Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Tuesday 25th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

As this is the last week of questions, I am especially keen to try to get through the Order Paper. I appeal to colleagues to help each other to achieve that objective.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

7. What steps she is taking to reduce reoffending rates.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Wednesday 19th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

What assessment has my right hon. Friend made of the opportunities for increasing whisky exports across the world as part of a free trade agreement once we leave the European Union? [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman was asking about whisky exports; let us hear the Minister.

Points of Order

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Thursday 23rd March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The pursuit of a debate has been single-minded and persistent on the part of the hon. Lady, and it shows some sign of bearing fruit. She has made her own point in her own way, and when she asks how she can find a way of putting her concern on the record, she knows perfectly well, as the cheeky grin etched on her face testifies, that she has, in fact, by an abuse of the point of order procedure, found her own salvation.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

Oh, very well. The day would not be complete without a point of order from the hon. Gentleman.

[Bob Blackman]

I seek your guidance, Mr Speaker, as to how I can put on record the fact that my Homelessness Reduction Bill passed its Third Reading in the House of Lords, and how I can pay tribute to Lord Best, who piloted it through.

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman, also, has found his own salvation, and it is a delight to observe that that success has brought further happiness into his life, quite apart from the potential benefits that the Bill will confer upon those whom he has in mind.

Points of Order

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Wednesday 25th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for what he has said. He will appreciate that in matters of this kind I benefit from advice, and the advice that I have just received, and that I accept—it is my responsibility whether or not to accept it—is that there is no need for any further correction. It was an error. I recognise how upsetting that will have been, but it was a mistake. It has subsequently been corrected, and the hon. Gentleman himself has now quite properly used the opportunity of a point of order to correct it. I do not think that anything further needs to be said. The hon. Gentleman is a wily character and he has found his salvation.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. You will be aware that Members from across the House have the opportunity to sign the book of commitment for Holocaust Memorial Day. I am pleased that more than 200 right hon. and hon. Members have signed the book, but that does mean that more than 400 have not. May I, through your good offices, draw to the House’s attention the fact that the book is available for signature at the bottom of the Members’ Staircase between 2 pm and 4 pm?

[Mr Speaker]

That is a very helpful notice to colleagues. No disrespect to the hon. Gentleman, because that is very helpful for others, but my office had already planned for me to sign the book when I leave the Chair today, and I certainly shall, as I always do. I think that it would be a wonderful thing if a very large number of colleagues—preferably all colleagues—took the opportunity to sign the book, as the hon. Gentleman helpfully suggests.

Business of the House

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Thursday 12th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. In order to try to accommodate everybody, might I suggest that we now move to single-sentence questions and, of course, pithy replies?

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Mr Speaker, may I use your good offices to remind colleagues that we debate Holocaust Memorial Day next week? The book of commitment is open from Monday for two weeks, thanks to your good offices, Mr Speaker, in the corridor between the Members’ Staircase and the Members’ Cloakroom.

I also ask that we have a statement following Sunday’s conference on the middle east in Paris. Foreign and Commonwealth Office questions went on far longer this week because the Government did not give a statement or respond to an urgent question on the subject. It would be far better to have a statement in Government time on the outcome of that conference.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Wednesday 23rd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

10. Given the importance of exports to England from Scotland, what is my hon. Friend’s estimate of the number of jobs involved in this process, and does that figure not demonstrate the importance to Scotland and its economy of staying in the UK?

[Mr Speaker]

The answer should relate specifically to SMEs, which I am sure the hon. Gentleman intended to mention.

Business of the House

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Thursday 27th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

A further 25 right hon. and hon. Members are seeking to catch my eye. I am keen to try to conclude proceedings on this statement by 11.30 am, so there is a premium on brevity from both Back Benchers and Front Benchers.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Yesterday we celebrated the accession of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, to India. On the subject of light, over this weekend we celebrate Diwali. Will my right hon. Friend join me in wishing Hindus, Sikhs and Jains everywhere a very happy Deepavali and a happy, peaceful and prosperous, but above all else healthy, new year?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Wednesday 26th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend not agree that leaving the European Union will enable the Northern Ireland economy to be rebalanced in favour of the private sector rather than the public sector? [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. There are far too many noisy private conversations taking place in the Chamber. I could scarcely hear the dulcet tones of the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), and I feel considerably disadvantaged.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Thursday 15th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We started late because of the preliminary announcements, so we can run on slightly, but we must have much shorter questions from now on. To be honest, questions today have been simply far too long.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

10. What plans he has for expansion of the proposed Crossrail network.

Business of the House

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Thursday 30th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am of course proud to have written the preface and to have hosted the launch of the most recent publication by the hon. Member for Newport West (Paul Flynn). It was a very happy occasion indeed.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

The Chairman of the Backbench Business Committee is unfortunately unable to be here, so he has asked me to convey to the Leader of the House that, as a result of our great queue of Back-Bench business, we now how sufficient debates, including those announced by the Leader of the House, for six full days before we rise for the recess. I therefore trust that the Leader of the House will allocate some more time to the Backbench Business Committee so that we can honour all the applications.

This weekend sees the annual Al Quds Day demonstration. It ends in London and has increasingly become anti-Semitic, with some absolutely disgraceful slogans and flags of terrorist organisations being flown on the streets of Britain. It is paramount that the Government ensure that if anyone is guilty of committing a hate crime in that way, those people should be arrested and should face the full force of the law. I want the Leader of the House to ensure that that happens this weekend.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Wednesday 29th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I will call the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) if he undertakes to ask a single, short-sentence question.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Has my right hon. Friend examined Save a Child’s Heart, an initiative by the Israeli Government to treat Palestinian children and save their lives?

Business of the House

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Thursday 19th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Was the hon. Gentleman here at the start of business questions?

[Bob Blackman]

I was, shall we say, answering a call of nature, Mr Speaker. Forgive me, but I was not here. I am tempted to rise because I was at St James Park on Sunday for the calamity.

[Mr Speaker]

I will give the hon. Gentleman the benefit of the doubt.

[Bob Blackman]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can we find time for a debate about garden waste collection? In the borough of Harrow, the council has decided to charge residents £40 for six months of collections, and the collections are not even being made. I am receiving complaints on a daily basis about this, and it is time that we raised the issue in the House so that hon. Members on both sides can comment on the calamity of some of the rubbish collections across this country.

Business of the House

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Thursday 10th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am delighted to join in the congratulations to Luke and Jemma. We hope they have a wonderful day at the weekend and a great life thereafter.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Happy Hanukkah, Mr Speaker. The Chairman of the Backbench Business Committee has been called away on urgent constituency business and he asked me to explain what has happened with the business for next Thursday. The Committee advertised the normal pre-recess Adjournment debate, but by the close of business on Monday only five Members had requested to speak in it, so on Tuesday the Committee took the decision of allocating the debating time to two items that have more than 30 Members wishing to speak on them. I trust that Members will understand the rationale for the decision making.

I now come to the issue I want to raise. This week, Harrow council has announced that it is going to slash public health funding by 60% over the next three years. That short-sighted decision will mean that programmes on smoking cessation, tackling obesity, diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases and other aspects of public health will go awry. Clearly, other councils may be deciding to take a similar approach. When this money was allocated to councils I warned of a risk if it was not properly ring-fenced. May we therefore have a debate in Government time on the important issues of public health, because in the long term addressing this will cost the NHS millions?

Syria

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Thursday 26th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am keen to accommodate the remaining interest. However, the pithy replies we have had from the Prime Minister must now be matched by single, short, supplementary questions without preamble.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend explain how long this strategy will take to implement, given that we are clearly not going to get instantaneous results?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Thursday 22nd October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Stephen Phillips. He is not here. Extraordinary.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

5. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of arrangements for meeting hon. Members’ IT requirements.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Monday 20th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I hope that the Minister has now overcome his shyness.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

T4. I, too, hope that the Minister has overcome his shyness because this question is also coming his way. Colleges in my constituency complain about in-year cuts to funding and the lack of a three-year funding programme. What representations are being made for a three-year settlement for 16-to-19 education so that colleges can plan for the future rather than having to deal with sudden crises?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and John Bercow

Thursday 4th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

As an Arsenal fan, I find it not difficult but quite impossible to talk positively at any time about Tottenham.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

T5. I was there in 1987, Mr Speaker. Harrow Council intends to close four libraries on 13 June despite community bids to run them as community libraries. What action can my hon. Friend take to intervene to ensure that Harrow Council fulfils its statutory duties?