Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow(5 years, 5 months ago)
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Mr Speaker
If the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) has been trugging round Amsterdam in pursuit of the public interest he is a remarkably assiduous and dedicated fellow. We are all deeply obliged to him—it is way beyond the call of duty, but we are appreciative none the less.
We now come to topical questions. I call Justin Madders.
Mr Speaker
The hon. Gentleman will think it is a conspiracy, but he will get his moment in a moment. I call Mrs Hodgson.
Mrs Hodgson
Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Government’s second childhood obesity plan will celebrate its first birthday a week today, but we will not be celebrating. The Government have ducked and dived on their responsibility to the children in this country and have failed to produce any policies as a result of the six consultations the plan has promised, but the rate of childhood obesity is still at a record high. Instead of waiting for the chief medical officer to report on obesity, will the Government act now to tackle the childhood obesity crisis, and introduce and implement the policies they have consulted on already?
European Union (Withdrawal) Act
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow(5 years, 10 months ago)
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Mrs Hodgson
Absolutely. That would be one of the biggest ironies of any of our political careers, as we are all finding out that it is anything but simple. It has got to be the most complicated thing I have ever had to try to get my head around.
Can anyone in this place honestly say that the deal on offer delivers any of the things I have listed? Far from delivering back control, this deal means giving up our voice within the EU and becoming rule takers until at least 2020, at which point the problematic backstop could come into place. The Government’s own analysis shows that the economic benefit of further trade deals around the world is minimal, will not come for a while and will be outweighed by GDP falling by around 3.9% under their deal.
With regard to immigration, the Government’s recent White Paper failed to provide overall clarity on the issue and included plans to disgracefully label workers on less than £30,000 a year as “low-skilled”. That policy will only contribute to existing staffing shortages in the NHS in particular, as it rules out nurses, care assistants and paramedics coming from abroad. As shadow Minister for Public Health, I am well placed to know that the much promised extra money for the NHS—remember the £350 million on the side of that big red bus?—could not be further from the truth.
It is no wonder that all this lack of clarity has left people on both sides of the debate hugely disappointed. Indeed, in recent weeks I have received hundreds of emails, letters and postcards regarding this deal, as I am sure every single Member of the House has. There are people who say that the Prime Minister’s deal fails to respect the result of the referendum and would like me to vote against it. There are people who would like me to vote against this deal and then push for a people’s vote. There are people who would like to bypass another vote altogether and for us to remain a member of the European Union. There are people who would like a Norway or Canada-style deal, and there are people who believe that we would now be better off leaving the EU without any deal at all.
However, it is astonishingly clear from the percentages of 87% to 13% that very few people would like me to vote for this deal. It is no wonder that almost 60% of those who took part in my survey now think that the electorate, as well as Parliament, should have to approve any deal agreed with the EU before it is ratified.
Almost nothing of what was promised and expected has been delivered. People who voted to leave the EU are not happy with this deal. People who voted to remain in the EU are not happy with this deal, and 87% of my constituents who contacted me about this deal are against it. As such, I will be voting against it when the question is put on Tuesday.
Mr Speaker
What an extraordinarily succinct contribution that was. Of course I am paying attention; I never cease to do so.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow(6 years, 6 months ago)
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Mr Speaker
We are very grateful to the hon. Lady, who says that she knows that, but I am also most grateful to the Minister.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow(7 years ago)
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Mr Speaker
It is always useful to have a bit of additional information, for which the House is grateful.
Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)
Under this Government we have seen lung disease admissions to A&E rise at double the rate of general admissions. That is even more concerning when the bulk of lung disease admissions happen over the winter months, when A&E departments are already under significant pressure. Will the Minister commit today to introducing a lung disease strategy to ensure that we can reverse these worrying trends and this pressure on people’s lives and on our NHS?
Points of Order
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow(8 years, 9 months ago)
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Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. It has been brought to my attention that the use of vellum—the calfskin material on which Acts of Parliament are printed—is to be discontinued, with Parliament giving 30 days’ notice to cease to the printers. However, in response to a point of order made by the hon. Member for North Wiltshire (Mr Gray) on 26 October last year, you made it clear that a decision on this matter would have to be taken on the Floor of the House.
May I therefore seek your guidance on what should be done now in order that Members from across the House can register their opposition to the decision and make the case for the continued use of vellum, especially in the light of significant disputes over the so-called savings that have been cited by the Administration Committee and influenced its recommendation to end the centuries-old practice of using vellum to print this country’s legislation? Surely we think that the legislation that we make in this place—the mother of all Parliaments—is worthy of nothing less.
Mr Speaker
I am very grateful to the hon. Lady for her point of order and for her courtesy in giving me notice of it. She is, indeed, correct that when the matter was raised in October last year by the hon. Member for North Wiltshire (Mr Gray), I indicated that, as had been the case in 1999, the House would be asked to decide whether to agree to the recommendation of the Administration Committee that it should agree to the proposal of the House of Lords—indeed, the decision of the House of Lords—to replace vellum with archival paper. That was my understanding at that time, not least for the historical reason that I have just given. No such opportunity has, however, been offered to the House. That is why she is complaining. The provision of such an opportunity is not in my gift.
I should also say that the arrangements for printing Acts of Parliament and the associated expenditure are matters for the House of Lords, and not for this House, so its arrangements with the printers of Acts are not matters for the Chair.
As for seeking an opportunity to demonstrate the depth and breadth of support for the continued use of vellum, I am sure that the hon. Lady will have thought of tabling an early-day motion. I shall leave the matter there for now.
Points of Order
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow
Mr Speaker
Let me say the following in response to these points of order. First, I understand that there are strong feelings on this matter, and sometimes feelings that are contrary to each other, and they have been articulated on the Floor of the House this afternoon. About that, I make no complaint whatsoever. In response to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill), who, with his usual courtesy, kindly notified me in advance of his intention to raise the point of order, what I would say is this: it is not for the Chair to seek to advise Members on those with whom they should or should not communicate. That is a matter upon which they can and will make their own individual judgment. The DPP will decide what course of action, if any, to follow in response to representations, written or otherwise, from a Member of Parliament. I do not doubt the good intentions of the hon. Gentleman, a distinguished lawyer who of course chairs an important Select Committee in this House, but I feel that it is not for the Chair to be drawn into these matters. I hope that, upon reflection, people will feel that there is a certain logic to what I am saying. Colleagues, make your own judgments about these matters.
Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. As I said in business questions, the Government recently announced a call for evidence on their review of the secondary ticketing market, with a very tight deadline. I pressed the Government on how they are publicising this call and received a written answer from the Minister for Skills assuring me that all main stakeholders had been alerted. However, I know from the conversations I have had with major stakeholders that in all too many cases I was the one who had brought this to their attention. May I therefore ask your advice on what steps a Member can take to investigate the substance—dare I say truth—of an answer to a written parliamentary question? What steps can be taken to urge Ministers to check the content of their written answers, as all too often, especially recently, it appears that answers are either questionable or far too brief to be of practical use to anyone?
Mr Speaker
I thank the hon. Lady for that point of order. It is a well-established principle in this House that ministerial answers to questions should be both timely and substantive. In reference to the latter point, colleagues will appreciate that what I am stressing is that a reply that simply says, “I hope to respond shortly” is not regarded by most Members as in any way helpful and that to comply with the spirit of the obligation upon Ministers to reply to answers it is important that those answers should be substantive.
As the hon. Lady will fully appreciate, the Chair has no responsibility for the content of answers. Every Member is responsible for the veracity or otherwise of what she or he says in this House. Ministers are certainly responsible for the content of their answers. My advice to the hon. Lady is that if she is dissatisfied with the answers, because she thinks either that they are uninformative or incorrect, she should table further probing and specific questions, based on those answers she has received, seeking to track down the precise particulars that she wants to establish. If that is unsuccessful, there is always the recourse of oral questions to the relevant Secretary of State and the opportunity to apply for Adjournment debates. I have not noticed, over the past 10 years, the hon. Lady displaying a noticeable reluctance to explore those avenues.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow(9 years, 9 months ago)
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Mr Speaker
Order. I said a moment ago that the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Glyn Davies) had a right to be heard with courtesy. The hon. Lady has a similar right to be heard with courtesy, and be in no doubt: she will be heard with courtesy.
Mrs Hodgson
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I just wanted to know whether the Prime Minister has had any conversations with Lord Green about tax avoidance at HSBC; if not, why not?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow(10 years, 4 months ago)
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Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)
16. What assessment he has made of the adherence by NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups to the healthy child programme (a) in general and (b) in respect of the provision of perinatal mental health services.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow(10 years, 9 months ago)
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Mr Speaker
I beg your pardon. I did not give the hon. Lady her opportunity to speak. She would have been deprived.
Mrs Hodgson
I am very grateful to you, Mr Speaker. Since the last election, the cost of nursery places has risen five times faster than pay, and there are 35,000 fewer child care places. Given that so many women are forced out of work because of unaffordable child care, will the Minister back our plans to provide 25 hours of child care for all three and four-year-olds of working parents?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow
Mr Speaker
I should just say to the Secretary of State that I thought the hon. Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon) was the man in the mustard suit, but the Clerk, who is the fount of all wisdom, advises me that its colour is tangerine.
Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)
T9. Despite the Government’s rhetoric on early intervention, Sunderland council’s early intervention grant is 47% lower than it was in 2010, while the Secretary of State’s council in Essex has had a cut of just 36%. Can the Secretary of State tell us by how much more the Government will cut Sure Start and other early intervention programmes over the next two years, and whether these disparities in cuts will be reversed or entrenched?
Points of Order
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow(11 years, 9 months ago)
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Mr Speaker
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I am familiar with his book and have myself read it. He has put it on the record. [Interruption.] The Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the hon. Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), is requesting a copy. I do not think that the purpose of the exercise was to increase sales of the book, but that might be the inadvertent consequence.
Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Have you had any notice from Ministers in either the Home Office or the Department for Culture, Media and Sport that they wish to correct the record of written answers to me regarding a report prepared by Operation Podium on ticket crime? I ask because Ministers in both Departments responded to my request that they place a copy of the report in the Library by saying that the information it contained is operationally sensitive. I have a copy in my possession and know that it does not contain sensitive information. In fact, it states clearly on the front that it is not protectively marked and that it is suitable for the publication scheme. I am also aware that it has been distributed to many commercial organisations. I am sure that Ministers did not intend to mislead the House or withhold information from it, so if you have not received word that Ministers would like to correct the record, will you advise me on the best course of action to pursue to remind the Government of their duties to Members of the House?
Mr Speaker
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her point of order and for her courtesy in providing me with notice of it. She has expressed her dissatisfaction with the answers to her questions she has received and explained the basis of that dissatisfaction. Ministers will also have noted her concerns, or will shortly hear of them. If she remains dissatisfied, she may pursue the matter through the mechanism of debate, or it is open to her to raise the nature of the answers she has received with the House’s Procedure Committee. One approach would be to write to, or otherwise have contact with, the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Mr Walker), who chairs the Committee. Those on the Treasury Bench will have heard her point of order. I hope that addresses the matter for today.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow(12 years, 5 months ago)
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Mr Speaker
I hear the Secretary of State’s message but we have a lot of questions to get through.
Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)
6. What steps her Department is taking to improve cycling safety.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow(12 years, 6 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr Stephen O'Brien)
We are very pleased that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has been asked by the United Nations Secretary-General to co-chair the high-level panel on a framework to replace the millennium development goals. That process will of course need to be open and consultative, and I am confident that the voice of girls and women, who are often among the world’s poorest people, will be heard. [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
There are a lot of noisy private conversations taking place. Let us have a bit of order for Mrs Sharon Hodgson.
Mrs Hodgson
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
I thank the Minister for his response and welcome the UK’s customary leadership on this issue. He mentioned the voice of the poorest, among whom the hardest to hear are often women and girls. I am sure he agrees that their voice is the most important one that needs to be heard in order to develop the framework following the millennium development goals. What plans has he in place to ensure that their voice is heard, and what is his timeline for such a framework?
Points of Order
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow
Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)
On a point of order, Mr Speaker. In yesterday’s The Independent on Sunday, the Deputy Prime Minister was quoted as saying that he wants to recruit 65,000 new early years workers by September 2013, including 2,000 in Birmingham alone. However, the Daily Mail has reported a Department for Education source as saying that the figure will be closer to 12,000 across the country. Given that this is a significant policy matter, have you been informed that the Government intend to come to the House to set the record straight so that Members know whether the Deputy Prime Minister was right or wrong in what he told The Independent on Sunday, and have you received an apology from Ministers for once again announcing Government policy in the press before doing so in the House?
Mr Speaker
First, there are many ways in which the hon. Lady can continue to pursue this matter, but a point of order is not one of them. Secondly, she will understand that I do not want to act as umpire between competing reports in—I will not say the popular newspapers—what are apparently described as newspapers. I will leave those institutions to make their own observations. No Minister has apologised to me, but if I receive an apology in respect of this matter, I assure the hon. Lady that she will learn of it without delay.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow(13 years, 7 months ago)
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Mrs Hodgson
I am very pleased to hear that the Minister got a positive response—I would expect nothing less of the friendly north-east. The Chancellor said in his Budget statement last Wednesday that there would be an enterprise zone on Tyneside, but the Red Book refers to an enterprise zone in the North Eastern local enterprise partnership, and I am sure the Minister is aware that they are not one and the same. The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change told the Sunderland Echo that Sunderland had a really good chance of getting an enterprise zone. Will the Minister confirm that the Chancellor misled the House last week and that a decision has not yet been made on where—
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow(13 years, 11 months ago)
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Mrs Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Sunderland West) (Lab)
8. What recent discussions she has had with police forces on the likely number of (a) police officers and (b) police community support officers at the end of the 2014-15 financial year.
Mr Speaker
I assume that the Minister had finished his reply, so I call Paul Blomfield.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Sharon Hodgson and John Bercow(14 years ago)
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Mrs Hodgson
For instance, we would have chosen to tax the bankers more heavily in order to avoid the shameful attack yesterday on women and children in the form of the abolition of the child trust fund and the health in pregnancy grant. Does the Prime Minister agree with his Chancellor’s choices continually to penalise women and children in that way?
Please, Mr Speaker—
Mrs Hodgson
Please, Mr Speaker, will you ask the Prime Minister not continually to blame the Opposition? He is in government now—