Business of the House

John Howell Excerpts

Thursday 14th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

Of course, it is our hope and belief that as we unify many of the aspects of the workings of our emergency services, including the sharing of political leadership through police and crime commissioners, that will provide an opportunity to deliver savings while ensuring that we protect front-line services. That is the approach that we are taking. My right hon. and hon. Friends in the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Home Office will work to try to ensure that that happens. There is no option but to take tough decisions to address our financial challenges. We are doing so in a way that we believe will make efficiencies without affecting services.

[John Howell (Henley) (Con)]

May we have a debate on the activities of Network Rail in landscape-sensitive areas, such as the area of outstanding natural beauty in which the Goring gap sits? Nobody wants to hold up electrification, but sensitivity in such areas over the installations that are used to carry the electrification wires would be very much appreciated.

Business of the House

John Howell Excerpts

Thursday 15th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I am well aware of the pressures in different parts of the health service and I pay tribute to our healthcare professionals. We are announcing measures today to try to ease pressures on nursing. In my view, today’s CQC report is a positive in that it is part of a drive by this Government to push up standards. If we do not look at where challenges remain to be addressed, we will never be able to address them. Fantastic care is provided across many parts of the national health service, but where it is not fulfilling its full potential we obviously have to know about it and work to improve it.

[John Howell (Henley) (Con)]

There has been a dramatic escalation in violence across Israel and the west bank over recent weeks, so may we please have a debate on this serious issue?

[Chris Grayling]

I think we are all concerned about what is happening in Israel and the west bank. Utterly unacceptable incidents have taken place, including stabbings out of the blue and other incidents that have led to death and serious injury. We need to be constantly aware of that in this country and use every opportunity to try to facilitate talks and peace between the two sides. Obviously, I will ensure that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary addresses the issue in this House before too long.

Oral Answers to Questions

John Howell Excerpts

Thursday 4th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vaizey]

I will suppress my personal hurt that the hon. Lady would prefer to deal with the Secretary of State rather than with me, although we have dealt with her issues in Shoreditch over many months. I am pleased, for example, that in her constituency many businesses are taking advantage of broadband vouchers, that Virgin Media is rolling out broadband and that BT is investing in broadband. Across the country, more than 2.5 million homes are covered by our very successful programme.

[John Howell (Henley) (Con)]

12. As the Minister knows, my constituency is sandwiched between Reading and Oxford and is only a stone’s throw from London, but there is great frustration at the impoverishment of the broadband coverage there. What is he doing to encourage improvement?

[Mr Vaizey]

The other day I received an e-mail of congratulations from one of my hon. Friend’s constituents thanking me for the broadband that is being delivered to his constituency. As his next door neighbour, I know that the Oxfordshire broadband team is doing a fantastic job in rolling out broadband to thousands of homes across Oxfordshire.

Oral Answers to Questions

John Howell Excerpts

Thursday 14th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Eric Ollerenshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Con)]

6. What recent progress he has made on his plans to ensure the UK has the best superfast broadband network in Europe.

[John Howell (Henley) (Con)]

7. What recent progress he has made on his plans to ensure the UK has the best superfast broadband network in Europe.

[Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

13. What recent progress he has made on his plans to ensure the UK has the best superfast broadband network in Europe.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hunt]

We are specifically trying to set up a scheme so that, where people raise their own funds to solve broadband problems, it is possible to integrate that into the national network. Our objective is to enable as much local self-help work as possible, so I welcome my hon. Friend’s initiative and those taken by his constituents.

[John Howell]

Large parts of my constituency suffer from rural broadband poverty, but at an official level it is often masked because neighbouring Oxford has good broadband, and the level at which it is integrated is too great to show that granularity. What advice can my right hon. Friend give about making sure that those areas of rural broadband poverty in my constituency are recognised?

[Mr Hunt]

The comfort that I can give my hon. Friend is that our ambition, which is vastly higher than anything that we had from Labour, is that by 2015 90% of the country will have access to superfast broadband. However, it will not stop there, because we will have a plan in place for the other 10% which means that they will have a very good prospect of getting superfast broadband. In many cases—for example, in my own county of Surrey—plans are being put forward whereby there will be 100% access to superfast broadband by 2014. Good local authorities are thinking about the other 10% and making sure that they are not left behind, and we are doing everything we can to help them.