Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 28th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

But why should the hooter just be confined to the Prime Minister? Why should it not apply equally to Labour Members?

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Last Sunday, we heard the very sad news that Sathya Sai Baba had died in India. Sai Baba was a unique Hindu ascetic who was renowned among millions of followers worldwide and hundreds of thousands within the UK. There has been no Government statement issuing an expression of sympathy to the hundreds of thousands of followers in this country who are praying for his soul and for his return. Will my right hon. Friend prevail on the appropriate Government Minister to issue a suitable message of sympathy?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I would like to share his comments with my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, who is probably the Minister who has responsibility, to see whether an appropriate tribute might be made.

Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 31st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

Green belt is specifically protected, so the hon. Gentleman should not have any concern about that. The rest of this issue lies in the context of the Localism Bill and the national planning strategy, and the hon. Gentleman should wait and see how the policy is developed in July.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Last year, we had the second highest recorded level of anti-Semitic incidents, and there is a strong feeling in the Jewish community that anti-Semitism is on the rise. Clearly, we as MPs have a right and a duty to set an example, but Cabinet Ministers have an even greater responsibility. Can the Leader of the House remind his right hon. Friends that it is unacceptable to accuse other colleagues of being Nazis or using Goebbels-type tactics in the media?

[Sir George Young]

Yes, I agree that not only Cabinet Ministers but every Member of the House should be very careful about the language that they use. I will certainly draw my hon. Friend’s remarks to the attention of my fellow Ministers. I am sure that you, Mr Deputy Speaker, will do all you can to ensure that no inappropriate remarks are made in this Chamber.

Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 24th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman raises a serious issue that has already been raised on a number of occasions. As he knows, the Ministry of Justice is carrying out a review. I hope it will be completed shortly, because I understand the concern that is felt on both sides of House about the delay.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Seven schools in Harrow are currently consulting on becoming academies. They are doing so in the teeth of a campaign of misinformation by Labour-run Harrow council and outright hostility from the teaching unions. May we have an urgent statement from the Secretary of State for Education on what he is going to do to stop councils giving misinformation to schools that are trying to break free of the dead hand of the local education authority?

[Sir George Young]

I welcome that initiative in my hon. Friend’s constituency, which shows that parents want to use the freedoms given to them under this Government’s legislation. I will draw his concern to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education, so we can see whether further steps need to be taken to make sure that those who want to establish free schools or academies are not intimidated as a result of misinformation.

Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 3rd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Lady is entitled to an answer to her written parliamentary question, and I will pursue that today with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education to see whether she can get a response to her question early next week.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

This week I learned that Ashiana, a charitable voluntary organisation in my constituency, is having its grant completely withdrawn. Harrow Carers’ grant is also being slashed by 30%, and every other voluntary organisation is being decimated by the Labour-run council. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has gone on record suggesting that he will take reserve powers to force councils to release money to voluntary organisations. May we have an urgent statement on what powers he is taking to protect such voluntary organisations from Labour-run councils?

[Sir George Young]

I understand the concerns of voluntary organisations in my hon. Friend’s constituency about the decisions taken. At Monday’s questions, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local government outlined a number of local authorities that had coped with the settlement without reducing grants to voluntary organisations. Indeed, I think he mentioned one that had increased its grants to voluntary organisations, so it can be done. I will raise with him the reserved powers to which my hon. Friend refers, and find out in what circumstances he might be invited to use them.

Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 17th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I understand that the hon. Gentleman is referring to the body that gives advice to ex-Ministers as to whether it is appropriate for them to take on employment. It is important that that job is done. I have no particular view on why it cannot be done appropriately by five lords or two knights; the important thing is to have the right people to do the job. It may be that the right people to do that job have the adornments to their names that the hon. Gentleman has just mentioned.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

As a coalition Government, we are committed to making sure that money is spent in the national health service on the front line. Two weeks ago I mentioned two trusts that were consulting about merging; I now understand that that will take three years and cost £1.5 million. Now I highlight what is going on with the Care Quality Commission and dentists throughout the country, who are required to print and display 75 individual policies in their surgeries, totally unnecessarily.

[Sir George Young]

Dentists in my own constituency are complaining about the approach of the Care Quality Commission. If my hon. Friend would like to approach the Backbench Business Committee, it might feel it appropriate to arrange a debate. I shall raise the issue of the mergers of NHS trusts in my hon. Friend’s constituency with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health.

Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 27th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I understand my hon. Friend’s concern. We are committed to a massive expansion in renewable energy and supporting renewable heat is an integral part of that. We expect to be in a position to announce shortly the details of the scheme, including renewable heat incentive tariffs and technologies supported, and for it to be open for business later in the year.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Two NHS trusts in my constituency are considering merging. Their letter notifying me of their actions so far reads like a script from “Yes, Prime Minister”. The “options appraisal” leads on to “a Strategic Outline Case” to be followed by the “Outline Business Case”, which will become “the Full Business Case”, which then may or may not lead to a consultation with the public. All that will entail enormous amounts of bureaucracy and consultants, which will take money that should be spent on patient care. Can my right hon. Friend facilitate a statement on doing away with this bureaucratic nonsense and getting the money spent on the front line?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend will know that there is a Health Bill before the House at the moment. It is the intention of the coalition Government to do away with the bureaucracy that he mentions and put the resources into front-line care. He gives a graphic exposition of where economies can be found.

Business of the House

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Thursday 2nd December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

Like the right hon. Gentleman, I understand that it was a private meeting. I cannot guarantee a statement, but on 14 December there will be an opportunity to ask questions to Ministers from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend make time available for a statement or debate on the decision of the Legal Services Commission to withdraw legal aid from the foetal anticonvulsant syndrome group, a group of parents who have campaigned for the past 10 years for justice for their children, who have disabilities caused by drugs taken by the mothers during pregnancy? Some £4 million of legal aid had been agreed with the Legal Services Commission, but on the eve of the trial it withdrew the funding. The litigants now have until 20 December to get it reinstated. I think that that decision should be reviewed in this House.

[Sir George Young]

I understand the concern that my hon. Friend shares with the House. I will raise the issue with the Lord Chancellor to see whether there is any action that he can take to help.

Summer Adjournment

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Tuesday 27th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I should like to place on the record my congratulations to Members who made their maiden speeches earlier this afternoon. Before we break for the recess, I should like to raise a number of local, national and possibly international issues.

I shall start with local issues. I am sure that the whole House would like to congratulate Elmgrove, Aylward, Glebe, St John’s and Stag Lane schools in my constituency, which have all received Artsmark awards from the Arts Council in the past week. That leads me to a concern being raised at local level, about the wonderful new Cedars youth centre, which is being developed in a partnership between Harrow council, the lottery and Watford football club. Some £4.2 million was set aside for it, but we are awaiting approval from the Department for Education. I trust that that will be forthcoming before the recess is out.

Seventy years have passed since Britain stood alone and the RAF, and Fighter Command in particular, stood between us and the Nazis. The centre of that operation was at Bentley priory in my constituency. Time, of course, has moved on; now there is a challenge as to what we will do with Bentley priory. There is a clear need to preserve the priory for the nation so that we can celebrate what Fighter Command achieved 70 years ago. We must not allow it to fall into disrepair and disuse and pass it on in that state to our children and our children’s children.

Some hon. Members who know me well might wonder why I am raising this next issue in the House. A firm in my constituency called ColArt, which is probably better known as Winsor and Newton, is currently consulting on closing down its operation in Wealdstone and transferring the manufacturing jobs to France and other parts of the world, involving the loss of 200 specialist jobs in the constituency. The local council and the Government need to intervene to safeguard those jobs for local people and to protect manufacturing industry in London. I trust that that support and effort will be forthcoming from the Government before the consultation period is over at the end of September. This afternoon I met representatives of the factory, who are deeply concerned about what is going to happen to their jobs and to the future of manufacturing in our area. I am happy to place on record my firm and full support for their work, and I will, with the firm, be seeking appropriate measures to ensure that we safeguard that facility for local people.

Finally, I want to discuss a case—Regina v. Robert Nicholls and others—which arose on 28 and 29 June in Lewes Crown court, and which probably would have passed unnoticed but for the learned judge’s summing up in directing the jury. The case concerns a number of individuals who committed terrible criminal damage at a local armaments factory in January 2009. As they virtually admitted that they had done so, it was something of a surprise when they were acquitted of the crimes after the jury had deliberated for a very short period. A week to 10 days ago, the summing up by the judge was released. It reads almost like the case for the defence or a plea in mitigation. In the course of some 87 pages, it lists a whole litany of reasons and excuses as to why it is perfectly reasonable for people in this country to commit criminal damage against armaments factories if those factories are supplying the state of Israel.

This has caused immense concern in my constituency, where there are large numbers of Jewish people who believe that it will provide a licence for individuals who oppose the state of Israel to take criminal action against factories in this country that supply the state of Israel. It is the thin end of a very thick wedge, and the Government—the Ministry of Justice—must step in and take action. We cannot have judges with prejudicial views instructing juries to acquit people where there is no evidence to support that outcome. I have asked the Lord Chancellor to intervene in this case and ensure that something is done, and I trust that that will happen before the recess.

Oral Answers to Questions

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Monday 26th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

I shall make a brief statement, if I may, to start proceedings. First, because of my Department’s responsibility to take its share of reducing the deficit inherited from the previous Government, we have announced today plans to rationalise or merge a number of arm’s length bodies for which we are responsible. As part of that, we have said that we are considering the abolition of the UK Film Council and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. That does not reflect our commitment to the Government’s or the lottery’s investing in UK film, or Government support for the sectors represented by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. However, in the constrained circumstances in which we find ourselves, we want to ensure that every penny is used on front-line services, not on back-office and bureaucracy.

With permission, Mr Speaker, I also want to mention that tomorrow marks the date from which there will be exactly two years till the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony. I am happy to report to the House that the construction of the project is on track, and I believe that it will also be delivered within budget. It is because I want to maintain the cross-party support for that important project that I can today announce that there will be Liberal Democrat and Labour representation on the Olympic board, and the Labour representative will be the right hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Tessa Jowell).

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Doubtless the Secretary of State was seeking to be helpful to the House, but in the light of the impromptu statement that he has just made, I will probably allow modest injury time.

[Bob Blackman]

We are all looking forward to the 2012 Olympics. However, this is a very difficult time for football fans—after the World cup and before the season starts—so what lobbying has the Secretary of State been doing and what action has he been taking to bring the World cup back to England?

[Mr Hunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for his excellent question. I have met five members of the FIFA executive committee to tell them personally that England is the best possible place to host the World cup in 2018. More than 1 million people watch or play football every week in this country, and we have the best football infrastructure in the world. There is no doubt at all that we would deliver the best World cup possible in 2018, so I thank my hon. Friend for his support.

Use of the Chamber (United Kingdom Youth Parliament)

Bob Blackman Excerpts

Tuesday 20th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Philip Davies]

The hon. Gentleman may feel that, in which case tomorrow during Prime Minister’s questions he will presumably invite one of his constituents to sit in his place. It is not the case that by definition, any of our constituents can come and sit themselves here on these Benches. In fact, he may have noticed that usually, as he gives his constituents tours, there are signs up on the seats saying, “Please don’t sit here”. He appears to be on the verge of supporting the principle that some of his constituents can come and sit on these Benches but others cannot. There is plenty of time for the debate, so I am sure he will wish to tell us in his own words why he believes that and why some of his constituents are second-class citizens.

When a young person comes to me and asks me to talk about Parliament and politics, I always tell them that when a politician is given a problem to solve, their solution will always incorporate two ingredients. The first is that they have to be seen to be doing something, which is the bane of politicians’ lives. I long for the day when a Minister stands at the Dispatch Box and says, “Well, actually, that’s got nothing to do with me. It’s for other people to sort out for themselves.” They never want to underestimate their importance. The second ingredient is that their proposals must not offend anybody. If hon. Members have not already worked that out for themselves, I ask them to look out for what happens whenever a politician is given a problem. If a politician can find a solution that incorporates looking as though they are doing something and not offending anybody, they will jump on it at the first possible opportunity.

That appears to be what we are doing this evening. We want to engage more young people in politics, so what is being proposed is, “We have to look as though we are doing something, so we should let young people sit in the House of Commons Chamber. That does not particularly offend anybody, so let’s go for it.” However, that does not deal with why young people are so disengaged with the political process. If any Member really thinks that this sticking plaster will mean that young people will start turning out in droves at elections or engaging in the political process all of a sudden, I believe they are mistaken.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way so far into his speech. As parliamentarians, we exist to inspire people to come here—I think we would all accept that. Knowing that this debate was coming up, I spoke to the representatives of my area, who were desperately looking forward to the opportunity to come here and have their say. Did he consult his representatives, and what did they have to say?

[Philip Davies]

I do not doubt that my hon. Friend had good reason to be asleep when I dealt with a similar intervention earlier—I am sure that my speech sends everybody to sleep. It might seem a long time ago, but I remind him that I said that I had spoke to the MYPs in my area, and they did not mention that they wanted to have their debate in the Chamber.

[Bob Blackman]

I rise again to ask a specific question. Knowing that this debate was coming up, did my hon. Friend consult the people who are elected to come here and have their say? The point is that young people who have fought elections for the opportunity to come here are keen to take it up, and we as parliamentarians should not stop them.

[Philip Davies]

My hon. Friend’s experience may be different, but his intervention would have been better directed at the Deputy Leader of the House—[Interruption.] If the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson) will control herself, I can finish my point. If my hon. Friend were so desperate for every hon. Member to speak to their MYPs before the debate, he should ask the Deputy Leader of the House why the Government tabled the motion this morning without any warning. He is quick off the mark—as ever—but if he wanted all hon. Members to hold a wide consultation with their MYPs, he should suggest that his and my hon. Friends do not support the motion tonight, but allow themselves to take stock and revisit the situation at a later date. If that is his suggestion, I will not disagree with him—it would be a perfectly valid argument—but if he is worried that there has been insufficient consultation with MYPs, he should address that to the Deputy Leader of the House, because the motion was put on the Order Paper only today.