Business of the House

Julian Smith Excerpts

Thursday 20th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I very much agree with my hon. Friend about the importance and value of the service provided by mountain rescue teams. They are central to the emergency response in their areas and work routinely with the emergency services in exercises. They are also integral to the work of local resilience forums, and it is not least for that reason that the Government provide financial support to the three mountain rescue organisations, including £128,000 to Mountain Rescue England and Wales over the four years to 2014-15. I cannot promise a debate, but it may be appropriate for my hon. Friend and other colleagues with a constituency interest in the matter to approach the Backbench Business Committee. None the less, I am sure that the mountain rescue organisations will be grateful for his and other Members’ interest and support.

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

With just over a year to go, may we have a debate to celebrate the fact that Yorkshire councils and the UK Government have finally reached a conclusion on how best to make the Tour de France 2014 the best ever? As a Yorkshire MP, may I thank the Government for the £10 million commitment and £21 million underwrite that they are giving? Will the Leader of the House also confirm that he is dusting off the yellow Lycra outfit in his wardrobe?

[Mr Lansley]

I will be happy to be a spectator at the Tour de France, although I confess that that might not be in Yorkshire but in my own constituency when the tour comes through there afterwards. I shall not be cycling myself, but I shall be glad to be there cheering.

Business of the House

Julian Smith Excerpts

Thursday 28th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

The Government are doing excellent work on women’s issues, from equal pay audits, to women on boards domestically, to putting women and girls front and centre in international development. May I encourage calls for a debate to celebrate international women’s day and the brilliant work that this Government are doing on women’s issues?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend will have heard me say in response to the shadow Leader of the House that the House will not be sitting on 8 March, which is international women’s day, but that I hope that if he and other hon. Members across the House were to approach the Backbench Business Committee, it might find an opportunity for a debate to celebrate the many ways in which women are at the heart of the delivery of the economy and enterprise—[Hon. Members: “There is not one woman on the Government Benches!”]—and indeed of good government in this country.

Business of the House

Julian Smith Excerpts

Thursday 14th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend raises a point that I know has been raised with the Backbench Business Committee. I think we should particularly commemorate this anniversary and remember the loss of life, particularly our own dead and injured. I think that the Government should look to the Chilcot inquiry as the basis on which this House should then consider the lessons to be learned.

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

May we have a debate about the merits of introducing financial incentives to UK whistleblowing legislation? Such incentives are in place in the United States, where its Treasury makes a fortune as a result. If we had them here, be they in respect of health, banking or other sectors of our economy, more people would step forward and indicate where malpractice is taking place.

[Mr Lansley]

Of course, I am familiar, to some extent, with the fact that there are incentives for whistleblowers in financial services in America, but I did not know that they extended any further than that. In a number of contexts, we want to ensure, in particular, that there are no disincentives, but we also want to ensure that there are clear incentives for people to be whistleblowers, where that is appropriate.

Business of the House

Julian Smith Excerpts

Thursday 7th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

May we have a debate about Leicester’s historically dodgy, bogus and arrogant claim on Richard III and why north Yorkshire is the only place that he should be returned to, according to his wishes?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend knows that the legal position is straightforward. The licence gives to the university of Leicester an obligation, but also discretion as to the choice of location for the interment of Richard III’s remains, but there will be other claims. I completely understand the claims of both Westminster abbey in relation to the burial of Anne Neville, and York minster.

Business of the House

Julian Smith Excerpts

Thursday 13th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I shall endeavour to be brief, Mr Speaker. Perhaps there is a law of the expansion of questions to fill the time available, yet perhaps that time available— [Hon. Members: “You are doing it now!”] I am doing it now.

This is a matter for clinical practice, and it is important that clinical guidelines apply in the NHS. It is the NHS’s responsibility to draw up the guidelines. I listened with interest to points made this morning that resulted from research, and I am sure that they will be reflected in the guidelines in due course.

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

Next week, Yorkshire is likely to win its bid to host the 2014 Tour de France. UK Sport backed Scotland for this event. May we have a debate to ensure UK Sport now offers the same multi-million pound cash deal to Yorkshire as it did to Scotland, so that there is no tartan bias in the arrangements?

[Mr Lansley]

I am very interested in that news, and I shall congratulate Yorkshire if it is successful. The matter is obviously the responsibility of UK Sport, but I will draw it to the attention of my colleagues at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and ensure that those at UK Sport are aware of my hon. Friend’s comments.

Business of the House

Julian Smith Excerpts

Thursday 5th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

Again, I recognise the depth of concern. I have announced an Opposition day for Monday week and it would be perfectly appropriate for the Opposition, if they so wanted, to choose this as the subject for debate. The Government provide time for Government legislation but do not normally have time available for debates of this nature.

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

The decision was not made by Ministers, but the closure of the Leeds children’s heart surgery unit leaves the north with only two children’s heart hospitals. It is really important that we have a debate on the decision and the knock-on effect on cardiology services for adults and other members of the community.

[Sir George Young]

Again, I understand my hon. Friend’s concern. The review was not about closing heart services for children; it was about driving up quality and improving chances of survival. The independent review panel decided that concentrating these operations in a smaller number of hospitals will increase the skill of the surgeons and improve outcomes. That is the background. I understand the concern, expressed by many hon. Members, about the consequences and take the point that they would like time for a debate. I cannot promise one in Government time, but I have indicated a number of options, including having a debate in Westminster Hall, going to the Backbench Business Committee and debating the matter as part of the Opposition day debate on Monday week or, indeed, in the pre-recess Adjournment debate.

Business of the House

Julian Smith Excerpts

Thursday 17th May 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I understand the concern of the hon. Gentleman’s constituents, who find they might be priced out of coming to London for some of the jubilee celebrations or Olympics. There will be an opportunity next Thursday to cross-question Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, who have responsibility for consumer protection, on this issue. I will, however, raise the matter with my right hon. Friend the Business Secretary to see what action we can take to help.

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

Grahame Maxwell, chief constable of North Yorkshire police, was only the second chief constable in British policing history to be found guilty of gross misconduct. This week, he walked away with a payout of £250,000. As part of the Government’s excellent policing reforms, may we have a new rule—if a police chief is found guilty of gross misconduct, he should be kicked out and receive no money?

[Sir George Young]

I shall raise that with the Home Secretary. Whether people should lose, in some cases, pension entitlement for committing a crime is an issue across the public sector. I will raise this specific issue with my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, however, and see whether we have any plans to change the regime.

Business of the House

Julian Smith Excerpts

Thursday 26th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I was in the Chamber when the hon. Gentleman raised that point. In my view, the time that the Government allocated on Report for the Financial Services Bill was adequate. Speaking from memory, we allocated two days, which is quite generous compared with the time that is normally allowed. When what I would regard as adequate time has been allowed, it is up to the House to make intelligent use of that time. If people speak at length during the earlier debates, it is inevitable that a price must be paid in the later stages. As a business manager, I genuinely believe that the overall amount of time that we allocated was adequate so long as the House behaved in an intelligent and disciplined way that enabled all the relevant bits of the Bill to be covered.

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

Colin Brannigan of Ripon is having his sleep badly disturbed by unsolicited marketing fax calls to his home phone. He has tried Ofcom and the Information Commissioner. May we have a debate on banning unsolicited marketing fax calls in the middle of the night?

[Sir George Young]

My understanding is that if one registers with the telephone preference service it is then an offence to telephone that number after a gap of 28 days. I will need to check whether that applies to faxes as well as phone calls, but there is protection from unsolicited phone calls when someone is either registered with the TPS or has made it clear to the caller that those calls are unwelcome. It is illegal under privacy and electronic communications regulations. I will clarify the issue about faxes and somebody will write to my hon. Friend.

Oral Answers to Questions

Julian Smith Excerpts

Thursday 22nd March 2012 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport was asked—

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

1. What progress he has made on his plans to extend superfast broadband to rural areas.

[Karen Lumley (Redditch) (Con)]

10. What progress he has made on his plans to extend superfast broadband to rural areas.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

May I apologise for the Secretary of State’s absence from questions today and thank you, Mr Speaker, for giving him leave of absence? The whole House will be aware of the happy reasons for that absence.

We anticipate that the broadband delivery framework contract will be signed with suppliers in mid-April, and we expect the first three projects to enter procurement using the framework immediately after. We have set a target for all broadband procurement to be completed by the end of 2012, so that delivery can be completed by 2015.

[Julian Smith]

I thank the Minister for that answer. Rural north Yorkshire is already benefiting from the Government’s investment in broadband, and after yesterday’s Budget cities will, too, but at higher speeds. How do we avoid a continued digital divide between rural and urban areas, but at higher speeds?

[Mr Vaizey]

My hon. Friend has been a doughty champion of his part of the world in securing superfast broadband. All the country will benefit from superfast broadband, but it is quite right that we continue to invest in higher speeds, particularly for cities, to maintain our global competitiveness.

Business of the House

Julian Smith Excerpts

Thursday 8th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

Of course I understand the distress of Joseph Duffy’s family. We have not changed the rules concerning DLA, and there is an opportunity for the hon. Lady’s constituents to appeal against the assessment if they believe that it is unfair. We have asked for an independent assessment of the work capability assessments, and we are implementing the recommendations of that independent review as they come forward. The answer to the hon. Lady is that if she believes that an injustice has been done, there is an opportunity to appeal against it.

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

May we have a debate about the defiance of the Highways Agency in opposing a decision by the excellent roads Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning), to reinstate two brown signs on the A1 upgrade at Masham? The agency is quoting a cost of tens of thousands of pounds for those brown signs, which clearly the community and businesses in the local area cannot afford.

[Sir George Young]

I will make some inquiries of the Secretary of State for Transport. We all know that many sites in our constituencies depend on brown signs to generate traffic, and that when those signs are removed or damaged, that has an impact on the destinations concerned. I will pursue the matter with my right hon. Friend to see whether it is indeed the case that the Highways Agency is defying something that it should not be defying and to see whether we can get these brown signs restored.