Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Clegg and Rosie Cooper

Tuesday 24th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I know that the Minister for Universities, Science and Cities was recently at Alderley Park, and I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s personal contribution to the Alderley Park taskforce. I am pleased that through the local growth deals Cheshire and Greater Manchester secured an allocation from the Government of £20 million towards their joint £4 million LEP life science investment fund. More broadly, we must build on strengths in the health care sector in the north of England. That is why in last week’s Budget £20 million was announced for the “health north” initiative, which will enable better care for patients and promote medical innovation in the north of England.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

T2. Through local growth deals and local enterprise partnerships the Government claim to be giving local communities greater control over spending priorities with one hand, yet they savagely make cuts with the other. That means a real failure to deliver projects in places such as West Lancashire that are on the edges of our cities, and they are missing much of the investment that could be made. In the final stages of this Government, will the Minister acknowledge that that has not been fair to all our communities?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

This is the second time the issue has been raised, and it would be so much easier to take seriously the hon. Lady’s concern about savings that have been asked of local government were it not for the fact that the shadow Chancellor has said that hundreds of millions of pounds would be asked of local government in further cuts if the Labour party won the next election. Which is it? Does the Labour party believe that further savings need to be made from local government, or not? Officially it says that those savings will need to be made, even in the next Parliament as we continue to balance the books, yet in this House the hon. Lady and her colleagues somehow think that no savings are required whatsoever. I am afraid savings will continue to be required until we have finished balancing the books and balancing them fairly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Clegg and Rosie Cooper

Tuesday 9th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, unfortunately, after numerous meetings bringing together representatives of the main parties in the past year or two, once again a cross-party consensus on party funding appears to have eluded us. I remain ready at any time to take up cross-party discussions. We need to reform party funding for the sake of all political parties, but the party in the spotlight today is the Labour party and its dysfunctional links with the trade unions. We will make available Government legislation to turn their words into action.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

T6. Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree that paying the same fee to lawyers whether there is a guilty plea or a not guilty plea risks undue pressure being placed on defendants to plead guilty even though innocent, leading to miscarriages of justice? Does he also agree that the legal aid proposals from the Justice Secretary are half-baked?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

The Justice Secretary has made it clear that he cannot and will not escape from the need to make just over £200 million of savings from the significant amount of money invested in our legal system. He will remain open-minded, as he reflects on the results of the recent consultation on his proposed legal aid reforms, on exactly how those reforms should be implemented, as long as the savings are achieved.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Clegg and Rosie Cooper

Wednesday 7th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

Everybody’s hearts will go out to the mother and other family and friends of David Lee Collins, who came to such an untimely death in the way my hon. Friend describes. It is obviously right for him to raise the issue on behalf of David Lee Collins’s mother, and I can certainly assure him that the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office will do everything they can to find out exactly what happened and bring the perpetrators to justice. I am sure that the Secretary of State for Defence, who is in his place, will seek to keep him updated as things evolve.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

Q4. Homes were wrecked and much-needed crops destroyed in the devastating floods that affected my constituency last month, and there are warnings that we face another winter of floods. The Government promised to bring forward plans for a new deal on flood insurance in July, but my worried constituents are still waiting. When will this incompetent and out of touch Government actually act on ensuring that ordinary families and businesses are protected from flooding—or will this be another broken promise?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady packed every soundbite into that one. We are involved in very detailed discussions with the insurance industry precisely to provide her constituents with the reassurances they rightly seek. I point out only that that is an agreement between the Government and the insurance industry that was never reached in the 13 years when Labour was in power. We are doing that work now. It is complicated work. It is very important work. We are devoting a lot of attention to it, and I hope we will be able to make an announcement in the not-too-distant future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Clegg and Rosie Cooper

Tuesday 10th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Nick Clegg)]

We are not persuaded by the arguments for holding a referendum on Lords reform. All three main parties committed to reform at the last election, and the views of the public are clearly and consistently in favour of introducing democratic legitimacy to the House of Lords.

[Rosie Cooper]

The Deputy Prime Minister said in the House yesterday:

“Surely, it is simply time to trust the British people.”—[Official Report, 9 July 2012; Vol. 548, c. 26.]

Can you explain why you do not trust the British people to decide on the House of Lords in a referendum?

[Mr Speaker]

I am not going to be explaining anything, but the Deputy Prime Minister might want to try.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Clegg and Rosie Cooper

Wednesday 14th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

It is worth dwelling for a minute on the explanation provided by Ken Livingstone for his exotic tax arrangements. I quote from an interview that he gave just this weekend:

“I get loads of money, all from different sources, and I give it to an accountant and they manage it”.

That is modern socialism for you.

[Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)]

Q6. In September 2010, I raised with the Prime Minister the case of a part-built college in my constituency that lost £4 million following the closure of the regional development agency. I asked the Prime Minister for a hand-up, not a handout, for the young people in my constituency. Last week, that college was officially opened, yet 18 months on there is no sign of progress in addressing the shortfall. As the Deputy Prime Minister has said, there should be“no…barriers to people’s talent and aspiration”.Will he help give the young people of West Lancashire a hand-up?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

Of course, Ministers will be more than willing to look into the case of the hon. Lady’s college. Colleges are unbelievably important in providing skills and support to young people seeking to get the right qualifications to get into work. They have been working successfully with the Government, not least, for instance, to provide a hugely expanded apprenticeship programme—the largest expansion in apprenticeships ever in our country. I am more than happy to ensure that Ministers look at the case she raises.