Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Matt Hancock

Thursday 22nd March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

We can indeed have such a debate, and it will commence when business questions finish. I am delighted to hear that the enterprise loans scheme is alive and well in my hon. Friend’s constituency, with which I have some acquaintance. We all have a role to play in making information about it available in our constituencies, so that young people can get access to those loans, build their own businesses and help build a thriving community in west London.

[Matthew Hancock (West Suffolk) (Con)]

We on the Government Benches care deeply about tackling tax avoidance, so when will the legislation come in to tackle the offshore gambling tax loophole? That was announced in the Budget yesterday and is vital for many of my constituents.

[Sir George Young]

I cannot anticipate what may or may not be in the Queen’s Speech on 9 May, but my hon. Friend is right that measures were announced that need legislation. As Leader of the House, I can say that they are on my radar.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Matt Hancock

Thursday 27th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman reiterates an exchange that took place yesterday when his colleagues raised those points, which the Home Secretary dealt with very adequately. She has rebalanced the competing demands of liberty and security in an intelligent way. There will be an opportunity to debate the Bill to which she referred when it is introduced. The provisions may not be in the Freedom Bill.

[Matthew Hancock (West Suffolk) (Con)]

The people of East Anglia and hon. Members of all parties were delighted when the Government decided in the spending review to dual the remainder of the A11. This morning, there was a serious accident on the A11. Can the Leader of the House therefore find time for a debate on when the improvements will begin?

[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.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Matt Hancock

Thursday 9th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

That is a long way for me to go to buy my bread, but I take note of the excellent quality of the produce in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency. I hope that other banks that are listening take the opportunity to pick up new custom by offering the facilities that were denied by the firm’s existing bank. I hope that that leads to the resources that the company needs being forthcoming. I will, of course, raise with ministerial colleagues the general issue of bank lending, because that was a condition of the support that the previous Government gave.

[Matthew Hancock (West Suffolk) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the future of the horse racing levy, which, as my right hon. Friend well knows, is the mechanism by which a contribution is made to the racing industry by the gambling industry and those who place bets? The levy is in desperate need of modernisation, and I think that many hon. Members would have an interest in such a debate.

[Sir George Young]

Indeed, the matter is of great interest to the right hon. Member for North West Hampshire, who has a number of racing stables in his constituency. I am unable to provide an immediate debate in Government time, but the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee is in her place and will have noted the bid. It might be the subject of an Adjournment debate in Westminster Hall or in the House.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Matt Hancock

Thursday 10th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman makes a powerful case. He will know the background to the decision to reduce the resources available. Before the last election, the outgoing Chancellor said that the cuts that would be necessary would be deeper than those imposed by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, but I am afraid we have heard no details at all from Opposition Members as to how those economies might be made. Turning to the point the hon. Gentleman made, he says that the cuts will inevitably fall on the most vulnerable. I hope that the local authority will protect the most vulnerable from the impact of that decision and not seek economies from the client group he has just referred to.

[Matthew Hancock (West Suffolk) (Con)]

The Leader of the House will know that my constituents and those of Members throughout the House have welcomed the proposal to abolish the regional spatial strategies set up by the previous Government. May we have a statement and a debate about when regional spatial strategies will be abolished in legislation?

[Sir George Young]

If my hon. Friend had asked that question an hour earlier, he would have received a definitive response from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Later in the Session, there will be a planning Bill, which may be a forum for changing the planning regime. There has been a statement about regional spatial strategies. Speaking from memory, I think the guidance is being altered, but I shall arrange for a definitive reply to be forwarded to my hon. Friend.