Business of the House

Debate between Marco Longhi and Mark Spencer

Thursday 19th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

The hon. Gentleman must not confuse numbers of individuals who are employed with efficiency. The Government must be focused on the best use of taxpayers’ money and an efficient civil service, and must make sure that those people who are working within the civil service are focused on what we want to deliver and are match fit for the future. That is what my right hon. Friend the Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency is doing. He is making sure that our civil service is fit for the future and is working as efficiently as possible for the Government and for the taxpayers of the United Kingdom.

[Marco Longhi (Dudley North) (Con)]

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 provided for the establishment of health and wellbeing boards hosted by local authorities, and placed a duty on their commissioning functions to co-operate with those of senior stakeholders within the local community, but specifically with those of the clinical commissioning group. My constituents who are parents of children with special educational needs and disability are suffering really quite poor outcomes, with the local authority and the NHS really passing the buck. Will my right hon. Friend agree to a debate reflecting on the effectiveness of health and wellbeing boards, whether they are discharging the commissioning functions provided to them, and whether they are in fact delivering good outcomes for local people?

[Mark Spencer]

The creation of the integrated care system represents a huge opportunity to make sure that children’s services are more joined up. The SEND review Green Paper published in March recognises the challenges with the current arrangements and includes a proposal to legislate to introduce new local SEND partnerships to ensure effective local delivery. Health questions on 14 June will be an opportunity for my hon. Friend to raise these matters directly with the Secretary of State, but he may want to pursue an Adjournment debate as well to explore them further.

Business of the House

Debate between Marco Longhi and Mark Spencer

Thursday 24th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

These motorbikes can be a huge menace to communities. They race up and down pathways and through gitties, they injure pedestrians, and they are a huge source of antisocial behaviour. I know that the police have powers to seize them and have them crushed if they are not properly insured or licensed, and I urge the hon. Lady to raise the matter with the Home Secretary when she is next at the Dispatch Box to ensure that the police have the full powers they need in order to continue to clamp down on such antisocial behaviour.

[Marco Longhi (Dudley North) (Con)]

Whether we are talking about universities, jobcentres, local authorities, the national health service, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency or passport offices—and the list goes on—students, consumers and taxpayers are still getting a raw deal from the continued “working from home” malaise. Will the Leader of the House agree to a debate or a statement on what role the Government might play in getting people back into their offices?

[Mark Spencer]

As my hon. Friend will know, the Cabinet Office is leading the way on this. There is an enthusiastic move to get people back to work and back into the office, led by my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox). My hon. Friend is right to draw the House’s attention to this issue: getting people back into the office and working to deliver the services that our constituents deserve is the right thing to do.

Business of the House

Debate between Marco Longhi and Mark Spencer

Thursday 24th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Spencer]

The hon. Lady is right to highlight our commitment to dealing with the environment and progressing with our COP commitments. COP questions will be next Thursday, and I am sure she will be present in the Chamber to ask about that. However, I compliment her on ensuring that her constituents are engaged in this process and informed at the same time.

[Marco Longhi (Dudley North) (Con)]

Opposition Members quite rightly like to remind us that we should be careful about the sources of money coming to this country. Does the Leader of the House agree that we should gently remind the Opposition that we should also consider moneys from China, and that maybe we should have a wider debate about where moneys come from?

[Mark Spencer]

I think it is important that we have a system of political donations that the general public have confidence in and that is open and transparent. Anyone seeking to make a donation to a political party should register that and should be publicly accountable for that donation.