Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Nigel Huddleston

Thursday 29th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that issue. I am not aware of it, and I am certainly happy to look into it on his behalf.

[Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

May we have a statement on the extent of the use of certificates of exemption under section 34 of the Freedom of Information Act by Officers of the House and whether such exemptions could be used to stop disclosure of important issues such as bullying in this place?

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend raises a very important issue. He will be aware that section 34 exemptions can be incredibly valuable in protecting free and open debate between advisers, Ministers and Members of Parliament. However, he is right to raise concerns about the proper use of such exemptions, and I encourage him to seek a Westminster Hall debate so that Members can share their views.

Bullying and Harassment: Cox Report

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Nigel Huddleston

Monday 5th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

My right hon. Friend is exactly right. That is a very helpful clarification because there has been some misunderstanding. Anybody with a historical allegation that predates July 2017 can and should come forward under the complaints and grievance procedure. The difference is that the behaviour code itself cannot be applied pre-July 2017. However, as my right hon. Friend points out, exactly correctly, most of the sorts of behaviours that people will expect to come forward to complain about would already have been captured under a pre-existing code of some sort—either the code of conduct for MPs or, indeed, employment contracts. I do encourage anybody with any complaint to come forward under the complaints procedure and not be put off by the fact that the behaviour code itself—this new creation of the House—applies only from July 2017. This is an incredibly important point, because there has been some misunderstanding about it. I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for clarifying that point.

[Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

On the scope of the scheme, will my right hon. Friend confirm, as many of us spend a lot of time in our constituencies, that it also includes our constituency staff and offices?

[Andrea Leadsom]

Yes. Again, I am grateful to my hon. Friend for another point of clarification. The scheme absolutely includes everybody who works for or with Parliament, including members of staff in our constituency offices, pass holders and indeed those who work on a voluntary basis, provided they are actually employed here. There are some limitations, but it also applies to visitors to this place. It is all-encompassing—it covers all those who come here or work for Members of Parliament.

Dame Laura’s third recommendation is that complaints brought by House staff against Members of Parliament should be subject to an entirely independent process in which Members of Parliament play no part whatsoever. I can tell hon. Members that, before establishing the ICGS, there were several productive meetings with the Committee on Standards. The then Chairman, the right hon. Member for Rother Valley (Sir Kevin Barron), recognised the need for lay members to have a majority vote on sanctions against MPs and took steps to ensure that this could be the case. I have recently met the new Chair of the Standards Committee, the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green), who is in her place. I know she has further suggestions on how to ensure greater independence of the process, so I look forward to hearing the hon. Lady’s contribution today.

Dame Laura’s key recommendations are clear and have been agreed by the House of Commons Commission. What is less clear, however—but this is definitely the most important part of today’s debate, as some hon. Members have already said—is how we can change the culture of Parliament that has made these recommendations necessary. The failings are institutional: they are systemic, they have become embedded and, as noted by Dame Laura, they cascade “from the top down”. It is my strong view that we need to look at the governance of the House of Commons, and we need to democratise it to ensure that with authority comes full accountability.

Proxy Voting

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Nigel Huddleston

Wednesday 18th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady is being extremely unfair to my right hon. Friend the Member for Great Yarmouth. It is absolutely clear that he was unaware that he was breaking a pair. It was an administrative error.

[Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

Does the Leader of the House share my disappointment, from talking to potential parliamentary candidates, at just how many of them are put off standing for Parliament altogether because of the widely held perception that this place is inconsistent with family life or even the aspiration to a family life? How many potential fantastic MPs have we lost on both sides of the Chamber because of that reputation? Can she assure me that she will do everything she can to make sure that this place becomes friendly for anybody who wants to stand for Parliament, no matter what their stage in life?

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend raises a really important point. We need many more people to come forward, particularly women, and to be compatible with good, solid family life, it is vital that we look at how we manage things in this House and improve on it.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Nigel Huddleston

Thursday 21st June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The right hon. Gentleman is a bit of an Eeyore on this subject, is he not? Let us be honest. He asks for a Treasury Minister to come and set out what is happening to the economy. He will no doubt be delighted to know that employment is at a record high, real wages are up, the OECD has upgraded growth forecasts for this year and next, and a business survey shows that we remain the No. 1 destination for foreign direct investment in Europe. He will also no doubt be delighted to know that our day-to-day spending is in surplus for the first time in 16 years, and our net borrowing is at its lowest for over a decade. As for his point about the Brexit dividend, I am sure that his maths is good enough for him to work out that when you stop paying between £8 billion and £10 billion net for something, that money is then available to you. He may choose to say that it will all be eaten up by a slowdown in the economy, but that, if I may say so, is his crystal ball gazing.

[Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

The Leader of the House will be aware that today is the summer solstice, but she may not be aware that it also marks the end of the great British asparagus festival, held largely in my constituency. Does she agree that the best asparagus in the world comes from the Vale of Evesham—it even has EU protected status—and may we have a debate in Government time to celebrate great British farming and great British food produce?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I can certainly agree with my hon. Friend that he thinks that asparagus grown in the Vale of Evesham is the best in the world. Perhaps I can leave it there, so as not to offend any other Members. I absolutely join him in applauding the superb British food produce and great British farming. No doubt he looks forward, as I do, to the introduction of the agriculture Bill later in the Session.

Private Members’ Bills: Money Resolutions

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Nigel Huddleston

Monday 21st May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. We need to complete and finalise this boundary review before undertaking any thoughts of a further one such as that proposed by this private Member’s Bill.

[Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

The Leader of the House has mentioned a figure of £8 million. I wonder how many hours of graft by our constituents it would take to generate the taxes to pay for that incremental review. Certainly the constituents of those of us on this side of the House would never forgive us if we enacted something to pay for something we did not need and that was not desired.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Nigel Huddleston

Thursday 8th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I join the hon. Gentleman in congratulating all those who put in extra effort to keep people safe and transport open. All key transport operators, including airports, local authorities, train operating companies, Highways England and Network Rail, have winter contingency plans, as I am sure do their equivalents in Scotland. We pay tribute to all those who put in extra work. It is for their employers to ensure that they take the right decisions in securing the right balance between keeping services open and protecting their employees at all times.

[Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

I still hear way too many stories from constituents who are in battle with landlords or house builders about the condition of their homes. May we have a debate on the review of the housing complaints system?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for an excellent question. It is vital that consumers have swift, effective routes through which to complain when things go wrong. People need to know where to go and to be clear about what they can expect. He is right that existing routes can be confusing, so I am sure that he is pleased, as I am, that on 18 February we published a consultation on strengthening consumer redress in the housing market. We are looking at options about how to ensure that people, whether tenants or owners, can have access to quick, easy and effective redress, including at whether a single housing ombudsman could simplify that access.

Independent Complaints and Grievance Policy

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Nigel Huddleston

Thursday 8th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I agree entirely with the hon. Gentleman that it is important to have ultimate sanctions. It is obviously for individual perpetrators to make a decision about whether to resign or retire, but it is absolutely the intention of the new procedure that they will and can be forced to do so, regardless of who they are and what their role is in this place.

In answer to the hon. Gentleman’s other point about historical or pre-existing allegations, this was another area the working group spent a considerable amount of time discussing. There is a specific complication with making individuals liable to a procedure that was not in place at the time of the allegation. That complicates this somewhat. However, we will make sure that we are able to deal with the issues of historical allegations, even if they cannot be dealt with specifically by this new procedure.

[Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

I very much welcome the statement and appreciate all the work across the whole of the House that has gone into it. Can the Leader of the House confirm whether the new process is intended to cover all staff, including constituency staff, interns and perhaps even contractors?

[Andrea Leadsom]

Yes. The new procedure is designed to cover all the people who work in this place—all pass holders—and indeed those who work in our constituency offices, with the exception for the time being of House staff because they are already subject to the respect policy agreed some time ago, which protects them from issues of bullying and harassment. We have agreed with the House authorities that there will be consultation to consider whether all House staff should also come under this procedure in due course. To be specific, it will include contractors coming to this place, all those with parliamentary passes, Lobby journalists, staff of Members and Peers and those who support all-party parliamentary groups.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Nigel Huddleston

Thursday 8th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Gentleman raises a point that will be of concern to many Members in this House. He is right to do so and he might want to seek an Adjournment debate, but what I can say to him is that we operate one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world and a licence will not be issued where there is a clear risk that items to be licensed might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

[Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

May we have a statement or a debate on the benefits of switching energy supplier and how we can and should encourage even more consumers to switch?

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend raises a very important question for many people in this country. I am glad to tell him that there has been good news. Since 2010, the number of energy suppliers has gone from 13 to more than 60 and 7.8 million energy switches took place in 2016, an increase of nearly 1.7 million on 2015. That means that customers are saving an average of around £308 by switching from a standard variable tariff offered by the big six. He will be aware of our commitment to bringing forward an energy price cap Bill, and that will happen in the near future.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Nigel Huddleston

Thursday 21st December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I congratulate the hon. Lady on what I am sure was very accurate signing. I am sure that hon. Members would be delighted if she were to seek a Back-Bench debate on this subject.

[Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

As we approach Christmas, our thoughts are often with those whom we have lost during the year. I am sure the thoughts of many of us in the House will therefore be with the family of PC Keith Palmer, who gave up his life while protecting ours. Several months ago, my hon. Friend the Member for Braintree (James Cleverly) suggested that some kind of commemoration, such as a commemorative plaque, should exist on the parliamentary estate. Can the Leader of the House give us an update on progress?

[Andrea Leadsom]

Keith Palmer showed huge bravery and courage when he sought to protect our parliamentary community from a terror attack. He was also a father, a husband and a Charlton Athletic fan, and he is now the posthumous recipient of the George medal. The Police Memorial Trust is working with Westminster City Council to erect a memorial stone outside Carriage Gates, and that is something that we will all be pleased to see.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Nigel Huddleston

Thursday 2nd November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I absolutely share the hon. Lady’s concern about the situation in Yemen, which is creating terrible hardship for innocent people there. I also share her interest in it being further debated, and I would encourage her to seek a debate, perhaps through the Backbench Business Committee, if other Members would like to cover that subject.

[Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

Although it is reassuring that various reviews are taking place, may we have a debate on the size and scope of Parliament’s human resources function? Does the Leader of the House agree that any review should carefully consider the HR, hiring and staff grievance processes of other legislatures around the world, as we can perhaps learn from them?

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend raises an interesting point. As we consider how we can improve value for money for taxpayers while using best HR practice from around the world, we will of course look at other legislatures. Especially with regard to resolving the question of how to keep people safe at work, it will be essential that we look at what is done elsewhere.

Business of the House

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Nigel Huddleston

Thursday 6th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The right hon. Gentleman will appreciate that this is clearly something for the commission for countering extremism. It will be keen to look at reports of what has gone on already.

[Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

Childline, which is now part of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, was founded 30 years ago and over that time has helped more than 4 million children in need. May we have a debate about how Government could work even more closely with Childline and the NSPCC, particularly in areas such as online abuse and children’s mental health?

[Andrea Leadsom]

My hon. Friend has been a huge advocate of the excellent work of Childline, and I think everybody across the House will want to congratulate it, too. He will be aware that teachers and school staff across the country have started training to be able to identify, and respond to, early signs of mental health problems among pupils, which is a very good thing. My hon. Friend might want to expand on that discussion by applying for a debate, and I encourage him to look at early years, infant mental health, which is so important to set young people up with lifelong emotional wellbeing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Nigel Huddleston

Thursday 19th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am sorry to say that the hon. Lady is talking nonsense. The Government are not proposing a partial ban. At the meetings I held in China and Vietnam at the illegal wildlife trade conference last year, we were very clear that we will do everything possible not just to enforce a ban on the trading of post-’47 ivory—enforcement is absolutely key—but to minimise exemptions. The hon. Lady needs to work with us to assure the protection of the species, not make party political points about it.

[Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

T5. My US friends used to say, “Enjoy the dash between the dates on your tombstone,” by way of happy birthday wishes. I merely wish you a happy birthday, Mr Speaker. The Vale of Evesham is proud of its horticultural industry. Many of the local growers and food produce companies are highly reliant on seasonal workers. May I add to the comments made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Stephen Crabb) by asking: can we please seriously consider bringing back a seasonal agricultural workers scheme?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Nigel Huddleston

Thursday 19th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

We have a big and growing energy sector. We are bringing forward policy proposals to develop new sources of energy, which will mean a whole raft of new jobs and new opportunities for people, but there is always a balance to be struck. What we cannot do is permanently subsidise at the expense of the bill payer; many issues have already been raised about fuel poverty. In the end, industries need to stand on their own two feet.

[Nigel Huddleston (Mid Worcestershire) (Con)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.