Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 26th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I would be surprised if that had disappeared. I would expect it to be reinvested in the NHS, but I am sure that I can generate a letter from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health to explain the accounting procedures to which the hon. Lady has just referred and to give her the reassurance that the money that Parliament has voted to the NHS will indeed be applied to the NHS.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

During the Easter recess, the Government released £600 million for new primary places across England and Wales. I looked with great interest to see who had got the money— £382 million has gone to London; I know that £30 million has gone to the London borough of Brent, which is extremely welcome—and I looked for the allocation to the London borough of Harrow, only to find that it was zero. I then made a series of phone calls to find out who was responsible, only to discover that the incompetent Harrow council had failed to supply the data, and therefore received no money. Despite many efforts, we still do not have an answer on how much money will be available to provide much-needed primary places in Harrow. Will the Leader of the House offer the House an opportunity of a statement so that we can clear up this matter once and for all?

[Sir George Young]

I cannot offer a statement, but I commend my hon. Friend’s energy in seeking to ensure that the children in his constituency get a square deal at school. There is an issue between the London borough of Harrow and the Department for Education about the school capacity data that Harrow provided to the Department in 2011. That issue is under investigation, and I shall ask my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education to write to my hon. Friend to bring him up to date. I want to assure other colleagues that that will not affect allocations to other local authorities.