Business of the House

Yvonne Fovargue Excerpts

Thursday 14th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I add my congratulations and thanks to those of my hon. Friend for those individuals who have done so much to improve services and the patient experience in his area. We have had some good news on cancer outcomes today. That is very welcome, and it is because of those people—their attention to detail and their efforts—that those achievements have been secured.

As my hon. Friend knows, diagnostics are absolutely critical to ensuring that people have good outcomes. That is why we have invested so much in the 160 new diagnostic test centres in a whole raft of therapy areas across the country. I will make sure that the Secretary of State for Health has heard about my hon. Friend’s particular interest in this area. We obviously have new opportunities to use data that the Department of Health and Social Care is collecting to ensure we improve patient outcomes everywhere.

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

Last week, I visited Zeelandia UK. Besides showing me its range of products, I had a Zoom call with the managing director of that company’s Ukrainian factory, who set up “Bake for Ukraine”, a project that helps bring fresh bread to local people by sending decommissioned commercial bakery equipment from the UK, which is converted and given to small bakeries in local villages. Tesco already contributes to that scheme, but could the Leader of the House suggest how it could be promoted to all colleagues, to encourage more companies to contribute and raise awareness of this wonderful project?

[Penny Mordaunt]

In addition to asking a question, the hon. Lady has provided her own answer by sharing with the House this very impressive scheme, which shows the power of business as a force for good in the world. It will be in Hansard; I hope that the media will pick it up; and I am sure that everyone in this Chamber will do their best to promote the scheme.

Privileges Committee Special Report

Yvonne Fovargue Excerpts

Monday 10th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[Dame Andrea Jenkyns]

After the BBC cancelled an interview with the hon. Member, he wrote that

“some oligarchs’ lawyers are cracking down on free speech.”

The former leader of the Liberal Democrats, the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron), commented about Gary Lineker:

“I’m sure we can count on the Free Speech Union to stand up against this hysterical act of cancellation…”.

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

Will the hon. Member give way?

[Dame Andrea Jenkyns]

I am sorry; I am nearly at the end.

The hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) stated:

“Those on the frontline of environmental destruction are freedom fighters”.

Yet seven MPs who express an opinion are hauled into the Chamber to defend themselves in this debate.

If the House truly believes in free speech for all, it should vote down this motion and send a message that this House will not tolerate the policing of speech for Members of this House. By the way, out of common courtesy, I would like to reiterate that I contacted the hon. Members I have mentioned in my speech to say that I would be doing so—a privilege that the seven of us were not afforded by the Privileges Committee, as we had no prior notice that we were to be mentioned in its report.

I conclude by quoting from our greatest Prime Minister ever, Sir Winston Churchill:

“Everyone is in favour of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people’s idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage.”—[Official Report, 13 October 1943; Vol. 392, c. 923.]

Sir Winston was right.

Business of the House

Yvonne Fovargue Excerpts

Thursday 22nd January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

My hon. Friend raises what is a very important issue in many parts of the country. I agree with what the Prime Minister said yesterday: legislation should be introduced to enable the groceries code adjudicator to impose a financial penalty. The Government are also considering the GCA’s remit, which is subject to a statutory review in March next year. We do understand the concerns of British dairy farmers about the current pressures on milk prices. The only good news is that, of course, exports have risen and we are giving dairy farmers the opportunity to unite in producer organisations, which in the longer term could give them greater clout in the marketplace.

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

The Public Accounts Committee has stated today that more than 100,000 young people aged between 16 and 18 have simply disappeared from all relevant public systems and records. Can we have an urgent debate in Government time on how these young people can be tracked and helped, and how we can ensure that we do not continue to have an ever-growing invisible generation?

[Mr Hague]

This too is an important issue, and the hon. Lady might wish to make the case for a debate on it to the Backbench Business Committee. At the end of 2013, the last year for which we have figures, 89.6% of 16 and 17-year-olds were in education or work-based learning, including apprenticeships—an increase on the previous year and the highest rate since consistent records began in 1994. The Government plan to invest £7.2 billion this year to fund education and training places for 16 to 19-year-olds. So a huge amount is happening, but that does not mean the problem has been completely solved, and the hon. Lady may well wish to make the case for a debate.

Business of the House

Yvonne Fovargue Excerpts

Thursday 5th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

Once again my hon. Friend raises an issue of importance to his constituents, as evidenced by the number of signatories to the petition. He will know that short-break services are a priority for this Government. We know how they support children with disabilities and their families, which is why £800 million has been made available to local authorities for short breaks and why we have introduced a short-breaks duty requiring all local authorities to provide such services for disabled children and young people. As my hon. Friend will know, it is for local authorities to decide, in collaboration with local health services, the level and type of support they will make available. It is encouraging that the cabinet member for Essex county council has given assurances that no final decision about the centre’s future will be taken unless alternative services are available that meet families’ needs. I hope that is of some reassurance to my hon. Friend.

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

May we have a debate on the complete disarray in NHS England, which is causing ever-lengthening delays and increasing concerns about the future of two greatly needed health centres in Orrell and Ashton?

[Mr Lansley]

I am sorry, but I do not accept remotely the premise of the hon. Lady’s question. Given that NHS England formally started its work in April this year, I think that she and Members across the House should support it in its difficult tasks.

Paid Directorships and Consultancies (MPs)

Yvonne Fovargue Excerpts

Wednesday 17th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Buckland]

If we breed a political class that enters this place with a diminished and diminishing knowledge of the outside world, the walls of the Westminster bubble will become thicker and thicker and we will genuinely create two nations, one of which will be entirely ignorant of the other.

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

I spent 23 years working for a citizens advice bureau—outside Parliament—before I came to this place, and I continue to have regular meetings with citizens advice bureaux, in addition to my constituency surgeries. I believe that keeps me in touch with the real world sufficiently, without having another job operating a fraud trial.

[Mr Buckland]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for that, and I sincerely pay tribute to the work she does. She understands that by keeping in touch she is making sure that her considerable knowledge does not go out of date, which is a very important point. A lot of Opposition Members and Government Members bring knowledge and work experience to this place, but there is a danger that once we enter the House we start to lose touch with our job experiences. That is why I decided after the election not to carry on practising at the Bar, but to sit part-time as a Crown court recorder, where I do 15 days in the year. That is the minimum required, and the appointment was made just before I was elected to this House.

Business of the House

Yvonne Fovargue Excerpts

Thursday 17th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. These issues do not relate solely to Wales; they also relate to England, because they have direct implications for the organ donation system in England. I made that clear to the Welsh Assembly Government when I was Secretary of State for Health and I know that my right hon. Friend the Welsh Secretary will have done so, too. I do not know what opportunities there may be for a debate on the matter in this House or, indeed, in the Welsh Grand Committee, but I will certainly discuss it with my colleagues.

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

This week the Legal Services Commission confirmed a £655,000 cut to the Law Centres Network, the Advice Services Alliance and the Royal Courts of Justice’s citizens advice bureaux service. May we have a debate on what that will mean for those organisations, the organisations they support and, most importantly, the people who will no longer be able to use them?

[Mr Lansley]

The hon. Lady may have an opportunity to raise that issue at Justice questions on Tuesday 5 February, but if that seems far off and she would like a response on the specific implications, I will gladly talk to my right hon. Friend at the Ministry of Justice and secure it for her.

Business of the House

Yvonne Fovargue Excerpts

Thursday 25th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I take note of what my hon. Friend says. People feel strongly about that very important issue. We will of course look at the business, and no doubt the Opposition and the Backbench Business Committee will also consider the matter. It could be considered in the context of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards and the approach taken by banks to their customers.

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

Will the Leader of the House investigate the delay in publishing the results of the pilot scheme on recording Atos assessments, and ensure that they are published as soon as possible?

[Mr Lansley]

I cannot answer the hon. Lady’s question at this moment, but I will ask my colleagues at the Department for Work and Pensions to respond to her.

Business of the House

Yvonne Fovargue Excerpts

Thursday 19th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor might be looking for new ways of broadening the tax base but whether that one would be easy to implement I very much doubt. My hon. Friend makes a good point. When the House is not sitting, MPs are not on holiday. His hyperactive work during the Easter recess shows just how hard MPs on both sides of the House work during the recesses.

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

In light of the Commons vote on Tuesday to remove from scope the majority of social welfare law, which will have a major effect on the viability of many advice agencies, will the Leader of the House tell us when the long-awaited advice review will be published so that we might at least have some attempt at a strategic approach instead of just allowing advice deserts to flourish?

[Sir George Young]

What I will undertake to do, now that the Bill has gone back to another place, is see that when the other place considers the amendments we made an answer is given by the Minister responsible to the hon. Lady’s question about the date of the help she has just mentioned. As she knows, some concessions were made on Tuesday in view of the concern that she and others had expressed and it is now a matter for the other place to see whether they accept our amendments.

Business of the House

Yvonne Fovargue Excerpts

Thursday 7th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and I would like to be as co-operative as I can. The coalition agreement sets out commitments to public service mutuals that are being taken forward by the Cabinet Office, and I hope that there might be an initiative in that direction before the House rises.

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

With the Committee stage starting next week on the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill—a Bill that will have major consequences for not-for-profit advice agencies—can the Leader of the House tell us when the review of advice services is likely to be completed and when a statement will be made to this House?

[Sir George Young]

The short answer is that I do not have that information at my fingertips, but I will get an answer from the appropriate Minister and communicate it to the hon. Lady.

Oral Answers to Questions

Yvonne Fovargue Excerpts

Thursday 28th April 2011 Commons Chamber

[Hugh Robertson]

The simple answer to that is yes, of course I will. There are two very important elements to that: first, the establishment of the women’s super league; and, secondly, ensuring it receives the necessary profile. Now that the league is established, I hope that the profile, and very soon in its wake a broadcaster, will follow.

[Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) (Lab)]

8. What plans he has for the future of the statutory duty on local authorities to make adequate provision for public libraries.

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

By encouraging reading, providing access to information and representing a focus for community activity, public library services contribute significantly to the national cultural landscape. They deserve statutory protection. There are no proposals to remove the duty on local authorities to provide a comprehensive and efficient public library service.

[Yvonne Fovargue]

Many older people in Makerfield who signed petitions to save their libraries told me that their introduction to the internet, and indeed their subsequent use of it, was at their local library. How will the Government ensure that library closures and cuts to the library service do not adversely affect people who otherwise do not have access to the internet?

[Mr Vaizey]

The hon. Lady makes an extremely important point. People access internet services in the library, and I hope that local authorities take that into account when they consider changes to public library services. Of course, UK Online centres and many other community services also provide access to the internet.