11/02/2016 Business Questions

Bryant. While the absentees part-tile Leader

of the House gives us the btsiness for next week?

It is a pleasure to respond to this urgent question from the minister

responsible. Mr Speaker, Monday the 22nd of February, next week, the

lead after next, after the half term recess, we will have the second

reading of the Northern Ireland Stormont agreement and

implementation plan Bill and I would expect the Prime Minister to make a

statement following the European Council meeting. On the 23rd of

February we will have consideration of the Lords amendment to the

welfare reform and work well for the pie consideration of the amdndments

to the education and adoption bill for the buy business to be nominated

by the Backbench Business Committee. On the 24th of February it will be

an Opposition Day on the subject to be announced. On Thursday the 2 th

of February there will be a general debate on European affairs. On

Friday the 26th of February we will consider Private Members' Bhll s.

The provisional business thd week commencing the 29th of Febrtary

includes on Monday the 29th of February the 1st allotted d`y for

estimates, a debate on the science budget, followed by a debatd on end

of life care. On the 1st of March, the second allotted day for

estimates, a debate on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the 2015

Spending Review, followed bx a debate on reform of the polhce

funding formula. At seven o'clock in the evening the House will be asked

to agree all outstanding estimates and further details will be given in

the official report. I will inform the House that the business

investment for the 23rd of February will be a debate on the sevdnth

reporting the communities Bhll on letter in England.

Let me first pay tribute to Harry Hartmann. There are a few mhners

left in this House and I know that my constituents in the Rhondda will

want to Marquez passing with a warm salute. Talking of miners, H would

like to wish the honourable member a happy 84th birthday. He has still

got the drive of a 40-year-old! Mr Speaker, I hope that the re`der s

announcement but you all excited and that you wear tingling. I al

genuinely excited, because hf you read between the lines, you will

have spotted that Monday thd 22nd of February is going to be a vdry, very

special day indeed. It is not just that the Prime Minister is laking a

statement on the EU Council, far more importantly, the 22nd of

February 2016 will be the d`y that the government abandons collective

responsibility on the Europdan Union. Cabinet ministers will be

hurtling down the corridors of power to get to television studios to be

the first to go live on air to declare themselves someone who wants

to leave Europe. Forget the liberation of Paris, forget free

Nelson Mandela, the 22nd of February 2016 will be known as the n`tional

liberation of Chris Grayling de By your Bunting no, Mr Speaker Talking

of the 22nd of February, thd leader has announced finally that the

mystery second reading Bill which will be a Northern Ireland Bill

while the Leader of the House ensure that the committee and report stages

of that bill are taking on the floor of the House so that all Northern

Ireland members can take part in the debate? Can the Leader of the House

is tell us when State Opening of Parliament will be this year? We

have fixed term Parliaments now so will it be in the month of Lay even?

If it is going to be then, there are four possible Wednesdays, the 4th of

May is the day before local elections, that is out. The 25th of

May is just before the bank holiday, so will it be the 11th or the 1 th?

Come on. The 11th or the 18th? Or is the government intending to keep

this session going indefinitely beyond the European referendum into

the autumn and next year? If so there are no more private mdmbers

days allocated on Fridays, so bold that they don't give us mord dates

for Private Members' Bill 's? We have been saying for a whild that

the Trade Union Bill is partisan, petty minded and vindictive. But now

we know that the government believes that to be the case as well. The

minister in charge, he has written to the Leader of the House telling

him that large chunks of thd bill needs to be redrafted. Would you

believe it, simply because they are not rational, his own words. He

seeks clarity on concessions to ease handling in the House of Lords. One

of the concessions he is thhnking about making relates to checking

off, this is the system whereby most trade union members have thdir unit

subscriptions deducted from their pay and sent to their union by their

employer. The government wants to warn that entirely but the leaked

letter makes it clear that that would be illegal to do so in

Scotland and in Wales because of devolution. But how on earth can it

be correct for the government to ban it at all? At the government's own

website, it makes it clear that this arrangement is entirely voltntary.

It tells us that there is no legal requirement for your employdr to do

this. So for petty -- petty partisan advantage, a Conservative government

is intending to outlaw the Beverly rational, sensible and priv`te

contract between employer and employee. How on does that fit with

Adam Smith. When the ball w`s in this House, the Conservativd member

for Stafford wisely tabled ` sensible amendment to allow checking

off to continue. Why does the Leader of the House not stand up to date

and tell us that is one of the concessions that they will lake

Speaking on the Trade Union Bill, a crossbencher said that if ever there

was some evidence that the hntention of the spill was perhaps not

entirely honourable, it is hn the refusal to about health tonhc

balloting. Mr Speaker, would it not be utterly hypocritical to campaign

for the Tory candidate for the Mayor of London who was elected bx Tory

members in a bar that whilst refusing to allow trade union

members to re-ballot their own members? And what the government

backed down on its preposterous 50% threshold proposal for strike

action? How many MPs would sit in this House if we had to get 50% of

the electorate? Can you be Durkan from not a single Conservathve MP

achieved that? The Leader of the House only got 43% of the

electorate, so by his own logic he should not be present here. But by

his own attendance record comedy is not your enemy. What really

fascinates me, Mr Speaker about this letter that was sent to the Leader

of the House, was that this was not leaked, it was not linked to the

Times or the male of the Dahly Telegraph, but to the Socialist

worker. What is going on, Mr Speaker? Is there something that the

reader wants to tell us? Can we have a debate on pork barrel polhtics?

After all, the government w`s so terrified of losing its loc`l govern

allocation Mr Dyke that it bought off its own members with a special

slush fund of ?300 million of taxpayers money. How on earth did

they decide how this money was going to be allocated? Did Tory mhnisters

sit down with their address books and shout at the postcodes of their

friends and relatives and pdople who went to the black and white ball

past the Local Government Mhnister notched up ?21 million for Surrey,

?19 million for hard up Hampshire, 16 million for Hampshire and 9

million each for Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire? Why on earth are the

poorest councils in the land with the toughest circumstances `nd with

multiple levels of deprivathon getting not a single penny of extra

money whilst the richest ard showered in ?5.3 million? It is

thoroughly disreputable, it is Robin Hood in reverse.

Mr Speaker, he is completelx incapable of keeping his relarks

within five minutes. Can I begin by echoing his comments about our

colleague, Harry. It is alw`ys a tragedy when any member of this

House passes Abe, particularly a tragedy when someone passes after

such a short period of time in this House. I would echo the sentiments

of all honourable members and sent wishes to his family. I would extend

to the member opposite, although I suspect he will not join my iBook

the Shadow Leader would. He is a great champion of equality hssues,

and celebrating the 41st anniversary of the first women party le`der in

this country. A women who bdcame one of our greatest prime ministers a

great leader of this countrx and I am sure that he would want to

celebrate her achievements hn demonstrating that the Consdrvative

Party is the one that reallx creates opportunities for all. As wd heard

just a day, there is no doubt about the winner of this week's qtote of

the week award, or deer, or my God, or dear, I need to go one dressed in

a darkened room. But was not about the parties stunning success in

launching the campaign in Nottingham, in Nottingham, hn a city

which has this year no local elections.

This is the madness that has no end of the Labour Party. He has

credibility in the Shadow C`binet. I am pleased to confirm the Northern

Ireland Bill will receive its second reading on the 22nd of Febrtary I

would like to replace on record as to place on record my thanks to all

those involved in the negothations to the publication of this Bill I

am also grateful for the discussions that have taken place betwedn the

government and opposition p`rties about this Bill. The only strprising

thing is that when the Shadow leader started jumping up and down about

the second reading on the 22nd last week, no one on his side had

apparently bothered to tell him that all of these discussions were

happening. He is not much in the loop with his party these d`ys. He

asks that this session for debate after debate, but when I give him

and his colleagues and opposition day and they pick their subject it

is virtually never on the things he says is important. This morning I

gave him a new opposition d`y, but I bet his party still do not listen to

him. But it has not been a great week for him anyway. He man`ged to

turn an important debate about domestic violence about one whether

Welsh rugby fans should sing at Tom Johnson song at the start of

matches. He even ended up in a spat with the songwriter who said he did

not even know what the song was about. He may love the sound of his

own voice, but now one is lhstening to him. The roads around my

constituency have been gridlocked due to the closure of a small

country road used as a short cut. Ember of my constituency had to wait

20 minutes for an ambulance due to traffic congestion. How can we get

this bypass built so my constituents and the honourable gentleman talked

about, up and running? I know that the department is considering road

improvement in his area, but I know that he has an adjournment debate

planned for next week. Can H thank the leader for announcing the

business for the week after next. On these pensions, can be passdd on

condolences to the family of Harry Harpam. We may have had

disagreements initially abott sharing this bench, but we could not

have a finer member to shear the bench with, so happy birthd`y to

him. There is not much love coming in the way of the Leader of the

House because we saw that rdport this morning from the public

administration committee, and what a report it was. Hopefully thhs will

start to see the death knell of the absurdity of Evel. A Conservative

cheer... Can we not just adlit that this dogs breakfast has no purpose.

It is deeply, deeply divisive. Let us call back to equality of

membership, not division by nationality or geographic location.

We have tried it, it failed, let us now move on. We all remember being

told there was no such thing as Barnett formula consequenti`l is,

and that they would be found in the estimates process. Yet we h`ve no

difference in the way we ard debating estimates. How are we

supposed to discuss consequdntial is when the speakers disregard it? We

cannot find it in anything to do with the estimates. Everyond is

working extremely hard to gdt a deal on the fiscal framework, and

hopefully the select committee report will help find a solttion to

the difficult and fragile conversations. There seems to be a

real distance to go in the coming together of minds for the no

detriment principal. What h`ppens if there is no agreement reachdd? What

would happen to the Scotland Bill if there was no fiscal framework

agreement met? Can he rule out. . The Leader of the House was asked

when we made expect a debatd about Trident, and we got the usu`l

response that it will be solething. I would hope he would rule this out.

He is not using the chaos and crisis on this issue to play games on

something as important as this. He will bring a critical decishon to

this House regardless of thd mess they are in. I think he was right to

echo the birthday wishes. Wd look back Mr Alger Cueto last sulmer to

the mornings when the Scotthsh Nationalists and the more union

focused members of the Labotr Party rushed for those seats until they

had reached a peace agreement on accommodation, and happiness has

rained on those benches ever since. He asked about English votes. The

processes are bedded down pretty well in this House, and I h`ve to

say that I do not accept wh`t he says about the changes we h`ve put

in place. Ever in the manifdsto set out in detail, they are the right

thing to do, and at the momdnt it is still the case that his

responsibilities are very dhfferent from mine. I have a responshbility

for issues which are the responsibility of the Scotthsh

Government in his constituency. So it is only right we give England a

fierce a as well. I have always regarded him as an influenthal

member of this House but I would say that the topics for the esthmates

debate are picked by the li`ison committee, and he is a membdr of the

leave the -- liaison committee, so is another straight position to

secure the debates that he wants. What went wrong? Why did he not get

the debates he wanted? He ndeds to back to his colleagues and try

better next time. He asked `bout what happens if the politic`l

framework does not work. I will not understand the concept of f`ilure.

It is in his parties interest to do the right thing for Scotland, and

hours. I'm sure we will do that We will bring forward the meastre for

debate in due course. In thd meantime we are enjoying thd

spectacle of the utter chaos on the Labour benches, and even those

doggedly determined to hang on to their jobs could avoid the reality

that they are in total shambles While the word focuses on the crisis

in Syria, it is too easy to overlook the unfolding crisis in Afrhca. The

drought in Ethiopia is putthng at risk the death of a million people

who are in desperate need of food aid. The government has responded

but much more needs to be done. Can the House considered this as a

matter of urgency? Given th`t we are on recess next week, will hd bring

this matter to the attention of his right honourable friend the

Secretary of State for International Development, to see what urgent

relief can be brought to thdse people? All of us would reg`rd

current situation is enormotsly distressing. Discussions have

already taken place within government about this, the

government is already providing ?11 million more of aid and we will

continue to do everything wd can to alleviate this dreadful crisis. Will

the Leader of the House makd time to debate the manifesto commitlent to

install smart meters in every household by 2020? This movd will

help end the prepay riff off if those customers involved in the

roll-out. -- rip-off. We ard trying to ensure consumers get a bdtter

deal, and we will make more of it information available soon. She may

also want to bring this to the floor of the House to do the backbench

business committee or through an adjournment debate. We are going

over the top about the European debate. The only place it whll make

a decision to stop this is the House of Commons. Can we please h`ve time

to debate in government timd so that all members across this House can

have a say on the EU referendum before it takes its own lifd and we

start to get more and more hnnuendos on the front of the press. Can the

government make some dates `vailable to discuss what we really w`nt. Can

I congratulate him on the role he has taken up on the Council of

Europe. This is enormously important. We will be making time

available for a debate. The debate that takes place in this Hotse and

country needs to be measured, based on facts and information. All this

about Project fear and innudndo actually we have to table

information and make arguments in a measured way so the public can make

an informed decision before voting in the summer or whenever it is The

backbench business committed was aware that there was a posshbility

of getting some time, and there are number of debates we would like to

table. But it is now only d`ys away, and we have not been told there will

be guaranteed time for such a debate. There is an important issue

on gangs and youth violence, but we would be wearied to table that

unless we get think it would get a good airing. There are other debates

that time sensitive, one on Welsh affairs which we would like to have

close to St David's Day, and one on International women's Day, which we

would like to have close to the 18th of March as possible. Could we get

some undertakings about such progress? I am aware of the requests

for those debates, and that is something we are discussing and will

seek to find the best way of making that happen. There should bd plenty

of time on Tuesday week, and I will be confident that there will be time

for the debate that they. If you look back on the last few wdeks it

has tended to work, but we will keep the matter under review. Today the

report on the draft investigatory Powers Bill was published. This week

we had a report by the Intelligence and Security Committee on the same

issue. There is a lot of public interest on this. Would the Leader

of the House ensure there is sufficient time allotted to

consideration of what the Prime Minister have described as the most

important part of this? Canonised breast thanks to the

people involved in scrutinising this bill. You are quite correct, we need

time to scrutinise this and debated. It will come in front of thhs is

shortly and we must make sure that people have the opportunity to do

with the issues and it fullx. The Prime Minister makes a great

play that this is part of hhs European negotiations, does the

reader not get embarrassed `bout the fact that a debate on Europdan

affairs will be after these negotiations, rather than the

government having given the properties that what this p`lm of

things should be negotiating on I do not think, Mr Speaker that

anyone in this House has bedn short of opportunities recently to make

their views known across thd size. We haven't extended statement and

opportunities for questions. I do not think that as the Prime Minister

has gone into these negotiations he has been under any illusions that

the differences that exist hn this House.

I know that the Leader of the House is not going to tell us tod`y the

date of the forthcoming deb`te vote on Trident successor submarhnes but

can he at least tell the Hotse whether or not the government has

made up its mind to hold thhs debate soon or whether it is deterlined to

spin things out and told thd Labour Party Conference in October?

Mr Speaker, as my rate on the friend the Prime Minister made cle`r

yesterday, he will bring forward this matter for debate at an

appropriate moment. In the leantime, perhaps we can have a debatd about

these mysterious underwater clones which all render Trident redundant

will come from? An Egyptian TV presenter and

researcher hosted a religiots talk show. He was sentenced to fhve years

in prison and hard labour. On the 2nd of February and 2016 of this

year a court upheld his symptoms. The TV show that he posted was a way

to debate Islamic interpret`tions which comes under freedom of

religion or belief. They have violated their obligations by

upholding his sentence. With the Leader of the House tell us the

steps that this covenant is taking to secure his release?

The honourable gentleman makes an important point, I will makd sure

that his concerns are drawn to the attention of the Foreign Secretary,

who will, of course, be before the sows on Tuesday beat and yot can put

that point to him. I will m`ke sure he is aware of the concerns raised

today. Mr Speaker, a few things upset my

constituents, but none more so than the new housing development and

local infrastructure and doctors and schools, the Housing Ministdr

recently in the housing bubble emphasised the importance of local

councils giving due consideration to impact on infrastructure, while the

Leader of the House give a written statement from the Housing Linister

so that local councils can have proper guidance on how to apply that

principle? Mr Speaker, this is an important

point, it is essential that as development takes place and we do

need more housing Minister day, but that the resources are available

through development schemes as well as smart local planning to dnsure

that the appropriate infrastructure is in place. She makes an ilportant

point and I will make sure that ministers are aware of the concerns

she has raised. In the 70s and 80s, at least eight

young boys in my constituency where sexually abused in homes in the

north of Wales. The report has been on the guest of government linisters

for at least two months. We understand some of it may bd

redacted. If this is truly `n independent report, why is the

government sitting upon it? Mr Speaker, I do not know the

reasons for the timing of the report, I was setting it up in the

first place when I held the role of Justice Secretary. I will p`y

tribute to that distinguishdd judge who will have done the job `s

effectively as possible. I will make sure the concern you have r`ised is

passed to my right honourable friend, the current Justice

Secretary, and clearly, knew we wanted to do the right things by the

victims. Mr Speaker, you will be delhghted to

know that at 1015 this mornhng, my petition to save the hedgehog went

live. It can be found at a specific website, I can tell you it later.

Stanley Odd is my right honourable friend to archrival members of this

House to gather signatures to ensure we have a father debate on saving

the hedgehog. I am sure that everyone of ts in the

South Today will commend my friend for his determination to pursue this

course and for his determin`tion to pursue the protection of a noble

species, I congratulate him on what he is doing, the hedgehog is an

integral part of our countrx's wildlife. It is, despite wh`t the

Shadow Leader says, a very noble species and an important part of our

national heritage. I commend him for the work that he is doing. H have no

doubt that the petition comlittee when he comes forward with that

there will be made time avahlable for a debate on that.

My constituent received a two-week fixed penalty notice. One for

exiting a car parked in front of the wrong exit, another for parking in a

business permit to be. As a result, he was told that he had failed the

good character requirement for British citizenship. So, cotld we

have a debate on proportion`te decision-making in the Home Office?

It is difficult for me to comment on the individual case, clearlx we

would want those people who are pie for citizenship to be of good

character, but I accept his point, the system has gone wrong b`dly

someone must do something about it. The Home Secretary will be here on

Monday week for oral questions, I suggest he put that question forward

then. Will the Leader of the Housd join me

in congratulating the University hospitals of Leicester star NHS

Trust who opened the new di`lysis unit in Kettering? It is a state of

the art first class ultramodern world standard kidney dialysis unit

located near the centre of the town. Can we have a statement frol the

Department of Health listing all of the new infrastructure investments

in our NHS which are going to make a world of difference to patidnts who

need them? My honourable friend makes ` very

important point. I am sure this investment was helped on its way by

the effectively in which he represents the tone of Kettdring.

What I would tell them is that he highlights a very real new

investment that is taking place around the National Health Service,

new treatments, new equipment all as a result of the extra funding we are

putting into the health service Something that the opposition party

did not want to do and that the Labour Party in Wales is not doing.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have a constituent, a single mother of a

daughter. She suffers from depression, she has been di`gnosed

with dyslexia, she had not had any benefits since July and as len at

risk of infection having bedn sanctioned no fewer than five times.

She has not been informed of her rights. Can the Leader of the House

ensure that she will get a full investigation by ministers

personally on this issue? It is difficult for me to comment on

the individual case but of the honourable lady writes to md with

details of it, I will pass back to the respective ministers to look at

the situation. One of the challenges we will face

over the coming years as thd need to address our skills gap, not least in

terms of engineering. Can wd have a debate on the provision of puality

careers advice in our schools and colleges?

This is something that I know is a matter of great importance to the

Education Secretary and the something that she is working on at

the moment. My honourable friend makes an important point, ensuring a

smooth transition from school and college into work is an essdntial

part of securing the economhc future of this country and one of the

things we are trying to do to strengthen that is to incre`se the

number of apprenticeships and to make clear to young people that the

Apprenticeship Week can be ` powerful and successful route into

work for them. Can we have government time for a

debate on a consultation on tips and gratuities? His colleague confirmed

in a written answer this morning that no government response is a

minute. One hotel chain has appeared to take a 50% cut from tips and use

it to top up the pay of senhor managers, something describdd as

standard industry practice. Can you in confirming this is unaccdptable

and artist colleagues to take action?

I have taken the view that hf someone is given a tip, thex should

keep it or it should be shared amongst other members of st`ff. I

know this is an issue the sdcond state takes seriously and I will

make sure this concern is p`stor. Marston football club in my

constituency established in 190 is fighting for survival, many matches

have been postponed because of a flooded pitch and also the clubhouse

was raided. This comes at a time of a record TV deal in the Prel beat

and we have spoken about ticket pricing in the Premier Leagte. Can

we have a debate about the finances in football to make sure th`t not

only fans get a fair deal btt committee football clubs do as well?

-- Premier League. My honourable friend makes an important point

Local football clubs are an essential part of local comlittees

and that is the case in his constituency. I will make stre that

is passed on to my honourable friend the Sports Minister. I would

congratulate him and those `t the club for working to raise charitable

funds for the air ambulance service, that suggest to me that this is a

really engaged group of people and an engaged couple trying to do the

right thing for the local community. Today the Minister of Justice will

publish a written statement which may close over 80 courts in England

and Wales, surely, Mr Speakdr, a statement of this magnitude must be

made on the floor of the Hotse so that ministers can be held to

account. Can we have an oral statement on this following the

recess? This is something that has been

under consideration for somd time, the secretary of state has been here

on several occasions, this has been raised, discussed and debatdd

previously. It is right that the gum brings forward its conclusions to

end this uncertainty. Thank you, Mr Speaker, so it is the

year of the monkey this week and I fear this brings out a mystdrious

street and people. Mr Speakdr, I am not sure if you are beer, btt you

are a rabbit. Some traits are being gentle, elegant, alert, quick and

kind. So please be kind to ly! The Leader of the House is indedd a

tiger. Often known for being overindulgent, but also known for

bravery. Well, you have got to be brave to go up against the diligent,

dependable, full of strength and determination, the shadow Ldader of

the House, our ox. Many readers may or may not know that the Ch`ncellor

is a tag. Sorry, he is a pack. But I will be that there and simply ask

that the Leader of the Housd joins the two wish my Chinese Jim Eadie,

who are enjoying celebrations this weekend with a happy Chinesd New

Year. That night he is a kite. - he is a termite.

Yes, I would join and wish `ll Chinese members of committeds across

Britain a happy New Year. I must say that I would rather be a tiger than

an aux! Yesterday I collected the stpply

estimates which despite running to 700 pages describes itself `s a

booklet. Can the Minister tdll me what opportunities as a member of

Scotland, I will have to debate and amend the specifics of this booklet

if I think it has Barnett Formula consequential strike Eagle

legislation and what is the deadline for tabling those?

This is a matter for the Li`ison Committee. His honourable friend

sitting next to him as on that committee, I can't be wrong person

to ask. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Everx day we

see tragic pictures of people fleeing the horror of Aleppo. We see

anxiety building as they ard refused entry into Turkey. We fear that they

will make their way across the Mediterranean into Europe. Can we

have one day of debate on the international crisis that is facing

the world, flooding out of Serbia and how we take responsibilhty for

the crisis that is largely being treated by the Assad regime and

Russia? I think all of us see what hs

happening in Aleppo and are distressed. We want to see peace in

that country. As you will know, the secretary of state was in this House

at the beginning of this wedk, addressing this issue. We whll

continue to put substantial amounts of aid into Serbia and the

surrounding areas. She will know that the recent Serie A conference

in London raised more money in windy than any previous event of hts kind.

I can assure her that in so far as possible for us to do so, this

country will do all that we can to facilitate peace in Syria and the

reconstruction of that country and the opportunity for people to return

to their homes. -- Syria. Many of us were critical of the

World Health Organisation in its slowness in dealing with thd Ebola

virus disaster in west Africa. There is another crisis emerging from

Brazil, the Zika virus. It hs spreading throughout South @merica

and beyond. Could we have an urgent debate on this Zika virus and what

the impact that is good to have on the rest of the world, and can be

large the W H all and other great charities that did step into the

beach to act on a ball at qtickly and act now.

This is still a matter of great international concern. The tragedy

coming from South America, the impact on pregnant women and babies,

it is enormously distressing. The government will do all it c`n to

help play a role to tackle this crisis. I have no doubt that my

right honourable friends, the Foreign Secretary and the... I am

sure they will do everything they can to make sure there is an

appropriate response. During last week's debate on violence against

women, there was a comment `bout discussing human rights -- women's

writes, is there any date on this matter, and Kenny asked the

Secretary of State -- can hd asked the Secretary of State by the gizmo

update if not. I will make sure the Minister is aware of the concern

that has been raised. The British Retail Consortium's crime rdport for

2014 - 2015 found that therd were 24 issues of violence and abusd power

1000 employees, that is up from the previous year. -- for the two

issues. Can we have an urgent debate about this an acceptable level of

violence against a retail workers? Any violence against the retail

worker is unacceptable. The police have many powers to deal with them,

and to charge and prosecute, and I hope the police would see this as an

important area to take action. Double secretary will be here on

Monday week, so she is welcome to also raise this with her. The Leader

of the House will probably be aware that within very short order we have

had two debates in Westminster regarding the Lubavitch downgrading

of assets, and allegations of collusion between banks,

receivers... In the case of my constituent,... Over ten cross-party

MPs have written to the seldct committee chaired to ask if he will

look at this urgently. I have also asked the Serious Fraud Offhce to

have a meeting. Is it not thme for a debate on this matter and for the

Serious Fraud Office to invdstigate these very serious allegations? I am

not aware of these allegations, but he will have our response from the

select committee. It is also a matter that the business department

should be aware of, and I whll make sure they are. A warning given by a

senior Japanese industrialist that the continuing financial fi`sco of

Hinkley point is damaging the reputation of Britain

internationally and threatening further investment. Can we recognise

the problems are terminal and changed to practical technology of

tidal power, that is clean, British, free and eternal? Well, as he knows,

the government's policy is not to put all eggs in one basket. We have

done more than any government regarding renewable energy, but we

believe we need a mix of generation in the future, and that will include

nuclear. Is a point that, c`n I ask the Leader of the House of the

government intends to make ` statement or hold a debate hn

government time on the contradictory statements he is making in relation

to the government's and the trade union Bill. I am referring to the

aforementioned letter for the Minister of skills and qualhties,

which is in contrast with the answer he provided to me on the 2nd of

February, saying there would be no concessions on facility timd in

check. Could the Leader of the House tell us what was his answer to this,

or is that also the exclusive property of the Socialist worker

newspaper? The issues will be discussed in the other placd and in

this place, and we have to wait until then to debate them.

The shadow Leader of the Hotse is right, we need a debate on good

governance. Need to weighing up the decisions for that settlement. In a

society that is free, able to express individual views, none of us

seek to gather relatives, even if they agree with us. Can we have a

debate about the operation of the child maintenance regulations? I

have a constituent whose 17,year-old daughter has moved out of the family

home into a third-party property against the will of the famhly, and

they have no requested a cl`im of child maintenance against that

family. This is an immenselx complex area but most of us who havd been in

this House for a long period of time had extensively experienced

frustrations with. We all sdek to bring individual cases to the

relevant authorities and we will continue to do so, and I am

confident the ministers will do their best to ensure the regime in

place will deal with the ch`llenges they face in the tragic sittations

around family breakdown. On the 21st of January I asked for the Leader of

the House to get the meeting the prime Minister promised with my

constituents regarding the scandal of the baby Ashes. I have hdard

nothing. I also asked the Mhnister for Justice and the 26th of January,

and I have not heard from hdr either. Politicians need to keep

their promises, and we would like this meeting. I have checked on this

and I think she has possiblx misinterpreted the response. If the

ministerial meeting has not come through I will follow it today. The

flooding in your was devast`ting for so many because so many could not

afford insurance. The government still have not applied for the EU

Solidarity fund. Can we havd an urgent statement as to why that has

not taken place and what progress is being made? The government's

approach is being trying to get finance on those who need it

quickly, rather than complicated bidding processes. If you look at

the amounts of money providdd, I think we have done the right thing.

Last Saturday marked the 126th anniversary of the landmark colliery

disaster in my constituency in which a number of men and boys lost their

lives. Can we have a debate on the sacrifices made by miners and their

families and communities ovdr generations? There is no dotbt that

mining communities played a huge role in this country. They provided

the energy which kept this country going for decades. I am glad that

today we can provide energy sources from a variety of different areas so

we do not have too subject those workers to those conditions today.

Order. Statement, the Secretary of State for health, Secretary Jeremy

Hunt. Nearly three years ago today the government first sat down with

the British Medical Association to negotiate a contract for junior

doctors. Both sides agreed that the current arrangements drawn tp in

1999 were not fit for purpose. And that the system of paying for a

unsociable hours was unfair. Under the existing contact, Dutch

contract, doctors can receive different pay for different

unsociable hours. Doctors p`ying nights can be paid the same as those

who