Business of the House

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Thursday 15th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

When we come to this issue next week, I will have acted on that message. I remind the hon. Gentleman that this is a debate about the Standing Orders of the House of Commons and it would be quite a big step for us to take a move towards inviting the House of Lords to rule, consider and act on our own Standing Orders.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

Given the 20% increase in the number of reported hate crimes in the past year, will a Minister come to the Dispatch Box to explain why the Metropolitan police have written to me to say that they do not consider it necessary to take legal action against identified individuals who were protesting outside Downing Street on 9 September when a mob was waving Hezbollah flags, shouting anti-Semitic remarks and making anti-Semitic gestures?

[Chris Grayling]

Let us be clear: hate crime is unacceptable in our society. Anti-Semitic behaviour is unacceptable in our society, as is the reverse, which is when we sometimes see hostile actions taken against mosques in this country. This is an issue that my hon. Friend should raise on the occasions that are available to him with both the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister. All of us agree that this is something that should be acted on; it is not acceptable and we would always wish to see the police take strong action when such behaviour occurs.

Business of the House

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Thursday 17th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

There will be plenty of opportunities to question Ministers about this issue. It is a matter that the Government take seriously, but of course it is a challenge for any Government to deliver dramatic change to our society overnight. Ministers are working carefully on ways to improve the situation, and the hon. Gentleman will have an opportunity to call a Back-Bench debate, either here or in Westminster Hall, bring a Minister to the House, and ask questions at one of the monthly Question Times.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

On 15 July, the Foreign Secretary told the House that as part of the nuclear deal with Iran the International Atomic Energy Agency would agree a road map and a set of activities that need to be completed before sanctions can be lifted. He said that it would take about six months. Will the Leader of the House ask him to come to the House before Christmas to update us on progress?

[Chris Grayling]

I will certainly pass that request to the Foreign Secretary. We all take the situation in Iran very seriously, and we hope that the agreement reached will improve it. It was probably better than the alternative, even though many colleagues have expressed concerns about our ability to see it through. In the Government’s view, it is the best available option. We must be careful to ensure that the agreement is adhered to, while recognising that if the Iranians step back from where they have been, we should seek to improve our relations with them.

Business of the House

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Thursday 2nd July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I have a lot of sympathy for what my hon. and learned Friend says. This is an important issue and I hope he will address it in today’s debate. He will understand that this House’s workload early in this Parliament is pretty intense and that about half the time available for debate is already allocated to the Backbench Business Committee and the Opposition parties, so there is perhaps less flexibility than we might wish to do what he requires. However, there is nothing to prevent the Backbench Business Committee from seeking to work with us to provide precisely that kind of opportunity.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

Could a Minister come to the Dispatch Box to explain what the Government are doing to prevent litigants in person pursuing vexatious legal cases in civil courts when they have already been struck out of criminal courts?

[Chris Grayling]

Everyone does and should have access to the law, so to place a hurdle in front of them before they arrive is not the right thing to do. It is very much my hope that, if a case is vexatious, the judge taking an initial look at it will rule it out and not hear it because it has no grounding.

Business of the House

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

This, of course, has been the week in which the Philae lander came back to life again after many months of silence. It has also been the week when the Labour party of the 1980s came back to life again. The IPCC has looked at these issues, reached its conclusions —and there, I am afraid, I believe the matter should rest.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

The Department for Education entered into a funding agreement to establish Watling Park free school in my constituency. The school has already offered 40 places to children in an area of high demand, and they were due to start in a temporary class this September. Barnet council played its part when its assets regeneration and growth committee agreed, through a majority decision, to sell the school a parcel of land. Unfortunately, a minority of members of the Labour group decided to refer the decision back to the full council, thus putting the 40 places in jeopardy. As I was unfortunately not called during Education questions—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. This is very long. A single short sentence will suffice.

[Dr Offord]

Very important as well, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am not disputing its importance. In a kindly way, I am telling the hon. Gentleman—I am not debating the issue with him; I am telling him—that the question was too long. A short sentence, and that will deal with the matter.

[Dr Offord]

Will a Minister come to the Dispatch Box to explain how we can stop important agreements being undermined by individuals who have an ideological axe to grind?

[Chris Grayling]

This is another example of the Labour party’s inability to move away from the ideologies of the past. The fact is that free schools are making a real difference to the education of young people—they are helping to raise standards in a way that is necessary for the future of those children, and for the future of everyone in the country—but the Labour party is blocking that process at a local level.

I am sure that my colleagues in the Department for Education will have noted my hon. Friend’s remarks. I just hope that the Labour party will take account of the need for change, and the need to allow improvements to happen.

Business of the House

Matthew Offord Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I noticed with interest this week that a police spotter helicopter appeared to sight a big cat in Glasgow; whether there is any connection, I do not know. The Energy Secretary will appear before this House in 10 days’ time, and that might be an opportunity for the hon. Gentleman to raise the issue with her directly.

[Dr Matthew Offord (Hendon) (Con)]

I am very proud of the contribution made to my constituency by a significant number of the Nepalese community. Indeed, many of them came to this country following their service in the Brigade of Gurkhas. Given that that history extends back to 1815, may we have a debate in Government time in order to discuss the contribution made to the British Army in the past 200 years by the Gurkha regiment?

[Chris Grayling]

We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Gurkhas, who have served this country over a very long period. I congratulate my hon. Friend on the work he does with the Nepalese community and with the Gurkhas. I also congratulate him on his re-election to this House. We will come back to this matter regularly. There will be opportunities to debate defence issues, and he will no doubt want to use those to raise the role of the Gurkhas, to praise them for what they have done, and to ensure that we have proper welfare support for them.