Luciana Berger: I congratulate the hon. Member for Stroud (Neil Carmichael) and all those who made their fascinating maiden speeches that we have heard in this debate. It has been a real education. I thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for allowing me the opportunity to make my maiden speech in this debate. In his book "In Place of Fear", Nye Bevan wrote of the frustration caused to new MPs who provocatively...
Luciana Berger: Last year, in Liverpool, Wavertree we saw the savage death of John Paul Massey, who was savagely attacked by a pit bull. A review of the dangerous dogs legislation was initiated in March, under the last Government. Will the Leader of the House urge the Home Secretary to update the House on the progress being made with this review?
Luciana Berger: The ContactPoint database that was championed by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Barnardo's is to be scrapped. What assessment has been made of the impact that the removal will have on safeguarding children?
Luciana Berger: The recently announced cuts of £230 million to the Homes and Communities Agency include £50 million of cuts to housing market renewal, of which Liverpool has to take the burden of £4 million. Will the Secretary of State give his assurance that there will be no further cuts to vital housing market renewal projects, including those in Liverpool, Wavertree?
Luciana Berger: Patients and NHS staff would have been as concerned as I was to learn yesterday that decisions on capital projects in the NHS that had already been announced, such as the vital rebuild of the Royal Liverpool hospital, will not be forthcoming until the autumn. Will the Leader of the House ensure that the Chancellor of the Exchequer or one of his Ministers comes to the House to make an urgent...
Luciana Berger: What the conviction rate was for cases of rape reported in Liverpool, Wavertree constituency in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
Luciana Berger: As the Secretary of State has just highlighted, the conviction rate for rape in my constituency is already dangerously low. Can he give us a definitive answer as to why rape defendants should be afforded greater protection than defendants accused of other serious crimes?
Luciana Berger: In the past week, I have been contacted by students and parents in my constituency who are devastated to have been told that geography and politics courses at Liverpool John Moores university have been cancelled from September, giving them less than three months to make alternative arrangements. What assurances can the Prime Minister give my constituents that cuts to higher education will not...
Luciana Berger: Two weeks ago, I asked the Leader of the House if he would kindly urge the Home Secretary to update us on the review of dangerous dogs legislation initiated under the last Government. He said that the Home Secretary would do so during the Queen's Speech debate, but unfortunately that did not happen. May I again urge him to ask the Home Secretary to come to the House and update us on the...
Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on the implications for women of proposals to extend anonymity to defendants in rape cases.
Luciana Berger: If she will discuss with trade unions measures to reduce the adverse effect on the natural environment of workplace activity.
Luciana Berger: With public sector employers having to make the longest and deepest cuts since the second world war, will the Minister recognise the role of trade union environment representatives in helping to achieve energy, water and waste savings? Can he assure me that managers in his Department regularly discuss and monitor environmental cost savings at joint union-management meetings?
Luciana Berger: I welcome you to your seat, Mr Deputy Speaker. I also congratulate the hon. Member for Camborne and Redruth (George Eustice) on his excellent maiden speech, and my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull East (Karl Turner) on his. Many of my hon. Friends have already raised their objections to the Budget. I share all those objections. As was pointed out by my hon. Friend the Member...
Luciana Berger: I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments but I do not agree with them. My point was that the Conservatives campaigned during the election on a pledge that they would not cut front-line services. That will not now be the case.
Luciana Berger: My hon. Friend makes a very good point. [ Interruption . ]
Luciana Berger: I thank my hon. Friend for making his point and I am disappointed by the response from Conservative Members. On Tuesday, the Chancellor said that his Budget would protect the most vulnerable. I urge the Government to address the question of what limiting support to the firstborn will mean in practice. No family that needs help should miss out and, contrary to the Chancellor's declaration,...
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of people who are employed in bingo clubs.
Luciana Berger: Also in the newspapers this weekend were comments by Professor Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel prize-winning economist, who predicted the global financial meltdown, that announcements in our Budget will, at best, make Britain's recovery from a recession longer, and, at worst, put us into the double-dip recession that we said would occur. Does the Prime Minister agree that we ignore Professor Joseph...
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what information his Department holds on the number of bingo clubs which have closed in each of the last five years.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to reduce the level of gross profit tax levied on bingo club operators.