Former Labour MP for Bedford
I would like to inform the Prime Minister that there are now nine Sure Start children's centres in Bedford and Kempston, delivering high-quality, much respected and popular support to a wide range of families. Does my right hon. Friend agree that to cut back on the universal service so carefully built up over the past decade would be a tragic betrayal of future generations?
On the subject of the improvements to the educational facilities at Yarl's Wood that have been brought about by Serco, I understand that each child is offered 30 hours a week tuition, but that is voluntary. For younger children, that provision is accompanied by a nursery that is open seven days a week.
Does my hon. Friend share my concern that attempts to obtain information about allegations of incidents that take place during episodes of transportation are sometimes withheld on the grounds of commercial confidentiality?
I thank the hon. Member for North-East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) and the Minister for allowing me to make a short contribution to the debate. I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing it. I agreed with all the substantive points he made, particularly about the need for independence on health care, preferably through the national health service. In the interests of fairness and...
Along with others, the hon. Gentleman and I engaged in a question-and-answer and discussion session after the performance. Under the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, the UK Border Agency must conduct its work in a manner that upholds the welfare of children. That means, to me, reducing detention and developing community alternatives to it. I have written to my hon. Friend the...
Before the hon. Gentleman moves on to the issues that he intended originally to raise, it is my understanding, like his, that the protest of recent days was directed principally at the nature of the detention system. This is not the occasion to address those matters. None the less, does he agree that they need to be carefully debated at some point?
The hon. Gentleman will have seen, therefore, that the Home Affairs Committee said, among a number of other comments and recommendations, that it regards detention as the final step in the process and that it should not be indeterminate pending legal proceedings. Does he agree that detainees will do all that they can to remain, including using the legal process, and that sometimes they...
The Minister is talking about driver recruitment and numbers. I notice that no one has said that they will force drivers to work on their rest days. The situation is clearly vulnerable and uncertain. I suggest that the Minister, train operators and Network Rail consider how all these issues can be changed so that we no longer rely on such a clearly unstable situation.
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether the introduction of new Thameslink rolling stock is dependent upon the establishment of new train maintenance depots.
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assessment he has made of the merits of building new train maintenance depots for Thameslink stations at different locations.
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what discussions his Department has had with (a) Network Rail, (b) train operating companies and (c) local authorities on new train maintenance depots for the new Thameslink rolling stock.
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on the geographical location of subcontractors tendering for work under the Building Schools for the Future programme.
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what proportion of the increase in capacity provided by the Thameslink Programme will be attributable to the (a) Key Output 0, (b) Key Output 1 and (c) Key Output 2 phase.
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the overall increase in capacity which will result from implementation of the Thameslink Programme.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the policy of the Turkish Government on the migration of Turkish nationals from Anatolia to Northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of time taken between the date of adjudication of an entry clearance case in favour of the applicant and the date of issue of a visa at the British High Commission in (a) New Delhi and (b) Islamabad was in the latest period for which figures are available.
