Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 18th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I will of course contact Health Ministers and ask whether they can expedite those discussions, but I should add that in the NHS we are publishing not only more data but more relevant data than ever before. That is particularly true of not just A and E waiting times, but the whole set of quality indicators on the A and E dashboard. Much more relevant information is being provided, and is being provided at hospital level. I am surprised by what the hon. Lady has said, given that we are now publishing more and better data.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

May we have a statement from the Home Office on the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, in the light of revelations from the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection about serious cruelty during experimentation at Imperial College London?

[Mr Lansley]

I know that my hon. Friend has secured a debate in Westminster Hall on 5 February on the regulation of animal experiments and testing. He will be aware that the use of living animals in scientific procedures that may cause pain, suffering, distress or harm is strictly regulated under the Act.

I know from working with companies and with the university in my constituency that we have what is, in my view, the strongest regime in the world in this regard, but we must always be vigilant. Home Office inspectors are investigating the allegations of cruelty and bad practice at Imperial college’s Hammersmith campus, and will make recommendations in regard to any action that needs to be taken as a matter of urgency. However, I cannot prejudice what their investigations may lead to.

Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 14th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

Mr Speaker, you would imagine when listening to the hon. Gentleman that May 2010 was year zero and that nothing happened beforehand. At the heart of all this is the 6.2% reduction in the gross domestic product of this country as a consequence of the bust under a Government who said that there would be no boom and bust. It was the biggest bust we have ever seen and we were left with the biggest deficit we had ever seen. It is not possible to pay down debt, to cut the deficit and to cut consumer debt without having a negative impact on people’s living standards.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

Late on Monday night and in the early hours of Tuesday morning, hundreds of motorists were stranded by the freezing weather conditions on the A23 and M23 in west Sussex. I pay tribute to Sussex police and many of my constituents, who came to the assistance of those who were stranded. May we have a statement from the Transport Secretary about Highways Agency winter preparedness?

[Mr Lansley]

I echo my hon. Friend’s praise for the emergency services and for his constituents—I was taken with the reports that the Red Cross, for example, was reaching out to people and giving them support. I know that they worked together around the clock in partnership with the Highways Agency and I, too, pay tribute to them. The extreme weather, which was probably experienced to a greater extent in much of northern Europe, had a heavy impact on the south of this country—

Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 28th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I say to the hon. Gentleman—equally, party politics aside—that we are not powerless in this House. We are discussing an Energy Bill that will require energy companies to give their customers access to the lowest possible tariffs. The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards is currently looking at the question of standards in banking and the way in which customers are treated by the banking industry. We are not powerless and the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Bill and the Energy Bill can be instrumental in giving consumers a better offer in relation to these industries.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

I congratulate the Government on their recent decision to stop backing World Bank and IMF loans to Argentina, because Buenos Aires has an appalling record of defaulting on international loans. Unbelievably, the country is still a member of the G20 despite its appalling economic record and how it behaves internationally. Can we have a debate on how G20 membership is decided?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend may wish to raise that issue with Foreign Office Ministers on Tuesday, but I appreciate what he has to say about World Bank loans to Argentina. The G20 is an informal organisation with no formal criteria for membership, and that has remained unchanged since it was first established. Any change to G20 membership, or the introduction of criteria for membership, would require consensus agreement by its members. Currently, there are no plans to revisit either.

Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 7th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I noted the hon. Gentleman’s point of order yesterday and I will reiterate what I said to the shadow Leader of the House earlier: I and my colleagues will ensure that there is a report to the House next week before the House rises. I will not reiterate all that I said last week, but we continue to look carefully to ensure that we meet fully the convention that before there is a commitment of our armed forces to conflict and combat for any substantial period, when it is not an emergency, this House should have the opportunity to debate that. As the hon. Gentleman understands from what I said previously, this involvement has an urgent character but it is not the Government’s intention or plan to commit our forces to combat and conflict.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

I welcome the fact that the Government have increased the income tax threshold, lowered corporation tax, worked with local authorities to freeze council tax for the third year and scrapped Labour’s fuel duty escalator. A report earlier this week said that if we were to abandon air passenger duty we could increase economic activity by £18 billion a year and increase GDP by 0.46%. May we therefore have a debate on how tax reductions can stimulate the economy further?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend will understand that the level of tax must be set in a way that optimises revenue while minimising the adverse impact on economic performance. That is a constant effort on the part of the Treasury, and it is one reason—this is not specifically related to air passenger duty—why reducing the top rate of tax to 45p makes good economic sense as well as revenue sense. That has been done in the context of completely understanding, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies has agreed in its analysis, that following the Government’s tax changes the wealthiest 10% are making the greatest contribution to meeting our requirement for fiscal consolidation.

Electoral Registration and Administration Bill

Henry Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 29th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am sure the House is grateful to my hon. Friend for informing it about the discussions in the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee. From my point of view, I know the Deputy Prime Minister’s commitment to constitutional reform. I think the boundaries review and the introduction of greater equality and fairness in constituencies and between voters is an important constitutional reform, and I hope he would want to see it put through before the next election.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

[Mr Lansley]

I will carry on for a moment, if I may.

Some argue that the boundaries review may spend further money this year and then not be approved—that argument was adduced in the Lords. One might equally say that several millions have been spent and the process should be completed. Either way, the amendments in lieu, if passed today, would settle that question. They would bring the review into effect without any further political interference, which, given the independent character of the review, has merit in any case.

Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 24th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. The disparity in survival outcomes for some of the main cancers is at the heart of the improving outcomes strategy for cancer that the Government set out; indeed, I set it out when I was Secretary of State for Health. I visited the very large-scale research project on ovarian cancer. From memory, I think 200,000 women formed part of that trial, which should soon—in the next couple of years or so—start to give us results that might lead to much better options for screening for ovarian cancer, and hence early access to treatment.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

Can we have a debate on the long-standing problem of interference on licensed radio stations, particularly in London and south-east England, from illegitimate broadcasters?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend tempts me a little. He will remember “The Boat that Rocked”, a recent film that was in part about trying to suppress pirate radio stations. When I watched it with my wife, I had to confess to her that in the mid-1980s, as Private Secretary in the Department of Trade and Industry with responsibility for the Radiocommunications Agency, I was the official sending teams out to shut down pirate radio stations. Happily, that is now Ofcom’s responsibility, and I will of course ask the chief executive of Ofcom to let my hon. Friend know what steps it is taking to ensure that the integrity of broadcasting on the spectrum is maintained.

Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 13th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I was here when the Chancellor was asked that question, and I do not think he ignored it at all. The hon. Lady must recognise that the most important thing we can achieve is to enable people to be in work. It is staggering to see the way in which the Opposition have completely ignored this week’s data showing one of the fastest quarterly increases in employment that we have seen for a decade. Despite the economic inheritance from the last Government, and despite the deficit, we are stimulating job creation. In fact, the Office for Budget Responsibility has said that something like two jobs are being created in the private sector for every one lost in the public sector, which is a consequence of deficit reduction. The latest data show a reduction of 24,000 jobs in the public sector and an increase of 65,000 in the private sector. Since the election, the figure is netting out at something like 1.1 million jobs. The answer to poverty, whether it is child poverty or food poverty, is work. Work is the best route out of poverty.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

I very much welcome some of the measures that the Government have taken to tackle antisocial behaviour, but may we have a debate on chronic antisocial behaviour by neighbours? The Leigh, Sanger and Ferreira families in Black Dog walk in my constituency have been the victims of the Clarke family for over a quarter of a century. A debate on how we might further address such unacceptable situations would be much appreciated.

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend makes an important point, particularly in relation to his constituents, that will have been recognised by Members across the House. Today, the Government have published the draft Anti-social Behaviour Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny. The reforms in the Bill will put victims first, and they include a new community trigger that will empower victims and communities to demand that local agencies deal with persistent problems where they have previously failed to do so. I think that my hon. Friend will find that particularly relevant to the circumstances he has described. The measures will also speed up the eviction of antisocial tenants by introducing a faster route to eviction for the most serious criminal or antisocial behaviour. The Home Affairs Committee is looking forward to undertaking pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill and producing a final report with recommendations in February.

Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 6th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am not aware that I am making any excuses whatsoever. We have made it clear that we will bring forward legislation on that, and that is still our intention.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

Argentina has consistently reneged on repaying World Bank loans worth around £10 billion. The United States Government have decided not to allow any more World Bank loans to be granted. France, Germany and even countries such as Spain have followed. May we have a statement from the Secretary of State for International Development on when the United Kingdom will refuse to grant further loans to Argentina from the World Bank?

Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 1st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I was not aware of any reduction of such facilities, but I will of course talk to my colleagues in the DWP. I know from conversations I have had with them that they are looking for Members to continue to be able to access dedicated support in looking after their constituents’ interests, but I will take a personal interest in the matter and ask DWP colleagues to reply to the hon. Lady.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

Tragically, in 2006 Captain James Philippson was killed in Helmand province. Disturbingly, a year later, the Ministry of Defence blamed my constituent, Army Major Jonny Bristow, for his death, yet in 2007, a coroner’s inquest exonerated Major Bristow of any wrongdoing and, indeed, identified a lack of proper equipment supplied by the Ministry of Defence at the time. May we have a statement from the Defence Secretary about the lack of equipment that used to exist for our troops in Afghanistan and about the way in which the Ministry of Defence handles its justice procedures?

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this clearly important issue. I am aware that Major Bristow has submitted a formal service complaint, and I understand that the Ministry of Defence is in direct contact with him. That complaint is ongoing and is being considered at the highest level within the Army’s internal complaints mechanism. I am sure that my hon. Friend would not expect me to comment—it would be inappropriate for me to do so—while that process is continuing. He has had the opportunity to put the matter on the record; I will raise it with my right hon. and hon. Friends in the Ministry of Defence and ensure that they are made aware of it.

Business of the House

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 18th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I answered that question earlier. It is interesting that nobody on the Opposition Benches has requested a debate on employment. Given that we have seen a further reduction in unemployment and a dramatic improvement in jobs in the private sector in this country since the election, it is interesting that they want to pursue a party political point rather than an issue that is in this country’s interests.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

In recent weeks there has been a spate of burglaries in my constituency and in other parts of the country, targeting the Asian community in particular. The issue has been heightened by the fact that many safety deposit boxes, which used to be available in banks and in which people could store their jewellery, are no longer available. Could we have a debate on the importance of the availability of safety deposit boxes in high street banks, so that people can keep their valuables safe?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend raises an important issue that also affects the constituencies of other hon. Members. The Association of Chief Police Officers lead on burglary is due to meet banks to establish the extent of the problem caused by the closure of secure storage and to offer crime prevention advice, including, where appropriate, the use of home safes. Moreover—I know that my hon. Friend will fully endorse this—this is further evidence of how police and crime commissioners, following their election, will be able to address such issues so that police forces can respond to them as part of their operational priorities.