Business of the House

Derek Twigg Excerpts

Thursday 25th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

As I said in reply to an earlier question, the Finance and Services Committee is considering how economies can be made in the running of the House. As my hon. Friend may know, older EDMs have not been reprinted weekly since the start of the current parliamentary Session, which has saved 2.5 million sheets of paper and up to £300,000 a year in printing costs. I will pass his comments to the House of Commons Commission and the Finance and Services Committee.

[Derek Twigg (Halton) (Lab)]

May we have an urgent debate on the Government’s migration policy? In response to questions from my hon. Friends the Members for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger), and for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Steve McCabe) and me, the Home Secretary said—I cannot do the French accent—

“Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once: we aim to reduce net migration from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands by the end of this Parliament.”—[Official Report, 23 November 2010; Vol. 519, c. 183.]

A few hours later, No. 10 Downing street issued a statement saying that that was an aspiration. If I may use the language of the new Government, is it an aspiration, a target, a milestone or a horizon?

[Sir George Young]

Before she made those remarks, the Home Secretary said that she would “say this only once”, and I think that that was the right thing to do.

Business of the House

Derek Twigg Excerpts

Thursday 21st October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

Of course motorists are entitled to a high-quality service. I should like to raise with the Secretary of State for Transport the proposition that my hon. Friend has put forward and get a response. He may have an opportunity to develop his argument at greater length in an Adjournment debate or in Westminster Hall.

[Derek Twigg (Halton) (Lab)]

My question is about the continuing disastrous handling of the Building Schools for the Future programme and the savage cuts to it. When I asked the Secretary of State for Education a very simple question—how much money was allocated to two schools in my constituency, The Grange and Wade Deacon, which had been given the go-ahead and which the Government had made great play about—I got a holding answer suggesting that he does not have a clue about what money is available for those schools. Is that not a disgraceful situation? Can the Leader of the House arrange for an urgent statement to be made to this House by the Secretary of State?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his questions. If there has been any discourtesy, I apologise for that. I will contact the appropriate Department and see whether we can expedite an answer to his specific question about the costs in those two schools.

Oral Answers to Questions

Derek Twigg Excerpts

Monday 26th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I have already had a meeting with Lord Young to discuss how we can look at the burden of health and safety regulation on volunteering in general. A particular concern is the rule that requires two people to take children to sporting activities in minibuses. We are worried that that is putting off schools taking people to sports events in other places. My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and we are looking at that matter carefully.

[Derek Twigg (Halton) (Lab)]

I am sure that the Front-Bench team will agree that it is important to increase participation in sport at school, and that playing fields have an important role in that. During the review of capital expenditure on education, was the Secretary of State consulted on the proposal to review the regulations relating to school playing fields? If he was consulted, what did he say? If he was not consulted, why not?

[Mr Hunt]

We are working closely with the Department for Education on a number of projects to do with school sport. In particular, we want to ensure that proper protections are in place for school playing fields. That was a failing of the previous Conservative Government and of the previous Labour Government, and we want to put it right.

Business of the House

Derek Twigg Excerpts

Thursday 22nd July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

There are also low-flying aircraft in my constituency. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will understand that our pilots need at times to fly low as part of their training. However, I will raise his concerns with colleagues at the Ministry of Defence to see whether there is any way in which we can address the problems that he has described.

[Derek Twigg (Halton) (Lab)]

The announcement of a timetable on Afghanistan is plainly wrong and will be welcomed by the Taliban. We have heard two different withdrawal dates and that withdrawal will depend on conditions. May we have a statement so that we can better understand the Government’s policy? It is important that we get the matter right on behalf of our armed forces.

[Sir George Young]

There was a statement on the matter yesterday. Furthermore, I have announced a debate on Afghanistan in the first week back, at the initiative of the Backbench Business Committee. The hon. Gentleman will have an opportunity after the recess to raise the concerns that he has outlined.

Business of the House

Derek Twigg Excerpts

Thursday 8th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I pay tribute to the work of citizens advice bureaux, particularly the ones in Andover and Tadley in North West Hampshire. I think it is an appropriate subject for a debate in Westminster Hall, but if the hon. Gentleman is advocating that more funds should go to a particular area of expenditure he owes it to the House to identify some areas of savings to compensate for that.

[Derek Twigg (Halton) (Lab)]

May I ask the Leader of the House for an urgent debate on the terms of reference for the review of education capital expenditure announced by the Secretary of State for Education earlier this week? Has the Leader of the House had the chance to see that buried deep in the terms of reference, under the heading “Reducing the burden on schools” are the following words:

“To review and reform the requirement on schools, including the building/School Premises Regulations, design requirements and”

—most important—“playing field regulations”. Does that mean not only that we shall see new schools stolen from under the noses of our children but also that their playing fields will be sold off?

Business of the House

Derek Twigg Excerpts

Thursday 1st July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Heath]

Obviously, my condolences go out to the friends and family of the hon. Gentleman’s constituent, who died in very tragic circumstances. Rather than securing a debate, the most effective thing I can do is to draw his comments to the attention of Ministers in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office so that they can, perhaps, give support.

[Derek Twigg (Halton) (Lab)]

May we have an urgent statement on the release of the documents on the Hillsborough disaster? The last Government agreed that those files and documents would be released. The Deputy Leader of the House will understand the concerns about the Culture Secretary’s comments. As someone who was at Hillsborough and who has in my constituency families who lost loved ones there, this matter is of great importance to me personally. Rumours are circulating that the Government are thinking about not publishing the files and that there are arguments between Departments about the cost. Will the hon. Gentleman clarify the situation or arrange for an urgent statement to be made as soon as possible?

[Mr Heath]

I am afraid that I cannot give the hon. Gentleman the clarification he wants simply because I do not know and there is no point in pretending that I do. I recognise the circumstances of Hillsborough—the tragedy that it was—and the continuing effect that it must have on a large part of the population, not least his constituents. It is extremely important that we provide as much succour and comfort as possible to those people. I will certainly take the matter he raises back to the responsible Ministers and note the force with which he makes his case.