Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans that the commercial timber manufacturing sector will be represented on the proposed public forest trustee body.
Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department has made towards the creation of a new public forest trustee body as proposed in the Government’s Forestry and Woodlands Policy Statement 2013.
Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he has made on developing an ecosystem valuation approach.
Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he has made on the development of the Grown in Britain certification scheme for timber products.
Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding has been invested by the Green Investment Bank in the development of wood-based industries and technologies.
Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much regional growth funding has been allocated to LEPs for wood-focused initiatives to create jobs in rural areas.
Anne McGuire: In my constituency the waiting time for PIP assessments is now 26 weeks. [Interruption.] After further investigation, I discovered that that is because of a lack of suitable accommodation in which to carry out assessments. Why was a contract signed with Atos when there were no suitable premises in my constituency in which to carry out PIP assessments?
Anne McGuire: In the hon. and learned Gentleman’s historical and economic analysis, when is he going to factor in a little thing such as an international financial crisis that did not start in Britain?
Anne McGuire: It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Weaver Vale (Graham Evans). This is not the first time that the House has called for an assessment of the cumulative impact of welfare reforms on disabled people, but this time it is being called for by not only disability organisations and the official Opposition, but by the more than 100,000 people who signed the War on Welfare petition. Like...
Anne McGuire: Yes. I could not agree more with my hon. Friend, and I am delighted that he has made his point. The Minister got quite agitated just now. I hope that he will give us some facts and figures about the implementation of PIP, because there has been a wall of silence. We all know what is happening in our constituencies, but we are accused of giving anecdotal evidence; he is in a position to give...
Anne McGuire: Does my hon. Friend recognise that the introduction of the work capability assessment under our Government was phased? Part of the distress he mentions was due to the fact that the contract was renegotiated to go for a big bang of assessments and reassessments of everyone on incapacity benefit.
Anne McGuire: Following the advice of the right hon. Member for Hitchin and Harpenden (Mr Lilley), I have checked HomeSwapper in the Birmingham area. I have got to page 20 and I found only five one-bedroom houses. Where are the places for people to downsize to in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency?
Anne McGuire: Does my hon. Friend accept that yesterday, we had a six-hour-and-four-minute Opposition day debate, promoted by the Scottish National party and Plaid Cymru, in which all these issues could have been aired?
Anne McGuire: May I start with an apology, Madam Deputy Speaker, because I have to be in Scotland this evening so I may not be able to be here for the wind-ups? I apologise to the Front Benchers and to other colleagues for that. I thank the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Stephen Lloyd) for his generous recognition of the role played by my right hon. Friend the Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr...
Anne McGuire: What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the employment interests of workers in the whisky industry in Scotland.
Anne McGuire: Scotch whisky is exported to about 200 countries, and the industry directly employs 10,000 people in Scotland. According to a recent White Paper from the Scottish Government, there will be about 90 Scotch whisky embassies if the Scottish Government have their way after independence. Does the Secretary of State agree that trade agreements brokered by a strong and extensive United Kingdom...
Anne McGuire: For reasons that might become clear later, I am pleased to follow the hon. Member for Bradford East (Mr Ward). Before the hon. Member for Pudsey (Stuart Andrew) drifts away, let me say that his contribution helped to address some of the issues of transition, which can sometimes get lost in this debate. We should recognise that this issue is not unique to the United Kingdom; it is a...
Anne McGuire: I agree with my hon. Friend and I raised that with the Minister in a Westminster Hall debate. The Care Bill does not address the role that the Department for Work and Pensions plays in supporting social care through the benefit system and the independent living fund is a classic example of that. At present, people who can pay for social care through access to the ILF do not know quite what is...
Anne McGuire: What assessment he has made of the Royal Navy’s involvement in the relief operation in the Philippines.
Anne McGuire: I, too, pay compliment to our service personnel who assisted in the Philippines. Some of the comments coming back from service personnel who were there show how grateful and supportive the people were of their efforts, which should be recognised and commended. To probe a little further on the cost, should not that sort of response, which the UK does magnificently, be part of the Treasury’s...
