Chris White: Thank you for calling me, Madam Deputy Speaker. I congratulate you on your new post, and I congratulate all other Members who have spoken for the first time this afternoon. I have listened to a number of maiden speeches over the last two weeks, in which a number of Members have wisely mentioned their local press. I would like to follow suit. In the week that followed the election that saw the...
Chris White: This is also my first contribution to a Westminster Hall debate. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North (Mark Lancaster) for the opportunity to debate regional spatial strategies and for bringing an issue that is so high on the local agenda to a high place on the Westminster agenda. I, too, shall be brief. Although I am sure that my hon. Friend will join me in welcoming...
Chris White: I am delighted to have this opportunity to debate fire station provision within Warwickshire. I am also delighted to have the support of my colleagues from the county. However, I am sure that we in Westminster Hall will especially appreciate the presence of the Lord Commissioner of Her Majesty's Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Jeremy Wright). Owing to the...
Chris White: I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. If the arguments that he is using are not enough, the proposals really fail on the common-sense test. The proposals rightly say that the range of incidents and the types of risks have changed-those things have changed-but the consultation document has not considered the fact that Warwickshire is due to experience an increase in housing and...
Chris White: I am certainly happy to pass on my hon. Friend's concerns, and I am sure that we will all be working in our own way. I apologise for some of my colleagues, Mr Benton; it is a happy disaster that so many new Members have been elected in Warwickshire. The Morphew report, published in 2007, made it clear that waste and inefficiency were present, not because of too many fire stations but because...
Chris White: I hope that the Minister will recognise that there is clear and evident support across the county for every one of our fire stations. Our constituents have put trust and faith in us by putting us in this place. They expect their Members of Parliament to stand up for them when they feel ignored or wronged. In this debate, I am doing what I can to honour that trust. However, as I am sure we are...
Chris White: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I will keep it brief. I congratulate my hon. Friends the Members for Wirral West (Esther McVey) and for Stevenage (Stephen McPartland), and the hon. Member for Rochdale (Simon Danczuk), on their excellent and thoughtful maiden speeches. More than 60 years ago, the Beveridge report was published. It identified the five giants that threatened Britain in the...
Chris White: My hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire (Dan Byles) is correct to highlight the key role of retained firefighters throughout the country. I am fortunate to have in my constituency a station staffed by retained firefighters. Sadly it is under threat, as are many other stations throughout Warwickshire. At a time when we anticipate large-scale cuts to the public sector, something that...
Chris White: I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. To add to that, what sort of example are we setting if we so easily ignore the contribution of our retained firefighters? I hope that this debate will encourage fire services and local authorities throughout the country to recognise the value of retained firefighters and ensure that they continue to have a long-term future.
Chris White: If he will discuss with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills means of increasing the number of engineering courses available for those training for green jobs.
Chris White: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his answer. My constituency is becoming known as one of the centres of the UK energy industry, and it is home to some of the many big-name employers in this sector. As a result, we have established what we call the Warwick and Leamington energy forum. One of its aims is to bring together industry and local skills providers to match skills to jobs to ensure...
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many community interest companies were started in (a) Warwick and Leamington constituency, (b) Warwickshire, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last five years.
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the number and proportion of households in (a) Warwick and Leamington constituency, (b) Warwickshire and (c) the West Midlands which are in fuel poverty.
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) whether he has considered the merits of introducing elected fire commissioners; (2) whether he has discussed with the Secretary of State for the Home Department the merits of creating jointly-elected fire and policing commissioners.
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of adult social care in Warwickshire in (a) 2020, (b) 2040 and (c) 2060.
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether regional development agencies are to be required to fulfil their remaining duties under contracts they have entered into.
Chris White: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many social enterprises were started in (a) Warwick and Leamington constituency, (b) Warwickshire and (c) the West Midlands in each year since 2000.
Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the number and proportion of households in Warwick and Leamington constituency in fuel poverty where all members of the household are over the age of 65.
Chris White: Even after listening to the previous speaker, I think that we all share the same view, which is that we have to create a sustainable future for our post service, so that it can both serve our economy and continue to serve as a public good. We should all accept that Royal Mail has been lagging behind its competitors, and, with a potential reduction in the volume of letters of between 25 to 40%...
Chris White: No, I think that the offer as it stands is sensible and practical, although as I have said, it would be better if the level was greater than 10%. However, as it stands, that is the only way that we are going to move forward. I recognise that the injection of private capital has been sought in order to protect the universal service obligation, although I would like to use this opportunity to...