Business of the House
Debate between Alan Campbell and Luke Evans(3 days, 5 hours ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
I send my congratulations to Penn Tandoori on its win, and to restaurants across the country—including Shikara in Whitley Bay, which won the north-east award—on providing fantastic service to local communities. The Government are committed to supporting hospitality businesses to thrive, and to creating the right economy for them to do so.
Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)
Might we have a debate in Government time on mid-contract mobile phone bill increases, which is a concern I have been raising for a long time? I was pleased to welcome Ofcom’s changes at the start of the year, but it seems that companies such as O2 are finding new ways around them and increasing bills by 40%. That is shocking when done mid-contract, as customers are not aware of the increases. People can cancel their contracts but are not aware of the problem. A debate would allow us to make the public aware that this is going on and look for solutions.
Sir Alan Campbell
As ever, the hon. Gentleman raises pertinent issues on behalf of many of our constituents. A Backbench Business or Adjournment debate would allow Members to air those concerns, which I will also draw to the attention of the relevant Department.
Business of the House
Debate between Alan Campbell and Luke Evans(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
I am happy to send my congratulations to Mr Walker and the lord lieutenant. We are proud of our flags, both national and regional. I know that Mr Speaker likes to mark historic county days by flying flags from Parliament’s flagpoles, so we may see Cumbria’s new community flag flying in Parliament Square in the future.
Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)
May I ask the new Leader of the House for some help? I have been working with the Hinckley school to try and get its science and technology building project sorted. That has been going on for a couple of years and we are at a crucial point with contractors. With the reshuffle, the Minister in charge of that portfolio has been moved on, and we are therefore in a pending position. I have already sent the information to the Leader of the House and I would be grateful if he would contact the Department for Education on my behalf to put pressure on to ensure that we get a decision made on this, so that the development can get started before the winter sets in.
Sir Alan Campbell
I know that the hon. Gentleman has raised this issue with Ministers before, and I also understand that officials from the Department for Education reached out to discuss the matter on Monday. I pay tribute to him for campaigning on the matter as an assiduous constituency MP on behalf of children, predominantly, but also parents and staff of the school. He will appreciate, as he has acknowledged, that new Ministers are in post after the reshuffle, and there is indeed a new Minister in this role. I will ensure that this is raised with the Minister at the earliest opportunity, in the hope that the hon. Gentleman gets the earliest response possible.