Israeli Teenagers (Abduction and Murder)

Debate between Hugh Robertson and John Bercow

Tuesday 1st July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

My sigh was explicable, as the Whip on duty has helpfully pointed out, by the embarrassment of riches from which I had to choose.

[Hugh Robertson]

I thank my hon. Friend for that contribution. It is difficult at a time like this, when tensions are high on both sides and there is obviously the prospect of a further conflagration. Getting the middle east peace process back on track is more difficult now than it has been for a while, as everybody would admit if they were being honest, but the situation also demonstrates why that is so important. The two-state solution, within the parameters of which everybody is aware, remains the best basis to do that. It will require a very particular formulation of land swaps, which will be difficult, as everybody is aware, but the events of the past two weeks show just why it is so important.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Hugh Robertson and John Bercow

Tuesday 8th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[Hugh Robertson]

Yes, we will. As the hon. Lady is aware, there is a gradual and staged process of unfreezing relationships with the Iranian Government. We have not directly addressed that issue personally at ministerial level, but it is one of the issues that we will take up as we move the relationship forward.

[Mr Speaker]

Andrew Bridgen—not here.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

What is the Foreign Secretary’s view of the bizarre situation in which this country pays overseas aid to the Palestinian Authority, which uses it to pay salaries to the families of convicted terrorists in Israel?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Hugh Robertson and John Bercow

Tuesday 29th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr James Clappison (Hertsmere) (Con)]

I warmly welcome the Minister to his responsibilities—if I may say so, he brings a terrific track record.

Does the Minister agree that the question of detainees is inextricably linked to the overall security situation in the region and progress in peace talks? Does he share my concern that Hamas is resolutely and literally trying to undermine the peace process in the region by building a tunnel from Gaza into Israel, no doubt for the purposes of promoting terrorism? What can we do to remove that obstacle?

[Mr Speaker]

That was quite a cheeky attempt by the hon. Gentleman. I think the Minister should try to focus his remarks on the issue of child detainees. We are grateful to him for doing so.

[Hugh Robertson]

Thank you, Mr Speaker—it will, of course, be a great pleasure.

As I said in my answer to the previous question, I look forward to my initial visit to the region next week. The concerns that my hon. Friend raises will be a topic of much discussion. The encouraging thing is that, for the first time in many years, we are in a process. I encourage both sides to engage in that peace process for the greater good of the country and the region.

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[Hugh Robertson]

Yes, I will certainly look at the guidance the hon. Lady mentions. The UK Government’s policy on this is very clear: settlements are illegal and they are an obstacle to peace, but we work in concert with our EU partners in producing guidelines that affect this issue.

[Mr Speaker]

May I remind Members to ask pithy questions and Ministers to provide pithy answers, because there is a lot of interest and I am keen to accommodate Members?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Hugh Robertson and John Bercow

Thursday 14th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Hugh Robertson]

I am not entirely sure what that question had to do with advancing the role of sport. The answer on FOBTs, which emerged in the middle of the question, is that they are subject to the triennial review of stakes and prizes, which has just been launched. The Responsible Gambling Trust is just launching the largest ever consultation into the effect of FOBTs. If, as I suspect, it shows that there is a problem that needs to be addressed, it will be addressed.

[Mr Speaker]

The Minister rightly implies that there was an elastic interpretation of what constitutes sport. We will leave it at that for the time being.

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[Hugh Robertson]

First, the Opposition spokesman should not conflate sport legacy with a school sport policy. He is well aware that the sport legacy is going extraordinarily well. He tends never to mention that 1.75 million people are now playing sport who were not playing sport at the time of the bid. There is also a range of international events, and around the globe 14 million extra children have been touched by sport.

If the hon. Gentleman is going to criticise sport provision on the back of the Ofsted report, he should wake up to the fact that it covers 2008 to 2012—throughout the period in which the school sport partnerships were operating. If he wishes to see them reintroduced, he has to explain to the House and others how they would be funded, about which we have heard not a jot from the Opposition since the election.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Graham Allen. Not here.

[David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con)]

7. What steps her Department is taking to encourage the development of non-league football clubs.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Hugh Robertson and John Bercow

Thursday 13th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Dame Tessa Jowell (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

I welcome the Secretary of State to her new position; she has one of the best jobs in Government. I congratulate the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, the Olympic Delivery Authority, all the public servants across Government, the Government Olympic Executive, the city authorities and the thousands of people who gave their all to deliver a summer that the people of this country will never forget. A special congratulation goes, of course, to our Olympic and Paralympic athletes and to the games makers, who embodied the feeling of the people of this country that these were their games and that they mattered in the contribution to making them such a success. They really did belong to the people of our country.

In congratulating the Minister on his well-deserved promotion, I invite him to take forward one of the important means of delivering the success of the Olympics by continuing the commitment to cross-party working with a plan for sport that will survive for a decade. It should include more primary children playing sport in physical education, more children competing, and adults, throughout their lives, enjoying the pleasure of taking part in sport at all levels. A cross-party approach will guarantee stability. I commend that approach to the right hon. Gentleman.

[Mr Speaker]

We are extremely grateful to the right hon. Lady, whose courtesy is equalled only by her comprehensiveness.

[Hugh Robertson]

Following that, I suppose that we all ought to pay tribute to the right hon. Lady for her comprehensiveness in dealing with this project from the moment the bid was launched, through to delivery. Everybody across the House genuinely would like to recognise her contribution.

The right hon. Lady is right that one lesson from the success of Team GB and ParalympicsGB is the importance of a strategy that is not constantly altered. When I came to office, I called the problem that has constantly plagued the sports world short-term “initiativeitis”. It is our intention to continue with the approach that has served us so well for the Olympics and to ensure, as I am sure everybody in the House wants, that we deliver a tangible legacy from the events of this summer.

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[Mr Speaker]

Order. We have got the question and we are grateful for it. Let us have the answer.

[Hugh Robertson]

All Members know why that happened, but the key issue is the deficit the Government inherited in 2010. It is absolutely pointless the hon. Gentleman whining unless the Opposition have another policy or are prepared to commit to restoring that money. The shadow Chancellor made it abundantly clear to the TUC last week that there will be no spending commitments of that sort, so it is utterly hypocritical to pursue this until you have an idea of how to put it right.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am sure the Minister is not accusing any individual hon. Member of behaving hypocritically. Will he clarify that he is not? He needs to make it clear.

[Hugh Robertson]

I am happy to do so, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

I am extremely grateful to the Minister.

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[The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Hugh Robertson)]

The answer to that is absolutely yes. We were trying—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I do not know what this chuntering from a sedentary position is about; all I know is that who answers the question is a matter for those on the Treasury Bench. Let us hear from the Minister.

[Hugh Robertson]

I would have thought that my answering was encouragingly non-gender specific.

We were trying to work this out earlier, but I have a suspicion that the first medal at London 2012, the first gold and, indeed, the last medal were all won by female athletes. They made a huge contribution, both to Team GB and to Paralympics GB. All of us absolutely want to do everything possible to build on that and use it to encourage more young women to get into sport.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Hugh Robertson and John Bercow

Thursday 14th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Hugh Robertson]

That is an interesting point, but it is a very complex matter. One of the very first things that I did as a new Minister was to secure an agreement from all UK sport governing bodies, to which the Premier League voluntarily signed up, to invest 30% of their UK broadcast income into the grass roots. If the league makes more money, that means more money for the grass roots, which we should support. The interesting point about yesterday’s announcement was the arrival for the first time of BT as a partner. I hope that that produces more competitive tension in the market.

[Mr Speaker]

Pat Glass. Not here.

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[Richard Graham]

The Minister knows of one sport that is played by more than half a million people in this country and many millions worldwide, on more than 50,000 courts, and in which the current men’s world champion is from this country: squash. Does he agree that the case for squash is strong and that it should be supported as much as possible? Will he meet me, UK Sport and the World Squash Federation, which is headquartered here in London? Lastly, will he, and indeed you, Mr Speaker, agree to join a team that I intend to put together—a Lords and Commons squash team—to play squash on world squash day in October this year to support the bid?

[Mr Speaker]

We all look forward to the hon. Gentleman’s upcoming Adjournment debate on these matters—although some people might think he has already had it.

[Hugh Robertson]

I was heartily relieved that my hon. Friend identified the sport at the end of his question, before I had what is known as a Caborn moment. The simple answer to his question is that I am well aware of the ambitions of squash, and indeed of lacrosse, netball and a number of other worthy sports. [Interruption.] That list could go on for ever. The decision is for the IOC, but I will do everything I can to promote those British sports in which, as my hon. Friend correctly says, we would have a good chance of winning a medal.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Hugh Robertson and John Bercow

Thursday 22nd March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Dame Joan Ruddock]

Rachel, my constituent, purchased her family’s Olympic tickets last year. Subsequently, she found herself pregnant, and expects to have a few-week-old baby at the time of her events. When she contacted LOCOG, she was told to purchase an extra seat for the baby, but that the seat could not be guaranteed to be next to the parents. Given that airlines allow babes in arms at 35,000 ft, surely it is possible in a stadium. Will the Minister intervene? [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We all want to hear this answer.

[Hugh Robertson]

I will not even attempt to defend that one. However, as a result of the campaign run by Mumsnet, the organising committee is considering that exact issue. The situation the right hon. Lady describes is clearly an absurdity and a solution will be found.

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[Hugh Robertson]

To correct the hon. Lady, the responsibility for this matter will pass to the mayoral development corporation when it comes into being. It will have responsibility, and she will therefore have direct access to it through local councillors elected to the Greater London authority.

[Mr Speaker]

The appetite has been exhausted.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Hugh Robertson and John Bercow

Thursday 15th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Hugh Robertson]

I think I should honestly say that that is slightly outside my area of competence, but I would of course welcome any efforts in that regard, particularly efforts better to educate Ministers.

[Mr Speaker]

The fact that something is outside the area of competence of a Minister has never stopped a Minister before, but there we go.

[Clive Efford (Eltham) (Lab)]

The person who launched the school games was the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport—it was not the Department for Education. Ministers have been using the figure that one in five children are involved in inter-school competitive sport, and they will know that that figure comes from the PE and sport survey that is carried out in schools every year. That figure is measured on the basis of children taking part in nine competitive sport events against other schools in a school year. We know from what the Under-Secretary of State for Education, the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) said in a Westminster Hall debate that that is not an ambitious target. How is the Minister going to measure the impact of the school games on increasing participation in competitive sport? Is the benchmark nine times in a school year or more?

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[Hugh Robertson]

I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman’s constituent is in the GB squad, but I visited the paralympic archery squad at Lilleshall last year, so I may have met her. The position with the paralympic mix in the Commonwealth games is that four sports are necessarily included, and the local organising committee is allowed to select another four. I suspect the problem may be that Glasgow has not selected archery. Clearly, since this is a devolved issue, my remit over the Glasgow organising committee is limited, but I will certainly raise the issue when I next see the Commonwealth Games Federation.

[Mr Speaker]

Well, the inquisitive appetite of colleagues in respect of substantive questions appears to have been exhausted. I call Mrs Sharon Hodgson. She is not here. We move on to topical questions.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Hugh Robertson and John Bercow

Thursday 3rd November 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson)]

With permission, Mr Speaker, I will link questions 6 and 17.

We are working hard to bring all stadiums up to the necessary standards—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. May I say to the Minister that it is a courtesy for the Department to seek clearance of such groupings in advance of the sitting? Exceptionally, I will allow it today but it is a rank discourtesy to the House simply to announce it in that way without prior notification.

[Hugh Robertson]

I can only apologise, Mr Speaker. I thought that that had been done.

We are working hard to bring all stadiums up to the necessary standards. The Sports Grounds Safety Authority, formerly the Football Licensing Authority, has published “Accessible Stadia”, which has made an important contribution to delivering better facilities for disabled spectators, not just at football grounds but at all sporting venues. However, much needs to be done and we are working closely with the Football Association and the professional leagues to achieve this.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Hugh Robertson and John Bercow

Thursday 16th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Hugh Robertson]

I think that question gives me the opportunity, which I am sure everybody across the House will want to take, to wish the England women’s football team good luck in the forthcoming world cup. In response to hon. Friend, I will of course take the case up if he sends me the details.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Chris Ruane. He is not here, so I call Fiona Mactaggart.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Hugh Robertson and John Bercow

Thursday 20th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Right. A one-sentence reply from the Minister will suffice.

[Hugh Robertson]

It is probably safest to say that that is a very helpful suggestion and I will look at it.

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the Minister and to the hon. Gentleman.

Liz Kendall. Not here. I call Heidi Alexander.

[Heidi Alexander (Lewisham East) (Lab)]

5. What recent discussions his Department has had with the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Greater London authority on the economic legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.

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[The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson)]

I gave the answer I did because, according to the figures and projections for Exchequer and lottery funding to Sport England, the latter received £249 million this year and will receive £284 million by the end of the Parliament. That is a 14% increase by anybody’s maths. On local authorities, we are looking at the matter closely, and I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will join me in trying to convince and reassure local authorities that they should not be closing sport and leisure facilities. There is no reason for them to do that—it is a choice they have to make—and I would encourage all of them to continue to build on the considerable investment that the Government are making in sport, both through UK Sport, Sport England and the London—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am grateful to the Minister.

[Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)]

I am delighted that the Government have committed to backing the 2013 rugby league world cup, but there remains a concern that with the abolition of regional development agencies some significant funding from those sources will no longer be available. Will the Minister reaffirm the Government’s commitment and perhaps update the House on discussions with the Rugby Football League about ensuring that this important tournament is a big success?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Hugh Robertson and John Bercow

Monday 29th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Don Foster (Bath) (LD)]

Further to that answer, I greatly welcome the proposal for the new school Olympics to improve competition between schools, but does the Minister recognise that for that to be successful it is important that schools receive a wide range of support, which was previously provided by the school sports partnership? Will he confirm that although the ring-fencing for the funding has gone, the money is still available in schools, and therefore will he confirm that he will continue to work with the Secretary of State for Education to ensure there continues to be a partnership into which schools—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We have got the drift of the hon. Gentleman’s question, and I am grateful to him for it.

[Hugh Robertson]

The short answer to that is yes of course I will. The key thing to remember is that the funding has, of course, been handed over to the schools—[Hon. Members: “No, it hasn’t.”] The schools budgets have been handed over to head teachers and it is entirely up to them to make decisions on it as they please. The head teachers of every single secondary school that I have visited during my time as a Member of Parliament have always asked me for greater control of their budgets; they have now got it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Hugh Robertson and John Bercow

Monday 25th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Sport and the Olympics (Hugh Robertson)]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met Francis Maude on 8 July to discuss the public bodies Bill—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am sure that the Minister is referring to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude); alternatively, he should refer to him as a Minister.

[Hugh Robertson]

My apologies, Mr Speaker. They discussed bringing together UK Sport and Sport England, and that was also discussed at an inter-ministerial meeting on 13 September. I also met my devolved counterparts to discuss the issue when I was in Delhi and I have, of course, discussed it with many others in sport and inside the two bodies.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Hugh Robertson and John Bercow

Monday 21st June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Let me say to the hon. Gentleman that races must come to an end.

[Hugh Robertson]

Despite the fact that horse racing does not directly fall into my brief, I can answer my hon. Friend’s question, for the simple reason that many of the races that attract the largest television audiences are, of course, part of the listed events review. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has said, we have called for an independent economic analysis and are looking through it at the moment, and we hope to make an announcement at the beginning of July.