Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andy McDonald and John Bercow

Thursday 30th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am extremely grateful to the Secretary of State.

[Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough) (Lab)]

As my hon. Friend the Member for Hove (Peter Kyle) said, Southern rail passengers are suffering the worst delays in the country and its staff are locked into an increasingly bitter industrial dispute. All those who work or rely on this failing service deserve much better. Does the Minister not think that by ruling out the cancellation of the franchise and by winding down the operator of last resort, Directly Operated Railways, the Department has no plan B and has effectively forfeited the chance to place any meaningful pressure on the company to improve performance?

Points of Order

Debate between Andy McDonald and John Bercow

Tuesday 7th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. As you know, the SSI plant on Teesside closed, with the loss of 9,000 jobs. Lord Heseltine, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and the northern powerhouse Minister, the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the hon. Member for Stockton South (James Wharton) are in my constituency at the Riverside stadium, launching the noble Lord’s much-awaited report in response to that crisis. I received notification of that by email at 3.33 yesterday and a copy of the report at 6.20 this morning. In fairness, having contacted the Secretary of State, I accept that he is under the impression that I was contacted properly. However, I assure the House that I was not. I have searched for those emails. Colleagues have received them, but I have not.

All I am asking for is some guidance, Mr Speaker. A report about my constituency is going to be delivered in my constituency. Can better direction be given to Ministers on how best they can communicate such activity to Members of Parliament, rather than assuming that it has been properly communicated through emails?

[Mr Speaker]

I say to the hon. Gentleman and the House that there is a firm convention that if a Member intends to visit the constituency of another Member on official business, as opposed to purely private or personal business, the Member whose constituency is being visited should be notified in advance. Nothing is written down anywhere, but it would be a courtesy to notify the Member sufficiently in advance that he or she could be present, or at least in the vicinity, in his or her constituency if it was so wished. That would rather depend on the circumstances of the event, but there should be proper notice.

In the case of Ministers, the requirement is stipulated in the ministerial code. If that has not been complied with in this case, it is regrettable. The hon. Gentleman has made his point and it will have been heard by those on the Treasury Bench. Doubtless it will be communicated, in the forceful terms in which he typically expresses himself, to the Secretary of State.

I hope that it will not be necessary for this point constantly to be raised and then underlined by me from the Chair. It is an elementary courtesy and I think that a lot of people who are listening to our proceedings will think, “Surely colleagues can treat each other in a civil and grown-up way, as would happen in other institutions.” Indeed, I note in the distance some agreement with the point I have just made.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andy McDonald and John Bercow

Monday 14th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Stephen Phillips. Not here. Oh dear. Where is the fellow?

[Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough) (Lab)]

3. What recent assessment he has made of the effect of changes to the level of funding for fire and rescue services on the effectiveness of those services.

Points of Order

Debate between Andy McDonald and John Bercow

Thursday 5th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough) (Lab)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

If it is on this matter, I will take the hon. Gentleman’s point of order and then respond to the two as a group.

[Andy McDonald]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. We have a special responsibility to our constituents, but as Members we also have a responsibility to act for everyone in this country. My hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) was approached by alleged victims and survivors of sexual crimes who were unhappy at how their cases had been handled. He acted to ensure that the proper procedures were followed. It is right and proper that complaints of this kind are dealt with properly by the criminal justice system, and where Members of this House can assist with that, they should.

[Mr Speaker]

Let me say the following in response to these points of order. First, I understand that there are strong feelings on this matter, and sometimes feelings that are contrary to each other, and they have been articulated on the Floor of the House this afternoon. About that, I make no complaint whatsoever. In response to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill), who, with his usual courtesy, kindly notified me in advance of his intention to raise the point of order, what I would say is this: it is not for the Chair to seek to advise Members on those with whom they should or should not communicate. That is a matter upon which they can and will make their own individual judgment. The DPP will decide what course of action, if any, to follow in response to representations, written or otherwise, from a Member of Parliament. I do not doubt the good intentions of the hon. Gentleman, a distinguished lawyer who of course chairs an important Select Committee in this House, but I feel that it is not for the Chair to be drawn into these matters. I hope that, upon reflection, people will feel that there is a certain logic to what I am saying. Colleagues, make your own judgments about these matters.

Redcar Steelworks

Debate between Andy McDonald and John Bercow

Thursday 15th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Andy McDonald]

You put your money where your mouth is.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Mr McDonald, I absolutely understand and empathise with your incredibly strong feeling on this subject—and I mean that—but we cannot have a situation in which people yell at a Minister who is giving an answer. You might not like the answer, but, forgive me, the answer must be heard. The Minister is capable of looking after herself, but the answer must be heard. Please. I will always give people a chance, but the Minister must be heard.

[Anna Soubry]

I know the hon. Gentleman and I disagree, but we cannot—

Points of Order

Debate between Andy McDonald and John Bercow

Wednesday 9th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. On Monday, during questions to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the hon. Member for Gloucester (Richard Graham) asked a question about the return to work of people with disabilities. The Secretary of State responded that

“the most important point is that we are looking to get that up to the level of normal, non-disabled people who are back in work.”—[Official Report, 7 September 2015; Vol. 599, c. 6.]

I am sure I do not need to point out to the House just how offensive and inappropriate that sort of language is.

We have worked hard to achieve non-discriminatory language, Mr Speaker. I seek your guidance on whether that sort of language is in order in the context of what is said in the House, and on whether, alternatively, you yourself could offer guidance to Front Benchers in order to avoid such offensive and discriminatory language in the future.

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his point of order. The short answer to him is that the language used was not disorderly—there was nothing out of order about it—and it therefore did not necessitate any intervention from the Chair. Everyone who speaks in this place must take responsibility for what he or she says. It is extremely important that we express ourselves with sensitivity, and in a way that will be viewed as such not just within the House, but beyond it.

I do not think I can go beyond that today. I recognise the upset that the hon. Gentleman and, perhaps, others feel. I do not think that I can say more than I have just said, but I am sure that what the hon. Gentleman has said, and what I have said in response, will be noted in the appropriate quarters. I hope that it will not be necessary to return to this theme.