Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Thursday 2nd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am sorry to hear about what has happened to my hon. Friend’s constituent. He will know that, under social care legislation, relatives of an individual such as his constituent have a right to be consulted before any package is put in place, and that that entitlement is accompanied by certain other rights. I will raise the matter with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health to see whether any intervention is possible, but in this particular case much will depend on the role of the local authority, and on who was responsible for making the final decision to place the wife of my hon. Friend’s constituent in a home.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

A debate on the future of the Freedom of Information Act would allow us to test the use of private e-mails by Ministers. I fear that my constituents are losing out because Sandwell council may not have been able to test the validity of the decision to cut the Building Schools for the Future programme from £120 million to zero. However, there is a way of getting round that, which is for the Secretary of State for Education to publish all the private e-mails relating to Building Schools for the Future that he has exchanged with his special adviser Dominic Cummings and the civil servant Ms Narozanski.

[Sir George Young]

The freedom of information legislation is on the statute book. I advise the hon. Gentleman to take the action that is available to him through the process of appeal against decisions if he is unhappy with some of those decisions, and has not obtained information that he wants.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Thursday 24th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

The Metropolitan police have just announced that they have arrested their first suspect in computer hacking. This marks phase 2 of the hacking scandal. Does the Leader of the House think that there might be merit in having a debate, which would allow us to test the remit of the Leveson inquiry to see whether it is wide enough to incorporate this new sinister development as well as look at the recent revelation that the Mulcaire evidence file contains a suggestion that intelligence service profiles were part of his information?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that information. If there has been an arrest, he will understand the difficulties of debating matters relating to it in this Chamber. He will know that the Leveson inquiry is sitting at this moment, looking at these issues, as is the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. I hope that there will be adequate opportunities—both in the House and outside it—to pursue the agenda to which the hon. Gentleman refers.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Thursday 10th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I entirely endorse what my right hon. Friend says and I shall draw his remarks to the attention of the Foreign Secretary, who will then want to respond in appropriate diplomatic language to the Chinese. On the broader point, it will be possible for the Backbench Business Committee to listen to his representations that the House should debate this crucial matter and I hope that on a Tuesday, at the appropriate time, he might present himself to the hon. Member for North East Derbyshire (Natascha Engel) and her Committee.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

Could we have a debate on the efficiency of the Cabinet Office, which appears to have got a bit rusty since my day? It has double-booked the Deputy Prime Minister—he has an important piece of legislation next week and he has cancelled a trip to Brazil. How much has that cost?

[Sir George Young]

The reason we are debating the Bill next week rather than earlier is because of the performance of the hon. Gentleman’s colleagues in another place, who have taken much longer to process the Bill than they needed to. My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister is, as I am sure the hon. Gentleman would expect, putting the House first next week.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Thursday 3rd February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

That is an important subject which the House ought to debate. My hon. Friend could apply for an Adjournment debate or a debate in Westminster Hall, or he could approach the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee. The House might then be able to give the issue the time that it deserves.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

This is an old vintage, Mr Speaker. The Information Commissioner has forced the Foreign Office to give me the stock list of the ministerial wine cellar. A debate on the future of the wine cellar might identify some Government savings. There is a Château Latour 1962 in there, valued at £3,600. Can the Leader of the House tell me which Minister deserves to drink it?

[Sir George Young]

I have made some inquiries. The House will be pleased to hear that consumption of wine has fallen by 30% since the coalition Government took over.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Thursday 20th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I have attended debates in Westminster Hall and listened to my colleagues holding forth. I had planned to ask the Deputy Leader of the House, who is the world’s greatest expert on parliamentary reform, to respond to the debate, but I will see if I can come along to listen to part of the proceedings.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

The balance between security and liberty was incorrectly struck, so we need to reduce pre-charge detention powers from 28 to 14 days—so said the Minister for Immigration. He also said that the security threat is such that we need emergency powers in reserve for pre-charge detention at 28 days. That is a contradiction. Will the Leader of the House commit to put the request to the Home Secretary, made by Members on both sides of the House, that she make the statement on Monday before the emergency powers lapse, so that we can test the theory?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend the Minister for Immigration made it clear that the powers would lapse on Monday, which was a clear statement of Government policy. He also said that we would put in the Library draft emergency legislation that would reach the statute book only if the House so approved. It seems to me that there is nothing inconsistent or contradictory about that at all. It is a sensible and balanced response to the twin imperatives to which the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) referred.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Thursday 13th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I well understand the importance of that link for my hon. Friend’s constituents and many others in the south-west. I shall try to arrange a meeting between him, other local Members and a Transport Minister to see whether this issue can be pursued.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

Very large machinery of Government changes were announced before Christmas, but this morning the Business Secretary could not tell the House which areas of policy he was responsible for. It is not unreasonable to ask the Leader of the House for a debate on those changes, not least because the Select Committee on which I sit does not know what work to scrutinise and for which areas it is responsible.

[Sir George Young]

I think the shadow Leader of the House asked not for a debate but for a written ministerial statement on exactly which responsibilities have been transferred. As I said a few moments ago, such a statement will be made very shortly.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Thursday 16th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I have forgotten what the question was. On school partnerships, a further announcement will be made in due course about our proposals to replace the previous regime. I welcome what the hon. Gentleman said about wishing everybody a merry Christmas, and I hope that he included in that the Deputy Prime Minister.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

The Leader of the House will have heard the concerns expressed by Members on both sides of the House this morning about the oil supply crisis in their constituencies. Schools and hospitals face shortages, and the old and vulnerable are suffering freezing cold. What provisions are available for an emergency debate next week should the rationing announced by the Minister for Energy this morning create panic buying over the weekend or should the emergency meetings he is having with the industry over the weekend need to be reported back to the House?

[Sir George Young]

I heard the hon. Gentleman share his concerns at Energy and Climate Change questions, when he put a similar question to one of my colleagues and it was adequately answered. At the start of the severe weather spell a number of precautions were taken to deal with salt supplies, the health service, cold weather payments and winter fuel payments. I know that he will be heartened to hear the last bit of my brief, which says that a winter resilience network has been set up and is chaired by the Cabinet Office.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Thursday 2nd December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend and to the Procedure Committee for their work on electronic petitions. He will know that there is a commitment in the coalition agreement to take the issue forward. I hope that my office will be in touch with his Select Committee shortly to indicate how we plan to bridge the gap between House and country by taking forward the agenda of petitions. The commitment is that when a petition reaches 100,000, it will become eligible for a debate in this House. I am anxious to make progress on that agenda.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

Following on from the point of the right hon. Member for East Yorkshire (Mr Knight) on e-petitions, will the Leader of the House confirm that the Prime Minister is cancelling his No. 10 Downing street e-petitions site? If so, will he take heed of the right hon. Gentleman’s advice and speed up the process of holding that debate in the House?

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman is right that the No. 10 e-petitions site has been taken down, but we envisage carrying forward the ability to petition on the Directgov site.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Thursday 11th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and of course I congratulate Harlow British Legion and Harlow council on building a special memorial to the fallen. It is particularly appropriate that my hon. Friend should have raised that particular subject today. There will be opportunities in the future—certainly between now and Christmas—to debate issues concerning our armed forces, when I hope my hon. Friend will have an opportunity to develop his case.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

A debate on the Freedom of Information Act 2000 would allow me to return to the subject of the ministerial wine cellar. Foreign Office Ministers, in refusing my freedom of information appeal, have asked the deputy director of protocol and assistant marshal of the diplomatic corps to write to me to say that she considers that

“the public interest is best served by withholding the details of the stock list”.

May I ask the Leader of the House: what is he hiding in the cellar?

[Sir George Young]

Neither myself nor my hon. Friend the Deputy Leader of the House has had an opportunity to taste the products of the Government’s wine cellar. I have to say that the hon. Gentleman and his hon. Friends are probably better placed than we are to know exactly how much was invested in wine, what the vintages were—and, indeed, how much wine was consumed.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Thursday 4th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I welcome what my hon. Friend has said. We will be producing a localism Bill, the thrust of which will be to push decision making down to the local level and to engage people more effectively in decisions that affect their own community. He will know that a code of practice on consultation has been put out by the Cabinet Office and, in the light of his question, I will raise with my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office the issue of whether this consultation paper might be revisited.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House grant a debate on the accuracy of Government statements, particularly the use of the phrase, “We are all in this together”? On 14 May, Downing street proclaimed that ministerial pay would be cut by 5%, but I have been told by the Treasury that that has not happened. Were a civil servant to be overpaid by £3,500 his boss would make him pay it back. Will the Leader of the House tell the Prime Minister that he has to pay it back?

[Sir George Young]

Speaking from experience, I am pretty certain that my own pay is 5% less than my predecessor received for performing exactly the same duties. I will, of course, make some inquiries and confirm that the Government’s policy to reduce ministerial pay by 5% has indeed been effected.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Thursday 24th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The business statement does not normally include written statements. We can give prior notice of written ministerial statements, and I shall see whether that could be done in the instance that the hon. Gentleman has cited. However, we have not deviated from the policy on written ministerial statements that was adopted by the last Government, of whom he was a distinguished member.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

If the Leader of the House granted a debate on public sector cuts, I could inform him of my plans for alternative cuts. The Foreign Office recently admitted to me that the ministerial wine cellar was worth £860,000 a year, and that it had just spent nearly £18,000 on replenishing it after the election. However, it was less candid about what was held in the collection. Does the Leader of the House think that Ministers should tell me what is in it, and should we sell it so that we are “all in it together”?

[Sir George Young]

I could have said that the Chief Secretary was not the only person who left the cupboard bare, and that the Government hospitality cellar had to be replenished when we came to office; but I will not.

It says here: “The Government hospitality cellar is a carefully managed resource that is integral to the service delivered by Government hospitality for all Government Departments. Expenditure since the election has been part of the normal buying pattern for the cellar, on which between £80,000 and £100,000 is spent per annum.”

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Thursday 17th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for the work that he has done on the ESC. I am aware that documents continue to arrive from Europe that need scrutiny and that, at the moment, there is no ESC. There is no conspiracy along the lines that he suggests. Urgent discussions are taking place along the usual channels, and I hope that it will not be too long before we can establish the ESC. I am sure that whoever chairs it will do a fantastic job.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

In the light of the Alston report to the United Nations, a debate on the conventions used in the deployment of advanced military technology would allow us to debate whether international law has to be reformulated as a result of that report. Do the Government believe that drone planes should be used for the targeted extra-judicial killings of suspected terrorists?

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman raises a serious question. I do not know whether it would be appropriate for him to make that point in the debate on the strategic defence review, but I will certainly pass his concerns on to the Ministry of Defence and ensure that he receives a reply.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Watson of Wyre Forest

Thursday 10th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I take the opportunity of congratulating my hon. Friend on his election to the Chair of the Treasury Committee. There is a resolution on the Order Paper, asking for a review of the scheme at the end of the Session. I am happy to have that debate. It is important to have it with the business committee because the more days we have in the Chamber, the greater the pressure on Report stages or on the House to sit for longer into August. We need a sensible debate between the business committee and the House about how exactly we re-engineer the House’s time to get the best possible outcome. I do not rule out having more than the initial 27 days, moving up to 35, but I want the House to be aware that there are real problems with putting a quart into a pint pot.

[Mr Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Lab)]

Some £5 billion has been wiped off BP’s share price this morning as a result of the US Administration’s seeking to restrict dividend payments. May we have an emergency statement from the Foreign Secretary or the Prime Minister about the crisis that engulfs BP? With the company paying £1 in every £6, a serious crisis faces millions of pensioners in the UK. We need to say to our US allies that, yes, a British company made the mistake, but if it had been subject to a regulatory regime in the UK, it would not have been able to do that, and that the world’s insatiable appetite for oil is responsible, not British pensioners.

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman makes a forceful point. My understanding is that there are more American than UK shareholders in BP. Although the company is called British Petroleum, the dividend policy has as much impact in the United States as it does here. What happened in the gulf of Mexico is a human and environmental tragedy. The Government will do everything possible, in consultation with BP and the American Government, to help in whatever way we can. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman’s question will have been heard by the Foreign Secretary, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor—all those who may be having a dialogue with the American Administration.