Oral Answers to Questions

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 22nd March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Heath]

First, let me make the important point that the scrutiny of legislation is an essential part of the business of this House. People often talk about Government time as if it were unrelated to the business of the House when, in fact, it is Parliament’s time in order to scrutinise legislation. I merely make the observation that the more time that is eroded from so-called Government time by consideration of other matters that are no doubt of enormous importance—such as urgent questions and emergency debates—the less time is available to the House to scrutinise legislation properly.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

5. Whether he plans to submit evidence to the commission on the consequences of devolution for the House of Commons.

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)]

I welcome the announcement by the Minister for political and constitutional reform, my hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper), of the terms of membership for the commission, and I will be following its work closely. Although I have no plans to submit evidence to the commission myself, it will no doubt wish to take account of the authoritative works and voices on this issue, and I hope that my hon. Friend will be among them.

[Harriett Baldwin]

When in opposition, the Leader of the House produced a distinguished pamphlet on the topic that the McKay commission will be studying. Does he propose to send that work to the commission? Also, does the commission intend to take written evidence, and to meet in public to take oral evidence?

Business of the House

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 15th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

There will be an opportunity to raise the matter on Monday, when the Home Secretary will be at the Dispatch Box. Many police authorities, certainly in England, have been able to manage with the reduced budget available to them and ensure that front-line services remain unaffected. They have secured the necessary economies through joint purchasing and by pooling resources and moving people from back offices to the front line. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is now forewarned that the hon. Gentleman is on the war path.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

In the light of yesterday’s welcome news that there has been a 70% increase in job vacancies in West Worcestershire, and a 22% increase in the west midlands as a whole, may we have a debate on the wonderful role played by our network of jobcentres, which are working so hard with local private businesses to add vacancies to the database?

[Sir George Young]

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend and know that colleagues on both sides of the House regularly visit their jobcentres to see at first hand the heroic work being done to find suitable jobs for those currently out of work. She reminds the House that jobcentres are notified of around 10,000 new vacancies every day, and over the past 12 months Jobcentre Plus has received more than 4 million vacancies. The figures released yesterday show that the number of vacancies is up, so jobcentres have an important role to play in ensuring that those vacancies are taken up by people currently out of work.

Business of the House

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 1st March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

As I announced a few moments ago, the Prime Minister will be at the Dispatch Box on Monday after the European Council. Is the right hon. Gentleman seriously wishing to detract from the commitments made by all Governments for mobility of labour within the European Union?

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

Following yesterday’s excellent news on the increasing number of companies joining the coalition’s voluntary work experience programme for young people, may we have a debate on this topic so that certain sections of the media, which seem to be confused about voluntary work experience for young people, workfare and the Work programme can be enlightened?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing to the attention of a wider audience the benefits of the work experience programme. I was delighted to hear that another 200 businesses want to sign up against the background of the debate that we have had in recent weeks. I found very compelling an article in The Times on Tuesday by John Bird, founder of The Big Issue, setting out exactly why the work experience initiative was in everyone’s interests. I hope that companies and young people will consider joining the work experience programme. As local MPs, we all have a job of work to do to encourage employers to participate and young people to take up vacancies.

Business of the House

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 12th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I cannot promise an early debate on the introduction of the green deal. I believe that just before Christmas my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change made a statement to give us an update on the progress that we were making towards our targets. I imagine that such statements will be repeated at 12 month intervals. My hon. Friend might wish to approach the Backbench Business Committee to see whether it can find time for such a debate, so that we can outline the progress we are making on tackling climate change.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

As we rebalance the economy towards business growth and entrepreneurship, may we have a debate on employer-supported child care vouchers, because at the moment the only people who cannot access such support are the self-employed?

[Sir George Young]

The vouchers are of great help; they help nearly 500,000 people balance their commitments to their family with their work. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor will be considering his Budget and I will pass on my hon. Friend’s suggestion that the scheme should be extended to include the self-employed.

General matters

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Tuesday 20th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

Mr Deputy Speaker, may I take the opportunity in this eclectic Christmas debate to wish you, your colleagues and all right hon. and hon. Members, as well as all parliamentary staff, a very happy Christmas and all the best for the new year?

I want to raise a topic of constitutional importance to a Government who have embraced parliamentary and constitutional reform with great enthusiasm: the West Lothian question. In fact, I would go so far as to say that all I want for Christmas is a West Lothian commission. I know that the Government share my enthusiasm to set up such a commission, because they have referred to it on many occasions. I think the first occasion in this Parliament was when the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper) said in July 2010 that he anticipated that the commission would be set up by autumn 2010. That was confirmed again later that July by the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, who said that he would bring forward proposals in the autumn.

However, by October we heard that, in fact, the aim was to announce plans for a commission by the end of 2010. Then, when I raised the subject in last year’s Christmas Adjournment debate, I was assured that we would get the announcement in the new year. When I asked whether that meant 2011, I was assured that the Government were happy to confirm that that was the case. Imagine my excitement, then, when 2011 arrived, and when we were told, in March, that the commission would shortly be established. As time progressed throughout the year, a debate on the West Lothian commission took place in Westminster Hall, at which the Parliamentary Secretary confirmed that, in referring to “this year”, he did indeed mean 2011.

I was therefore very excited when a written ministerial statement was made on 8 September to assure the House that the commitment in the coalition’s programme for government to

“establish a commission to consider the ‘West Lothian question’”

would result in a commission being established after the conclusion of a

“short process of consultation and further deliberation. I expect that this will be in the weeks after the House returns in October.”—[Official Report, 8 September 2011; Vol. 532, c. 28WS.]

In the debate on my private Member’s Bill on 9 September, we again heard that the Government were keen to address this thorny constitutional topic as soon as possible. It is a problem that could become quite serious if it is not addressed.

It has taken 100 years to get this far towards establishing a commission on the West Lothian question, and we must welcome the enormous progress that has been made. I was delighted when the Deputy Leader of the House was able to confirm last week that the announcement was to be made shortly. I am therefore pleased to be able to give him this additional chance today, while we are still in 2011, to embrace this issue with the enthusiasm that I know he shares and to announce the establishment of the West Lothian commission. So, without further ado, I shall sit down and eagerly await that announcement.

Business of the House

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 15th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I think Mrs Bone might be towards the bottom of the list of possible successors, admirable though her qualities of leadership might be. My hon. Friend has asked me this question before and I refer him to the answer I gave on that earlier occasion.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

Given the media headlines yesterday on young people’s unemployment, it is easy to forget that young people aged 18 to 24 have experienced high unemployment as a percentage of the population since 2006—for many years now. It is obviously a structural issue, so may we have a debate on how we can help young people’s aspirations? I hope that we could debate in a non-partisan way measures such as those incorporated into the youth contract and take into account the cross-party report on the future jobs fund published by the Select Committee on Work and Pensions.

[Sir George Young]

Some of those issues were touched on in yesterday’s debate. We all have a role to play in tackling youth unemployment in our constituencies by drawing to the attention of potential employers that element of the youth contract that gives employers a subsidy of £2,250 a year, to cover the national insurance contributions, if they employ somebody aged between 18 and 24 who is on the Work programme. We can all publicise that scheme and encourage employers to take advantage of it, thereby playing a role in reducing youth unemployment in our constituencies.

Oral Answers to Questions

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 15th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Heath]

I understand the principle behind my hon. Friend’s question. No Bill can become law until this House has agreed to all its provisions, including any amendments proposed by the House of Lords to a Bill first published in this House. I am not sure that I immediately see the value that would be added by a further general debate on a Bill, but I advise my hon. Friend and my right hon. Friend the Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark that if they wish to pursue the matter, it should perhaps be considered by the Procedure Committee and by the other House.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

8. What progress he has made on implementing the coalition agreement commitments on parliamentary reform.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Office of the Leader of the House of Commons (Mr David Heath)]

Since taking office, this Government have made substantial progress on implementing the coalition’s commitments on parliamentary reform, which have helped to make the House more effective, transparent and accountable. Measures have included establishing the Backbench Business Committee, launching the e-petitions system and transferring responsibility for Members’ pay and pensions out of our hands and into those of the independent regulator.

Working with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper), we have also piloted a public reading stage for the Protection of Freedoms Bill, published proposals to allow the recall of Members of Parliament and started work to establish a commission on the West Lothian question. We will also shortly bring forward proposals on how we will proceed with the draft parliamentary privilege Bill.

[Harriett Baldwin]

There certainly has been a great deal of parliamentary reform. One commitment in the coalition agreement was to establish the West Lothian commission. A written ministerial statement on 8 September said that that would happen in the weeks following October, but certainly by the end of the year, so exactly when will we get that commission?

[Mr Heath]

I should first congratulate the hon. Lady, who since her election has demonstrated her commitment to this issue, not least during the passage of her private Member’s Bill, the Legislation (Territorial Extent) Bill. As she correctly says, the coalition programme for government set out our commitment to establishing a commission to consider the West Lothian question, and my hon. Friend the Minister who has responsibility for political and constitutional reform updated the House in a written statement in September. The Government intend to publish the make-up and terms of reference of the commission shortly.

Business of the House

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 8th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern about those who lost their lives in conflict. We had a debate in Government time relatively recently on a range of countries that included Iran—I am not sure whether he was able to take part in that debate—so I cannot promise another early debate on the middle east and related areas. As I said earlier in response to another question, he may want to put in for the pre-Christmas recess Adjournment debate or apply for a debate in Westminster Hall.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

May we have a debate in Government time about the state pension? In addition to the record cash increase announced this week, which I know pensioners have welcomed, the Government are proposing two other alternatives in their White Paper for reform of the state pension age, as the state pension is the foundation of the retirement income of 100% of our constituents.

[Sir George Young]

I would welcome such a debate. In the debate on Tuesday, a number of my hon. Friends drew the House’s attention to the generous pension increase next spring and reminded the House of the triple guarantee that we have introduced. My hon. Friend also trails the next development in pension policy, which I think will be warmly welcomed by pensioners in this country. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is taking that policy forward.

Ministerial Statements

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Monday 5th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

I beg to move,

That this House expects Ministers to make all important announcements relating to government policy to Parliament before they are made elsewhere on all occasions when Parliament is sitting; considers that information which forms all or part of such announcements should not be released to the press before such a statement is made to Parliament, as recommended in the First Report from the Procedure Committee, on Ministerial Statements, HC 602; and further considers that hon. Members who believe the protocol has been breached should first report this to the Speaker for his judgment and that in the case of a minor breach the Speaker may take appropriate steps but in more serious or more complex cases he would refer the matter to the Committee on Standards and Privileges for further investigation.

The motion is in my name and that of hon. Friends on both sides of the House, but primarily it is in the name of the Backbench Business Committee. Mr Speaker, the motion is in defence both of your advice to this House on many occasions and of the ministerial code.

On 20 July 2010, the Backbench Business Committee held its first debate on the Floor of the House. It chose ministerial statements as its subject because it is an issue that comes to the very heart of the effectiveness of this Chamber as part of Parliament holding the Executive of our great nation to account. We are probably all in agreement that whenever the House is sitting, Her Majesty’s Government should make announcements of policy first to this House. For those who are not familiar with every word, dot and comma of the 2010 ministerial code, as published by the Cabinet Office, let me remind them of what paragraph 9.1 says:

“When Parliament is in session, the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance, in Parliament.”

I am happy to report that Back Benchers and Front Benchers alike are unanimously agreed on the importance of those strictures.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

Can my hon. Friend help me out, as a new Member? When he says “in session”, does he mean after Prayers, or is he referring to the period of Parliament when there is a 24-hour news cycle?

[Mr Hollobone]

That is a very good question. We will probably discuss that very point during the course of this debate. In my own humble opinion, I think that “in session” means when Parliament is sitting—by that I mean sitting days versus non-sitting days. When there is a sitting day, it is my view, and I suspect that of lots of hon. Members, that Her Majesty’s Government should be making announcements to Parliament first. That may require the Government to contain themselves so that they release that information on the Floor of the House in the afternoon rather than on the “Today” programme in the morning.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Bryant]

On the whole, if there is impunity, people tend to continue the criminality.

[Harriett Baldwin]

Is not another problem the fact that our sittings start so late on Mondays and Tuesdays? Does the hon. Gentleman agree that we should review our sitting times?

Business of the House

Harriett Baldwin Excerpts

Thursday 1st December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I applaud what Leicester is doing on that particular subject, but let me explain to the hon. Gentleman what happens. The Government schedule time for Government legislation, and most of the rest of the time is allocated to the Backbench Business Committee, so if he wants a debate on faith organisations, which I would heartily support, he needs either to present himself on a Tuesday at 1 o’clock to that Committee and put in such a bid, or to apply to you, Mr Speaker, for an Adjournment debate. That particular subject would be warmly welcomed on both sides of the House.

[Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

On Tuesday in the autumn statement, the Chancellor made the argument that investing in early years education and schools will do more to lift people out of poverty than just increasing benefits. Figures that I have obtained from the Library show that of all single-parent families on child tax credits with five or more children, 23,000 such households are out of work and 4,000 are in work, so may we have a debate about whether the best way to help those households aspire to greater prosperity is through helping parents into work with increased free child care, rather than increasing the size of their benefit cheque?

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: the way to help such people is to help them into work and to remove the barriers that prevent them from going into work, one of which is child care. She will know that we have expanded free nursery education, first, for all three to four-year-olds and, then, to 20% of two-year-old children from disadvantaged families—a figure that was increased on Tuesday to 40%. I very much hope that that will help achieve the social mobility to which my hon. Friend refers.