Business of the House

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Thursday 10th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

It is no use going on and on and blaming the bankers. If the hon. Gentleman looks at the position this country was in before the banking crisis, he will see that we were running a huge structural deficit. There is no conviction at all when Opposition Members go on trying to blame the banks, because it is they who are responsible for the difficult decisions we now must take. His party did absolutely nothing about bonuses; they obliged the banks that they supported to go on paying market rate bonuses, whereas we have secured a reduction.

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

May we have an urgent debate on the performance of Southeastern trains, whose contract is due for extension, so that its performance figures can be fully and thoroughly scrutinised on the Floor of the House, because many of my constituents are receiving a poor service?

[Sir George Young]

I am sorry to hear that my hon. Friend’s constituents are not getting the service to which they are entitled from Southeastern trains. There is a provision in the agreement for a two-year extension, subject to a continuation review where performance is assessed, and the performance data provided for assessment are subject to rigorous audit by performance analysts in the Department for Transport. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport expects to notify the operator of the outcome of this review in due course, and I will draw my hon. Friend’s remarks to his attention.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Monday 25th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

3. What proposals he plans to put to the House in respect of the structure of the parliamentary calendar for the remainder of the current Session.

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

5. What proposals he plans to put to the House in respect of the structure of the parliamentary calendar for the remainder of the current Session.

[Amber Rudd (Hastings and Rye) (Con)]

7. What proposals he plans to put to the House in respect of the structure of the parliamentary calendar for the remainder of the current Session.

--- Later in debate ---

[Rehman Chishti]

Does my hon. Friend agree that plans to reform the parliamentary calendar will enhance the ability of the House to scrutinise and debate effectively the Government’s proposed legislation for this Session?

[Mr Heath]

It is important that the House has the fullest possible opportunity to hold the Government to account. One of the difficulties that we had previously when the House did not sit in September was that there was a large part of the year when the actions of Ministers could not be scrutinised by the House. My answer to the hon. Gentleman is yes, I do think that is the case, but we can still do better. That is why I am convinced that we should continue the discussion about how we can best organise the parliamentary calendar to enable the House to do its job as effectively as possible.

Business of the House

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Thursday 14th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The Government will be spending some £90 million on universities and student support this year. The hon. Gentleman will know that this was not a protected area for the outgoing Labour Government; they had pencilled in cuts of some 20% for that budget, and we need to bear that in mind. He will have to await the outcome of the comprehensive spending review to see the resources that we are making available to the universities in the next three years.[Official Report, 2 November 2010, Vol. 517, c. 10MC.]

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

Will the Leader of the House allow a debate on fire safety linked to building regulations and materials? According to the chief fire officer for Kent, it takes a matter of minutes from ignition to collapse, and the lives of fire officers and members of the public are thereby endangered.

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend raises an important issue about the safety of those in buildings. I shall draw his remarks to the attention of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and see whether he can respond to the point that my hon. Friend has made.

Short Money

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Tuesday 12th October 2010 Ministerial Corrections

[Rehman Chishti]

To ask the Leader of the House what formula is used for calculating Short money; when that formula was set; and what mechanism is used to monitor the usage of allocated funds.

[Official Report, 13 September 2010, Vol. 515, c. 743-44W.]

Letter of correction from Sir George Young:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Gillingham and Rainham (Rehman Chishti) on 13 September 2010.

The full answer given was as follows:

[Sir George Young]

For 2010-11, the formula used to calculate each Opposition party's Short money funding is: £14,351 multiplied by the number of seats won by a party's candidates at the general election; plus £27.99 multiplied by one two hundredth of the number of votes cast at the election. The formula was set by a resolution of the House of 26 May 1999 and has been uprated by increases in the retail prices index since then.

Each Opposition party that receives Short money is required to submit a report from an independent professional auditor, after the end of each financial year, that all the expenses for which the party received financial assistance under the terms of the resolution were incurred exclusively in connection with the party's parliamentary business. The relevant criteria are set out in notes provided to the auditors.

The correct answer should have been:

Oral Answers to Questions

Rehman Chishti Excerpts

Monday 26th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

We have not announced a decision, but we have said that we are considering such action because we want to hear everyone’s views. The UK Film Council spends £3 million per annum on administration. We want to ask whether that money could be better used to support film makers.

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

When is the Shott review likely to report back on the creation and viability of local television?

[Mr Hunt]

In September.