Business of the House

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Thursday 6th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am sure that my hon. Friend will know that Ministers at the Department of Energy and Climate Change take this issue seriously. They have acted to address a similar issue in relation to hydro sites, and are committed to doing the same for wind. They have met and discussed the issue with wind turbine manufacturers and with Renewables UK, and I will certainly ask them if they will respond to my hon. Friend. The debate on the Energy Bill might also provide an opportunity to discuss the issue.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

May we have a debate on how we can best honour the legacy of those British service personnel who have won the Victoria Cross? They include John Buckley from Stalybridge, who won the VC in 1857 for his gallant defence of the magazine at Delhi during the Indian mutiny. I am told that there is a memorial tablet in Delhi as testimony to his heroism, but his unmarked grave has just been discovered in a cemetery in Tower Hamlets, and it will take about £1,000 to guarantee him a proper gravestone. Will the Leader of the House help me to raise the profile of this issue with the public and help us to celebrate the work of the Victoria Cross Trust, which can make that happen?

[Mr Lansley]

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman and all other Members—and indeed those outside the House—would benefit from a visit to the Imperial War museum, just south of the river, which has an excellent new display of Victoria Cross medals that also describes the heroism that led to the awarding of them. I entirely share the hon. Gentleman’s feelings about his constituent and others.

Business of the House

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Thursday 13th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I will, of course, look at whether opportunities will emerge for a discussion about organ donation and I recognise that there is an ongoing debate in Wales about the character of the organ donation programme. I thank my hon. Friend for mentioning the Transplant games. Papworth and Addenbrooke’s hospitals in my constituency probably conduct more transplants in total than anywhere else in the country. I never fail to be amazed by what is achieved by those who provide transplant services.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

Following on from the Business Secretary’s answer to an urgent question on Monday, may we have a debate about this country’s industrial policy? It is hugely important. It is about how we pay our way in the world, how we ensure that we have a robust tax base and how we will provide high-paying jobs in the future, so it deserves a major debate in this House.

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Gentleman may wish to raise with his Front-Bench colleagues their choice of time for debates. What the Business Secretary said clearly is that not only are the Government focusing on an industrial strategy to deliver growth, but the range of measures and our ability to do so are increasing all the time.

House of Lords Reform Bill

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Tuesday 10th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Tom Clarke (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (Lab)]

Like my hon. Friend the Member for Stockport (Ann Coffey) and others, I served on the Joint Committee on the draft House of Lords Reform Bill and so have heard much evidence on the future of the House of Lords, but I want to refer later to the impact of all these proposals, and perhaps others, on the future of the House of Commons.

When I came into the Chamber this afternoon, I was of a mind—I still am—to support those on my Front Bench and vote for the Bill on Second Reading, but the more I see of the shenanigans on the Government Benches, including what has happened this afternoon on the programme motion, the more I wonder whether I am making the right decision.

What I do believe to be right, and my reason for serving on the Joint Committee, is that there is indeed a challenge and an opportunity for us to look at the House of Lords and come up with better ideas than have emerged thus far. I am comforted in that by “Erskine May”, and my interpretation of what he wrote is that if the Bill collapses, it is unlikely that a similar Bill will be accepted for a long time to come.

The Bill is imperfect. The alternative report, which I signed, indicated some of the difficulties, some of the arguments not addressed and some of the issues that should be put before this House. I came here today to support the Bill’s Second Reading, to support very strongly the referendum and to oppose a programme motion. Whatever else might be said today and whatever other changes might be made, that remains broadly my approach to the matter.

The alternative report to which I have referred was extremely helpful, and I am sorry that Members have not heard more about it. It mentioned, for example, the Scottish Constitutional Convention and its preparations for the Scottish Parliament. The convention called on the whole of civic society, including politicians, Churches, trade unions, community councils and many others, and on that basis of wide consultation we have the Scottish Parliament as it is today. Why, then, can we reasonably object to the referendum that these issues invite? Do we not trust the people? Time and again we are urged to listen to what people are saying, which I think is right. I hope that the alternative report helped to clarify matters. It did so to the extent that, on the advice of Lord Pannick and Lord Goldsmith—paragraph 227 of the report is the relevant part—reference to the Parliament Acts was included in the new Bill before us in an attempt to make greater sense of the matter.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

My right hon. Friend’s reference to Scottish devolution is particularly appropriate in relation to a referendum. The Deputy Prime Minister said earlier today that the case for House of Lords reform was so big that no referendum was needed, yet my right hon. Friend has correctly highlighted the fact that, despite the strength of support for devolution in Scotland, the referendum procedure was still used there. It was used not so much to endorse that change, but to embed it. With an unwritten constitution, it is that embedding of a change that I think is most important.

[Mr Clarke]

My hon. Friend makes a valid point, and one that is worthy of more consideration.

The Joint Committee sought to serve both Houses in our report, and we were a very mixed group, including independents, Conservatives and Lib Dems. I note that its Lib Dem members voted the whole way throughout the Committee’s considerations, which leads me to think that there might just be another agenda, and some of us have drawn attention to that this afternoon. A number of us signed the alternative report, including six Privy Counsellors and the Bishop of Leicester, the Convenor of the Lords Spiritual. He said that it was not enough simply to talk about bishops because we ought to be dealing with inter-faith matters. This is a diverse society. The House of Commons has not as yet reflected that, but if we get the opportunity to do so in the House of Lords, we ought to take it.

I complained yesterday in an intervention on the Deputy Prime Minister, to which he responded inadequately, that the Joint Committee did not even have the opportunity to consider costs. Even today the Government have been very reticent in the information they have given the House. They refer to the Bill, but it leaves most of the decisions to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. There are varying levels of respect for IPSA in this House, but whether that is the right way to go in these matters is worthy of more thought.

Business of the House

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Thursday 24th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend raises a good point. In my first Parliament, the IMF visited this country and the report it produced then sharply contrasts with the report it has just produced. Speaking from memory, the then Chancellor, Denis Healey, had to put to his Cabinet colleagues a freeze on all public sector capital investment that was not already committed, a freeze on all uprating of benefits and substantial reductions in capital expenditure. One simply has to contrast what the IMF said then, two years into the term of a Labour Government, with the benediction it gave to the policies we have been adopting when it came here this week.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

May we have a debate on one of this country’s treasures from the era of the industrial revolution: our network of canals and waterways? Unfortunately, litter and debris can be a considerable problem in our canals, but I am pleased to be able to say that in Stalybridge we have agreed a regular monthly clean-up, paid for by the local supermarket. By putting in place similar arrangements, we can open up these assets to an even wider group of our fellow countrymen.

Business of the House

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Thursday 26th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who complements the point made by another of my hon. Friends about the initiatives that we are taking to equip young people with the skills that they need. I was delighted to hear of the extra £2 million invested in my hon. Friend’s college, which I know will be well spent. She reminds the House of the steps that we have taken to enable young people to compete in a competitive job market.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

How can we not have an urgent debate about the state of the economy before we prorogue? If the GDP figures yesterday had been positive, the Government would cite that as proof that the strategy was working, but they were not—they were terrible. Should the Government not think again, show some humility and give the House a chance to debate that?

[Sir George Young]

I say to the hon. Gentleman what I said a few moments ago. We had the Budget, followed by several days’ debate on the Budget. We then had Second Reading of the Finance Bill, followed by two days of debate on the Floor of the House on measures in the Finance Bill. We then had a debate on the Financial Services Bill. It honestly is not the case that the Government have denied the House an opportunity to debate the economy. On top of that, the Opposition are allotted regular Opposition days, which they can use if they want further debates. The answer is that we have debated the matter. We would welcome further debates, and there may be an opportunity in the new Session when we debate the Queen’s Speech for a further exchange about the economy.

Business of the House

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Thursday 22nd March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I hear what my hon. Friend says. We are, of course, having a debate on the Budget. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor made clear his views on tax evasion and what he called “aggressive tax avoidance”. I am sure that it would be in order to talk about the tax loopholes that are being closed by the Government during the Budget debate, as long as one remains within order.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

May we have a Government statement to clear up the confusion about the cut to the top rate of income tax? A study published during the Budget suggests that it will cost the country billions of pounds if the Government’s assumptions are incorrect. If we are going to clear that up, perhaps the Leader of the House will also accept the suggestion of the shadow Leader of the House that he may wish to put in the Library a list of the Cabinet members who will benefit personally from this give-away, so that we can see from where the motivation for it might have come.

[Sir George Young]

This country has never adopted the practice that they have in the United States, whereby all those who stand for public office have to file their tax returns. If that is the hon. Gentleman’s proposition, I am sure that he can make the case during the Budget debate, but it is not our intention to introduce it. On the 50p tax rate, I just make the case that for 13 years, the Labour party did not introduce a 50p rate of tax. It left it to us, along with a letter saying that no money was left in the Treasury.

Business of the House

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Thursday 8th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend has made such a statement redundant, as he has been successful in securing a debate on Wednesday 14 March in Westminster Hall, to which the Government will respond. He will know that we have the interests of consumers and competition uppermost in our mind in the negotiations. We have two basic principles: that wholesale price caps should not be set below cost, and that there should be a sufficient margin between wholesale and retail price caps to enable competition. I look forward to my hon. Friend’s debate.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

May we have a debate on the Government’s e-petitions system—an excellent initiative aimed at keeping the Government in touch with the British public? The Leader of the House will know that the e-petition “Drop the Health Bill”, which was organised by my constituent Dr Kailash Chand OBE, has not resulted in the debate that he wanted, despite its now reaching 171,000 signatures. I know that the right hon. Gentleman will refer me to the Backbench Business Committee, but the Prime Minister promised debates on these things, and this is another promise broken. What people want to know is this: what is the point of having this system if the Government will not listen to the British public?

[Sir George Young]

I do not think anyone could say that we have not had adequate debate on the Health and Social Care Bill in recent weeks, and there will of course be a further opportunity when we consider Lords amendments to it. As the hon. Gentleman implied, this is for the Backbench Business Committee, and I quite understand why it took the view that the matter had already been debated adequately, and therefore chose other subjects. On this particular occasion, I am happy to endorse the decision of the Backbench Business Committee.

Business of the House

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Thursday 23rd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. His constituency is very close to mine and I am aware of the importance of this issue. The Ministry of Defence is in the process of disposing of the site and bidding is in progress. Any compliant bid, including a bid from the organisation to which he has referred, will of course be considered. The MOD, like other Departments, will have an eye on getting the best value for money for the taxpayer.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

May we have a debate on what is and is not grounds for banning an organisation that wishes to make a protest march in an area? This Saturday, members of the English Defence League intend to hold a march through Hyde town centre, despite it having no connection to the issues that it is purporting to march in support of and despite there being a history of violence wherever it has been. Should not decent, law-abiding citizens from all backgrounds be protected from this unnecessary and unwanted activity?

[Sir George Young]

Of course, I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern. My understanding is that the Home Secretary has the power in certain circumstances to ban demonstrations and marches. I will draw his remarks to her attention, in view of the serious issue that he has raised.

Business of the House

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

As the hon. Gentleman will know, when we came into government we sought better value from the capital programme for schools and we brought to a halt a rather extravagant programme that we had inherited and introduced one that gives much better value for money. I shall raise the concerns with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and ask him either to visit Coventry or to write to the hon. Gentleman to set out our programme for investment in that city.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

May we have a debate on what safeguards there are to protect people studying for qualifications when their privately run providers go into liquidation? I met a constituent on Friday who had paid a substantial sum to obtain a plumbing and gas qualification from BTSC Europe—Building Trade Skills Centres Europe—which had styled itself as the largest such provider in Europe and even had the Prime Minister come and open its premises in Trafford park. My constituent has been left high and dry with no qualification and with debt now that that company has gone into liquidation. It seems another example of people who work hard and play by the rules being the ones who are punished when we as a state should protect them.

[Sir George Young]

It sounds as though the hon. Gentleman could have raised that issue in BIS questions, when the Minister for consumer affairs and others were in the Chamber. I am sorry to hear about the hon. Gentleman’s constituent. I shall raise the matter with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and see whether there is any action that we can take to get redress.

Business of the House

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Thursday 19th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

No. But I was sorry to read in Hansard that among those specifically excluded from the bunker was Mrs Bone.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Leader of the House say a little more on whether the Government will support the Metal Theft (Prevention) Bill, which is on the Order Paper for tomorrow in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (Graham Jones)? I also heard the comments of the Second Church Estates Commissioner, the hon. Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry), and a great many Members want something done about the issue. Would not supporting the Bill allow action to be taken before the Queen’s Speech and the Olympics? We really do need something doing rather quickly.

[Sir George Young]

The Government are concerned about metal theft and the damage it is doing to churches, monuments and other buildings throughout the country, and there is a working party within government looking at a range of options, such as banning cash payments and better licensing. The Government will outline their views on the Bill when we reach it tomorrow, but I assure the hon. Gentleman that we take the issue seriously, we are looking at a package of measures and we want to make progress.