Cabinet Secretary Report (Government Response)

James Morris Excerpts

Wednesday 19th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I think it is clear from the report that things did go wrong in the Ministry of Defence. That was accepted in the permanent secretary’s initial report. Procedures were not followed and we are learning from that and ensuring that there is no recurrence.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Is it not the case that my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox) has resigned and that the Cabinet Secretary’s report could not be clearer that there was no breach of national security and that my right hon. Friend did not gain financially from any of these arrangements? Is not the most important thing now for the debate to move on? We have important operations in Libya and Afghanistan that we must focus on in the national interest.

[Sir George Young]

I agree with my hon. Friend. We have commissioned a report, we have found out what went wrong, we have made recommendations to put it right and we have learned the lessons. I agree that we should now move on.

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 13th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I shall certainly raise that matter with the appropriate Minister—perhaps the Attorney-General, the Justice Secretary or the Home Secretary. The hon. Lady raises an important issue and I shall ensure that she gets an answer.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

May we have a debate about immigration? Many of my constituents are keen to see the Government make progress on their promise to reduce migration from the hundreds of thousands that came in under the previous Government to a more reasonable level.

[Sir George Young]

I would welcome such a debate and I am sure that the Opposition would too, as they now recognise that this is an issue that they did not take seriously. We could set out the measures we are taking on students, family visas and work permits to bring the numbers down to a sustainable level.

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 14th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman applied for a debate on the pre-recess Adjournment, which would have provided an opportunity for such a debate. Otherwise, there will be an opportunity at Home Office questions in September to highlight the excellent work being done to reduce antisocial behaviour in his constituency.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

May we have a debate on transparency in Government? If we are serious about reforming public services, my constituents require data at a deep level, for example on GPs’ clinical performance, if they are truly to be able to make choices about local public services.

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend will know that the Prime Minister wrote to all Ministers earlier this month committing us to publish key data on the NHS, schools, criminal courts and transport. This represents the most ambitious open data agenda of any Government anywhere in the world and will help to drive up standards in exactly the way my hon. Friend describes.

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 7th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

Many Members would like to amend the legislation on mobile homes, as I am sure that many with mobile home parks in their constituencies have similar cases to the one that the hon. Gentleman has just mentioned, which I will raise with Ministers at DCLG. There is no legislation imminent, but I think I am right in saying that they have the existing legislation under review.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

The Leader of the House will be aware that we are currently in co-operatives fortnight. May we have an urgent debate about the importance of developing co-operative and mutual models, particularly for the delivery of public sector services?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and I would like to be as co-operative as I can. The coalition agreement sets out commitments to public service mutuals that are being taken forward by the Cabinet Office, and I hope that there might be an initiative in that direction before the House rises.

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 16th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Lady will know that in a week’s time that Minister will be at this Dispatch Box, ready, willing and able to answer questions about the Humber bridge toll.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

May we have a debate about unemployment and jobs growth? Yesterday’s jobs figures showed a substantial increase in private sector jobs growth in the last quarter, which is of vital importance to my constituency, as it needs to get more, sustainable private sector jobs.

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend reminds the House of the very encouraging set of figures we saw yesterday, which showed that there were an extra 500,000 jobs in the private sector, more than counterbalancing any decline in the number of public sector jobs. Particularly good news was the decline in youth unemployment—that is now at a lower level than we inherited from the outgoing Government.

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 28th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

In one sense we can have an urgent debate, because we will shortly have the Second Reading of the Public Bodies Bill, currently in another place, in which the “bonfire of the quangos” to which the hon. Gentleman refers is taking place. There will be an opportunity to debate our proposals for public bodies and to ensure that adequate safeguards are in place.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Can we have a debate about the performance of the retail sector? The high streets in places such as Halesowen, Blackheath, Cradley Heath and Old Hill in my constituency are vital to the local economy, and I am not aware that we have been able to hold a specific debate about the retail sector.

[Sir George Young]

I welcome the information yesterday that retail sales in volume have increased by 1.3% over the past 12 months and in value by 4.5%. That is some evidence of the recovery to which the Prime Minister referred yesterday, and I should welcome such a debate. There will be a debate on the Finance Bill next week, and there may be an opportunity to debate some of the Government’s measures to promote economic recovery.

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 31st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I repeat what I said last week: I am sure that my noble Friend will have heard what the right hon. Gentleman has just said. I will make renewed attempts to ensure that he gets a reply to the issues he has raised.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

May we have a debate about the continued problem of antisocial behaviour in many of our communities? In particular, may we have a debate about the interesting proposals put forward by Baroness Newlove, which outline how communities in places like my constituency can take more control over the problem of combating antisocial behaviour?

[Sir George Young]

I welcome the Newlove report, which was published yesterday. My hon. Friend might have an opportunity later today in proceedings on the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill—perhaps on Third Reading—to develop his points, but we look to act upon Baroness Newlove’s imaginative recommendations to encourage local agencies and central Government to change and make a real difference to local communities.

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 3rd February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern, and this subject was raised last week. Following that, my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury wrote to the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green) and a copy of the letter was put in the Library. I suggest that the hon. Gentleman has a look at it, because it sets out our proposals to establish a money advice service, delivering the UK’s first nationally available free financial advice service.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

My constituents can enjoy good local tourist attractions such as Halesowen abbey and Dudley zoo. May we have a debate about the importance of promoting areas of the country that are not commonly thought of as being tourist destinations, in order to drive economic growth and job creation?

[Sir George Young]

The Minister with responsibility for tourism, the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for Weston-super-Mare (John Penrose), will develop a tourism strategy. I might suggest to him that he should visit Halesowen abbey and Dudley zoo as part of the strategy of promoting tourism within the country without damaging outbound tourism.

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 27th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I will raise the hon. Lady’s concerns with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport and ask him to write to her, but I commend the work of Colin Firth, Tom Hooper and the others who made “The King’s Speech”, and I wish them all the best in their bid for Oscars in the near future.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

Given the urgent need to rebalance the economy, especially in areas such as the west midlands, may we have an urgent debate to discuss what the Government are doing to support and develop manufacturing businesses in the black country?

[Sir George Young]

I understand my hon. Friend’s concern. We have acted to improve the environment for manufacturers both nationally and in the midlands through lower and simpler business taxes, investment in apprenticeships, creating wider access to finance, a Government-wide commitment to boosting exports, the £1.4 billion regional growth fund and other improvements. I hope he will intervene in the debate next Wednesday to develop his arguments further.

Business of the House

James Morris Excerpts

Thursday 21st October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

We have just had Communities and Local Government questions, when the Housing Minister said that during the 13 years of Labour Government there was a net gain of 14,000 affordable homes over 13 years. If one sets that against the 150,000 affordable homes which, following the CSR, we hope to provide over the next five years, that puts a slightly different gloss on the hon. Gentleman’s point.

[James Morris (Halesowen and Rowley Regis) (Con)]

The Leader of the House has announced a full day’s debate on the comprehensive spending review. I am not sure whether he will be in a position to do this, but can he clarify who will speak on behalf of the Government, as that might be helpful for Members preparing for the debate? Who else, in an ideal world, would he like to see speaking in that debate?

[Sir George Young]

My right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary will open the debate and my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary will respond. Who else takes part is a matter for Mr Speaker. However, I think it would be helpful if the former Prime Minister were able to come along and explain what steps he would have taken to address the deficit that he has left us with.