Andrew Smith's recent appearances (TheyWorkForYou)

Unscrupulous Landlords | Westminster Hall debates

2010-09-08T11:00:00+00:00

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate, and I commend the Shelter campaign. Does he agree that proper regulation of multiple occupation properties and private landlords must go hand in hand because the problems overlap? Indeed, in retreating from and watering down the measures that the Labour Government were introducing, after much campaigning by many MPs on behalf of tenants in that sector, the coalition Government risk giving a green light to rogue landlords.

Census: Local Government | Cabinet Office | Written Answers

2010-09-06T00:00:00+00:00

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many local authorities have appointed a census liaison manager in respect of the 2011 Census.

Departmental Internet | Treasury | Written Answers

2010-09-06T00:00:00+00:00

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidelines his Department applies to moderation of comments made on its websites.

National Lottery: Public Participation | Culture Media and Sport | Written Answers

2010-07-27T00:00:00+00:00

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what account he is taking of the views of those who purchase lottery tickets for the National Lottery in his review of the allocation of proceeds from the National Lottery.

Afghanistan: Christianity | Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | Written Answers

2010-07-27T00:00:00+00:00

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Afghanistan on the protection of rights to Christian belief and worship in that country in accordance with its obligations under the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights.

Physics: Teachers | Education | Written Answers

2010-07-26T00:00:00+00:00

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to increase the incentives for physics graduates to enter the teaching profession.

Census | Cabinet Office | Written Answers

2010-07-26T00:00:00+00:00

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what consultation his Department has undertaken on the future of the Census.

[Mr Joe Benton in the Chair] - National Lottery Reform | Westminster Hall debates

2010-07-22T15:30:00+00:00

My right hon. Friend brings enormous expertise and experience to this debate. In relation to shaping the balance of national lottery allocations for the future, what does he think of the proposition that the views of the people who play the lottery, whose money ultimately funds those projects, should be taken more widely into account when deciding where the balance of priorities should be?

[Mr Joe Benton in the Chair] - National Lottery Reform | Westminster Hall debates

2010-07-22T14:30:00+00:00

Going back to the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Paul Farrelly), if arts bodies suffer a loss of grant as a consequence of the cuts by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, will they be able to apply to the lottery to make that loss good?

Building Schools for the Future - [Mr James Gray in the Chair] | Westminster Hall debates

2010-07-21T15:08:00+00:00

Indeed. My hon. Friend makes a good point.

Cheney is a good school that serves mixed communities and gets great results. It is a specialist school in languages and leadership, but, to add insult to injury, it has now heard that its £250,000 specialist schools money is also being cut.

We have to ask what message it sends simply to hack support away from schools such as these. I can assure the hon. Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry), who has just spoken, that there is nothing synthetic about the anger of Labour Members or the teachers, students and communities affected. There has been no assessment or evaluation of schools' particular needs, and programmes are simply cut. Schools are now in limbo: they are told that Building Schools for the Future has been cancelled, yet they do not know what resources, if any, will be available to meet their pressing needs. That is a kick in the teeth for everybody who cares about those schools and who has been working hard for their success. What is the Minister's message to those schools for the future?

I would also like to press the case of Bayards Hill primary school, which is due for total rebuilding and which had primary capital grant approved a couple of years ago. The catchment area includes one of the most disadvantaged communities in my constituency, and rebuilding would be a huge boost to aspiration and confidence. The school's plans were all set to go, but they are now at real risk because Oxfordshire county council is looking at making huge cuts in all its programmes. I call on the county council to honour the pledges that have been made and to ensure that the project can go ahead.

This saga of school cuts is a shameful indictment of the priorities of the coalition Government, who are diverting resources from good schools with a proven track record and a clear need for investment to the damaging ideological experiment of their so-called free schools-let us remember that that is where the money is going. If the Government were listening to parents, teachers and governors, they would abandon this damaging policy now and reinstate investment in schools in our communities so that they could deliver the best opportunities and standards. If the Government do not listen, everyone will know in the years to come that the first big message from this coalition Government was that whereas Labour invested in the future of our schools and brought hope and opportunity, the Conservatives and Lib Dems brought cuts and despair. It is a tragedy that children's education is paying the price for the Government's monumental misjudgment.

Building Schools for the Future - [Mr James Gray in the Chair] | Westminster Hall debates

2010-07-21T15:08:00+00:00

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Halton (Derek Twigg) on securing the debate. Like him and like thousands of people in my constituency and millions throughout the country, I was appalled that the very first casualty of the Conservative and Lib Dem policy of savage cuts was investment in our schools. That will be deeply damaging to education and demoralising for students, parents, governors and teachers alike. It is also a big political mistake, because a lot of people who voted Lib Dem or Conservative were certainly not voting for that. In future, when people think of this Government, they will remember that the very first thing Ministers did was take the axe to our schools.

I want to highlight the casualties among schools in my constituency. Iffley Mead is a great special school. Ofsted rated it outstanding for care, guidance and support, and for personal development and well-being, and good in all other respects. The school anticipated the total replacement of outdated buildings, with state-of-the-art teaching areas for special needs, residential accommodation for looked-after children and respite facilities for families in need of additional support. People will find it impossible to understand why they evidently do not figure as part of the big society.

Cheney school, which is a community secondary, has been doing excellent work and has been building on an overall good Ofsted rating. It was looking forward to extensive rebuilding, including the replacement of science labs that were condemned as unsafe last year and which have now been closed. The school has significant numbers of children with special needs, for whom the current buildings, which do not have lifts, are not fit for purpose.

Sunday Trading: Christmas | Business, Innovation and Skills | Written Answers

2010-07-20T00:00:00+00:00

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will ensure there is no relaxation of restrictions on Sunday trading on Boxing Day 2010.

Departmental Reorganisation | Education | Written Answers

2010-07-20T00:00:00+00:00

To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 15 June 2010, Official Report, column 396W, on departmental reorganisation, how much was spent under each budget heading on renaming his Department.

Doctors and Nurses: Foreign Workers | Health | Written Answers

2010-07-20T00:00:00+00:00

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what standards his Department requires in respect of (a) competence in the English language and (b) professional standards from (i) doctors and (ii) nurses from other EU member states coming to work in the UK.

Equitable Life | Westminster Hall debates

2010-07-20T13:00:00+00:00

The hon. Lady, who is my fellow Oxford Member, makes her case passionately and effectively. Is not the crucial point that we get a commitment to transparency and fairness, which is what EMAG has been calling for, and that it would therefore be helpful to hear from the Minister on how the coalition Government intend to change and enhance the remit that was given to Sir John Chadwick?

Multiple Occupation: Licensing | Communities and Local Government | Written Answers

2010-07-19T00:00:00+00:00

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria were used to determine participants in his Department's targeted consultation on the changing of planning rules for houses in multiple occupation.

Multiple Occupation: Licensing | Communities and Local Government | Written Answers

2010-07-19T00:00:00+00:00

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons Oxford city council was not invited to contribute to the targeted consultation on the changing of planning rules for houses in multiple occupation.

Multiple Occupation: Licensing | Communities and Local Government | Written Answers

2010-07-19T00:00:00+00:00

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will consider the merits of local development orders in place of alternative Article 4 directions to provide flexibility in the regulation of houses of multiple occupation.

Incinerators: Health Hazards | Environment Food and Rural Affairs | Written Answers

2010-07-19T00:00:00+00:00

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will direct the Environment Agency to (a) adopt and (b) document in its Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control guidance a representative sampling and testing protocol for incinerator bottom ash as part of its Best Available Techniques.

Incinerators: Health Hazards | Environment Food and Rural Affairs | Written Answers

2010-07-19T00:00:00+00:00

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make the undertaking of representative sampling and testing protocol for H14 ecotoxicity of incinerator bottom ash a condition for the granting of environmental permits for waste incinerators.