Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Clive Efford and John Bercow

Thursday 9th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab)]

When the Government reduced the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals to £50, they accepted the principle that lowering the stake would have a positive impact on problem gambling. As part of the review, will you examine the success of that measure and, if it has been successful in dealing with that problem, will you consider reducing the stake even further?

[Mr Speaker]

I will do neither of those things, but the Minister might do one or the other or, conceivably, if the hon. Gentleman is a lucky boy, both.

European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill

Debate between Clive Efford and John Bercow

2nd reading: House of Commons
Wednesday 1st February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I hope it is a point of order, rather than a point of frustration.

[Clive Efford]

What is the point in the Minister coming here, reading out a pre-written statement to the House and not listening to interventions from hon. Members who have legitimate questions to ask of the Government?

[Mr Speaker]

These debates will run for a long time to come, but that is not a matter for the Chair.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Clive Efford and John Bercow

Thursday 17th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab)]

My constituency is not served directly by the London underground or the docklands light railway, much as we would like it to be, which means that we are heavily reliant on rail services. I receive a stream of complaints almost daily about delays on Southeastern railway. This cannot be allowed to continue, because people are heavily reliant on that service. One thing I would say for Southeastern is that it needs extra capacity—it needs extra carriages. The carriages that become available when the Thameslink programme is complete must be made available for Southeastern so that we can deal with the capacity problem, but we must also deal with Southeastern’s performance.

[Mr Speaker]

I think that the question was rhetorical in nature, but if the Minister wants briefly to reply, he may.

Points of Order

Debate between Clive Efford and John Bercow

Monday 7th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

The right hon. Gentleman is a specialist delicacy to whom I will come in due course.

[Clive Efford]

I do not know how to take that, Mr Speaker.

I have asked the Department of Health several questions on the process by which the Greenwich clinical commissioning group allocated a £74 million contract to Circle Holdings for our local orthopaedic services. In one of my answers from the Department of Health, I was told that there had been local discussions about the impact this would have on other national health services. Investigations I have undertaken into that answer have exposed the fact that this information, which was supplied to the Minister of State, Department of Health by NHS England, is incorrect. He therefore misinformed me in his answer—I accept that he did so inadvertently—as a consequence of the information he was given by NHS England. My point is that in many of the questions I have asked about this process, I have been told that it is a matter for the local NHS, and this dereliction of duty on the part of the Department of Health has even led to NHS England not scrutinising the process properly.

How can we get the record corrected? I will be shocked if you, Mr Speaker, have not heard that the Department of Health wants to make a statement to correct this error. I would like to know how it is going to improve its performance in scrutinising what is going on when such multimillion pound contracts are let.

[Mr Speaker]

I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman is to be shocked, but I am afraid that he will be because, to the best of my knowledge and belief, I have received no indication of any intention on the part of the Government to make a statement on this matter in the way and of the kind that he wants. I am grateful to him for giving me notice that he wished to raise the matter. Let me say this: as I repeatedly remind the House, the content of Ministers’ answers to parliamentary questions is a matter not for the Chair but for the Minister concerned. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman’s point has been heard by those on the Treasury Bench and will be relayed with alacrity to the Minister of State. If the Minister finds that his answer was inaccurate—that was not altogether clear to me—and therefore essentially agrees with the hon. Gentleman’s analysis, I am sure he will take steps to correct the record. It may be—I am not saying it is—that the Minister takes a different view of the facts of the matter, but I cannot arbitrate between different views. Meanwhile, however—we await events—the hon. Gentleman has succeeded in placing his concern on the record.

Enterprise Bill [Lords]

Debate between Clive Efford and John Bercow

Wednesday 9th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Clive Efford]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. In response to a previous intervention, the Minister said that my local authority, Greenwich, had asked for this power to be passed to it. That was not correct. My local authority said that if the change is made, it should come to the local authority, not the Mayor of London or the Greater London Authority. How do we get the Government to put the record straight?

[Mr Speaker]

I think that the hon. Gentleman has found his own salvation, as he will be keenly aware. His attempted correction is now on the record.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Clive Efford and John Bercow

Thursday 19th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Last but not least, Mr Clive Efford.

[Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab)]

I am grateful, Mr Speaker.

The Minister said in earlier answers that she wants the renewable energy industry to be sustainable financially and commercially successful, but at the same time the Government have taken the subsidies away at a rate that has damaged the industry, and they have not applied that policy to nuclear. Surely she can see the damage being done and the inconsistency in the Government’s approach.

Tax Credits

Debate between Clive Efford and John Bercow

Tuesday 27th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I say to the hon. Member for Eltham (Clive Efford), who is a very distinguished taxi driver by profession, that he will be aware of the cab rank principle, and also of the principle of waiting in a queue for one’s turn. We will come to him. Don’t worry, he will not go cold. We will look after his interests, I am sure.

--- Later in debate ---

[Clive Efford]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I think Mr Efford is about to burst, so we had better take his point of order.

[Clive Efford]

I wait at your pleasure, Mr Speaker.

Further to that point of order, may I point out that we have had a general election this year, and that during the campaign the Government were consistently asked whether they had any intention of cutting tax credits? They consistently said that that was not their intention. It is parliamentary convention that the House of Lords does not overturn manifesto commitments, but that measure was not in the Conservative manifesto and there is clear concern in the country about it. It is right that the House of Lords should ask the Government to think again.

Trade Union Bill

Debate between Clive Efford and John Bercow

Monday 14th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

There should be no requirement for clarification because the hon. Gentleman is an experienced denizen of this House. He will know that there is an opportunity to declare in the register any relevant interests, and that it is the responsibility of each Member to declare in the way that he or she thinks is necessary for the House to be informed.

I call the shadow Secretary of State, Angela Eagle.

[Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Gentleman must calm himself. I feel sure that this will be a separate point of order, as no further point of order is required. On that assumption, I will hear the hon. Gentleman.

[Clive Efford]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Since reference has been made to the funding of political parties, should Government Members who have a shareholding in a hedge fund or a company that has supplied resources to the Conservative party also make a declaration?

[Mr Speaker]

I fear that an undesirable trend has been started by the hon. Gentleman, no doubt with great innocence of public purpose, but we will not persist further. I stand by what I have said: the opportunity exists to make a declaration in the register, and Members must declare as they think appropriate, if and when they come to speak in the Chamber. There is nothing new about that; it is well established. I call Angela Eagle.

The Economy

Debate between Clive Efford and John Bercow

Thursday 4th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Clive Efford]

Make it up as you go along!

[Mr Speaker]

Order. If the Chancellor wants to give way, he will, and if he does not, he will not. A Member should not continue to stand in an attempt to intimidate a Minister or anybody else into giving way. [Interruption.] Order. A Member should not continue to stand as if their intervention was inevitable. Seriously, that is an established point of parliamentary procedure. The hon. Member for Eltham can have a go, but if the intervention is not accepted, he will have to resume his seat.

[Clive Efford]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. For the record, I want to apologise—I did not want to intimidate the Chancellor.

[Mr Speaker]

Whether the hon. Gentleman wanted to or not, I am happy to concede that he was not doing so.