Anne Snelgrove: Does my hon. Friend mean that councils should have a policy on this-a published policy on issues, such as council employees being directors and conflicts of interest, to which members of the public could have access?
Anne Snelgrove: I am pleased to be able to bring this debate to the House, as it covers serious questions about Swindon borough council and its wi-fi scheme. In November 2009, the council announced an initiative with two newly formed Swindon-based businesses, Digital City (UK) and a London-based and Isle of Man-registered company, aQovia. It was an ambitious project that would deliver a limited free internet...
Anne Snelgrove: I understand the hon. Gentleman's concerns. The problem has been the process. I think that sufficient safeguards exist, but the cabinet member brief brought about all the secrecy. That is my concern-it is a very unusual process. The hon. Gentleman gives me an opportunity to say that I have a high regard for the officers and particularly the chief executive of Swindon borough council. I...
Anne Snelgrove: I am grateful for the opportunity to raise again the lessons that arise from the terrible murders of Julia and William Pemberton. The deaths followed a history of domestic violence to which the police were alerted 15 months before the tragedy. I am proud to follow the lead of my predecessor, Julia Drown, by working with Frank Mullane, the brother of Julia Pemberton, and my constituent, to...
Anne Snelgrove: May I also add my congratulations to my right hon. Friend? He was a superb regional Minister and I was proud to be his deputy. All of us in the south-west are delighted to see him elevated to the Cabinet. He may be aware of an issue in Swindon that I have raised with several of his predecessors—the digital switchover for the railway village. It is one of the poorest communities in Swindon...
Anne Snelgrove: As secretary of the all-party group on Gurkhas, may I, on behalf of the 1,000 Gurkhas living in Swindon, thank the cross-departmental team that came up with this solution? Tomorrow, by sheer chance, I have a meeting with some of those Gurkhas. They will be asking me when the practical information will be published so that they and the Gurkhas who are not in this country can get on with their...
Anne Snelgrove: What assistance he is giving to social enterprises during the recession.
Anne Snelgrove: That is good news. Phoenix is a social enterprise in Swindon that works with people recovering from mental health problems by offering them work in a mailing and assembly service. I should declare an interest, because I have used the service, paying for it through my office costs allowance, and excellent value for money it was. What can my right hon. Friend do in a recession to help secure...
Anne Snelgrove: Local people are very concerned about Swindon borough council's cuts in park-and-ride services and about cuts of up to four branch libraries, despite more than £400,000 of extra funding from the Government. Is that not a warning of Tory public service cuts instead of Labour investment?
Anne Snelgrove: When he expects the consultation on options for access to the island of St. Helena to conclude.
Anne Snelgrove: As my hon. Friend is aware, Swindon has the largest St. Helena community outside London. What hope can he give my constituents, who are British citizens, that their families will not be left stranded and that the consultation will not delay the introduction of 21st century transport links for that very remote island?
Anne Snelgrove: Has the Minister or his Department made an estimate of how much it will cost, over the next one, two, three, four or five years, to keep RMS St. Helena going?
Anne Snelgrove: I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. A number of the islanders have friends and family in the St. Helena community in this country; indeed, Swindon has the second largest number of people from that community. Would not an airway allow those people to visit their friends and family? At the moment, they are isolated from them.
Anne Snelgrove: What plans he has to improve levels of safety and accessibility at railway stations; and if he will make a statement.
Anne Snelgrove: Swindon station's disabled access has been improved considerably through the Access for All programme. Does my hon. Friend recognise that First Great Western, which is based in my constituency, has an excellent safety record and has been working innovatively with police community support officers and with train managers, leading to an eight out of 10 customer satisfaction rating? Will he...
Anne Snelgrove: Will the Minister give way?
Anne Snelgrove: Having had time to reflect on the hon. Gentleman's point, my response is that credit unions are so small and deal with so few people that they will not call on the FSCS as much as he makes out. I take his point, but any measure must be part of an overhaul of the whole system.
Anne Snelgrove: I understand the hon. Gentleman's point about the complexities, which need to be considered carefully. We are just asking the FSCS to look again at various approaches. The building societies are not asking to be let off scot-free: they are asking for a more level playing field, because at 3 per cent. of profits for the banks and 15 per cent. on average for the building societies, the levy is...
Anne Snelgrove: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Anne Snelgrove: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?