Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Duncan Hames

Thursday 5th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am sorry that the right hon. Gentleman uses the words that he does. All the physicians who carry out the operations will, of course, remain in post; what we are talking about is where they carry them out. I cannot add to what I have said on several occasions in response to earlier questions, but I will do my best to find an avenue for a debate about this important issue.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

If on Tuesday it is the will of this House that the Committee stage of the House of Lords Reform Bill should potentially be without end, where will the Leader of the House look to secure additional sitting days in order to protect Government and other House business?

[Sir George Young]

The Leader of the House is not contemplating that eventuality; I am confident that, on reflection and having listened to the debate, the House will want to agree to the programme motion on the Order Paper.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Duncan Hames

Thursday 28th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

Yes, that would be our proposition—a proposition that we have adhered to for all the legislation we have produced so far. Discussions continue through the usual channels about the content of the programme motion. I very much hope that the Opposition will enter into sensible and constructive discussions so that we can make good progress on this important piece of legislation.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

What representations has the Leader of the House received from Back Benchers, or indeed from the official Opposition, on the number of days in the programme for the House of Lords Reform Bill? Just how many days are they seeking?

Ministerial Code (Culture Secretary)

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Duncan Hames

Wednesday 13th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I will make just a little more progress.

The hon. Member for Newport West (Paul Flynn) made an uncharacteristically partisan speech. He focused on the performance of this Government, but conveniently overlooked all the failures of ministerial performance in the previous one. There was a gap in the account that he related to the House.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Mr Foster) made it absolutely clear that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State handled the bid by the book, to use his words, and had at several points taken decisions against the interests of News International. He said that one or two issues remained, although as my hon. Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Damian Collins) said, they were not defined. My right hon. Friend the Member for Bath implied that the failure to consult was behind the Liberal Democrats’ decision as much as anything else.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

I am not one of those who has disputed the Secretary of State’s honesty, but there is the question of responsibility for special advisers. The ministerial code states that responsibility for the management and conduct of special advisers, including, but not only, discipline, rests with the Minister who made the appointment. How did the Secretary of State effect that responsibility for the management and conduct of his special adviser?

[Sir George Young]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made a statement to the House shortly afterwards and was cross-examined on that specific issue for a substantial time. He explained exactly what his responsibilities were and the action that he had taken.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Duncan Hames

Thursday 10th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman says that my right hon. Friend should be here. The subjects for the Queen’s Speech debate are chosen by the Opposition, not by the Government, so I resist his accusation that we have not found time for a debate on this matter.

There is recognition from leaders of the Pakistani community that there is a cultural issue that needs to be addressed. I assure the hon. Gentleman that this is an issue that the Government take seriously, as he will have seen from the statement by my right hon. Friend. I hope that the next time my right hon. Friend appears for questions, he will have an opportunity to update the House on the steps that are being taken.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

May we have a debate at the start of this Session on the future of business statements? As is demonstrated by serious contributions such as that of the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman), Members have an appetite for something more than the tiresome trivia that have become a habit at these events. At the least, could we reform the business statement to make it an opportunity to put the deliberations of the Backbench Business Committee centrestage in the House?

[Sir George Young]

When, in due course, we establish a committee that deals with Government business as well as having a Backbench Business Committee, it will be a good opportunity to look at business statements, because if the regime for fixing the business of the House changes, we may need to change the way in which the business statement is made. I defend my hon. Friends from any accusation of the trivial use of business questions. I find them helpful to find out what concerns there are, certainly on the Government Benches, and on many occasions they influence the structure of debates.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Duncan Hames

Thursday 19th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My recollection is that we have banned the clamping of motor vehicles, which I think is now an offence. I hope that that will reduce to some extent the grievances to which the hon. Gentleman refers. If he has in mind any other changes to the legislation, perhaps he will be good enough to let me or my hon. Friends know and we will certainly look at them. We must get the balance right between, on the one hand, those who own property that they do not want to operate as free car parks and, on the other hand, motorists who are legitimately looking for somewhere to park their cars while they go about their business. I hope that we have the right balance, but if he has any proposals we will of course look at them.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

May we please have a statement on buses? The Leader of the House might have noticed the great interest in buses during Transport questions this morning, which was far higher than usual, following the publication on 26 March of the Government’s paper, “Green Light for Better Buses”, which I dare say is the most wide-ranging policy on buses we have seen since the Leader of the House was in the Department for Transport. Why did a Minister not make a statement to the House at that time?

[Sir George Young]

There is always pressure on Government time and we have to balance the House’s appetite for statements with the business before the House on a particular day, which is why we sometimes make written ministerial statements rather than oral ones. If my hon. Friend looks at the Government’s record, he will find that we have made more statements than our predecessors. Ultimately, it is a question of balance; a statement, which can last an hour, squeezes the subsequent debate, and if it is an Opposition day there are sometimes protests from Opposition Members. We try to get the balance right, but not every Government announcement scores an oral statement in the House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Duncan Hames

Thursday 3rd November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Lady would be speaking from a position of strength had her party not divided on precisely the same issue as the Government. It is an issue on which all parties were divided last week, and my right hon. Friend has not alienated 81 Back Benchers.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

2. How many e-petitions he expects to have attracted 100,000 signatures on the Government's e-petition website by the end of July 2012.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Duncan Hames

Thursday 7th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

May we have an urgent debate on media regulation, given that Ofcom declines to exercise the fit and proper person test in relation to News International despite certain News of the World reporters having been jailed for their actions in the course of their work and the testimony of its executives before Parliament having been seriously undermined by the revelations that we have witnessed this week?

[Sir George Young]

I understand what my hon. Friend says, and he may have seen the exchange that took place on 30 June, when my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport answered an urgent question. He said:

“Before coming to such a view”—

on the application before him—

“I will of course seek once again the advice of the independent external regulators.”—[Official Report, 30 June 2011; Vol. 530, c. 1107.]

That includes Ofcom and, of course, the Office of Fair Trading.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Duncan Hames

Thursday 5th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman will know, looking ahead for the next two weeks, that I have not announced further consideration of the Health and Social Care Bill, and he will also know that a number of meetings have been arranged between Health Ministers and those in the medical profession to listen to concerns and inform the debate before the Government respond. When that process has been completed, we will have the remaining stages of the Bill. I remind the hon. Gentleman that when his party was in government, its Postal Services Bill disappeared completely off the radar; that is certainly not our intention for the Health and Social Care Bill.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

May we have a debate on the hours that the House sits so that Members can determine the full cost, including necessary staff travel, when the House sits, as it did this week, past 4 o’clock in the morning, only to run out of steam early the following day?

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Duncan Hames

Thursday 10th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I welcome yesterday’s publication of the consultation document. The consultation will take place over four months. I emphasise that it is not a cost-cutting exercise; it is about having a much better regime for children who need support in schools and about giving parents more of a say. Crucially, it is about bringing together health, education and care in one package and, we hope, having a more user-friendly, streamlined approach than we have at the moment. I would welcome a debate on the SEN statement. That might be an appropriate issue for the Backbench Business Committee to consider or for debate in Westminster Hall. Yesterday’s announcement was warmly welcomed by those who take an interest in this issue and recognise the need for reform.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

Could we have a debate on the wisdom of crowds or perhaps on the operation of the hive mind? At Tuesday’s Health questions, hon. Members managed to match the feat of 17 February in questions to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, when there were eight almost identical questions on the Order Paper. One can only wonder how many more “inspired” questions were submitted but not drawn for that day.

[Sir George Young]

This is interesting territory. I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman has been in opposition in the House, but he will know that hon. Members are sometimes informally encouraged to table questions, which I understand is wholly within the proceedings of the House. However, I hope there might be a little more ingenuity in future in coming up with different questions, rather than the same ones.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Duncan Hames

Thursday 20th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I do not believe there is that conflict of interest. The people who will benefit from the private sector’s greater involvement in the NHS are the patients, because they will have access to services at a competitive price, and we will get better value for money from the NHS. The hon. Gentleman will know that under the previous Administration intermediate treatment centres were parachuted into the NHS without its being able to compete on a level playing field, so I strongly rebut his allegation.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

May we have a statement on the 50 written ministerial statements made so far in 2011? During that time, I believe there have been only two oral statements, fewer in fact than the number of urgent questions you have afforded, Mr Speaker. In that statement, will the Leader of the House endorse my suggestion at the recent Procedure Committee inquiry that MPs should be able to force timely further scrutiny of written ministerial statements either here or in Westminster Hall?

[Sir George Young]

This Administration are making roughly 50% more ministerial statements than the preceding Administration. Indeed, we were criticised for bringing forward a ministerial statement yesterday, so it is difficult to strike the right balance. The hon. Gentleman refers to work by the Procedure Committee, which is looking at ministerial statements. This Administration are always anxious to come to the House to make statements, but we have to take into account the business that follows, as Mr Speaker has just mentioned, and get the right balance between time for statements and time for debates about Opposition motions, Back-Bench motions or other legislative proposals.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Duncan Hames

Monday 29th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that suggestion. If this slot was moved from where it is at the moment, it would not advantage the Department for Transport but the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, from which we have just heard. The answer to my hon. Friend is this. Within three years, we will be moving towards a House business Committee. At that point, it will make sense to look at how we deal with the whole issue of business questions in the light of new arrangements for that responsibility.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

3. What assessment he has made of proposals for proceedings on private Members’ Bills to take place on days other than Fridays.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Duncan Hames

Thursday 28th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I will pass the right hon. Gentleman’s comments to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. I am sure he will get a response to his letter, but I have to say that the last Government’s housing record was appalling. House building is at its lowest peacetime level since 1924; waiting lists for social housing have almost doubled; and the average number of affordable housing units built or purchased slumped by more than a third under Labour, compared with under the last Conservative Government.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

I am grateful to the Leader of the House for advance notice of Monday’s ministerial statement on the European Council. Although such ministerial statements are welcome, they have a disruptive effect on the agenda for the day’s business, so could we be given greater notice of such statements, including in the “Future Business” section of the Order Paper? That would help to give Members a little bit more time to prepare to participate in the debates.

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s point. When we know statements are happening, we are giving advance notice of them more frequently than has been the case in the past. Inevitably, statements will do some injury to the remaining business of the day, but wherever possible we have given advance notice of ministerial statements to the House, as we have today.

Queen’s Speech (Date)

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Duncan Hames

Monday 13th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

May I return the compliment, by saying that of the two Denis’s that confront me the right hon. Gentleman is by far the nicer?

May I say to the right hon. Gentleman that I totally reject his accusations that somehow this is taking power away from people? This is a wholly sensible proposition and it is right that the House should know the Government’s intentions before it begins to debate the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill—that debate follows in a few moments’ time. There are opportunities to carry over at the end of one Session, which he appeared to ignore, and we have allowed ample time to debate the constitutional Bills to which he has referred. Far from this being an insult to the House, at the earliest opportunity I made a written ministerial statement to the House, and the proposals that I have referred to will be debated in respect of the Bill that the House is shortly to address.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

What consideration did the Leader of the House give to instead bringing forward the next Queen’s Speech to May 2011?

[Sir George Young]

If one were to do that, it simply would not give the House adequate time to debate fully the programmes announced in the last Queen’s Speech.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Duncan Hames

Thursday 9th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman makes a serious point. I do not know whether he will have an opportunity to raise it at Foreign Office questions, but I am sure that the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee will have heard his bid for a debate on that serious issue.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

Many new Members have entered the House since the climate change talks in Copenhagen. When may we have a debate on proposals for the Mexico conference later this year, so that the Government’s negotiations can be informed by Members at an early stage?

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman makes a really serious point and an important bid. If he is not doing anything on Wednesday at 5 o’clock, he might like to present himself to the Committee of the hon. Member for North East Derbyshire (Natascha Engel) and repeat his eloquent plea for a debate well in time before that conference takes place.