Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lilian Greenwood

Thursday 10th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend raises a good issue, and I am delighted to read of JCB’s results, with turnover at a higher level and more than double the sales of 2009. That helps to provide jobs in my hon. Friend’s constituency, while many other smaller firms also benefit from what is happening. What she says shows that some of the steps we have taken to promote growth and bring down unemployment are taking root. I hope that many others will follow in the steps of JCB.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

On Tuesday 29 May, people in Nottingham and beyond will use the social media site Twitter to promote our fine city by tweeting about its very many attractions and attempting to get Nottingham trending. There is a limit to what one can say in 140 characters or, indeed, at business questions, so will the Leader of the House make time for a debate about why Nottingham is such a great place in which to live, work and invest, and how the Government can support the city’s economic growth plan?

[Sir George Young]

The city can be proud of the hon. Lady for using prime time in the House of Commons to promote the city she represents. As I said in response to an earlier question, it may be possible during the debate on the Queen’s Speech to find time for a speech in which, in more than the 140 words that she has just used, she may be able to pay tribute to the great city she represents, to encourage investment in it, tourism to it and further promote its prosperity.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lilian Greenwood

Thursday 26th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am delighted to hear of the increase in apprenticeships in my hon. Friend’s constituency. We are committed to helping more people to benefit from high-quality apprenticeships. As a demand-led programme, it is dependent on employers coming forward. My hon. Friend has done a great deal to encourage them to do so and bid for apprenticeships. That is something that we can all do in our own constituencies to give the programme added momentum.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

The Government’s double-dip recession has made life hard for hard-working families in Nottingham South. Now, the Government’s shambolic housing benefit reforms mean that those families will have to compete with displaced Londoners for homes, jobs and school places. Will the right hon. Gentleman make time for a debate on the housing crisis that his Government have caused?

[Sir George Young]

The principle of a cap on housing benefit was supported by the hon. Lady’s party as well as by mine. We have a cap of £21,000 a year, which is a reasonable level of housing benefit, bearing in mind the rents that people in work may be asked to pay. She will know, too, that there is a transitional fund of £190 million to help the process of adjustment from where we are now to the regime that is being introduced. That is the right way to approach a bill that was soaring out of control. Among the measures that we have had to take to control public expenditure, a housing benefit cap was a proportionate and reasonable step.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lilian Greenwood

Thursday 17th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I am afraid that when I was Secretary of State for Transport for two years I omitted to do as much as I should have about the A11, but it is now among the 14 schemes that the Highways Agency expects to be able to start before 2015, subject to the completion of statutory processes. I understand that the agency is now working on the detailed delivery of that particular scheme, and I will ask the Transport Minister to write to my hon. Friend.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Before the general election, there was cross-party support for a consultation on improving voting opportunities for service personnel serving overseas. That was also recommended by the Electoral Commission in its report on the administration of the 2010 general election. With only 500 of the 10,000 troops in Afghanistan exercising their right to vote last May, should not the Government have progressed the matter with much greater urgency? Can we have a statement on the postal voting arrangements for the forthcoming alternative vote referendum in respect of service personnel serving overseas?

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Lady is quite right. There was considerable concern in the previous Parliament at the problems that confronted a number of those in the armed services who wished to exercise their right to vote, and there was disappointment expressed, certainly by Opposition Members in that Parliament, at the failure to make progress. I will raise with the Electoral Commission the issue that she has mentioned. I am anxious, as I am sure is every hon. Member, that everyone should take part in the AV referendum on 5 May.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lilian Greenwood

Thursday 3rd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My right hon. Friend raises a key point. Many British consumers want to support British farmers, but they can do so only if the food in the supermarkets and other shops is correctly labelled. I will raise his concerns with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and ask her to write to him outlining the steps that we are taking to provide for honest labelling of British products.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Does the Leader of the House think that, at a time of major international crisis, it is appropriate for Ministers to indulge in petty political point scoring rather than focusing on their faltering response to events in Libya?

[Sir George Young]

I am not sure to what the hon. Lady is referring. If there has been any petty party political point scoring about Libya, I think it came from the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) a few moments ago.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lilian Greenwood

Thursday 27th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am only sorry that my hon. Friend was not in his place an hour ago, when we had Transport questions. He might have been able to catch Mr Speaker’s eye and ask the Secretary of State that question. [Hon. Members: “He was here.”] I regret his failure to do so. I will draw to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport the concerns about road safety on the A11 and ask him to write to my hon. Friend.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

We have already heard that defence chiefs have said that scrapping the RAF’s Nimrods leaves a massive gap in British security. I listened to the right hon. Gentleman’s reply to my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn), but will he arrange an urgent debate in Government time to discuss the scrapping of planes that are vital to our national security and the consequences for our ability to defend our country?

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Lady’s concerns. The decision was announced in the strategic defence and security review in October. We then had a debate in Government time on precisely the issue that she has raised. The House has therefore had an opportunity to discuss our decision on Nimrod and other assets. Around £2 billion will be saved in the next 10 years by not bringing Nimrod into service. Against the background of the challenging circumstances that the Government face, we had to make difficult decisions about the defence budget.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lilian Greenwood

Thursday 25th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. That point may have been made on Tuesday during the exchange following the statement of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary. The point was well made, and there would be no need to import chefs from Bangladesh and other countries if we were able to provide the necessary skills in this country. My hon. Friend makes a valid point.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

On Monday, the Government announced that a £200 million project to transform the Meadows estate in Nottingham will not go ahead. The estate suffers from serious deprivation, a poor reputation, fear of crime, and high unemployment. Although local people and community groups, such as the Meadows Partnership Trust, are doing wonderful work to tackle those problems, they are hampered by poor housing and poor quality infrastructure. The scheme would have transformed the area, making the Meadows estate a more sustainable community and a place where people would choose to live and work. Can we have a debate on the decision by the Department for Communities and Local Government to scrap the housing private finance initiative, which has so dismayed my constituents?

[Sir George Young]

We have, of course, just had questions to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. I do not know whether the hon. Lady was able to ask her question then.

The Decentralisation and Localism Bill will devolve more responsibility to local authorities, but I say in response to the hon. Lady and the hon. Member for Walsall North (Mr Winnick) that, because of the legacy that we inherited, it is not possible to go ahead with all the projects that are being urged on us by Opposition Members. I remind Opposition Front Benchers that the shadow Chancellor has insisted on a nine-stage process before they enter any financial commitments.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lilian Greenwood

Thursday 27th May 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend raises a good point which directly affects his constituency. During debates on the Queen’s Speech there will be an opportunity to raise education issues. He might seek either to intervene or to make a speech and make his point then.

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

Is the Leader of the House aware of the utter dismay felt by local people and businesses in Nottingham about the deferral of the planned widening of the A453, which links the M1 to the city of Nottingham from the south, and which is absolutely vital to our economic prosperity? Will he find time for a debate on that important issue?

[Sir George Young]

As a former Transport Secretary, I should have been aware of the feeling on that issue. May I suggest that the hon. Lady apply for an Adjournment debate, which would be the appropriate forum to develop her case and explore with Ministers the possibility of a way forward?