Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 24th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend is quite right that sometimes action is not taken. The answer is that the Care Quality Commission has a range of enforcement powers at its disposal and his message is that it should use those more often to address the problems he has described. The CQC has a range of enforcement powers that it can use to bring a provider back into compliance and in the case of the most serious failings it can cancel a provider’s registration, which would simply result in that provider’s closure. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has emphasised to the CQC the importance of driving up standards and using all the powers at its disposal to do that.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

May I press the Leader of the House? Given the shockingly low number of affordable housing starts—just 454 in the six months from April, a figure that was revealed the day after the Government’s much-trumpeted housing strategy—may we have a debate in Government time on the crisis in our construction industry?

[Sir George Young]

I hope that the hon. Gentleman will welcome the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Local Government on Monday, which addressed the parlous state of the housing and construction industry we inherited, the action we are taking to bring public land back into use, the incentives we are giving to local authorities to develop and the help we are getting through building societies and banks for first-time buyers. We are taking effective action to kick-start the sluggish housing economy that we inherited.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 3rd November 2011 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport was asked—

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

1. What steps he is taking to assist schools and colleges to register for the opportunity to obtain free tickets for the London 2012 Olympics.

[The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson)]

Since our last session of DCMS questions, Iain Sproat, a former sports Minister, has passed away. On behalf of all Members, I should like to convey our condolences to his wife Judy—who, incidentally, is a former parliamentary reporter—and to his family and friends.

Let me also, on behalf of the ministerial team, welcome the right hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Tessa Jowell) and the rest of the new shadow team to the Opposition Front Bench.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is making up to 100,000 free tickets available to schools and colleges throughout the United Kingdom which sign up to the Get Set network by 16 December. In addition, the Mayor has purchased 75,000 tickets to be allocated to young Londoners through the network. Lord Coe has recently written to the schools and colleges that have not yet signed up to encourage them to do so, and 1 fully support him in that approach.

[Nick Smith]

It is disappointing that after 14 months, 75% of tickets for schools outside London have not been taken. Will the Minister assure us that every effort will be made to ensure that young people, not just in the home counties but throughout the United Kingdom, are given this one-in-a-lifetime Olympic opportunity?

[Hugh Robertson]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for asking that question, because it gives me a chance to encourage Members on both sides of the House to get out in their constituencies and encourage as many young people as possible to go. The involvement of young people was one of the central tenets of the London bid, and I am sure that Members in all parts of the House want as many schoolchildren as possible to have that opportunity.

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 20th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

In some cases, it has been possible to renegotiate PFI arrangements, obviously with agreement on both sides. I will draw the attention of my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary to this issue and see whether there is any role for the Department or, indeed, the Government to play in helping to reduce the burden on this trust.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

The Department for International Development is rightly putting more resources into countries such as Somalia and Pakistan. However, the Public Accounts Committee is concerned about increased financial investment where there are problems of corruption and governance or where DFID has reduced its administrative capacity. May we have a statement on DFID and financial management?

[Sir George Young]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made it clear that his Department has zero tolerance of fraud and abuse. My understanding is that some 82% of fraudulent payments are recovered and that new systems have been introduced since June last year to reduce the likelihood of payments going astray. I know that in due course the Government will want to respond to the PAC report.

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 13th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend is quite right. There was a written ministerial statement earlier this week reminding everybody that cold weather payments are £25 a week when activated. Those payments complement the winter fuel payments, the green deal and other measures we are taking to reduce the costs of energy. There is also work going on to increase transparency and the ease with which people can switch from one supplier to another. I would welcome such a debate.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

May I press the Leader of the House and ask him whether we may please have a statement on NHS care for the elderly? As he knows, today’s Times describes it as

“a scandal that is getting worse”.

The House should discuss this as soon as possible.

[Sir George Young]

I agree with what the hon. Gentleman says, and other hon. Members have raised the reports in today’s press regarding the Care Quality Commission investigation into a number of hospitals. I would welcome such a debate, and I suggest that he should approach the Backbench Business Committee to see whether it might find time for one.

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 14th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I listened, as I am sure my hon. Friend did, to my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Sajid Javid) introducing a ten-minute rule Bill on the same theme—the size of the national debt. One reason that continues to increase is the very high interest bill on the outstanding debt, which we inherited from the previous Government. My hon. Friend the Member for Bury North (Mr Nuttall) will know that we have made some difficult decisions to reduce the pressure on public finances, including bringing forward the state retirement age, changing to the consumer prices index for benefits, and accepting Lord Hutton’s recommendations to reform public service provision. I very much hope that my hon. Friend agrees that what we have begun to do will help to reduce the escalating nature of national debt.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

In the next few months, Southern Cross will be broken up. During that period, the 30,000 residents in 400 constituencies will be very concerned about the place they call home. May we have a proper debate on this topic directly on our return in September?

[Sir George Young]

There will be an opportunity on our return in September to discuss health-related issues during debate on the remaining stages of the Health and Social Care Bill. The hon. Gentleman will also have heard the Minister of State, Department of Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Burstow), reply to an urgent question on Tuesday following Health questions. Our primary concern remains the welfare of the residents. Whatever the outcome, no one will find themselves homeless or without care, and we are working closely with the Local Government Association, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Care Quality Commission to ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place in the event of any need.

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 23rd June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

Persecution of any individual on the grounds of their religious faith is unacceptable. I am aware of the problems faced by the Baha’i community in Iran. The FCO makes regular representations on this matter here, and we also make representations to the Iranian Government so that this persecution can be brought to an end.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

In south Wales over the past three years the theft of metal from train lines has cost £3 million. Last year alone, there were 84 instances of cable theft in our area, leading to train journey delays. May we have a debate on this issue, which is making the lives of train commuters miserable?

[Sir George Young]

I will draw the hon. Gentleman’s comments to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, who will no doubt want to contact the British Transport police to see whether more effective action can be taken to deter these sorts of thefts and bring the criminals to justice.

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 9th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

There will be an opportunity to raise that at DCMS questions next week. I thought that the FA did the right thing in arguing strongly for a postponement of the election, but it was not successful. It is now up to Sepp Blatter to reform FIFA and make it a much more accountable and transparent organisation than it is at the moment.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

May I, too, press for a debate on the future of regulation of our care homes? Southern Cross has 750 homes across the country that are in trouble with rental payments, and yesterday we learned that 3,000 staff are being laid off. Many Members across the House will want a debate to ensure that the Government have a grip on the situation.

[Sir George Young]

I understand the concern about this. I hope that before long it will be possible to offer time to the Backbench Business Committee for which it might consider a serious bid from both sides of the House for a debate on care. The Dilnot report will come out early next month. I am sure that the House will want to debate it, because its recommendations are closely linked to the problems in which Southern Cross and other care home providers now find themselves.

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 31st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

Yes, I agree that not only Cabinet Ministers but every Member of the House should be very careful about the language that they use. I will certainly draw my hon. Friend’s remarks to the attention of my fellow Ministers. I am sure that you, Mr Deputy Speaker, will do all you can to ensure that no inappropriate remarks are made in this Chamber.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

This week at the Ebbw Vale metallurgical society, I met the top brass from the Tata steel company. They are very concerned about the Chancellor’s carbon floor price proposals, which impose massive unilateral costs on the UK steel industry—costs that no other European country will enforce. Can we have a statement from the Energy Secretary and a debate on this issue?

[Sir George Young]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Administration are committed to moving towards a less carbon-intensive future. At Business, Innovation and Skills questions earlier—he may have been in his place—my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said that he would have a good look at those who are intensive users of energy to see whether the problem that the hon. Gentleman has described might be overcome.

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 24th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Will the Government make time for a debate on the proposed changes to the DNA database, following evidence to the Protection of Freedoms Public Bill Committee by the chief constable of the West Midlands, who said that 1,000 criminals would go free as a result of this Government’s changes?

[Sir George Young]

The Protection of Freedoms Bill is before Parliament at the moment; it is in a Public Bill Committee. Within that Bill are the clauses on DNA to which the hon. Gentleman has referred. I know that my hon. Friend the Minister who is taking the Bill through the House would like to respond to the hon. Gentleman’s assertion, with which the Government disagree.

Business of the House

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 10th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

As I said to my hon. Friend last week, universities are autonomous organisations and accountable for what they do. I will draw his comments to the attention of my ministerial colleagues at BIS. As he knows, we will have a debate on the middle east at this time next week, when he may want to amplify his remarks.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

May we have a statement on the impact of the Department of Health’s any willing provider policy on specialisms such as speech therapy? Such services transform lives, but they could be at risk in the new commissioning marketplace.

[Sir George Young]

The Health and Social Care Bill is in Committee and will be coming back to the Floor of the House for Report, which may be an appropriate time for the hon. Gentleman to table amendments and secure a debate.