communities and local government committee

Thomas Docherty Excerpts

Thursday 18th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Betts]

Last time the Government agreed to 30 of our recommendations. It will be difficult to match that this time as we have given them only 29 recommendations, but I am sure that they will be grateful to receive one less.

It is absolutely right that the Government should take away the report and consider it. We are saying that the NPPF has been a success in general, but we hope that the Government will recognise that there are some problems, particularly about issues—the development of local plans, the five-year supply of housing land and the relationship between neighbourhood and local plans—that need to be addressed to improve the system that they set up. I hope that the Government will respond positively, and we look forward to discussing their response to our recommendations when it is made.

bill presented

Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill

Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 57)

The Deputy Prime Minister, supported by the Prime Minister, Secretary Nicky Morgan, Mr Oliver Letwin, Greg Clark, Mr Sam Gyimah, Jo Swinson and Tom Brake, presented a Bill to make time-limited provision for vacancies among the Lords Spiritual to be filled by bishops who are women.

Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Monday 5 January 2015, and to be printed (Bill 143) with explanatory notes (Bill 143-EN).

[Thomas Docherty (Dunfermline and West Fife) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. This morning, the Leader of the House said that the list of Government special advisers would be published today. It has been placed on the gov.uk website, but no copy has been made available to Members at the Vote Office. Do you have any suggestions about how I could encourage the Deputy Leader of the House to ensure that Members of the House are given the courtesy of being able to pick up a copy at the Vote Office?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Mrs Eleanor Laing)]

I am surprised at the hon. Gentleman’s point of order merely because, unlike me and some other Members of the House, he is computer literate. I am surprised that he prefers to have such a matter printed on expensive and tree-wasting paper, rather than in electronic form. However, if any Member asks the Vote Office for a paper copy of a matter published on the Government website, the Vote Office ought to be able to provide one. I am quite sure that the Deputy Leader of the House has heard what the hon. Gentleman and I have said, and I would be very surprised if the Vote Office does not, in the very near future, take the hint and produce some paper copies of the matter that the hon. Gentleman so rightly draws to the attention of the House.