PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament

1511 26 MARCH 2013 Points of Order
1512
Points of Order
2.39 pm
Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore) (Lab): On a point of
order, Mr Speaker. I apologise for standing pre-emptively
earlier on. I was so excited by the number of statements
and was wondering where the missing one was. Ash
dieback is the biggest tree disease to hit this country
since Dutch elm, and it has spread to 427 sites around
the UK. We welcome today’s publication of the Chalara
management plan, but it is available only on the Department
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs website. The
Government have briefed the press about the publication
of the plan but have not informed the House about it,
despite undertaking to present it to the House. I ask for
your advice once again, Mr Speaker, on how the House
can hold the Executive to account when they fail to
deliver on what they have promised, which on this
occasion was to bring the Chalara management plan
that deals with ash dieback to the House for its
consideration? Instead, it is only out there for the press
and on the DEFRA website.
Mr Speaker: I am sorry to learn of what the hon.
Gentleman has described in his point of order. What I
would say to him is twofold. First, the Deputy Leader
of the House is present on the Treasury Bench and will
have heard the point that he has made. Secondly, there
will be an opportunity in the upcoming general debate
before the Adjournment for Members to raise this
matter if they so wish. No other obvious remedies are
available today, but if the hon. Gentleman wishes to
have recourse to the Order Paper via the Table Office, I
feel sure that he will do so.
Mr Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op): On
a point of order, Mr Speaker. I tabled a round robin
question on 4 December last year asking how many
computers, mobile telephones, BlackBerrys and other
pieces of IT equipment had been lost or stolen in
2010-11 and 2011-12. I have received answers from
every Department apart from the Cabinet Office. It was
due to answer on 6 December. I chased an answer on
16 January and expected an answer on 21 January. I
raised the matter at business questions on 7 February
and the Leader of the House very kindly promised to
endeavour to get me an answer. I still have not received
an answer. What other options are available to me to try
to hold this overbearing Executive to account?
Mr Speaker: The hon. Gentleman has just deployed
one of the options, which is to air the matter on the
Floor of the House in the presence and earshot of the
Deputy Leader of the House. He has described a regrettable
sequence of events. He and other Members know that, from
the Chair, I attach great importance to timely and
substantive replies to questions to Ministers. In this
case, such a reply has clearly not been forthcoming. I
hope that that point will speedily be communicated to
the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster
General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude).
He or a member of his team should furnish the hon.
Gentleman with the information that is required sooner
rather than later.
Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab): On a point of
order, Mr Speaker. This is the third point of order
about Members trying to bring the Executive to account.
There were stories in this morning’s paper that, contrary
to the coalition agreement, large subsidies will be paid
to the nuclear industry. There is a motion after the
ten-minute rule Bill entitled “Financial Assistance to
Industry” on which there can be no debate. On making
inquiries, I found out that the matter was discussed
upstairs. The information available to me is only that
the sum is up to £20 million. I can find no details on
whether that money will go to the nuclear industry. Is it
appropriate that this matter should come before us if
it is not possible for Members to discover what precisely
it is about or to air our objection that it is anti-democratic
and contrary to the coalition agreement?
Mr Speaker: During the next 10 minutes while the
ten-minute rule motion is discussed, the hon. Gentleman
may wish to avail himself of the opportunity to read the
verbatim text of the debate on that matter in Standing
Committee. If that does not satisfy him—I am not an
optimist in these matters so far as the hon. Gentleman
is concerned—he may wish to return to the matter.
Whether it was a Standing Committee of which one
needed to be a member to contribute, I do not know. If
he was not a member of the Committee, I am saddened
for him. I cannot offer any compensation for him today,
but knowing the hon. Gentleman, he will return to this
matter just as predictably as a dog to his bone. We will
hear from him on these matters ere long. I know that
that is not satisfactory, but that is the best that I can
offer him on this, the last day before the Easter recess. If
there are no further points of order, we come now to the
ten-minute rule motion. This is the hon. Gentleman’s
opportunity to do his reading.