Business of the House

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Thursday 19th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

No.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

May we have an urgent debate on trends in employment, as it is clear from the latest figures that the overall situation is far more complex than the headlines might suggest? In my constituency of North West Leicestershire, there are currently 1,513 claimants, who make up 3.3% of the economically active population. There has been a welcome fall of 10% in that figure over the last year. It would be helpful if the debate compared the overall fall in unemployment in the quarter to March this year with the number of people on jobseeker’s allowance.

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend is right to say that one has to drill down into the figures to get a truer picture. The rise in JSA payments, to which he referred, was due in part to new measures to move single parents whose children are attending school off employment and support allowance and on to JSA. The important figures are the continuing fall in unemployment and the continuing rise in employment.

Business of the House

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Thursday 12th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

On the various issues, we had a debate on the national health service on Monday, and I indicated a few moments ago that we would be seeking to reverse the decision of the House of Lords on the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill. The coalition is in good shape; we are getting on with strong, decisive, united government, which is what this country needs.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

To mark the anniversary of the general election and the formation of this Government, may we have an urgent debate on the achievements of the past 12 months and the many promises on which we have already delivered?

[Sir George Young]

It might be expecting too much for the Opposition to allocate the next Opposition day for a whole-day debate on the successes of the coalition Government. We have cut the deficit, we have capped immigration and we have frozen the council tax, etc., etc. The Localism Bill will be debated next week, and its Report stage might provide an opportunity to talk about our successes in that field.

Business of the House

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Thursday 28th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am sure that the management of the city of Hull is in much better hands than it was under the previous Labour Government, when it was one of the worst administered local authorities in the world—[Interruption]—or rather, in the country. The hon. Lady regularly raises issues about that local authority, but we had a debate on the revenue support grant before the amount was settled, and other local authorities have been able to cope with the allocations that were made without coming to the difficult decisions to which she has referred.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Many patients in my constituency will have been listening to Labour Members’ comments about NHS waiting times with increasing concern. May we therefore have an urgent debate on NHS waiting times so that I can have an opportunity to reassure my constituents and put facts before politics on this most emotive of issues?

[Sir George Young]

I very much hope that the Opposition choose the subject of the NHS for their half-day debate on Monday week. I commend to my hon. Friend’s attention the document I have here—the 2010 annual report—which has the statistics, and the press release that was put out earlier this week which brings waiting times up to date. He will also see in a separate publication that there are more cataract operations and more hip replacement operations, and I hope that his constituents will find that reassuring.

Business of the House

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Thursday 24th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I will draw the hon. Gentleman’s comments to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State of Scotland, unless the matter falls within the responsibility of the Scottish Electoral Commission. In either event, whoever is responsible will write to him.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Minerals can be extracted only from where they lie, and many mineral reserves lie in my constituency. My right hon. Friend will be well aware that minerals policy has been specifically excluded from the Localism Bill. Will he find time for a debate on minerals policy, and in particular on the distribution of the aggregates levy? I think it important for communities that suffer the blight of mineral extraction to have a fair share of the levy as a form of compensation.

[Sir George Young]

Many Members whose constituents contain aggregate sources such as gravel pits will share my hon. Friend’s concern, and the Backbench Business Committee may wish to find time for a debate. As my hon. Friend says, the aggregates levy sustainability fund reduces the environmental impact of the extraction of aggregates, but as a result of the October spending review settlement, the Government will have to discontinue the programme of work after the end of the current financial year. I will draw my hon. Friend’s concern to the attention of my colleagues who have responsibility for the matter.

Business of the House

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Thursday 17th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

It is certainly the case that all important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance to the House when it is sitting. That does not mean that Ministers are not free to make speeches outside the House, as appropriate. I have not read the report to which the right hon. Gentleman refers, but I have heard details of it in the media. The Government will respond in due course to the report, which has just been published. We believe that the system is in need of reform and we want to reduce net inward migration from outside the EU from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands. The Select Committee will receive a considered response in due course.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

It has been a bad week for the shadow Chancellor. First, he was wrong about being able to obtain an EU derogation for VAT on fuel. Then he did not seem to know whether we were planning to cut—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Gentleman will resume his seat. Business questions are an occasion for requests for statements and debates in the following week, and not for prefacing questions with lengthy descriptions of things that have happened to another party. That is not an orderly way to proceed. I hope I do not have to say that again. We will move on to someone else.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Thursday 3rd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Hugh Robertson]

That question seems to ignore the economic backdrop that we have inherited. This decision is necessary precisely because the previous Government, of whom the hon. Gentleman was a part, left a financial crisis that sees us paying £120 million in interest charges each and every day. It is against that backdrop that we have increased the amount of money going into sport and made the changes that I outlined in response to my hon. Friend the Member for Weaver Vale (Graham Evans). We will continue to do everything we can to drive up participation in sport.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

15. What plans he has for the future of community radio; and if he will make a statement.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

My Department is a strong supporter of community radio and has secured around £450,000 a year to support it. We intend to examine the regulatory regime for community radio as part of the forthcoming communications review.

[Andrew Bridgen]

Given the merging and closure of so many commercial local radio stations, what specific measures will the Government take to encourage community radio to offer an alternative in competition with local BBC radio stations?

[Mr Vaizey]

As I have said, we have secured the funding for this spending round. There are now 185 community radio stations on air, and I know that Hermitage FM is extremely popular in my hon. Friend’s constituency. Ofcom will shortly report on a third round of licensing for community radio.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Given how the Committee of Selection was used in recent Parliaments by the previous Labour Government as a means for keeping Select Committees in what is euphemistically known as “a safe pair of hands”, has the Leader of the House made an assessment of the functioning of those Committees under this Government, when members and Chairs are elected and not selected?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. I was a member of the Committee of Selection when the Labour Whips tried to deselect Gwyneth Dunwoody and Donald Anderson from the Select Committees that they had chaired with magnificent independence. It was partly because of that outrageous performance that this Government moved towards the Wright Committee recommendations. I am delighted to say that the new procedure is working very well, and that Chairs of Select Committees have an independence that they did not have before.

Business of the House

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Thursday 3rd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The Government share my hon. Friend’s disappointment at the recent decision. We have made absolutely clear that we think it right to take account of gender in assessing risk and reaching a decision on premiums. We now plan to hold discussions with the Financial Services Authority and the Association of British Insurers to establish how we can minimise the damage done by the decision to British consumers, both men and women.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

This has been a very bad week indeed for Labour-run councils, as their excesses and spending habits have been exposed the length and breadth of our country, from Newham council, which has just spent £111 million on new council buildings, to Barnsley council, which has just cut free swimming at the same time as it is spending £1 million on union posts in the council. Please may we have an urgent debate on local government waste, which would be of particular interest before the district council elections in May?

[Sir George Young]

I announced in the business statement that there is to be an Opposition day the week after next, and as the subject for debate has not yet been chosen I hope the Opposition will use that day to debate local government, so that we can hear a little more from my hon. Friend and others about the extravagance in Labour-controlled local authorities.

Business of the House

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Thursday 17th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

We have not announced the details of that policy, but this is the first time that a Government will have a policy on minimum alcohol pricing, linked to the related policy for a special tax on high-strength drinks. The Budget may be the appropriate time for a debate on those issues.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

May we have a debate about spending so that we can contrast the coalition Government’s policies and plans for the economy with those of the shadow Chancellor, who asserts that we should be spending a lot more money that we do not have? The policy of spend, spend, spend is what got us into this mess in the first place.

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend is right. The spending reductions that we are planning for next year, of some £16 billion, are only £2 billion more than the figure pencilled in by the outgoing Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Business of the House

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Thursday 10th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I welcome what my hon. Friend says. I cannot promise a debate, but he rightly draws attention to the initiative of Brook Kinsella. The Home Secretary has announced more than £80 million to tackle knife, gun and gang crime, responding to that report. Under Labour, there were more than 100 serious knife crimes a day, and we want to reduce that figure.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

May we have an urgent debate on the size of the national debt, and will the Leader of the House please ensure that it is wide enough to look at historical trends in its growth? Those trends will show that when the Leader of the Opposition was born, national debt stood at £612 per person in this country, whereas today it stands at a frightening £22,265 per person.

[Sir George Young]

Opposition Members say that they are concerned that the Government are selling out on the next generation. My hon. Friend reminds the House graphically of the debt that we are passing on to our children and grandchildren. One of the reasons we want to take early action on the deficit is to reduce the burden that we inflict on the next generation.

Business of the House

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Thursday 3rd February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The Government are determined to get the Bill through in time to hold the referendum on the proposed date. I very much regret that there have been some very loquacious interventions down the other end which have impeded the progress of the Bill. The point I was making was that in order to have fewer MPs in the next Parliament, we have to pass legislation now, but that we do not have to pass any legislation now to reduce the number of Ministers in the next Parliament.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

May we have an urgent debate on the provision of literacy and numeracy training for MPs? Successive shadow Chancellors have certainly struggled with the latter and cannot recognise a structural deficit even when they see it.

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. It is indeed the case that we were running a substantial structural deficit before we hit the financial recession and the problem with the banks. Anyone who denies that there was a structural deficit denies the reality.