Oral Answers to Questions

John Bercow Excerpts

Wednesday 7th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Maude]

Anyone who has responsibility for spending public money needs to ensure that it is spent on the front-line services on which citizens depend. In the civil service, we discovered that 248 civil servants were doing nothing but trade union work at the taxpayers’ expense. Following our consultation, we have introduced tough new controls that will more than halve the cost of trade union activity to the taxpayer.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. There are far too many noisy private conversations taking place in the Chamber. Let us have a bit of order so that Members may actually be heard—it is something to do with manners.

[Mr Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

T2. As the Minister seems to love contracting out work to the cosy cartel of G4S, A4e, Serco and Capita, does he not think that transparency should extend to those companies as much as it does to the public sector?

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[Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire) (Con)]

T6. Government spending on advertising and consultants of all kinds is nearly always wasteful, profligate and—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. This is straightforwardly discourteous. The hon. Gentleman is trying to ask a question. I want the Minister to hear it and to answer. If, instead of rabbiting away from a sedentary position when their views are of no interest or concern whatever, people were to have the manners to listen, that would help.

[Mr Gray]

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Government spending on advertising and consultants is nearly always wasteful, extravagant and profligate. What was the annual spend of the previous Government, how much has my right hon. Friend managed to cut it by, and what further plans does he have to squeeze this kind of waste out of Government spending?

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[Mr Speaker]

Order. The junior Minister in the back row—the Under-Secretary of State for Health, the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry)—thinks her views are relevant, but we are not interested. [Interruption.] Order. I do not want heckling. I want the question to be heard, and it will be heard with courtesy. If the session has to be extended for that to happen, so be it.

[Ms Harman]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am beginning to have quite a lot of sympathy with the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Nadine Dorries) and her experience of all those rats and snakes—even before she went to the jungle.

In the Deputy Prime Minister’s e-mail, he said he would reveal—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I have made the point once, and I am going to make it only once more. Mr Jason McCartney: your heckling is not wanted, it does not help. Stop it, and stop it for the remainder of this session and in future. I have made the position clear.

[Ms Harman]

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

In the Deputy Prime Minister’s e-mail, he said he would reveal what really goes on behind those Whitehall doors. Perhaps in next week’s instalment, he will therefore tell the truth: under his Government, families are worse off, aren’t they?

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[The Deputy Prime Minister]

At least people can trust the Conservatives and Lib Dems on the economy. Let me explain. The shadow Chancellor is not here—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The right hon. Gentleman is in danger of being heckled rather noisily and stupidly by both sides. His answer will be heard, however long it takes, so the juvenile delinquency should stop now.

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I am used to getting it from both sides.

The shadow Chancellor is not in the Chamber, but just to underline my point, last year, in a television interview, he denied that there was a structural deficit while Labour was in power. Last month, in another television interview, he denied the denial. Now that he is briefing against himself in television interviews, how an earth will anyone ever have any faith that his lot can sort out the economy?

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[The Deputy Prime Minister]

As the hon. Lady knows—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Lady has asked the Deputy Prime Minister a question. I hope that hon. Members will have the courtesy to listen to the answer. I certainly want to hear it.

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

As the hon. Lady knows, her own leader has said that this is a voluntary process by which we need to encourage councils and employers in the public and private sectors to pay the living wage. No one will disagree with the idea of a living wage, with people being paid a fair wage for a fair day’s work, but there is a lot of extra work to be done to make that a reality. But guess what? It is this Government’s tax changes that will mean that as of next April someone on the minimum wage will have their income tax cut by half.