Business of the House

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

We are keen to ensure that consumers have access to competition and choice, and hence the lowest possible cost. I am not in a position to comment on the particular points that the hon. Lady makes, but I will talk to my hon. Friends and see whether they can assist her in how she might take that forward. She may find that she has the opportunity to seek to raise this matter on the Adjournment at some point.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

May we have an urgent statement on the Government’s commitment to the virtual court scheme? I have just learned from Medway magistrates court, an excellent local court, that the Ministry of Justice has not confirmed funding post-31 March. It is important that it should have clarity and certainty on that. I would be grateful if my right hon. Friend came back to me specifically on that court.

[Mr Lansley]

Yes, I will. I will raise it directly with the Ministry of Justice. I realise that Saturday is 1 March, so time is short. My hon. Friend must be concerned that the services in his constituency that he appreciates and are valued continue to be supported. I will ask my hon. Friends what the situation is.

Business of the House

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

As my hon. Friend will have heard me say, I hope our hon. Friends at the Department for Education will be in a position to tell us more about the progress we can make towards a fairer funding formula where the funding for schools is related to the characteristics of the pupils, not historical funding allocations. I cannot give my hon. Friend a timetable for those announcements, but he will have noted that I mentioned previously that there is an opportunity to ask questions of our hon. Friends at the Department for Education at Education questions on Monday.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

Next week the Football Association is holding an exhibition in the Upper Waiting Hall on grassroots football, and Rainham school for girls in my constituency is delighted to have been asked to represent England at the Futsal world cup in Italy this year. May we have an urgent debate on increasing and supporting participation in grassroots football? I should also declare that I am a parliamentary fellow with the Football Association.

[Mr Lansley]

I applaud what my hon. Friend is doing and I am sure the whole House looks forward to seeing the exhibition in the Upper Waiting Hall. Members support grassroots football and football at every level and want to see the best possible governance of football, and, as I know from my experience as Leader of the House, they have frequently asked for a debate on football. There has not yet been an opportunity to have one, but Members might collectively wish to talk to the Backbench Business Committee about that.

Business of the House

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Thursday 23rd January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I hear the sedentary comments from the Opposition. Let me make it absolutely clear that we do care. That is why we are pursuing a long-term economic plan which, among its many benefits, is getting many more people into work, with 1.68 million private sector jobs. We were left with an enormous deficit and we have had to deal with that. We said at the outset that that would necessitate a reduction in public sector jobs. Labour Members and the Leader of the Opposition said, “It will never happen. Jobs will be lost in the public sector but the private sector could not possibly create equivalent numbers of jobs.” There are now four private sector jobs for every public sector job lost. The hon. Lady and other north-east MPs should be on their feet extolling the successes in the north-east. This week, Nissan, with a new Qashqai model coming off its production lines, is a fantastic example of the potential in this country and in the north-east to produce world-beating manufacturing.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

Many local residents and members of Medway council have raised concerns about the proposed closure of A block, based at Medway hospital and run by Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, which provides in-patient mental health care facilities. I know that the Government have done a lot on the provision of mental health care facilities across the country, but may I ask the Leader of the House for an urgent debate on such provision across the country, looking at levels of in-patient and community-based treatment?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend asks his question at a good moment, not least because earlier this week my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister published the Government’s update of the mental health strategy, with some important further commitments on the availability of mental health services, especially the ability for services to become more seamless at the point at which young people are treated as adults, which makes a big difference. My hon. Friend raises an important local point. When the Secretary of State for Health decided on 20 November last year to support the Independent Reconfiguration Panel’s recommendation, he made it clear that the matter should be allowed to proceed as soon as possible. Knowing my hon. Friend’s local hospitals, I think that, for example, there is a very good in-patient unit at Darent Valley. I hope his constituents will appreciate that there continue to be high-quality in-patient services locally.

Business of the House

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Lady will be aware of the welfare reforms and poverty debate that took place earlier this week. I hope there will be continuing opportunities to consider the Work programme, because overall one can see how it is making an enormous difference to those who have previously been out of work. On disabled people specifically, I draw the hon. Lady’s attention to the written ministerial statement today from my hon. Friends at the Department for Work and Pensions on the publication of “Better Working with Disabled People”. I hope that that shows how the partnership with disabled people and their representatives is improving under this Government.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

I have been approached by a constituent who has seen her arrears increase since Law of Property Act 1925 receivers were appointed to manage her property. May we have an urgent debate on the role and regulation of LPA receivers?

[Mr Lansley]

I will not dilate on the issue of LPA receivers at present, but I will ask my hon. Friends to reply directly to my hon. Friend. I cannot promise a debate at the moment, but by raising the issue he has enabled us to focus additional attention on it.

Business of the House

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Thursday 24th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Tom Brake]

The hon. Gentleman is right to ask the Government to set out our position. We were disappointed that the European Commission’s proposal to regulate products including e-cigarettes as medicines was not supported by the European Parliament. The Government believe they need to be regulated as medicines. As he is aware, in the meantime licensed nicotine replacement therapies are available to help to reduce the harm of smoking to smokers and those around them, as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

The Care Quality Commission has raised concerns about maternity services in my local Medway hospital. May we have an urgent statement from the Secretary of State for Health on Government policy on maternity services and what is being done to get more midwives into our hospitals?

[Tom Brake]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for flagging up his concerns about his local hospital in Medway. He will be aware that the Government are taking action on midwives. He might also be aware that there is a record number of midwives in training. There will be 1,300 or so additional qualified midwives by the middle of this academic year in comparison with the beginning of the Parliament.

Business of the House

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Thursday 12th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am proud that the first such rare disease plan was published when I was Secretary of State for Health. I know that my colleagues in the Department of Health regularly co-ordinate with their counterparts in the devolved Administrations, but I will ask them to what extent that involves working together on the rare disease plan.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

Will the Leader of the House allow time for a debate on broadcasting and journalism so that we might pay tribute to the former Gillingham grammar school boy, Sir David Frost, who was a great broadcast journalist and a great ambassador for Gillingham?

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend and many others on both sides of the House will have mourned the passing of Sir David Frost. I remember not only his sense of humour but the incisiveness with which he conducted his journalism, which is a model for journalists across the world. He is much missed.

Business of the House

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Thursday 20th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

It is not a conflicting policy at all. As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer (Julian Sturdy), this comes down to decisions made locally by local people and the local authorities that represent them. If they attach the importance and sense of permanence to the green belt that is required—as I think they should—that is fine. However, if I may revert to my own constituency, the decision from 10 years ago—made locally, before the last Government introduced overriding planning guidance—did in fact give up some green belt, although it was regarded as poor quality green belt that did not contribute to the protection of Cambridge as a city. Houses are being built on what was previously green-belt land, but we feel strongly, as my hon. Friend and others do, about the green belt that contributes clearly and directly to the environmental quality of the cities and towns we live in.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

Given that around 20 to 30 Anglican churches are closed for regular worship every year, may we have an urgent debate on how we can work with local dioceses to keep churches open? They include St Barnabas church in my constituency, which has been threatened with closure after being at the heart of the community for more than 120 years.

[Mr Lansley]

I am sure the House recognises that my hon. Friend makes an important point for many communities where churches have been so important for so long. If I may, I will direct my hon. Friend to questions to my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Sir Tony Baldry), representing the Church Commissioners, on Thursday 4 July. His point would be most appropriately responded to then, and he has taken this opportunity to give our hon. Friend notice.

Business of the House

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Thursday 16th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I have not had an opportunity to read the report, but I can tell the hon. Gentleman that the Government are keen to assist people. We were discussing job creation a moment ago. As the hon. Gentleman knows, the best route out of poverty is finding work, and we need to enable people to do that. The number of workless households has fallen, but people who are in need and people who are unable to work require support. If the hon. Gentleman is able to raise these issues with my colleagues at the Department for Work and Pensions on Monday, when they will be responding to questions, they will, I know, be anxious to do all that they can to help.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

May we have a statement or a debate on Afghanistan and Pakistan, following the election of a new Government in Pakistan whose policy on Afghanistan will be crucial to security in the region?

[Mr Lansley]

I cannot promise an immediate debate, but I think my hon. Friend will be aware that we have committed ourselves to providing, and continue to provide, a quarterly statement to Parliament about issues involving Afghanistan. The political situation in Pakistan is, of course, of instrumental importance to the securing of the political future in that part of the world, and, as my hon. Friend has said, the elections on 11 May were important in that regard. As I said a moment ago to my right hon. Friend the Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Simon Hughes), the democratic transfer of power from one civilian Government to another after a full term is a milestone, and we should recognise it as such.

Business of the House

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Thursday 21st March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I recall that the hon. Gentleman raised the issue with me previously, and if the Department of Health can add anything further by way of information, I will ensure that it is made available to him. He could, of course, seek an Adjournment debate on this matter, as it relates to his constituency and neighbouring constituencies. I remind him that we are talking about passenger transport services, not the emergency responses of ambulance trusts. There are instances across the country where passenger services are not necessarily provided by the ambulance service but work alongside it, which can work perfectly effectively.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

Research has suggested that more than half of cigarettes smoked in Gillingham have avoided tax. Can we have an urgent debate on tackling illegal tobacco?

[Mr Lansley]

I cannot promise an immediate debate, but I reassure my hon. Friend that Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and UK Border Force published their latest strategy to tackle tobacco smuggling in April 2011, building on success already achieved in tackling tobacco fraud. Since the launch of the first tobacco anti-fraud strategy more than a decade ago, the illicit market for cigarettes has reduced from 21% to 9%, and from 61% to 38% for hand-rolling tobacco.

Business of the House

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Thursday 14th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I was not present at the discussions this morning between the leaders of the three parties, but I imagine that as the Prime Minister made a statement at the conclusion of those talks, it that must have been communicated in those talks.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

Medway council in my constituency proposes to invest half of its unallocated reserve in a new development fund to support future regeneration and development. Will the Leader of the House consider granting a debate on how local authorities can use their reserves to support local communities?