Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Julian Sturdy

Thursday 26th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)]

In my constituency, tethered horses are frequently escaping on to the highways and causing serious accidents. Will the Leader of the House update me on the possibility of allocating time for an urgent debate on the responsibility that local authorities have to tackle the issue?

[Sir George Young]

Obviously, this is an unacceptable risk to other road users, and of course we want to take any steps we can to promote road safety. I will raise this issue with the appropriate Minister and ask him or her to write to my hon. Friend, just to make sure that local authorities have all the powers necessary to prevent this unnecessary hazard in his constituency.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Julian Sturdy

Thursday 7th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The short answer is that I do not have that information at my fingertips, but I will get an answer from the appropriate Minister and communicate it to the hon. Lady.

[Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the fairness of supermarkets apparently undercutting independent fuel service stations, which is sadly forcing many independent forecourts to close?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend raises an issue that many Members will have confronted. Independent petrol stations are finding it tough at the moment, as the purchasing power of supermarkets is enabling them to undercut independents. This is a matter for the Office of Fair Trading, and I strongly encourage my hon. Friend to raise it with that body.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Julian Sturdy

Thursday 12th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern about the delay in constructing the bridge. I will share the concerns he has just expressed with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport and ask him to write to the hon. Gentleman indicating a time scale for the construction of this bridge.

[Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)]

Will the Leader of the House assure me that there will be enough time within the remaining stages of the Localism Bill to discuss the empowerment of local authorities further to protect our green belt land from inappropriate development, which affects my constituency of York Outer?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that. We will be debating the Localism Bill next week. Any proposal for development in the green belt is subject to stringent tests, and planning policy guidance note 2 explains the key policy: a presumption against inappropriate development on green belt land. We are committed to maintaining the green belt, and it says so in the coalition agreement.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Julian Sturdy

Thursday 24th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern, and I will draw the matter to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary. If it is a term of the contract that these services should be provided, they cannot be unilaterally abrogated.

[Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the provision of critical care beds, which are of such importance to our NHS generally, and particularly, in my part of the world, to my local hospital in York? I know that it will welcome the recently announced extra 3,700 beds.

[Sir George Young]

The Health and Social Care Bill will shortly return to the Floor of the House after its Committee stage. My hon. Friend is right: the Department of Health announced last month that 3,747 critical care beds were available in January this year—the highest number ever recorded. I am sure that the whole House will rejoice in those figures.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Julian Sturdy

Thursday 17th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

Of course, Members on both sides of the House share the concern about youth unemployment, which went up by some 40% during the period of the last Labour Government. There will be opportunities to debate unemployment during the four-day debate on the Budget. I hope the hon. Gentleman will take some comfort from the fact that 430,000 new private sector jobs have been created in the past year, and that more than 70,000 were created in the last three months of 2010, more than counterbalancing the 45,000 jobs lost in the public sector.

[Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)]

The Leader of the House has just announced the days for debate on the Budget. Has he had any indication of the day on which the former Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr Brown), has put in to speak?

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Julian Sturdy

Thursday 3rd February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman is treading on dangerous territory, because I recall a campaign on post offices in the previous Parliament when a large number of Labour Members said that they would oppose post office closures, but then voted against the motion that we put before the House.

[Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)]

I have recently received a number of representations from constituents about empty property rates. Will the Leader of the House consider having an urgent debate on the matter?

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Julian Sturdy

Thursday 18th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The statistics that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave yesterday were correct. If the hon. Lady was listening to the “Today” programme, she will have heard the chairman of the Environment Agency confirm that those were indeed the figures for the four-year period concerned. She will know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will make a written ministerial statement on the position in Cornwall in due course, and there will be opportunities to question her about the issues that the hon. Lady raised about future funding of flood prevention measures.

[Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)]

Given the high level of concern among my constituents in York Outer and those of hon. Members on both sides of the House, which was highlighted in earlier questions today, does the Leader of the House have any plans for a debate on bank lending and its effect on small and medium-sized businesses?

[Sir George Young]

I announced to the House at the beginning of this exchange that the Backbench Business Committee had selected a debate on banking, so there will be an opportunity for the hon. Gentleman to make his point. We had a Back-Bench debate last Thursday on growth, when that important issue was raised. Ensuring the flow of credit to viable small and medium-sized enterprises is essential for supporting growth, and is a core priority of the coalition Government.