Andy Burnham: Probably not, though.
Andy Burnham: The hon. Member for Hexham is explicitly opposed to the great unwashed having access rights to NHS premises, although they may have paid for them through their taxes. However, the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire just said that he is in favour of that. What is the Conservative position?
Andy Burnham: Am I following the hon. Gentleman correctly? Are the Conservatives against people having access in this country, but in favour of their being able to root around in premises abroad?
Andy Burnham: A moment ago, the hon. Gentleman said that the decision to remove athletics from the Wembley proposal was wrong. Is he suggesting, therefore, that the FA would have found it easier to raise the money through the City for a stadium combining athletics and football?
Andy Burnham: rose—
Andy Burnham: There is time yet.
Andy Burnham: Public health is such an important subject, and it is great to have the opportunity to talk about it in such detail today. I pay tribute to the contributions that my hon. Friend the Member for Brent, North (Mr. Gardiner) and many other hon. Members have made today. It is sad that we do not have more opportunities to talk about the subject. Public health is one of those things that touches...
Andy Burnham: Does my right hon. Friend agree that one of the problems with the Wembley project was the pressure created by false deadlines for events that had not been secured? Anyone would think that the Conservative party was blameless, but does she also agree that the commitments to stage the World cup, the Olympics and the world athletics championships were first given by the Conservative party when...
Andy Burnham: Does the Prime Minister agree that there is a growing problem in Leigh, and many towns like it, with gangs of youths who feel that they are above the law, damaging property and generally making people's lives a misery? Is he aware of the new policy being tested in my constituency by Greater Manchester police, in which calls from the public are prioritised and patrols are no longer sent in...
Andy Burnham: Leigh lost its A and E department in the mid-1990s and people there are under no illusions about who is to blame for that. Although I accept that we cannot reopen an A and E department in Leigh, will the Minister give full consideration to the case for a new diagnostic and treatment centre at the Leigh infirmary site, using the spare capacity? It is well located, and separating acute services...
Andy Burnham: Given that it takes more than four years to train both nurses and doctors, surely those problems were created by the previous Conservative Administration and can be nothing to do with the current Administration.
Andy Burnham: Will the right hon. Gentleman give way again?
Andy Burnham: Even someone as new to the House as I am is old enough to know that no ideas are new, not even the third way. In 1844, just a few miles from my constituency and, my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East (Mr. Watson) may be interested to hear, not far from Wigan, where Kym from Hear'Say grew up, the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers realised that to protect the interests of its...
Andy Burnham: My hon. Friend is right. Deprived housing estates in my constituency are no longer served by local bus companies, which unilaterally decided to withdraw services. I hasten to add that there is no longer a service to Leigh infirmary, presumably because the companies did not make enough money from that route. The community has a crucial interest in retaining bus services for those estates and...
Andy Burnham: My hon. Friend makes a pertinent point. She is right—the urban bus challenge fund is benefiting my constituency. It supports existing operators and will help them to provide services that they are not currently providing. I should certainly be interested if that funding could be extended to help start-up or community organisations that want to run their own transport services. Labour...
Andy Burnham: I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. The point about community benefit societies is that one can always have full confidence that they exist to serve the whole community and not only part of it, and that there is no inherent conflict in their articles of association. Communities throughout the country are becoming increasingly anxious about rising crime and they want to do something about it...
Andy Burnham: My hon. Friend makes an interesting point. There is a big gap in our constituencies, in that community transport is not properly catered for. None the less, he, like me, will represent people who are out of work and who want to contribute to society. Surely initiatives could be taken to enable them to do so. It is to be hoped that community transport will generate a new wave of projects. I...
Andy Burnham: I understand the hon. Gentleman's point. However, I believe that the Bill is as relevant to football as it is to some of the other sectors that we have discussed because football clubs belong where they were founded and nurtured by generations of local people. I do not understand why Wimbledon should be given permission to move to Milton Keynes. That goes against the grain. If Wimbledon's...
Andy Burnham: I am pleased that my hon. Friend has brought that to my attention. He clearly has a much more detailed knowledge of the Bill than I do, and I am glad that he was on hand to point that out. It is helpful that that flexibility is in the Bill. There is a strong recognition that the communities that have set up these organisations will want them to be there for future generations, although the...
Andy Burnham: I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman has made that point. I am trying to articulate—and perhaps not getting it over as explicitly as I should—that these mechanisms for supporters trusts and football clubs will step in where the English Football Association has failed to enforce its own rule that clubs should not be asset stripped. The Bill gives supporters the mechanism to deal with such...