Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Menzies Excerpts

Wednesday 12th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Moore]

I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman that there should be only one question on the ballot paper.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

11. What involvement his Department had with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games; and if he will make a statement.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)]

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer the Secretary of State gave to a previous question.

[Mark Menzies]

Does my right hon. Friend not agree that after a summer of sporting success, the last thing that the people of this country want is to see Team GB torn apart?

[David Mundell]

I could not agree more. The success of Team GB at both the Olympics and the Paralympics has been celebrated as much in Scotland as in any other part of the United Kingdom.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

I have not seen the evidence for that. What I would say to the hon. Gentleman, however, is this: what about the £12 million that his party has taken from the trade unions that are threatening to bring this country to its knees?

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

Q14. The Government—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The House must calm down, as I want to hear Mr Menzies.

[Mark Menzies]

The Government do aspire to be the greenest Government ever, so, with that in mind, will the Prime Minister assure me that before any decision is taken to extract shale gas from Fylde there will be both a public consultation and the establishment of an independent body to co-ordinate a gold standard of regulation so that the environment is never compromised?

[The Prime Minister]

As my hon. Friend will know, all fracking operations for shale gas have been suspended while we study the minor tremors that occurred in Blackpool last year. The Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society have produced a full independent review into the risks of fracking and I can assure my hon. Friend that any future shale gas production would have to meet stringent safety and environmental standards, follow deep consultation with local communities and fit within our overall energy commitments.