Business of the House

Debate between Jo Swinson and Lord Young of Cookham

Thursday 15th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend the Deputy Leader of the House set out in his speech on Monday the reasons why he and I believed the House should support the amendment in question. As the hon. Lady knows, all we have done is bring the Backbench Business Committee into line with all the other Select Committees and ensured that, for example, the Conservative party cannot choose which Labour Members serve on her Committee. That would be an abuse, and the House agreed, through a Division in the normal way, with the proposals put forward by my hon. Friend—and supported by the hon. Lady’s Front-Bench party colleagues. We have had that debate, and the time has come to move on.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

Two years ago, the Speaker’s Conference recommended that we should have a review of sitting hours, and one year ago the Procedure Committee launched an inquiry into that. It has been very thorough, with both written and oral evidence having been taken, and there was then a further consultation exercise, which closed three months ago. When does the Leader of the House think we will have the chance to vote on options for reform?

[Sir George Young]

There is a missing ingredient in the equation, in that we have to wait for the report from the Procedure Committee. I understand from the Chair of that Committee, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Yorkshire (Mr Knight), that good progress is being made. I have given evidence on this topic, and I am sure my hon. Friend has, too. When the report is placed before the House—I do not know whether that will be before the end of the Session—it will be important to find time so that the House can reach a decision on whether to stay with the existing sitting hours or to make changes. In the first instance, however, my hon. Friend’s question should, I think, be addressed more to the Chair of the Procedure Committee than to the Leader of the House.

Business of the House

Debate between Jo Swinson and Lord Young of Cookham

Thursday 3rd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman may have an opportunity later to ask questions about the Secretary of State’s decision, but I reject his accusation that democracy is in any way undermined by the decision taken today.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

I concur with the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Mr Leigh) when he said that many MPs cherish the three minutes of prayer and reflection at the start of each parliamentary day. Given that MPs come from many different Christian denominations, different religions and, indeed, none, is it time to reconsider the House practice whereby the only way to reserve a seat in the Chamber makes it mandatory to attend Church of England prayers?

[Sir George Young]

That is primarily a matter for the House rather than the Government, and you, Mr Speaker, will have heard the hon. Lady’s request. One can also put in a pink card in certain circumstances and reserve a seat if one serves on a Committee, so there are other ways of reserving a place in the Chamber.

Business of the House

Debate between Jo Swinson and Lord Young of Cookham

Thursday 27th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The short answer is no, no and no. It sounds as though the hon. Gentleman has not read the consultative document. It is not a statement of Government policy. Under the previous regime, the Forestry Commission disposed of some 25,000 acres without the sort of precautions that we are including in the Public Bodies Bill.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

The Leader of the House is to be congratulated on introducing the motions to implement the Wright Committee reforms, such as setting up the Backbench Business Committee, which is widely agreed to be a success under the leadership of the hon. Member for North East Derbyshire (Natascha Engel). Given that success, will the right hon. Gentleman say what progress he is making on another Wright reform—creating a House business committee, so that transparency and democracy can be brought to scheduling Government business?

[Sir George Young]

The House business committee was another commitment to which the previous Government refused to commit themselves. We are committed to it, and it will be introduced within three years of this Parliament. We want the current regime to run for about a year, when we will review it and then have serious discussions about how we move to stage 2 —the House business committee, which will merge my responsibilities with those of the Backbench Business Committee, so that one Committee will deal with the future business of the House.

Business of the House

Debate between Jo Swinson and Lord Young of Cookham

Thursday 2nd December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her public service announcement. She is right to draw attention to the different regime, which is on the Order Paper, proposed for the pre-Christmas Adjournment debate. That will pose an intellectual challenge to my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West (Mr Amess), who manages to raise about 30 subjects in a five-minute speech, because he will have to choose one of them. As always, I welcome the way in which the Backbench Business Committee is using the space it has to develop new ways of tackling issues and to provide the House with fresh opportunities to debate matters. I am sure that hon. Members will respond to her invitation to put in for subjects.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

Many people would find it an unappealing prospect to spend an evening in the hot shopping environment of Hamley’s, heaving with excitable children and their stressed parents in the Christmas rush. It is certainly no place for Arctic animals, but, shockingly, Hamley’s has advertised in-store displays of live reindeer and penguins. May we have a debate on how animal welfare should be for life, and not forgotten at Christmas?

[Sir George Young]

Having spent some time in Hamley’s shopping for things for children, I understand the pressure on those who go through that ordeal. I will raise with the appropriate Minister the issue of animal welfare that the hon. Lady touched on to see whether there has been a breach of regulations.

Business of the House

Debate between Jo Swinson and Lord Young of Cookham

Thursday 11th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The right hon. Gentleman will have seen the written ministerial statement, which said:

“While respecting the court’s decision, this ruling changes very little”.

It went on to say that the chief planner had written to all the local planning authorities, confirming that they should

“have regard to this material consideration in any decisions they are currently taking”.—[Official Report, 10 November 2010; Vol. 518, c. 16WS.]

The right hon. Gentleman will also know that later this month we will introduce the localism Bill, which will abolish regional strategies.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

Tomorrow, the House will consider the excellent Sustainable Livestock Bill, but many MPs will be forced to choose between doing constituency work such as school visits, that can be done only on Fridays, and coming to the House to avoid the frustration of seeing a good Bill talked out by one or two MPs who happen to oppose it. On 15 June the Leader of the House said:

“The Procedure Committee ought to consider it”—

the issue of private Members’ Bills—

“in one of its first inquiries”—[Official Report, 15 June 2010; Vol. 511, c. 785.]

but nothing has happened. Is there anything that he can do to help the House to make progress on that reform?

Business of the House

Debate between Jo Swinson and Lord Young of Cookham

Thursday 14th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her question, and I understand the strength of feeling. I will draw her remarks to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and ask him to write to her with a response to the points that she has just raised.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

The Leader of the House has given us the business until Thursday 28 October. The day after that, Friday 29 October, this House will be used for the second time for the UK Youth Parliament to hold a day of debate. I am sure that many hon. Members will be delighted to see that, as will I as a trustee of that organisation. I wonder whether this would be an appropriate time for this House to debate the important issue of how we can get more young people better involved in the political process, as that is something that everybody wants.

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing attention to the fact that the Youth Parliament will sit in this Chamber on that date, and my hon. Friend the Deputy Leader of the House will be representing the Government. If the sitting is anything like last year’s, it will be a fantastic success. I agree with her on the importance of engaging young people in the political process. I think it would be worth while to have a debate, and she can either apply for one in Westminster Hall or catch the eye of the Chairman of the Backbench Business Committee at one of her Wednesday sittings.

Business of the House

Debate between Jo Swinson and Lord Young of Cookham

Thursday 22nd July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am not aware of any plans in the coalition to curtail the editorial independence of the BBC. I pay tribute to the “Today” programme, which I listen to every morning.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

Can we have a debate on the civil service compensation scheme? Although there is much agreement across the House and, indeed, among most unions on the need for reform, there remains a great deal of concern out there and it would be helpful if the House had an opportunity to discuss this issue with a Minister, particularly to underscore the importance of meaningful consultation between the unions and the Government.

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend will have an opportunity to debate that issue, because I have announced the Second Reading of the Superannuation Bill for when we come back in September. The Administration are carrying forward the policy of the previous Administration in reducing the compensation available to civil servants who are made redundant.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jo Swinson and Lord Young of Cookham

Monday 21st June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

Of course, statements should be delivered to the Opposition on time, and during the last Parliament Opposition spokesmen did receive copies of statements later than they should have, but I wholeheartedly reject the hon. Lady’s allegation about statements. By the end of today, Ministers will have made no fewer than 10 statements since the Queen’s Speech, and I think that she will find that that is a higher strike rate than was achieved by the last Government. Of course, the House should be the first place to hear of any changes in Government policy.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

5. If he will assess the merits of providing the House with provisional information on its business for more than two weeks in advance.

Backbench Business Committee

Debate between Jo Swinson and Lord Young of Cookham

Tuesday 15th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman and I may give way to him later if I feel that he can elucidate my points as well as he has just elucidated that one.

I turn now to the question of why the committee should be elected every year. The committee will have power to schedule business in the House and Westminster Hall. Given the significance of this, we believe that members of the committee should be accountable to their peers for the decisions they take in scheduling debates. This will not affect the eligibility of the chair and members, who will still be able to offer themselves for re-election. This will be by secret ballot, so there is no question of Members coming under the malign influence of the usual channels in making their choices. As well as providing accountability, it will, I hope, also provide a way of bringing new blood on to the committee from time to time, to keep its thinking fresh.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

I concur with the point made by hon. Members from the minority parties, because it is important that the whole House has the opportunity to be represented on the committee. However, motion 3(1)(c) states that

“no fewer than ten”

of the nominators

“shall be members of the candidate’s party”.

That may be an oversight, but perhaps the Leader of the House can explain how it would be possible for Members from the minority parties or independent Members to be nominated. I am sure that the intention is not to exclude them, but that wording might need Mr Speaker to interpret it flexibly when it came to nominations.

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for pointing out those restrictions which might preclude the nomination of the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) for chair of the committee, unless he was minded to join a larger party for a day.

If colleagues believe that the committee should be accountable to the House, they might wish to resist the amendment in the name of the hon. Member for Nottingham North, which would have the committee elected for the whole Parliament.

The hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire has tabled an amendment to increase the size of the committee, and I have already dealt with that point. Although I understand the reason behind his amendment, the review may also be able to consider it.

Business of the House

Debate between Jo Swinson and Lord Young of Cookham

Thursday 10th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will have seen today’s written ministerial statement on the subject. He will find that it says that the matter is subject to the approval of the House.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

The coalition agreement says:

“We will bring forward the proposals of the Wright Committee for reform to the House of Commons in full”.

Does the Leader of the House understand the concern of many MPs that the motion he has put forward does not represent the Wright reforms in full, particularly in the loss of days in the Chamber for Back-Bench business? Will he be open to representations on the issue with a view to improving the motion on the Order Paper?

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Lady makes a good point. If she reads the Wright Committee report, she will see that it says right at the beginning that the proposals need to be implemented “in stages”. There is a real issue with moving straight to having 35 days in the Chamber: there would be implications regarding the amount of time for which the House sits and, more seriously, it would run the real risk of squeezing out time for the Report stage of Bills—an issue that concerns hon. Members on both sides of the House. I hope that we can debate the matter more extensively on Tuesday, but I can say that at least 27 of those 35 days will be on the Floor of the House. That is an improvement on the 12 days for set-piece debates that we have at the moment.