Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Mary Creagh

Thursday 16th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend’s plea for a debate will have been heard by the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee. The Prime Minister has made it clear that the release of Megrahi was a mistake and he has asked the Cabinet Secretary to review papers held by the Government to see whether more could be published about the background to the decision. The Cabinet Secretary aims to conclude that work as soon as possible.

[Mary Creagh (Wakefield) (Lab)]

I am sure that you, Mr Speaker, and the whole House will share my horror at the mass rape perpetrated in North Kivu province in eastern Congo over a four-day period during the summer, when more than 500 women and 27 children were systematically raped. May we have a debate in Government time about the impact of the comprehensive spending review on protecting women against violence and the prosecution of criminals both here and abroad? We need to debate the impact that 25% cuts could have on that work.

[Sir George Young]

As the hon. Lady knows, the Department for International Development budget is protected, so any work in the third world funded by that Department will not be affected by any decisions in the CSR. I will certainly bring to the attention of the Home Secretary and the Justice Secretary the concerns about the impacts of decisions taken in this country. There might be an opportunity to ventilate those issues at greater length in the debate announced for Thursday 14 October.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Mary Creagh

Thursday 15th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mary Creagh (Wakefield) (Lab)]

On 5 July, the Government announced through a written ministerial statement a further £1 billion of in-year cuts to education capital. I asked the Education Secretary about that on 12 July, and I have found out that last night, the Department published the detail of those cuts on its website. May we have a debate in Government time before the recess so that all hon. Members can work out and talk about the effects that those education capital cuts, which are being made to fund the free schools programme, will have on the education of the children in our communities?

[Sir George Young]

I understand that there will be a debate in Westminster Hall next Wednesday on Building Schools for the Future, so I hope the hon. Lady will have an opportunity to raise her concern. In the meantime I will alert Ministers in the Department for Education of the particular concern that she has mentioned.