Business of the House
Debate between Steve Barclay and Alan Campbell(1 week ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that tragic case with the House. It is important that we have strong and effective gun laws. If she wishes to raise her concerns directly with the relevant Home Office Minister, I will arrange for a meeting. She may also wish to seek a Westminster Hall debate so that she and the rest of the House can hear directly from the Minister about what the Government intend to do.
Steve Barclay (North East Cambridgeshire) (Con)
When Lord Mandelson WhatsApped one of the Government’s most senior Ministers to say that growth plans were in the hands of the Chancellor, the now Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister replied:
“It doesn’t fill you with confidence”.
A good illustration of that can be seen in Cambridgeshire. Just last year, after spending £80 million of public money and securing planning permission for the largest brownfield site for 8,500 homes, the Government cancelled the scheme. This week, the Government announced yet another unelected quango, the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation, to lead on housing. That is in addition to the Greater Cambridge Partnership, which leads on housing, the metro mayor, who leads on housing, and the county council and district council, which also lead on housing—and if that is not enough, there is also Cambridge Ahead, which is the voice of civil leadership on issues such as housing. Why should having so many duplicate bodies, which cost taxpayers in my constituency so much money, give anyone confidence that this Government can deliver growth?
Sir Alan Campbell
This Government are delivering growth in difficult circumstances—not as fast as we would hope, of course, but we are doing it. We are also building more houses, which is important, because people need somewhere to live and because housing is a driver of growth. The right hon. Gentleman talks about the involvement of various agencies in decision making. The principle from Government is very simple: decisions should be made closer to the people that they affect. It is better that the organisations and agencies that he mentions make those decisions rather than attempts being made to determine those matters here at the centre.
Business of the House
Debate between Steve Barclay and Alan Campbell(2 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Sir Alan Campbell
Throughout this conflict, our first priority has been to help households with the cost of living. That underlines our need to focus on clean, homegrown energy. As the role of gas diminishes, we will continue to explore how market and system arrangements can evolve to minimise its impact on consumer bills. We will learn the lessons from the current situation we find ourselves in. I encourage my hon. Friend to raise his specific concerns at Energy Security and Net Zero questions next week.
Steve Barclay (North East Cambridgeshire) (Con)
On Tuesday evening, a car with five teenagers left the road near Wisbech in my constituency and entered the river. Tragically, only three of the teenagers exited the car. I am sure the whole House will join me in sending our condolences to the families affected by this tragedy and the emergency services who are performing the distressing recovery.
In “Fit for the Future: 10 Year Plan”, the Government set out three big shifts for the NHS. The first is in care services moving from hospital into the community, yet the exact opposite is happening in Fenland, both at the North Cambridgeshire hospital site and the Doddington site, where services are being reduced and moved to hospital settings. May we have a debate on whether this is the latest Government U-turn that they have not yet announced, or are health bosses free to ignore the strategy and do the exact opposite locally?
Sir Alan Campbell
First, I join the right hon. Gentleman and the House in sending our deepest condolences to the friends and family of the young people involved. Each and every one of them is a tragedy.
On the wider issue about the NHS in the right hon. Gentleman’s area, there is no question of a U-turn. He knows very well, from his former roles in government, the importance of delivering services locally but having a Government setting the strategy and providing the resources. I do not know the detail, other than what he has said, but if he wishes to provide me with that, I will certainly raise it with colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care. In trusts across the country, there are many who, despite this Government putting more money into the NHS, are struggling with the legacy of his Government.