Business of the House

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Thursday 28th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

Can we have a debate about the effects of the Chancellor’s Budget on social and working men’s clubs? Clubs such as the TA club in Guisborough in my constituency provide an affordable venue for working people who need a meeting or reception space for christenings and weddings, and for other community groups. The 20% rate of VAT and the added duty on alcohol have had a severe effect on how much profit the club can bring in to keep that community space open, so can we please have a debate on the Floor of the House about the issue?

[Sir George Young]

We have just had a very substantial debate about the Budget, and we will deal with parts of the Finance Bill next week, so it might be appropriate for the hon. Gentleman to raise those subjects then. I commend the work done by the working clubs in his constituency.

Business of the House

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Thursday 24th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I believe that yesterday’s announcement in the Budget of more resources for apprenticeships and work experience was warmly received. In a few moments my right hon. Friend the Business Secretary will be in his place. Today’s debate will provide a good opportunity for the House to discuss the value of apprenticeships to the community, and in particular, their reinforcement of our manufacturing and engineering capability, which has such a high profile in my hon. Friend’s constituency.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend the Member for Easington (Grahame M. Morris) drew attention to the possible publication of 900 million medical prescription records online. Given that banks, lenders, insurers, private health care employers, neighbours, foreign agencies and Governments would be able to gain access to those records, may we have a debate on the Floor of the House on how the proposal relates to the Data Protection Act, employment law and other legislation?

[Sir George Young]

I repeat the undertaking that I gave a few moments ago—and on Tuesday the Health Secretary will be answering questions in the House, when the hon. Gentleman may have an opportunity to raise the matter in either a direct or a topical question.

Business of the House

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Thursday 17th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I very much regret the sequence of events that the hon. Gentleman refers to, and I understand the distress that it has caused. There will be questions to Treasury Ministers on Tuesday, and he may like to raise the matter again then.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

Unemployment is at a 17-year high and running at 14% in Middlesbrough. Growth is sluggish according to the OECD, and public sector cuts are yet to come. May I echo the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman) in asking for a debate on the Floor of the House about unemployment and its consequences for communities such as mine in the north-east?

[Sir George Young]

As I have said before, there will be four days of debate on the Budget, and a Budget for growth has at its heart dealing with the unemployment problems to which the hon. Gentleman refers. There will be ample opportunities to discuss unemployment next week and the week after, but to put it in context, employment has also risen.

Business of the House

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Thursday 10th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

This is interesting territory. I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman has been in opposition in the House, but he will know that hon. Members are sometimes informally encouraged to table questions, which I understand is wholly within the proceedings of the House. However, I hope there might be a little more ingenuity in future in coming up with different questions, rather than the same ones.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

In my constituency, 90% of all bus routes are run by Arriva. As we now have five big bus companies dominating and running two thirds of UK bus routes, may we have a debate on the Floor of the House to call on the Office of Fair Trading to reconsider the concentration of bus company dominance?

[Sir George Young]

We have just had Transport questions. I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman had the opportunity to raise that issue then, but if he did not I will certainly raise it with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and ask him to write to the hon. Gentleman.

Business of the House

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Thursday 9th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

That is a matter for the devolved Administration in Scotland, who get a block grant from the UK Government to apply as they think fit. They are accountable for how they discharge their obligations and the priorities on which they decide.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

May we have a debate in the House about why £2 billion in business rates is being withheld from local authorities until 2013-14, prior to a general election, while the Government are still insisting that front-loaded cuts be imposed on local authorities at present?

[Sir George Young]

I hope that there will be a statement on local government finance in the relatively near future, when the hon. Gentleman will have the opportunity to put that question.

Business of the House

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Thursday 2nd December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

Of course he does. I am not aware that there has been any change of policy by the coalition Government on this issue. I think that we are carrying forward the policy that we inherited, with which the hon. Gentleman may be familiar.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

Does the Leader of the House agree with the Speaker, who strongly deprecates the practice of late transfer of oral questions by Government Departments at late notice? If so, what action does he intend to take on this matter?

[Sir George Young]

The answer to the question, “Do I agree with the Speaker?”, is always yes. I should like to make some inquiries about the particular transfer to which the hon. Gentleman refers. If a question is transferred for good reason from one Department to another, then the Department to which it is transferred should reply promptly. If that has not happened, of course I will chase it up.

Business of the House

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Thursday 25th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I understand the hon. Lady’s concern, but it must be said that the legal aid regime in this country is relatively generous in comparison with those of most other countries. We were not able to exclude it from the difficult decisions that we had to make to control the deficit, but what we have announced requires legislation. There will be a legal aid Bill, which will give the hon. Lady an opportunity to press her concerns.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

The North East illegal money lending team has helped communities in my constituency to beat loan sharks in communities such as Easterside. It has helped to set up credit unions, and to break up gangs selling counterfeit and fenced goods. Will the Leader of the House please press Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to allow a debate on the subject, and will he impress on them the need for me to have personal meetings with them, along with other Teesside Members, so that we can discuss the agency?

[Sir George Young]

I commend the group in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency for what it has done. I will certainly find out whether my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government can meet him and his colleagues to take the agenda further forward.

Business of the House

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Thursday 9th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend makes a good point, and the World Service is respected throughout the world. I will certainly pass his concerns on to the Foreign Secretary. The issue may well not be resolved until the CSR is finalised.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

Does the Leader of the House agree that the House urgently needs to debate the balance of trade in relation to the process industry in the north-east? Also, given that the BBC today reported that areas such as Middlesbrough, Redcar and Stockton are the least resilient to the Government’s potential cuts, is it not paramount that we debate the process industry in, and exports from, that area, particularly in relation to the Government’s plan for a reduction of regional aid?

[Sir George Young]

The hon. Gentleman has, like others, touched on the CSR. We did not want to make those reductions; we inherited the need to implement them. I support his idea of a debate on export opportunities for industries in the north-east. Perhaps the hon. Member for North East Derbyshire (Natascha Engel), the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee, can add that to her list. However, if we debate the CSR, the hon. Gentleman will have the opportunity to make his points on Government policies on those matters.

Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Monday 26th July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I am very happy to praise the work of that organisation, which I visited with my hon. Friend before the election. I can personally attest to what a brilliant job it is doing. I think that it involves more than 50,000 young people every year across four London boroughs, and it has a brilliant role to play. I hope that restoring the lottery to its original four pillars as one of my first acts as Secretary of State will make more funds available for such projects and for their important work.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

T4. Guisborough and Skinningrove in my constituency suffer from bad TV reception, and certain channels are unobtainable. Both areas are served by relay transmitters rather than masts. Will the Minister confirm the date for digital switchover in both communities, and provide details of the funding of the switchover? Will he also give me a guarantee that the residents of those areas will be able to receive all Freeview channels once the process is complete?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

By the time digital switchover ends in 2012, everyone in the country should be able to receive at least 15 Freeview channels, but I would be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss any particular problems in his constituency.