Points of Order Debate

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Points of Order

Michael McCann Excerpts
Thursday 17th February 2011

(13 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Michael McCann Portrait Mr Michael McCann (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) (Lab)
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On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. In a response to a question that I asked yesterday about 150 job losses at the Department for International Development’s East Kilbride office in my constituency, the International Development Secretary said:

“DFID is not immune from the cuts and will see reductions of some 33% in its administrative spend. I had the opportunity of speaking to all the staff at Abercrombie house just a few days ago to make sure that that was understood.”—[Official Report, 16 February 2011; Vol. 523, c. 947.]

In making that statement, the Secretary of State suggested that he had broken the news of the job losses personally. In actual fact, he visited the office in East Kilbride on 3 February—a week before the job losses were announced. May I ask for your advice, Madam Deputy Speaker, on how we can correct what was probably an inadvertent mistake by the Secretary of State and set the record straight?

Baroness Primarolo Portrait Madam Deputy Speaker (Dawn Primarolo)
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I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that point of order. The Leader of the House will have heard his comments and, I am sure, be able to pass them on, but I also suggest that the hon. Gentleman goes to the Table Office specifically with a request on how he can pursue the matter through the House in order to clarify the situation.