Former Independent MP for North East Bedfordshire
A man walks into my surgery in Bury. I can see from his address that he comes from one of the poorest parts of the town—a council estate. He sits down, and I ask what his problem is. He says, “My front door has been broken for six weeks, and the council has done nothing about it.” I have a Labour council. I pick up my pen; this is something a young Tory MP can get involved in. “Tell...
As the first born and bred Lancastrian to catch your eye, Mr Speaker, may I also congratulate you and wish you well in your role? Last night, the director of the British Museum, Hartwig Fischer, came to dinner at the House of Commons. I wonder whether the Minister will join me in putting on the record our appreciation of the museum’s work. Not only is it an extraordinary lending institution...
I am delighted to ask the Minister, who is my constituency neighbour, a question. Will the efforts to get more work through a seven-day NHS mean an extra effort to improve the take-up of the flu vaccine this year, not least for those suffering from lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma? About 50% of people with those conditions did not get the vaccine or did...
I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice and Howden (Mr Davis) for this urgent question. I very much sympathise with my right hon. Friend the Minister in dealing with it, because he, with the Foreign Secretary, has a responsibility in this House to work out the practicalities of the respective duties of care of those he would send to rescue those who are trapped in this...
When, a few weeks ago, I voted for the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019—distressingly, it is often referred to as the Benn Act, rather than given its full title: the Benn-Burt Act—it was with the clear intention of ensuring that maximum effort was committed to the negotiations in order to secure a deal and prevent the risk of no deal. I am grateful to the Prime Minister and to...
My right hon. Friend is right to characterise the political participation of the UK in the EU as too often uncertain, and it is one of the great regrets of my time here that what he says is true. We will never know, in a way, what the EU might have looked like if the United Kingdom had been a full partner, but if a new relationship with us outside the EU, for which I will be voting today, is...
I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) for his question and support him in his comments. The UN estimates that there are some 1.6 million people in need in that area of north-east Syria, and since this started this week, a further 200,000 are on the move. I would be grateful if my right hon. Friend consulted the Secretary of State for International...
Would it not be better for my farming constituents today if the Government would listen to the concerns of Minette Batters of the National Farmers Union about the tariff regime resulting from no deal, rather than allowing their advisers to blame the EU, blame everyone else, and create new barriers to prevent a deal that the tone of last week was so determined to secure?
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure new build homes are built according to electrical and fire safety requirements.
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to ensure developers comply with fire and electrical safety requirements for new build homes.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the findings of the 2016 Joint Nature Conservation Committee review of Special Protection Areas, (a) what representations she has received on completing and (b) what steps she is taking to complete the network of Special Protection Areas for the nightjar.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2019 to Question 268421, if she will publish details of the Service Levels relating to the Next Generation Visa (NGOV) Services contract delivered by VFS Global.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had on whether to extend the contract for Next Generation Visa (NGOV) Services delivered by VFS Global beyond the current expiration date of 31 March 2021.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints her Department has received about VSF Global each year since the start of its contract with her Department in 2013.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timeframe is for his Department to bring forward legislative proposals to increase the maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to tackle the practice of stop-skipping on the Great Northern line at Arlesey.
