Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anas Sarwar and Lord Maude of Horsham

Wednesday 20th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Maude]

We did dismantle the Central Office of Information, which was overloaded with 750 people who were not doing enough useful work. We cut down massively on the previous Government’s gross overspend on marketing and advertising, which was throwing money out of the back of a lorry wholly ineffectually. We therefore needed a lot fewer people in the Government communication service. Our own press and media operation in the Cabinet Office is smaller than what we inherited from the previous Government despite the fact that it has to service the Deputy Prime Minister as well as other Ministers and the Prime Minister.

[Anas Sarwar (Glasgow Central) (Lab)]

4. What recent steps he has taken to address barriers to small and medium-sized enterprises participating in Government procurement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anas Sarwar and Lord Maude of Horsham

Wednesday 2nd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Anas Sarwar (Glasgow Central) (Lab)]

8. What assessment he has made of the progress of the work of the big society ministerial group.

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Mr Francis Maude)]

The informal ministerial group on the big society and decentralisation supports progress across government on cross-cutting issues, such as the role of the voluntary community and social enterprise sector in public service delivery, the progress made in vanguard areas and the compact between the voluntary sector and the state.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The House must come to order. This is very unfair on the Minister. He is offering the House an informative answer and it must be heard.

[Anas Sarwar]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I also thank the Minister for his answer. Given that opinion polls show that the majority of the British people have not even heard of the big society and that the majority of those who have think it is just a cover-up for the cuts, does the Minister believe that the work of the ministerial group has been a resounding success? Does he not believe that Ministers’ time would be better spent doing credible work in their own Departments?

[Mr Maude]

I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman does not think that building a bigger, stronger and more cohesive society is worth while, particularly given that the role of the state is having to retrench severely as a result of the financial incontinence of the previous Government of the party that he supports. I am sorry to have to remind him that when the coalition Government took office his Government were spending £4 for every £3 in revenue and had the biggest budget deficit in the developed world. So less money is available and building a bigger, stronger society, which I would have thought he would support, is a very worthwhile exercise for not only the whole Government, but the whole of Parliament.