a few moments ago the words on the piece of paper in front of me that indicates where the responsibility rests. There will be a full written ministerial statement in due course, which I hope will answer the right hon. Gentleman’s question.

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

In view of the fact that the Government’s key challenge and objective was to save Britain from the brink of bankruptcy, will the Leader of the House arrange a debate so that the House can consider the progress made in reducing the structural deficit, following the mess left by the previous Administration?

[Sir George Young]

I would welcome such a debate. At the Budget, there will be an opportunity for several days’ debate on the Government’s economic policy. I share my hon. Friend’s welcome of the fact that we are no longer on the brink of bankruptcy, of the fact that our credit rating has been restored, and of the fact that we are not in the same position as some other countries that have not taken the action that we have taken to reduce the deficit.