Business of the House

Robert Halfon Excerpts

Thursday 16th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The PAC report referred predominantly to the performance of the last Labour Government; I do not think it went back to a significant degree to 1997 and beyond. There are existing rules and restraints on what jobs former Ministers are allowed to take, and there is a period of quarantine. I am very happy to look into this matter again however, and I think it goes wider than just former Government Ministers. I think the House would have an interest in this matter.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Will the Leader of the House find time for an urgent debate on costs to small businesses? Two of my Harlow constituents— Mr Raymond Patten and his daughter—have a small business outside Harlow. Their business costs have increased severely this year, with business rates up by 50% and licensing costs trebling. Does my right hon. Friend agree that while this Government are doing many excellent things to help businesses, we must not give with one hand and take away with the other?

[Sir George Young]

I agree with my hon. Friend, and I see that there is a debate scheduled for Tuesday on support for businesses, which he may like to attend. He will have read the Government’s Green Paper, “Financing a private sector recovery”, which lists a range of measures the Government are taking to support small and medium-sized enterprises, such as a business growth fund of £1.5 billion, £200 million for the enterprise capital funds and support for the enterprise finance guarantee, as well as supporting SMEs through growth hubs. I will, of course, draw my hon. Friend’s remarks to the attention of the relevant Ministers.

Business of the House

Robert Halfon Excerpts

Thursday 9th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am not going to get involved in the operational responsibilities of the Metropolitan police. I am sure that they will discharge their responsibilities to the public sensibly today, and keep public order outside Parliament.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Has my right hon. Friend seen my early-day motions 520, 598 and 1,160?

[That this House welcomes the statement by the right hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs that there is a ‘huge untapped potential' for recruiting more special constables in the future; notes that the number of specials in Essex has doubled over the past four years to nearly 700 officers; further notes the public service of special constables, who are dedicated volunteers, often working in hazardous conditions; believes that transforming the Special Constabulary into a Territorial Army-type force would enable specials to cover more policing duties and would offer excellent value for money, sustaining frontline operational services; further believes that specials are a genuinely local force, like Neighbourhood Watch, who offer an invaluable source of community intelligence; and therefore calls upon the Government to refocus its resources to incentivise special constables, so that they can work more hours and develop professionally.]

Will my right hon. Friend make a statement on what steps the Government are taking to support special constables, and will he support my planned amendment to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill that would give local authorities the power to give special constables a discount on their council tax?

[Sir George Young]

I endorse my hon. Friend’s support for special constables. As I announced a few moments ago, we are debating the Second Reading of the police Bill on Monday, and if he were lucky enough to serve on the Public Bill Committee, he would have an opportunity to table his amendment to exempt special constables from paying council tax. I should add that powers already exist to allow police authorities, with the support of the chief constable, to pay an allowance to some or all special constables in their area, and the Government also want to do what they can to increase the number of special constables.

Business of the House (Thursday)

Robert Halfon Excerpts

Wednesday 8th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Hilary Benn]

I think that you would rule me out of order if I commented on the electrification of the railway line to Wales, Mr Speaker.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Would you kindly give the House—and me, as a new Member—guidance on how many important debates were curtailed to five hours by the last Government, so that we can introduce some balance to this evening’s debate?

[Mr Speaker]

The short answer is that if the question is of interest to the hon. Gentleman, he can always undertake the necessary research. I am afraid that it is not the responsibility of the Chair to provide the answer to it tonight.

Business of the House

Robert Halfon Excerpts

Thursday 2nd December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I agree that it is important that students should be able to continue their education, and I understand the issue that the hon. Gentleman has just raised about EMA. Rather than arrange for a statement, I will certainly pursue with the appropriate Minister the question of what certainty and assurances can be given to those who need another year, after this year’s EMA runs out, to continue their courses.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Has my right hon. Friend seen my early-day motion 587, which is about creating a Royal Society of Apprentices and is signed by MPs from all parties?

[That this House welcomes the Government's plans to restore apprenticeships to their former glory; considers that such a change in policy must be supported by a change in culture; believes that this Parliament should create a new golden age of vocational training, where apprenticeships are seen as prestigious and of equal value to a university degree; further believes that a Royal Society of Apprentices, similar to the Law Society or the British Medical Association, should be established to replicate the vibrant social life of universities for students in vocational training; further believes that there should be an annual apprentices day in every local authority, which would build on the already successful Vocational Qualifications Day and act as a formal graduation ceremony for vocational students; and calls on the Government to add its voice in support of these efforts in the coming months and years.]

Yesterday I met representatives of the main apprenticeship organisations around the country, and the relevant Minister has also given his backing to the idea. May we have a debate on how we might put it into practice?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that matter. It strikes me that he might apply for one of the slots in the pre-Christmas Adjournment debate, recently advertised by the hon. Member for North East Derbyshire (Natascha Engel). He would then have an opportunity to develop his case at greater length and get a confident and, I hope, positive response from the appropriate Minister.

Oral Answers to Questions

Robert Halfon Excerpts

Monday 29th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I thank the shadow Culture Secretary for his fourth question. Let me answer plainly. School sport partnerships are not being dismantled. We are committed to competitive sport, and the legacy of the previous Government was only one in five children regularly playing inter-school sport. To answer the hon. Gentleman’s question about older children, yes, in year 7, four in five children are not playing sport at all. We want to do something about it. That is what we want our legacy to be, and that means that we have to do things differently.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

T3. Following the disappointing decision by the BBC to screen “The Accused”, denigrating our British Army, and the subsequent criticism by the head of the armed forces, does the Secretary of State agree that it is time to democratise the licence fee and give licence fee payers a real say over our programming?

[Mr Hunt]

I understand my hon. Friend’s concerns about the issue in question. He will agree with me that in a free country, it is important that the Government should not dictate to our national broadcaster what it says or broadcasts. However, he is right to say that we need to look at governance of the BBC. There is cross-party agreement that the BBC Trust set up by the previous Government has not worked in the way that was intended, and as we come up to the renewal of the BBC charter, we will be looking closely at ways to improve the democratic accountability of the BBC.

Business of the House

Robert Halfon Excerpts

Thursday 25th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

The Bill will be published shortly. Second Reading will follow after a decent interval.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Has my right hon. Friend seen my early-day motion 1090?

[That this House notes the Harrington Report, and its criticisms of the French multinational company ATOS, who have a £54 million contract to assess benefit claimants through medical checks; welcomes the Government's agreement with the Harrington Report and its promise to implement the Harrington proposals in full; concludes that ATOS has damaged the public perception of medical assessments, and has also created a serious risk of maladministration of incapacity benefit checks, following the shocking reports on their systems in the national media; further notes frequent complaints in this regard from Harlow constituents and others; and therefore calls on the Government to act swiftly so that medical assessments are more localised, humane and sympathetic.]

Will my right hon. Friend find time for an early debate on the Harrington report and the maladministration of incapacity benefit checks, following the shocking report into the private company ATOS? A number of my Harlow constituents have been maltreated by this company. Does he agree that urgent action is needed?

[Sir George Young]

We are grateful to Professor Harrington for publishing his report on the work capacity assessment and we accept all his recommendations. He did indeed find that improvements should be made. He has now started the next stage of the next review. We will improve the medical assessment conducted by ATOS by putting in place champions with additional expertise in mental, cognitive and intellectual conditions.

Business of the House

Robert Halfon Excerpts

Thursday 18th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that issue. It is important that hon. Members find time to complete the survey that was sent out a few days ago so that the House can gauge the support for existing services, and get ideas for how to improve them even more. All my work as Leader of the House was immediately put to one side when I received the survey, and I responded within 10 minutes of it arriving.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend agree to an urgent debate on extreme Islamists in the United Kingdom? As action was taken against Gareth Compton for his alleged threat to public disorder, does he agree that action should also be taken against the extreme Islamists who disrupted Remembrance Sunday last week because of their threat to public disorder?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, but the specific incident that he mentioned is a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. I think we all have a role in challenging extremism. We should all stand up for our shared British values and against extremists and their bigoted, racist and false ideology.

Business of the House

Robert Halfon Excerpts

Thursday 11th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Has my right hon. Friend seen early-day motion 971, congratulating Harlow British Legion and Harlow council on the special memorial that they have built as a tribute to fallen soldiers who have died in action since the second world war?

[That this House notes the recent memorial service at the Netteswell Memorial Garden in School Lane, Harlow, to mark the building of the new memorial to fallen soldiers who have died in action since the Second World War; believes that it is a tribute to Harlow British Legion and Harlow Council that they ensured the memorial was built; concludes that for too long at remembrance services only the names of those in action before or in the Second World War have been read out; welcomes the fact that in future, all those who have passed away since 1945 will be remembered, including those who died serving recently in Iraq and Afghanistan; and therefore commemorates the day of remembrance for the UK's brave armed forces, which is also a day of dignity for Harlow.]

Will he join me in congratulating Harlow British Legion and Harlow council and find time for a debate to commemorate servicemen and women who have died since 1945, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and of course I congratulate Harlow British Legion and Harlow council on building a special memorial to the fallen. It is particularly appropriate that my hon. Friend should have raised that particular subject today. There will be opportunities in the future—certainly between now and Christmas—to debate issues concerning our armed forces, when I hope my hon. Friend will have an opportunity to develop his case.

Business of the House

Robert Halfon Excerpts

Thursday 28th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern, but we must also consider the other side of the balance sheet—the revenue that comes in. We are shortly to debate the comprehensive spending review. I do not know whether he was planning to intervene, but I imagine that it would be appropriate to raise that matter in the debate and to press the Minister for an answer.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

In my early-day motion 914, I note Lord Mandelson’s recent conversion to becoming a strong supporter of the big society.

[That this House welcomes Lord Mandelson's recent conversion to being a supporter of the Big Society, widely reported in the national press; further welcomes his comments that the Government's welfare and education reforms are ‘moving in the right direction'; is glad that Lord Mandelson has wholly rejected his earlier position of April 2010, when he said that the Big Society was ‘neither practical nor realistic'; congratulates him on his statement of October 2010 that ‘we will have to find more of our solutions from within the communities that make our society'; and therefore calls on the Government to thank Lord Mandelson for his support, and to welcome him into the Big Society tent.]

Does the Leader of the House not agree that it is now more urgent than ever to have a debate on the big society so that we can welcome more Opposition Members to the big society big tent?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question, and I have early-day motion 914 here in front of me. It is probably the only EDM with Lord Mandelson in its title. We welcome converts to the big society, and I welcome what my hon. Friend has been doing in that regard. If he can persuade more former Members of the House to subscribe to the big society, no one would be happier than me.

Oral Answers to Questions

Robert Halfon Excerpts

Monday 25th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Heath]

The hon. Lady is pursuing this argument. Early in the lifetime of a Government, there will, of course, be some Bills that are not available for pre-legislative scrutiny, simply because—apart from anything else—otherwise the House would be sitting here with nothing to do. That is why we have ensured that these important Bills are debated on the Floor of the House, where they can receive the longest possible scrutiny. I hope that, by the completion of all its parliamentary stages, every part of the Bill she mentioned will have been available for scrutiny, if hon. Members wish to pick up any specific points. I simply do not believe that there is an alternative way of doing business. Having said that, our normal practice will be to introduce important Bills in draft, as has been clearly stated. There are more Bills in the pipeline, and she will find that, by the end of the Session, considerably more Bills will have been considered in draft than in the previous Session.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

10. What progress has been made on the establishment of a House business Committee.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Office of the Leader of the House of Commons (Mr David Heath)]

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier.

[Robert Halfon]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the House business Committee, allied with the Backbench Business Committee and the elections to Select Committees, has restored the balance of power between Parliament and the Executive? What other steps is he taking to redress that balance?

[Mr Heath]

We have already introduced quite a hefty group of reforms. I place on the record again my gratitude to the Wright Committee for its work, although I do not think that its proposals are necessarily the end of the story. I hope that the work of the Procedure Committee and the work that we will continue to do in bringing forward suggestions from my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House and myself will give us the opportunity to ratchet up steadily the involvement of individual Members of the House, to enable them to do the job that they were sent here to do on behalf of their constituents, which is to represent their constituents properly and to hold the Government to account in both their legislative and executive functions. The previous Parliament was incapable of doing that simply because of the restrictions placed on it. I hope that we can now make steady progress in improving the reputation of the House.