Points of Order
Hilary Benn Excerpts(14 years ago)
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Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I raised with you yesterday in a point of order the amount of time that the House would have to debate the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill when there was a possibility of there being one statement today. We have now had two statements that have taken an hour and 10 minutes out of our time. Members will, I think, find it particularly galling that one of those statements is the result of the leak on damages settlements, on which we have just heard the Justice Secretary report to the House. In these circumstances, Mr Speaker, what protection can Members be offered so that we have the opportunity properly to debate and discuss a major constitutional Bill that will change the way in which our democracy operates?
Mr Speaker
I have heard what the right hon. Gentleman has said and I fully understand the seriousness of his point. The short answer, however, is that these decisions—that is to say, decisions on the timing of Government business—are ultimately for others to make. Specifically, these matters are in the hands of the usual channels and, in particular, of the Government. The right hon. Gentleman might wish that it were otherwise, and many might agree with him, but that is the position as it stands. However, I simply say to him, as I was able to say to him yesterday, that his opposite number, the Leader of the House, is present. He will have heard what has been said and it is open to the Leader of the House to respond if he so wishes.
Points of Order
Hilary Benn Excerpts(14 years ago)
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Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. At business questions last week, I asked the Leader of the House whether it was the Government’s intention, when the House considers the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill tomorrow, to provide injury time if a statement were to be made. The Leader of the House replied that it was not the Government’s intention to do so. I have written to you about this, Mr Speaker. I understand that there is a possibility of a statement tomorrow. I do not know whether you have been given any indication of that, but given that on the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill, there were clauses that we did not have the chance to reach, even with injury time, and given that the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill is an important constitutional Bill, it is important that the House has proper time, if there is to be a statement. Have you had an indication from the Leader of the House that he has had a rethink and wants to come back to the House and give a different answer?
Mr Speaker
I am grateful to the shadow Leader of the House for his point of order, and for giving me advance notice of it. Moreover, I have of course received the letter from the right hon. Gentleman of Friday 12 November. First, I have not received any indication, formal or informal, of a statement tomorrow. Sometimes by this point I would have done, but by no means always, so there may be a statement tomorrow or there may not be. I do not know.
Secondly, I think the right hon. Gentleman would testify and the record shows that where matters are within the gift of the Chair, the instinct of the Chair is always to facilitate full and thorough debate and analysis of all matters of policy and legislation. Sadly, in relation to a matter of this kind, the decision—no matter how worthy the cause—is not in the hands of the Chair. It is a matter for the business managers. However, my eye has alighted upon the Deputy Leader of the House. The Leader of the House is not present and therefore cannot respond. The Deputy Leader of the House is present and can, if he so wishes, offer a response to the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn). A simple nod or shake of the head will suffice.
Business of the House
Hilary Benn Excerpts(14 years ago)
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Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)
May I ask the Leader of the House to give us the forthcoming business?
The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)
The business for the week commencing 15 November will include:
Monday 15 November—Second Reading of the Terrorist Asset-Freezing Etc. Bill [Lords], followed by a motion to approve a money resolution on the Sports Grounds Safety Authority Bill. In addition, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister plans to make a statement on the G20.
Tuesday 16 November—Consideration in Committee of the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill (Day 1).
Wednesday 17 November—Opposition Day [6th Allotted Day]. In the first part there will be a debate on health, followed by a debate on education. The precise titles are to be confirmed. Both debates will arise on an Opposition motion. That will be followed by a motion to approve the draft Local Elections (Northern Ireland) Order 2010 and the draft Northern Ireland Assembly (Elections) (Amendment) Order 2010.
Thursday 18 November—A debate on immigration. The subject for this debate was nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.
Friday 19 November—Private Members’ Bills.
The provisional business for the week commencing 22 November will include:
Monday 22 November—Remaining stages of the Savings Accounts and Health in Pregnancy Grant Bill.
Tuesday 23 November—Second Reading of the National Insurance Contributions Bill.
Wednesday 24 November—Consideration in Committee of the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill (Day 2), followed by a motion to approve a statutory instrument relating to the draft Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2010.
Thursday 25 November—Remaining stages of the Local Government Bill [Lords].
I should also like to inform the House that the business in Westminster Hall for 25 November will be: impact of the comprehensive spending review on the Department for Transport.
Hilary Benn
I thank the Leader of the House for his statement.
As we have just observed the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, I am sure all of us present would wish to honour and remember those, including former Members and staff of this House, who have given their lives in the service of our country.
Next Tuesday we will consider the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill in Committee on the Floor of the House. Can the Leader of the House confirm that there will be injury time if there are any urgent questions or statements ? Also next week, we understand that the Deputy Prime Minister will make a speech about constitutional reform. Can we have a statement on whether this will cover restoring trust in politics, given the enormous sense of betrayal felt by many people who voted Lib Dem last May?
Before the election the Lib Dems made everything of their pledge to vote against the lifting of the cap on tuition fees, but after the election they could not dump it fast enough. This morning, we hear that the Deputy Prime Minister has said that he
“should have been more careful”
about signing the pledge. Anyone hearing that would think that some dodgy bloke had come up to him in the street and badgered him into signing it, whereas in fact the Deputy Prime Minister invented the pledge, was photographed holding the pledge, and even produced a video of himself making the pledge. He knew exactly what he was doing. Can the Leader of the House give us an assurance that there will be no vote on any orders to lift the cap on fees before the promised White Paper has been published?
On the cuts in funding for higher education, I asked the Leader of the House last week whether the statement made by the Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning that the Government
“will continue to support the arts through the subsidy for teaching in universities”—[Official Report, 3 November 2010; Vol. 517, c. 315WH.]
was accurate or not, given that it did not square with what his boss had said. Yesterday, when asked specifically about this, the Deputy Prime Minister said:
“The statement we made was very clear.”—[Official Report, 10 November 2010; Vol. 518, c. 285.]
That did not really help the House, because our problem is that two different statements of policy have been given by two different Ministers in the same Department. I am sure the Leader of the House has looked carefully into this since last week, so can we now have a definitive statement to clear up this mess?
On school sport, 20 years ago the previous Conservative Government, of whom the Leader of the House was a member, took great pride in selling off school playing fields. Under the Labour Government, by contrast, there was an increase in the time devoted to sport in schools. Given the importance that those on both sides of the House place on the Olympics and their legacy, can we have a statement on how the Government plan to increase participation in sport by young people when they are getting rid of the grant to the Youth Sport Trust?
I come now to the talk of cuts, the need for everyone to tighten their belts and the civil service recruitment freeze—in other words, the big picture. Following the Leader of the House’s answer last week on the Prime Minister’s personal photographer, who it turns out did not make the trip to China—it is true; he has been left behind, with the Foreign Secretary—it is reported that among those who have now also been put on the civil service payroll by the Prime Minister are a former Conservative candidate, a former fashion PR, and the former head of brand communications, whatever that is, at the Tory party. May we have a statement on whether the reports of those appointments are true?
Finally, we have all admired the painfully honest admission by the Children’s Minister, the Under-Secretary of State for Education, the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton), that
“most people don’t know what the Big Society really means, least of all the unfortunate ministers who have to articulate it.”
In complete contrast, is the Leader of the House aware that the jargon-ridden statement made by the unfortunate Minister of State, Cabinet Office on Monday caused great consternation on both sides of the House? I know that the Leader of the House is a compassionate man, so can he put us all out of our misery, stand up at the Dispatch Box and—keeping an absolutely straight face—explain to the House: what on earth is a horizon shift?
Sir George Young
May I begin by endorsing what the right hon. Gentleman just said? You, Mr Speaker, and many Members were in the House at 11 o’clock, when we remembered those who had died. In the forefront of our minds were the recent casualties who sacrificed their lives for the security of our nation. We must remember them, their friends and their families. Over the weekend many of us will attend Remembrance day services in our constituencies, showing our solidarity with our armed forces and our sympathy for those who have lost their lives and been injured.
Now let me turn to the issue of trust in politics. I gently remind the right hon. Gentleman that his party said that it would not introduce tuition fees or top-up fees. It then proceeded to do both, so I am not sure that he is in a very strong moral position to lecture other people on what their policies should be. As he said, we are planning a debate on the Browne report before we vote on the order. I shall make inquiries about the timing of the White Paper to which he referred and get back to him.
There will be an opportunity the next time Business, Innovation and Skills questions come round for the right hon. Gentleman and his right hon. and hon. Friends to pursue the separate issues that he raised about the STEM subjects—science, technology, engineering and maths—and support for the arts.
On the question of selling off sports grounds and time spent on sport, I am not sure that the right hon. Gentleman was comparing like with like. If he thinks about it, those are not totally comparable activities. I know that my hon. Friend the Minister for Sport and the Olympics is very anxious that we should capitalise on the 2012 Olympics in order to engage young people in sport, and I am sure that at the next Culture, Media and Sport questions there will be an opportunity to press him on that topic.
Finally, on the subject of the photographer, the right hon. Gentleman may have seen what the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Austin Mitchell) said in his blog:
“It’s not only petty to attack Dave for putting his personal photographer on the payroll. It’s daft…We need not only a PM photographer but an opposition photographer, a Downing Street photographer and a Parliamentary Photographer.”
The previous Government spent more than half a billion pounds on communications and PR, and we are cutting that by two thirds. The people to whom the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) referred are brought in to do specific tasks, when it would be more expensive to hire them on a freelance basis day by day.
The big society means volunteers and their local community complementing what is done by central Government.
Points of Order
Hilary Benn Excerpts(14 years ago)
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Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Following your reporting earlier of the certificate issued by the election court in the case involving the Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency, as the case raises important questions it would be sensible for the House to pause before considering a by-election writ, for two reasons.
First, the matter is the subject of continuing legal proceedings by Mr Woolas, as you reported to the House at 2.30, and it seems only proper that the proceedings are allowed to conclude. Secondly—without wishing to stray at all into the details of the case, which we should not do because, as you have ruled, it is sub judice under the terms of the resolution passed by the House in 2001—if the judgment were to be overturned and the former Member were reinstated, but in the meantime we had held a by-election and another Member had been elected, we could end up with two Members of Parliament for one constituency, and that would hardly be desirable.
It seems to me that the prudent and practical course of action is to allow the legal process to be concluded before the House considers the writ.
Mr Speaker
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman. He has made his points with great clarity.
Business of the House
Hilary Benn Excerpts(14 years ago)
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Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)
The business for the week commencing 8 November will be:
Monday 8 November—Remaining stages of the Finance (No.2) Bill.
Tuesday 9 November—Opposition day [5th allotted day]. There will be a full day’s debate on the impact of proposed changes to housing benefits. This debate will arise on an Opposition motion.
Wednesday 10 November—Consideration in Committee and remaining stages of the Equitable Life (Payments) Bill, followed by a motion to approve European documents relating to economic policy co-ordination.
Thursday 11 November—General debate on policy on growth. The subject for this debate was nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.
Friday 12 November—Private Members’ Bills.
The provisional business for the week commencing 15 November will include:
Monday 15 November—Second Reading of the Terrorist Asset-Freezing etc. Bill [Lords].
Tuesday 16 November—Consideration in Committee of the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill (Day 1).
Wednesday 17 November—Opposition day [6th allotted day]. There will be a debate on an Opposition motion, subject to be announced, followed by a motion to approve the Draft Local Elections (Northern Ireland) Order 2010 and the Draft Northern Ireland Assembly (Elections) (Amendment) Order 2010.
Thursday 18 November—A debate on immigration. The subject for this debate was nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.
Friday 19 November—Private Members’ Bills.
Colleagues will also wish to know that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will open his Budget statement on 23 March 2011.
I should also like to inform the House that the business in Westminster Hall for 11 and 18 November will be:
Thursday 11 November—Impact of the comprehensive spending review on the Department of Health.
Thursday 18 November—Debate on the 2010 UN climate change conference, Cancun, for up to two hours, followed by a debate on houses in multiple occupation.
Hilary Benn
I thank the Leader of the House for his statement.
This week, Mr Speaker, you have granted two urgent questions because the Government did not see fit to come and tell the House what they were doing. The first concerned the fact that the Justice Secretary appears keener to put convicted prisoners on to the electoral register than he is the 3.5 million missing voters. The second was because the Prime Minister thought that the French President, the media, civil servants and just about everybody else should be told first about two very significant treaties affecting our nation’s security, whereas the House of Commons got to hear about them only as a reluctant afterthought. Does the Leader of the House think that this is a satisfactory way in which to treat Members? Because I do not.
Turning now to broken pledges, will the Leader of the House assure us that enough time will be provided on the Floor of the House to debate the huge increase in tuition fees now facing students and the huge cut in funding for university teaching—a cut described in The Guardian today as “insane”? The House will require a lot of time. First, it will require time so that the Prime Minister can come to the House and apologise for breaking his firm pledge to keep education maintenance allowances, which, as every Member knows, have played a really important part in helping students from low-income backgrounds to get to higher education. Secondly, it will require time so that Ministers can be clear about what will actually happen to funding for undergraduate teaching of non-STEM—science, technology, engineering and mathematics—subjects.
The Minister for Universities and Science, the right hon. Member for Havant (Mr Willetts), told the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee that band C and D institutions
“would essentially lose their teaching grant support”.
The House will wonder how places such as the School of Oriental and African Studies, Goldsmiths college, Leeds Trinity and All Saints college, the Royal Academy of Music and Leeds College of Music will manage when every single pound of their public funding for undergraduate teaching disappears. Yesterday, the Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr Hayes), said in Westminster Hall that
“We will continue to support the arts through the subsidy for teaching in universities."—[Official Report, 3 November 2010; Vol. 517, c. 315WH.]
Which of those statements is actually correct? It looks to me like another shambles.
Thirdly, we will need time so that Liberal Democrats—whether they are currently Ministers or thinking about resigning as Ministers—can explain to thousands and thousands of angry and disillusioned students what exactly they were thinking of when they made their solemn pledge to vote against any increase in tuition fees. It could not have been clearer. Was it just a ploy to win votes? Was it a mistake? Or was it that the Liberal Democrats had no idea what they were doing? Whichever it was, I do not think that they will be getting those votes again.
Has the Leader of the House read the powerful speech made on Monday in the other place by Baroness Campbell of Surbiton about the proposal to take away the mobility component of disability living allowance from people who are in residential care? She cited the case of a couple, both disabled, who say that if that goes ahead they will no longer be able to visit the doctor, the dentist, the bank, the church, the library or shops, let alone their friends and relatives. Why is that the case? It is because they will lose respectively 45% and 69% of their allowances. Lady Campbell said that the plan
“makes neither moral nor financial sense.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 1 November 2010; Vol. 721, c. 1468.]
I agree. May we have a debate on why the Government seem so determined to take away those disabled people’s mobility, whether it is their use of taxis, electric scooters or electric wheelchairs so that they can actually get about? May we also have a statement on whether that harsh proposal was considered by the Government’s own office for disability issues before it was announced in the comprehensive spending review?
Finally, can the Leader of the House confirm that there will be a statement following the G20 summit next week? Will photographs of the occasion by the Prime Minister’s personal photographer and newest civil servant be placed in the Library of the House ?
Sir George Young
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his questions.
On Tuesday, the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper), made it quite clear that the Government had made no decision on prisoner voting rights. I remind the right hon. Gentleman that in its 16th report of the Session, published in 2007, the Joint Committee on Human Rights criticised the then Government on the issue, stating that the time taken to produce the second consultation paper was “disproportionate”, and that the Government’s failure to enfranchise “at least part” of the prisoner community was “unlawful”. That was three years ago, and during those three years the Government did absolutely nothing. The right hon. Gentleman will have heard what the Prime Minister said about that yesterday. It is another example of the coalition Government clearing up a mess that we inherited from the outgoing Labour Government.
The Prime Minister made an oral statement in the House on Monday, during which he said that the treaty to which the right hon. Gentleman referred would be signed the following day and
“laid before Parliament in the usual way.”—[Official Report, 1 November 2010; Vol. 517, c. 615.]
There is no secrecy about that. The Prime Minister’s statement was followed by a written ministerial statement on Tuesday morning. The Command Papers and explanatory memorandums will accompany each treaty when it is presented to Parliament for scrutiny in the usual manner in the next few days.
On tuition fees, the right hon. Gentleman—and his colleague, the hon. Member for Harrow West (Mr Thomas), yesterday—gave no indication at all of the Labour party’s reaction to Lord Browne’s report, which Labour itself commissioned. We are determined to have a fair system: a system that is free at the point of access, that enables more students from low-income backgrounds to participate, that offers generous student support and that is progressive by expecting only those who have completed their learning and are earning more to pay more.
On disability living allowance, the right hon. Gentleman raised the serious issue of whether one should align those in residential care funded by the NHS who lose the mobility component with those who are funded by social services who do not. There is an issue of equity between two people in identical circumstances living in the same home who at the moment receive differential treatment, and of course there should be adequate opportunity to debate it.
Finally, on the issue of photographs, it is important not to lose sight of the big picture. The right hon. Gentleman will have seen the statement by my noble Friend the Minister without Portfolio. The previous Prime Minister spent £40,000 a year on an image consultant and Labour spent over half a million pounds on photographs and videos in its last three years in office alone, so I honestly do not think it is fitting for the right hon. Gentleman to criticise this Government for misuse of the media.
Business of the House
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Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)
Will the Leader of the House give us the business for next week?
The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)
The business for the week commencing 1 November will be as follows:
Monday 1 November—Remaining stages of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill (Day 1). In addition, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister plans to make a statement on the European Council.
Tuesday 2 November—Remaining stages of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill (Day 2).
Wednesday 3 November—General debate on the report of the Bloody Sunday inquiry.
Thursday 4 November—General debate on the strategic defence and security review.
The provisional business for the week commencing 8 November will include:
Monday 8 November—Remaining stages of the Finance (No.2) Bill.
Tuesday 9 November—Opposition Day [5th Allotted Day]. There will be a debate on an Opposition motion. The subject is to be announced.
Wednesday 10 November—Consideration in Committee and remaining stages of the Equitable Life (Payments) Bill, followed by motion to approve a European document relating to economic policy co-ordination.
Thursday 11 November—General debate on policy on growth. The subject for this debate was nominated by the Backbench Business Committee.
Friday 12 November—Private Members’ Bills.
Hilary Benn
I thank the Leader of the House for his statement. Further to last week’s exchange about the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill, and his letter to my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan), the Government have published in draft a series of statutory instruments for Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The one for Scotland is 205 pages long, and runs to 97 clauses and nine schedules, but Members will have no opportunity to debate or decide on the statutory instruments before the Report stage of the Bill begins next Monday.
The Government have just tabled 28 pages of amendments for Monday, some of which refer to the orders we have not yet had the chance to discuss, so, for the third time, may I ask the Leader of the House to explain to the House how this treatment of Members squares with what the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper), who is in charge of the Bill, said would happen? He gave us an assurance that
“on matters to do with elections this House should get to pronounce before the Bill goes to the other place…we will seek to achieve that.”—[Official Report, 18 October 2010; Vol. 516, c. 653.]
The Leader of the House has not achieved that, and the questions are: why and what will he do about it?
I turn to another matter on which there is considerable concern on both sides of the House. May we have a debate on the confusion surrounding the proposed changes to housing benefit? Yesterday, the Prime Minister could not explain why it is fair that someone who has been looking for a job for 12 months, but has not been able to find one, despite their best efforts, will have their housing benefit cut by 10%. Nor could he offer any advice to families who will be affected by this change and by the housing benefit cap. Instead, he simply said that the Government are not for turning.
Meanwhile, also yesterday, the Work and Pensions Secretary was said to be listening to MPs’ concerns. Well, there are plenty of concerns on the Government Benches and in City Hall. The hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Simon Hughes) has called the plan for a cap harsh. The hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mr Field) said that the proposals have ignored some of the huge logistical problems, and the Mayor of London has described them as draconian. Then, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government—the third of yesterday’s men, and the person who is actually responsible for housing—told listeners of the “World at One” that they did not need to worry because
“these new reforms don’t come in until 2013”.
In fact, the housing benefit cap will come into operation next April.
We have a Prime Minister who cannot justify the policy, a Communities and Local Government Secretary who does not understand the policy, and a Work and Pensions Secretary signalling that he might change the policy. In truth, the word “shambles” does not do justice to this mess, but it does make a compelling case for a debate, so may we have one?
As the Leader of the House has just announced, the Backbench Business Committee has chosen a debate on economic growth for 11 November. Will he persuade the Prime Minister to take part, so that he can try to explain how the loss of nearly 500,000 public sector jobs will help the economy to grow; how depriving universities of most of their funding for undergraduate teaching will enable the economy to compete; and how the absence of any central Government support for the new local enterprise partnerships will help them to make use of the regional growth fund? Is it any wonder that Richard Lambert of the CBI said this week:
“The Local Enterprise Partnerships have got off to a ropey start. So far, it has been a bit of a shambles”.
All in all, it has been a shambolic week for the Government.
Mercifully—and finally—there is one bright spot. Tomorrow, the House will for the second time extend a very warm welcome to the UK Youth Parliament, which will be debating in this Chamber. We have offered an annual invitation up until the next general election, but does the Leader of the House agree that the House should now make this a permanent fixture in the parliamentary calendar, so that every year henceforth we can celebrate the contribution that young parliamentarians make to the life of this country?
Sir George Young
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his questions. On the first issue, the undertaking given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary has been honoured. On the territorial orders, the statutory instruments updating the rules for elections to the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the National Assembly for Wales were tabled on 25 October. The orders were necessary to update the rules for elections, and they will be debated in the forthcoming weeks. The amendments to which the right hon. Gentleman refers were tabled as we said they would be, and they are required to deal with any consequential changes needed to reflect the new orders in time for debate. Everything we have done on the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill has been to ensure that the House of Commons has the opportunity to debate the referendum rules, and that is what the Bill is about. We tabled the combination amendment a week before it was due to be debated in Committee and we laid the territorial orders in time to ensure that relevant amendments to the combination provisions could be covered on Report.
On housing benefit, we are trying to do what the right hon. Gentleman’s former Cabinet colleague, James Purnell. was also trying to do. This is what he said:
“The next issue to consider is housing benefit…so that people on benefits do not end up getting subsidies for rents that those who work could never afford.”—[Official Report, 10 December 2008; Vol. 485, c. 546.]
That is the thrust of our reforms to housing benefit. People who receive housing benefits should have the same choice on housing as people who are not in receipt of housing benefits. That is what is behind the reforms that we are proposing.
On the specific issues that the right hon. Gentleman raises, the housing benefit bill has almost doubled in 10 years, and is now some £20 billion. The caps to which he refers save some £55 million in the first year. That needs to be put in perspective. Of the 700,000 families in London who receive housing benefit, only 2.5% will potentially be affected by the cap.
The right hon. Gentleman will have heard my right hon. Friend the Housing Minister refer on the “Today” programme to £140 million of discretionary payments, available to those in receipt of housing benefit, at the hands of local authorities who need help to cope with the transition to a new regime. Against the background of the need to save public expenditure, the proposals we have introduced—some of which do not come into effect until 2013—are justified.
The right hon. Gentleman asks for a debate on housing benefit. There is a debate in Westminster Hall on the impact of the comprehensive spending review on the Department for Work and Pensions. The Select Committee on Work and Pensions is holding an inquiry into housing benefit, and Lord Freud will give evidence next Tuesday. I have announced an Opposition day the week after next, and it is perfectly open to the right hon. Gentleman to choose housing benefit as a subject in that debate. Indeed, it may come up in the main debate today.
The Office for Budget Responsibility says that unemployment will fall next year and every year after that. Employment is forecast to increase by about 1.4 million over the next five years.
I welcome the arrival of the members of the Youth Parliament in this Chamber tomorrow, and you will welcome them formally, Mr Speaker. I have no objection at all to the Youth Parliament becoming an annual event, but that will require the approval of the House of Commons.
Oral Answers to Questions
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Mr Heath
The right hon. Gentleman says from a sedentary position that he does recognise the word “fiasco”, but the only fiasco I have come across in the course of our debates is the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) speaking for 50 minutes without mentioning his amendments. That may have been part of the problem of timing in relation to the Bill.
Business of the House
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Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)
May I ask the Leader of the House to give us the forthcoming business?
The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)
The business for the week commencing 25 October will be as follows:
Monday 25 October—Proceedings on the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill (Day 5).
Tuesday 26 October—Second Reading of the Savings Accounts and Health in Pregnancy Grant Bill.
Wednesday 27 October—Second Reading of the Postal Services Bill.
Thursday 28 October—General debate on the comprehensive spending review.
The provisional business for the week commencing 1 November will include:
Monday 1 November—Remaining stages of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill (Day 1).
Tuesday 2 November— Remaining stages of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill (Day 2).
Wednesday 3 November—General debate on the report of the Bloody Sunday inquiry.
Thursday 4 November—General debate on the strategic defence and security review.
Colleagues will also wish to know that, subject to the progress of business, the House will rise for the February recess on Thursday 17 February 2011 and return on Monday 28 February 2011. The House will rise for the Easter recess on Tuesday 5 April 2011 and return on Tuesday 26 April 2011. The House will rise for the Whitsun recess on Tuesday 24 May 2011 and return on Tuesday 7 June 2011. The House will rise for the summer recess on Tuesday 19 July 2011 and return on Monday 5 September 2011. The House will rise for the conference recess on Thursday 15 September 2011 and return on Monday 10 October 2011. The House will rise for the Christmas recess on Tuesday 20 December 2011 and return on Tuesday 10 January 2012.
I should also like to inform the House that the business in Westminster Hall for 4 November will be:
Thursday 4 November—Impact of the comprehensive spending review on the Department for Work and Pensions.
Hilary Benn
I thank the Leader of the House for his statement and the recess dates, but when will we know the dates for the rest of the Session?
Last week I raised with the Leader of the House the fact that major Government announcements were appearing in newspapers before they were made to the House. This week—one of profound importance for the country—we find that exactly the same thing has happened again. Details of Tuesday’s strategic defence and security review were in the newspapers over several days leading up to it. In other words, journalists got lots of advance information, whereas the Leader of the Opposition got the Prime Minister’s statement only 15 minutes before it was made, and in recent days much of the comprehensive spending review has been leaked before the Chancellor got around to telling us about it yesterday.
It seems pretty clear now that Ministers believe that those who report on Parliament are much more important than those who are actually Members of Parliament. It has got so bad that the Conservative former parliamentary candidate and blogger Iain Dale has urged you, Mr Speaker, to take the Government to the cleaners over what has been going on. I wonder, therefore, whether the Leader of the House has plans to clean up this mess. He did not explain last week, but perhaps he can do so now.
On the rights of Members, and following our exchanges last week about the amount of time we will have to debate the CSR, will the Leader of the House now recognise that one day for debate is simply not enough, and that denying the House the opportunity to vote on what is a reckless gamble is simply not good enough either? Will he find more time so that we can debate why Ministers, who have just got jobs, were cheering at the end of yesterday’s statement when other people are about to lose their jobs? Will he also find time to debate the inability of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on television yesterday to explain why the poorest 10% in society will be forced to pay more to reduce the deficit than almost anybody else, when his boss claims that the spending review is anchored in fairness? If the Chief Secretary cannot manage to find the words, perhaps he could walk into the Chamber carrying his briefing folder so that we can take a photograph of it and put a copy in the Library.
Will the Leader of the House find more time so that we can debate why families with children will have to pay more than twice the amount that the banks, which caused the problem, are being asked to contribute? And how exactly will making nearly 500,000 people in the public sector lose their jobs help the economy to recover and create new jobs?
All of this will require time, especially given that we know from last summer’s emergency budget that the truth has a habit of seeping out once the fine print starts to be examined. So can the Leader of the House now give the House the assurance it is looking for from him that Members will have the chance to debate the CSR properly, and to vote on it?
Finally, this week we have been debating the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill on the Floor of the House. On Monday about 100 pages of amendments were tabled. We are now told that there will be a number of statutory instruments to allow for a combination of polls, with even further amendments to follow. The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper) told the House:
“I am very keen that on matters to do with elections this House should get to pronounce before the Bill goes to the other place…we will seek to achieve that.”—[Official Report, 18 October 2010; Vol. 516, c. 653.]
As far as I can see, the only way to do this is to reschedule either the fifth day of the Committee stage or the remaining stages that the Leader of the House has outlined this morning. Otherwise the House, which has already been unable to discuss very important parts of the Bill because of the speed at which it is being rammed through, will not be able to consider the amendments before they go to the other place, and the Minister’s pledge will not have been met. Will the Leader of the House make a statement on this matter?
Business of the House
Hilary Benn Excerpts(14 years, 1 month ago)
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Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)
Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?
The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir George Young)
The business for the week commencing 18 October will be as follows:
Monday 18 October—Proceedings on the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill (Day 2).
Tuesday 19 October—My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister plans to make a statement on the strategic defence and security review, followed by proceedings on the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill (Day 3).
Wednesday 20 October—My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer plans to make a statement on the comprehensive spending review, followed by proceedings on the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill (Day 4).
Thursday 21 October—Second Reading of the Local Government Bill [Lords].
Friday 22 October—Private Members' Bills.
The provisional business for the week commencing 25 October will include:
Monday 25 October—Proceedings on the Parliamentary Voting System and -Constituencies Bill (Day 5).
Tuesday 26 October—Second Reading of the Savings Accounts and Health in Pregnancy Grant Bill.
Wednesday 27 October—Second Reading of the Postal Services Bill, followed by motion to approve a European document relating to economic policy co-ordination.
Thursday 28 October—General debate on the comprehensive spending review.
I should also like to inform the House that the business in Westminster Hall for 28 October will be:
Thursday 28 October—A debate on the internet and privacy.
Hilary Benn
I thank the Leader of the House for his statement. May I also welcome my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North (Helen Jones) and pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster Central (Ms Winterton). The House will be pleased to know that she has moved one seat along on our Front Bench, as a reward.
Mr Speaker, you have been clear and consistent with Ministers in saying that they must make major policy announcements to this House. On 9 September, the Leader of the House assured us that the Government would adhere to the ministerial code in this respect. Over the weekend, however, the findings of Lord Browne’s report on tuition fees were extensively leaked to the media, and this morning we heard the Minister for the Cabinet Office talking to the “Today” programme about the future of public bodies before talking to us. It seems that Mr Holmes and Dr Watson, as I understand the Leader of the House and his deputy were christened by my predecessor, have made no progress at all in dealing with this serial problem.
Following Tuesday’s statement, will the Leader of the House find time for a debate on the Browne report, so that Liberal Democrat Members in particular—who, before the election, knowing about the deficit, signed solemn pledges to vote against lifting the cap on fees—can tell us whether they now intend to follow the Deputy Prime Minister and the Business Secretary in ripping up their pledges? I think that their constituents deserve an answer.
Will the right hon. Gentleman also find time for a debate on the decision to take child benefit away from so many middle-income families while leaving it in place for households earning nearly twice as much? It is unfair, it is unjust, and no credible explanation has been offered. We certainly heard none from the Prime Minister yesterday. Given the Prime Minister’s inability to answer the Leader of the Opposition’s perfectly straightforward question about the number of families who would be affected, will the Leader of the House ask him to do his homework, and place the information in the Library so that we can obtain the full facts and then have a debate? I am sure that that would be welcomed by the many members of the Cabinet who clearly had no idea that the decision had been made, because the Chancellor decided to tell the media before he told them. Should not the House show some compassion to those unfortunate individuals by giving them the chance denied by the occupant of No. 11 to tell us what they think about this terrible policy?
Earlier this year the Prime Minister said that the comprehensive spending review
“will affect our economy, our society—indeed our whole way of life…for years, perhaps decades, to come.”
In the light of that, a single day’s debate is wholly inadequate. Given the scale and extent of the cuts, the House must have the time that it needs to discuss the implications for the people whom we all represent. Will the Leader of the House provide that opportunity, and will he confirm that the House will have a chance to vote on the comprehensive spending review?
While the Leader of the House is thinking about his answer to that question, will he explain why he has not yet made time available for an Opposition day debate? Is it because he fears the holding of such a debate while all these bad decisions are being made? Can he also tell us why the Defence Secretary will not be making next week’s statement on the strategic defence review? Is it because the Government are afraid of allowing that as well, given the Defence Secretary’s well-publicised views?
Can the Leader of the House clear up the confusion about a statement on cold weather payments? On Monday the legislation was laid without the clause on higher-rate payments of £25 a week, and yesterday the Prime Minister refused to guarantee their future, saying that an announcement would be made next week. Today’s Guardian quotes Government sources saying a whole load of contradictory things. When will this shambles come to an end, so that the people who rely on those payments can have the peace of mind that they deserve?
Finally, can the Leader of the House tell us what chance the House will have to discuss the work of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority in time to inform the current review, given the bureaucratic burden that it continues to place on all Members, and the cost of its operations to the taxpayer? Does he not agree that Members’ time should really be spent holding the Government to account, rather than doing accounts?
Sir George Young
First, let me join the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) in paying tribute to the former shadow Leader of the House, the right hon. Member for Doncaster Central (Ms Winterton). She brought a ray of sunshine into the Chamber at 11.30 every Thursday, which will now illuminate the dark recesses of the Whips Office. We wish her luck in her new disciplinary role of enforcing Opposition policies, the moment they have some.
I welcome the new shadow Leader of the House to his post. He has inherited from his father a deep affection for, and commitment to, the House of Commons, which will stand him in good stead in the job that he now does. We learnt from the excellent diaries of Chris Mullin that the right hon. Gentleman was once eyed as a contender to succeed Tony Blair as Prime Minister in 2005. The House will be disappointed that he did not throw his hat into the ring. There was a time when there was always a Benn on the ballot paper. I look forward to working with the right hon. Gentleman and his new deputy, the hon. Member for Warrington North (Helen Jones), in our efforts to strengthen the House.
Let me now deal with the points raised by the right hon. Gentleman. The Government are making four statements this week, including the one that is to follow the business statement. We have averaged 2.8 statements per week: we have been very forthcoming in making statements to the House.
The Browne report was Lord Browne’s report; it was not the Government’s report. The moment it was available, my right hon. Friend the Business Secretary came to the House and made a statement. I am sure the House will want to debate the report, and in addition to my Liberal Democrat friends clarifying their view, I hope that the Labour Opposition will explain exactly where they stand on student finance, because there is open warfare between the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow Home Secretary.
Our proposed child benefit changes are scheduled to be introduced in 2013, and there will be an opportunity to debate them. The right hon. Gentleman mentioned one injustice between two high-income households, but there is another injustice that he did not address: that between households on much lower incomes who are paying standard rate tax, and through that tax are subsidising the child benefit of higher rate payers. I thought the Labour party stood for the many, not the few.
I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that the comprehensive spending review is an important issue, which is why the Government have found time for a debate, notwithstanding the Wright report recommendations, which implied that debates on spending reviews should be secured by the Backbench Business Committee. I note what the right hon. Gentleman said about making time available for a second day of debate, and the Chairman of the Committee has no doubt also noted that bid.
The Opposition will get their full quota of Opposition days, and in view of the extended length of the current Session we would be happy to enter into a dialogue on how we might increase the quota to reflect that additional sitting time.
On cold weather payments, as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said yesterday, the statement about the rate will be made after the CSR. We are committed to making cold weather payments to those on low incomes when the weather demands it.
I would have thought that the right hon. Gentleman would welcome the fact that it is the Prime Minister who is to make the statement on the strategic defence review, instead of complaining about it. Could there be a subject of higher priority on which the Prime Minister might address the House?
On the question about IPSA, I am not sure that the Government would want to find time for that debate, but it is perfectly open to the Backbench Business Committee, which has a quota of approximately one day per week, to find time for such a debate if the issue is thought to be a priority.