Business of the House

Debate between Roger Williams and Lord Young of Cookham

Thursday 19th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I take this opportunity to compliment the hon. Lady on her chairmanship of the Backbench Business Committee during its first two years. As she has just said, it has met for the last time. I have no idea whether she is going to stand again as Chair and the last thing she would want would be any endorsement from business managers of her candidacy, but I hope that if she stands, the House will take on board her record of leadership over the past two years.

Speaking for the two coalition parties, I can say that we plan to proceed as quickly as possible at the beginning of the next Session with the election of our members of the Backbench Business Committee, and I am sure that the shadow Leader of the House will ensure that her party does the same. The Government want to see the Committee up and running as soon as possible and we will do all we can to facilitate it. I commend the hon. Lady on her public service announcement about the launch of her report in Westminster Hall next week and I very much hope to be in my place for that.

[Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD)]

The people of Hay-on-Wye in my constituency are twinned with the people of Timbuktu in Mali, where they carry on many good projects involving health, education and agriculture. They are now concerned about the well-being of their friends in that trouble-torn country. Will the Leader of the House either make time available for a debate or ask the Foreign Secretary to come to the House and make an oral statement so that we can ascertain what is happening in that country and to our embassy there?

Business of the House

Debate between Roger Williams and Lord Young of Cookham

Thursday 24th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful for the hon. Lady’s words. I had always envisaged that the Chairman of the Backbench Business Committee would indeed be a Member of the Liaison Committee and take part in its important work, not least in its twice yearly interrogation of the Prime Minister.

[Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD)]

Would the Leader of the House look favourably on requests for a general debate on the Floor of the House on science and its role in ensuring that we have an expanding and improving economy, particularly so that the Government can express their views on genetically modified technology and the role it can play in British agriculture?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that proposal. As he will know, in future, decisions as to whether or not a general debate is held will fall to the hon. Member for North East Derbyshire (Natascha Engel) and her colleagues on the Backbench Business Committee, which we hope to get up and running as soon as we can. I am sure that what my hon. Friend has said did not fall on deaf ears.