Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim McGovern and John Bercow

Wednesday 26th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Jim McGovern]

Last week, Glasgow Celtic, the football club that I support—indeed, I am a season ticket holder—announced that anyone working there who was not on the living wage would be put on to it. That will mean a major increase for many of the club’s employees. Where Celtic leads, many others follow. We have only to look back to 1967 when Celtic became the first British club to win the European cup. They were followed, famously, by Manchester United in 1968—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. It is time for the hon. Gentleman to take his penalty, for goodness’ sake!

[Jim McGovern]

What can the Minister do to ensure that more organisations and major employers in Scotland pay the living wage?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim McGovern and John Bercow

Monday 1st July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Well, that is a first, not just from the hon. Gentleman but more generally.

[Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)]

The most recent figures suggest that of the people who are on the back-to-work programme in my city of Dundee, 9% have managed to get back to work. I admit that that is an improvement on the farcical 1.4% that we had last year—the lowest in the UK, I believe—but it is not necessary to be an expert in arithmetic to work out that that means that 90% of people on the programme have still not found work. Will the Government admit that with the recent bedroom tax, which has been mentioned, and welfare benefit cuts, they are not just starving families in work but starving them full stop—

Points of Order

Debate between Jim McGovern and John Bercow

Tuesday 25th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I will make two points in response to the hon. Gentleman. The first is the point that I have just made—that all Members, including Ministers, must take responsibility for the content of their answers. My second point is that if the hon. Gentleman is dissatisfied with the answer because he thinks that it is uninformative or in some way lacks credibility or plausibility, it is open to him to take up his concern with the Procedure Committee. The House will doubtless be aware that the Procedure Committee, under the auspices of its indefatigable Chairman, the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Mr Walker), is looking at the whole issue of answers to parliamentary questions, and I feel sure that he and his colleagues on the Committee will be happy to hear representations from the hon. Gentleman. That response is intended to be helpful to all Members of the House.

[Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am sure that you will have noticed that I was trying to catch your eye during Treasury questions. On 12 March, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury told me that the case of my constituent, Mr James Boyle, with Clydesdale bank was being looked into. Clydesdale bank has since written to me saying that, no, it has not been reviewed or looked into. Could the Speaker tell me whether the right hon. Gentleman has perhaps inadvertently misled the House?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman’s use of the point of order procedure is ingenious, but perhaps a tad cheeky. He is seeking to ask now the question that he did not have the opportunity to ask earlier. If we were to proceed on that basis, Treasury questions would, in effect, be at least doubled in length. The hon. Gentleman has made his point. I have no idea whether the Minister in any way feels that his reply to him requires revision or reconsideration in the light of the verdict of the bank. It has to be said that the expression “looked into” is a commonly deployed term that has about it a certain vagueness, and it therefore lends itself to a number of different interpretations. It would be inappropriate for me to suggest that anyone has misled the House, and I am certainly not doing so. If the hon. Gentleman wishes to take the matter up, he must correspond further with the Minister or hope to be luckier at Treasury questions in future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim McGovern and John Bercow

Thursday 20th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Jim McGovern]

I am sure the Minister will be aware of early-day motion 156, tabled in my name, which supports Dundee’s bid to be UK city of culture in 2017. I realise that it would be difficult for him to say that he supports one city, but is he aware that not one single SNP Member has signed that early-day motion? Is that because they would prefer Dundee not to be part of the UK in 2017?

[Mr Speaker]

I think we will give that one a miss, because the Minister has no responsibility for the policies of the Scottish National party. [Interruption.] The hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) is chuntering from a sedentary position that he has signed it, but I am not concerned with who has or has not signed it; I am concerned with the matter of ministerial responsibility. The hon. Member for Dundee West (Jim McGovern) has made his point; it is on the record, so we will move on.

Planning Permission (Financial Penalties)

Debate between Jim McGovern and John Bercow

Wednesday 24th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. During Scottish questions earlier today, the Secretary of State agreed to group Questions 6 and 7. I am puzzled as to why my question, Question 12, which was exactly the same, was not also grouped. As you know, I stood up at the time to try to ask my question but was unsuccessful. That is not a complaint; I just wonder how questions are grouped and who decided how they are grouped.

[Mr Speaker]

The short answer to the question in the hon. Gentleman’s point of order is that responsibility for the grouping or non-grouping of questions lies entirely with the Government. Ordinarily, the Government make a calculation of the likely point that will be reached in Question Time, based on previous experience, and judge accordingly whether or not they think it appropriate to group Questions. It is not a matter for the Chair. I am genuinely sorry if the hon. Gentleman was disappointed not to be able to participate in the exchanges on—if memory serves me correctly—the effect of the Budget upon Scotland, but I know that he is a dedicated and assiduous contributor to our proceedings and am sure that he will seek to catch the eye of the Chair in future. In the meantime, his dissatisfaction has been registered with the Chair, the House and the Government Whip sitting on the Treasury Bench.

Points of Order

Debate between Jim McGovern and John Bercow

Monday 28th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his point of order. The short answer to his inquiry is no, I have received no such intimation. Of course, the Chair is always in favour of more debate rather than less, and of debate that is as accessible as possible, but it is only right to say to him and to the House that the decision on the type of Committee to which a Bill is committed is a matter for the House; it is not a matter of order for the Chair. Needless to say, the Chair will always do as the House instructs. I hope that that is clear, and I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman.

[Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. On 4 December, I participated in a Westminster Hall debate on Remploy, in which I asked the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the hon. Member for Wirral West (Esther McVey)whether she would visit the Remploy factory in Dundee. She very generously said that she would, and I expect to see her there next Monday, 4 February. In the debate, I also asked her whether she would speak to the Minister for Defence Procurement, the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, the hon. Member for Ludlow (Mr Dunne), about awarding contracts to Remploy for manufacturing uniforms for the armed forces. I have yet to receive a response on that. You might be aware, Mr Speaker, that I tried to intervene in a debate on 15 December, and that I raised this matter as a point of order on 16 December. I have yet to receive a response from the Minister. Will you advise me how long I should wait for a response from a Minister?

[Mr Speaker]

I fear I can offer little assistance to the hon. Gentleman in this matter. There are two points to mention. First, he can pursue the route of tabling questions on the Order Paper to highlight his continuing concerns and the absence thus far of a response to them. Secondly, I note in passing that the Deputy Leader of the House is in his place, and that in my experience the Leader of the House and the Deputy Leader of the House are always attentive to parliamentary courtesies. If the hon. Gentleman has been promised a response or some other commitment has been made to him, which has not yet been honoured, I say in all seriousness to him that that will be a source of some legitimate concern to the Deputy Leader of the House. Indeed, it is conceivable that the two of them might wish to have a chat outside the Chamber. I do not know; we shall see.

If there are no further points of order, we come on to our main business.

Point of Order

Debate between Jim McGovern and John Bercow

Wednesday 16th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. As you will be well aware, during last night’s Adjournment debate on Remploy I tried on a number of occasions to ask a question of the Minister. She refused to take interventions on the basis, I think, that she did not have enough time. The debate finished at 7.29, one minute before it was due to conclude. Is that consistent with parliamentary procedure?

[Mr Speaker]

It is purely up to the Minister to decide whether to take an intervention, so that is simply not a matter for the Chair. I note the accuracy of the hon. Gentleman’s point about the time at which the debate concluded, but that is not relevant to the autonomy of the Minister in deciding whether to take an intervention. The hon. Gentleman was certainly a persistent woodpecker and I feel sure that he will be so on subsequent occasions. He has put his concerns on the record, but nothing disorderly took place.

Remploy Marine Fife

Debate between Jim McGovern and John Bercow

Tuesday 15th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Jim McGovern]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mr Speaker]

The Minister is not giving way, I am afraid.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim McGovern and John Bercow

Wednesday 9th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)]

13. Last year, on 5 December, I took part in a Westminster Hall debate in which the Under-Secretary said that he had commissioned a report into why the separatist-led Dundee city council was the worst-performing local authority in Scotland with regard to the Work programme. I have contacted his office several times since, but he has yet to get back to me. On 19 December, he said that I would get a letter with more details, but I have yet to receive it. When will the report be published?

[Mr Speaker]

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman wanted to inquire about the continued use of sterling in an independent Scotland.

Remploy

Debate between Jim McGovern and John Bercow

Monday 10th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

Points of order come after statements and we have a statement now, so if the hon. Gentleman is patient he may have his opportunity ere long.

[Jim McGovern]

It is about Remploy.

[Mr Speaker]

I understand that it relates to this matter, but I am afraid that the rules do not change for the circumstance.

Points of Order

Debate between Jim McGovern and John Bercow

Wednesday 17th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am extremely grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I well remember the events of three years ago and more, in which he was closely involved. I note the point of order that he has raised. He will be aware that we do not discuss security matters on the Floor of the House. That said, I am very conscious of this current issue, to which he has drawn attention. It might be helpful to him and the House to know that I share some of the very real concerns that have been expressed across the House by Members, and I wrote—in, I hope, courteous but explicit terms—on this matter yesterday to the chairman of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. If Members wish to see my letter, they are most welcome to do so; a copy might usefully be placed in the Library of the House. I will keep my eye on the situation on behalf of Members.

[Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister comes to the Chamber at 12 noon each Wednesday to answer Prime Minister’s questions. Is it in order to for him to say that he refuses to answer a question?

[Mr Speaker]

It is entirely up to Ministers how they respond to the questions posed. I understand the concern and frustration that underlies the hon. Gentleman’s point of order, but the responsibilities and powers of the Chair are not engaged in the matter. The House can make its own assessment, and everyone else can do so as well.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim McGovern and John Bercow

Tuesday 16th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I think we have got the drift.

[Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)]

Can the Chancellor or another Minister tell us what assessment has been made regarding potential job losses due to changes in the benefit system? Much concern has been expressed in my constituency, particularly yesterday in the local press, that up to 700 jobs might be lost in the HMRC office in Dundee as a result of such changes. What assurances can Ministers give me and my constituents that that will not be allowed to happen?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jim McGovern and John Bercow

Wednesday 16th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)]

May I, too, welcome the Secretary of State to his new post? I am sure he is aware that his predecessor in the previous Government visited my constituency on a number of occasions to see at first hand the importance of the computer games industry in Dundee. The former Chancellor gave a commitment in his Budget to tax breaks for that industry. Can the Minister guarantee that the Government of whom he is now a member will honour that commitment?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. If the Minister could hear that, he has very good hearing. May I make an appeal to the House? I know that it is in a state of eager anticipation of Prime Minister’s questions, but it is very unfair to the Member on his or her feet, and to the Minister. Let us have a bit of order. That is what the public expect.