Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

John Bercow Excerpts
Wednesday 14th December 2011

(12 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. It is normally a great pleasure to hear from the hon. Lady, but the Wirral is a little distance away from Calder Valley, to which this question exclusively relates. We will save her up for another occasion.

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None Portrait Several hon. Members
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rose[Interruption.]

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. There are far too many noisy private conversations taking place in the Chamber. The House must come to order.

Michael Dugher Portrait Michael Dugher (Barnsley East) (Lab)
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According to figures published by the Cabinet Office last week, the Deputy Prime Minister has appointed four more special advisers at a cost to the taxpayer of at least £190,000. At a time when the average family is set to lose £320 a year as a result of tax credit changes and at a time when almost everyone is asking what exactly is the point of the Deputy Prime Minister, does the Minister think that this is a good use of public money?

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Lord Maude of Horsham Portrait Mr Maude
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I can indeed. [Interruption.] On— [Interruption.]

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. I know that the House wants to hear the right hon. Gentleman’s answer.

Lord Maude of Horsham Portrait Mr Maude
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I sense that the House is waiting on the edge of its seat for my answer. On 30 November, 146,256 civil servants went on strike, which represents about 30% of the civil service work force. I would like to express my appreciation to the 70% of civil servants who came to work that day as normal.

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None Portrait Several hon. Members
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rose

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. The House must come to order to hear Mr Simon Hughes.

Simon Hughes Portrait Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)
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T7. What contribution are Departments making to greater energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions following the successful Durban summit?

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Ed Miliband Portrait Edward Miliband
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I think our sympathy is with the Deputy Prime Minister. His partner goes on a business trip and he is left waiting by the phone, but he hears nothing until a rambling phone call at 4 am confessing to a terrible mistake.

How is the Prime Minister going to pick up the pieces of the bad deal he delivered for Britain? The Council came to conclusions on Friday morning, but the treaty will not be signed until March. In the cold light of day, with other countries—[Interruption.]

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. Some very, very foolish person shouted out “Stop”. The person who did that will stop, because people in this place must be heard. If there is a Member here who does not think so, I invite that Member to leave the Chamber.

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Portrait The Prime Minister
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First, I make no apologies for standing up for Britain. In the past two days we have read a lot about my opinions and we have read a lot about the Deputy Prime Minister’s opinions; the one thing we do not know is what the right hon. Gentleman would have done. While he was here on Monday his aides were running around the Press Gallery briefing that he would not have signed up to the treaty. Well, here is another try: what’s your answer?

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I have no answer on this matter whatsoever—[Interruption.] Order. I am glad the Minister of State, Department of Health, the right hon. Member for Chelmsford (Mr Burns), has returned from his travels. We wish him a merry Christmas, but in his case it should be a quiet one.

Ed Miliband Portrait Edward Miliband
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There was a better deal for Britain that the Prime Minister should have got, and that is what the Deputy Prime Minister himself says. Here is the truth: last week the Prime Minister made a catastrophic mistake, and this week we discover that unemployment is at its highest level for 17 years. This Prime Minister thinks he is born to rule. The truth is that he is just not very good at it.

None Portrait Hon. Members
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Hear, hear!

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. I am sure Government Back Benchers want to hear their own colleague, Mr Martin Vickers.

Martin Vickers Portrait Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) (Con)
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Thank you, Mr Speaker. Yesterday’s announcement about local television was good news for my constituency, where Channel 7, the sole survivor from the original batch, is based. Does the Prime Minister agree that local broadcasting strengthens local communities and advances the big society? If he is in north Lincolnshire in the near future, will he find time to pay Channel 7 a visit?

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None Portrait Several hon. Members
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rose

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I am in a generous mood too, and it is always a delight to listen to my colleagues, so we will have a little more.

Anne McGuire Portrait Mrs Anne McGuire (Stirling) (Lab)
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Earlier this week in the other place, the coalition Government voted down, by a majority of two, a proposal to protect the benefits of disabled children. Is reducing benefits for disabled children by over £1,300 a year something that reflects the Prime Minister’s often repeated mantra that we are all in this together?

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Portrait The Prime Minister
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First of all, we are not cutting benefits for disabled children. Actually, we are uprating all those benefits by 5.2%, so people will see an increase in the benefits that they receive next year.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Last, but never forgotten, Mr Brian Binley.

Brian Binley Portrait Mr Brian Binley (Northampton South) (Con)
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The Prime Minister will be aware that capacity levels on the west coast main line are intolerable and getting worse. Does he share the concerns of rail users that delays to High Speed 2 will only make their journeys more unpleasant? Will he provide the assurance that they seek about the future that he promised them?

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Portrait The Prime Minister
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I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that question. Clearly the country has a choice. Because the west coast main line is as congested as it is, we need to replace it with either a traditional line or a high-speed line. It is well known that the Government’s view is that a high-speed line is the right answer. That is why the consultation has been conducted. Not only will it be good for people who use the west coast main line; it will be a successful regional policy that will link up our great cities, shrink the size of our country and ensure that all parts of the country can enjoy economic prosperity and growth.

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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I appeal to right hon. and hon. Members who are leaving the Chamber to do so quickly and quietly so that we can all listen attentively to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs—preferably facing the House or the Chair.