Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Rehman Chishti

Thursday 19th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

We all have a role to play in drawing to the attention of local employers what is available under the apprenticeship scheme and the youth contract. Under the youth contract, help of more than £2,000 a year is available to employers who take on young people. I hope that we all play a role in highlighting the Government’s provisions to reduce youth unemployment in our constituencies.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

The Leader of the House will be aware of a recent report stating that there were 2,823 incidents of honour-based violence in our country last year. May we have an urgent debate to consider what more can be done to address such horrendous acts of violence?

[Sir George Young]

Honour-based violence and killings are appalling crimes, and I agree with my hon. Friend that we should do all we can to tackle them. He will know that we published last year our action plan to end violence against women and girls, which outlined a range of initiatives, including some funds, to drive down that horrendous crime.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Rehman Chishti

Thursday 10th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I agree with hon. Gentleman. I assure him that there are no plans to reduce the grant in aid that we give to the National Memorial Arboretum. If he is able to stay, there will be a debate in a few minutes on related matters, during which he may have an opportunity to develop his case. The Government take this matter seriously. As he knows, we also support the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to the tune of some £45 million. We place a premium on the work of both those organisations.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

Last week, following a phone call from a journalist, I discovered that a fake Twitter account had been set up by somebody purporting to be me, which I found completely unacceptable. That can happen to anyone across the country and can cause unnecessary nuisance. I ask the Leader of the House for an urgent debate on the responsibilities of social media and networking sites, and on whether one should have to provide some form of identification to set up an account.

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that matter. No one has done me the flattery of setting up such an account in my name, so far as I am aware. I think that I am right in saying that social media organisations usually insist on the name being the same as that of the applicant. If there is any question of impersonation, there is a process by which they take the account down. Of course, if any fraud were involved, it would be a matter for the police. I will raise with Department for Culture, Media and Sport Ministers the abuse to which my hon. Friend has referred. I hope that no lasting injury has been done to his reputation.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Rehman Chishti

Thursday 14th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

It is an important issue, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development made a statement about our aid policy not so very long ago. There were also questions to DFID Ministers yesterday. Of course we will keep the humanitarian crisis under review. I cannot promise that the House will be recalled if there is any deterioration, but we will do all we can to keep Members in the picture on the steps that the UK is taking to reduce the human suffering.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

May I ask the Leader of the House for an urgent debate on the Floor of the House on the quality of care provided at Medway Maritime hospital? An independent report found that there were actions that could be construed as bullying of a senior surgeon, Mr Mufti, the former medical director at the NHS trust. Since then, other professionals at the hospital have contacted my office to say that they have encountered such behaviour. That followed a recent survey showing that one in five workers at Medway hospital had encountered harassment or been abused. My constituents are very concerned about the implications that that may have for patient care.

[Sir George Young]

Bullying and harassment of NHS staff by patients, members of the public or other staff is wholly unacceptable, and the NHS constitution specifically refers to measures that should be taken to reduce bullying. I understand that the Medway trust is aware of the concerns to which my hon. Friend refers, and is having discussions with the trade unions to come up with a policy that reduces such incidents to a bare minimum.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Rehman Chishti

Thursday 10th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

It is no use going on and on and blaming the bankers. If the hon. Gentleman looks at the position this country was in before the banking crisis, he will see that we were running a huge structural deficit. There is no conviction at all when Opposition Members go on trying to blame the banks, because it is they who are responsible for the difficult decisions we now must take. His party did absolutely nothing about bonuses; they obliged the banks that they supported to go on paying market rate bonuses, whereas we have secured a reduction.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

May we have an urgent debate on the performance of Southeastern trains, whose contract is due for extension, so that its performance figures can be fully and thoroughly scrutinised on the Floor of the House, because many of my constituents are receiving a poor service?

[Sir George Young]

I am sorry to hear that my hon. Friend’s constituents are not getting the service to which they are entitled from Southeastern trains. There is a provision in the agreement for a two-year extension, subject to a continuation review where performance is assessed, and the performance data provided for assessment are subject to rigorous audit by performance analysts in the Department for Transport. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport expects to notify the operator of the outcome of this review in due course, and I will draw my hon. Friend’s remarks to his attention.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Rehman Chishti

Thursday 14th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The Government will be spending some £90 million on universities and student support this year. The hon. Gentleman will know that this was not a protected area for the outgoing Labour Government; they had pencilled in cuts of some 20% for that budget, and we need to bear that in mind. He will have to await the outcome of the comprehensive spending review to see the resources that we are making available to the universities in the next three years.[Official Report, 2 November 2010, Vol. 517, c. 10MC.]

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

Will the Leader of the House allow a debate on fire safety linked to building regulations and materials? According to the chief fire officer for Kent, it takes a matter of minutes from ignition to collapse, and the lives of fire officers and members of the public are thereby endangered.

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend raises an important issue about the safety of those in buildings. I shall draw his remarks to the attention of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and see whether he can respond to the point that my hon. Friend has made.

Short Money

Debate between Lord Young of Cookham and Rehman Chishti

Tuesday 12th October 2010 Ministerial Corrections

[Rehman Chishti]

To ask the Leader of the House what formula is used for calculating Short money; when that formula was set; and what mechanism is used to monitor the usage of allocated funds.

[Official Report, 13 September 2010, Vol. 515, c. 743-44W.]

Letter of correction from Sir George Young:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Gillingham and Rainham (Rehman Chishti) on 13 September 2010.

The full answer given was as follows:

[Sir George Young]

For 2010-11, the formula used to calculate each Opposition party's Short money funding is: £14,351 multiplied by the number of seats won by a party's candidates at the general election; plus £27.99 multiplied by one two hundredth of the number of votes cast at the election. The formula was set by a resolution of the House of 26 May 1999 and has been uprated by increases in the retail prices index since then.

Each Opposition party that receives Short money is required to submit a report from an independent professional auditor, after the end of each financial year, that all the expenses for which the party received financial assistance under the terms of the resolution were incurred exclusively in connection with the party's parliamentary business. The relevant criteria are set out in notes provided to the auditors.

The correct answer should have been: