Business of the House

I call the stand-in shadow Leader of the House—one Paul Holmes.

May I please ask the Leader of the House to outline the forthcoming business?

I shall, and that was beautifully delivered.

The business of the House for the week commencing 5 May will include:

Tuesday 6 May—General debate on the 80th anniversary of victory in Europe and victory over Japan.

Wednesday 7 May—Remaining stages of the Data (Use and Access) Bill [Lords].

Thursday 8 May—General debate on St George’s day and English affairs, followed by a debate on a motion on the research and treatment of brain tumours. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee.

Friday 9 May—The House will not be sitting.

The provisional business for the week commencing 12 May will include:

Monday 12 May—Remaining stages of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.

Tuesday 13 May—Opposition day (7th allotted day). Debate on a motion in the name of the Leader of the official Opposition, subject to be announced.

Wednesday 14 May—Consideration of Lords message on the Great British Energy Bill, followed by, if necessary, consideration of Lords amendments.

Thursday 15 May—General debate on solar farms, followed by a general debate on the long-term funding of youth services. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee.

Friday 16 May—Private Members’ Bills.

I am delighted that the Leader of the House has given time for a general debate on VE Day. It is vital that we remember the sacrifice that each and every one of our communities made through the loss of servicemen for the liberties won for each and every one of us. We will never forget them.

If I may, I want to pay tribute to the parliamentary security and policing teams. On Monday evening a friend and I, while on the Terrace, saw a man enter the water outside from Westminster bridge. We ran to report it to a police officer, who took us very seriously and immediately reported it in. Five minutes later, emergency services located the person and evacuated them. I thank the emergency services and that police officer, whose name I did not get, for acting in a timely way. We wish the affected person well, as he was taken to hospital.

I am grateful to the Leader of the House for outlining the forthcoming business. She will, I know, be looking forward to the FA cup final on 17 May and will be cheering Manchester City on to victory against Crystal Palace almost as loudly as she heckles Opposition politicians here. I look forward to my team, Southampton, meeting her team later on that month, although from our record I am not sure it will go too well.

On the subject of own goals, I am sure Members on both sides of the House will be looking on with some confusion at the chaos in the Government’s ranks following the former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s suggestion that the Government’s plan to phase out fossil fuels in the short term are doomed to fail. That election-winning machine, at whose name many on the Labour Benches now groan at the simple mention of, has spoken sense. Of course, it can be frustrating when former leaders weigh in on debates with contrary views to the parties they once led. Believe me, I know how the Leader of the House and the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero feel—we have had more than our fair share—but the Government know that the former Prime Minister has a point.

I join the shadow Minister in thanking the police and security services of the House for the work they do day in, day out, and particularly in the case he has raised. I take this opportunity to thank the King for all the work he is doing for those living with cancer; his openness about his own condition really does bring huge comfort to those living with theirs. I also take this opportunity to welcome progress on the minerals agreement between the US and Ukraine that was achieved overnight and the wider partnership. The support of the Government and of the whole House remains unwaveringly with those in Ukraine, and that will continue.

I join the shadow Minister in thanking all candidates standing in the local elections today, and I thank him for wishing Man City all the success I hope it will get in the forthcoming FA cup final, and against Southampton.

It is really good to see the shadow Minister in his elevated place today, reaching the heady heights of business questions this morning. I am sure he will agree that this is the pinnacle of his career so far. As you can see, Mr Speaker, he has really drawn in the crowds. I am only joking; the attendance is no reflection on him. His journey to this point has been—how shall I put it?—one of dogged and determined pursuit. He was a councillor, I believe, when he was very young, at just 20, and has been a special adviser. Before coming here, he stood in a number of seats; in fact, in his relatively short parliamentary career, he has already been the MP for two different constituencies.

In all seriousness, I have a great deal of time for the hon. Gentleman, who is a formidable and notable representative of his party. It might be a bit of a low bar right now, but he is well above it. He really is a rising star of the party—

Waning!

He is a very popular Member of this House. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] There we are.

The shadow Minister raises a matter that is very important to me: timely and full responses to written parliamentary questions and correspondence. I take this matter incredibly seriously and will continue, as always, to raise it with Cabinet Ministers, collectively and individually, when they fall short.

The shadow Minister also raises the issue of net zero. I am sorry, given his glittering career, that he felt the need to read out from the latest Whips’ crib sheet on net zero. The blinkered vision that the Conservatives have shown on the opportunity of net zero and the transition that we need to make is why they did so little in their time in office.

Let us look at what is actually happening. The North sea basin is diminishing; it is a finite resource. That is why the workforce in the North sea has fallen by a third over the past 10 years. There is a global race for the new technologies of the future, and we are now in that race—something the Conservatives failed to do for many years. We are making sure that the North sea has the opportunities of the future, and there are some great opportunities. That is why we are setting up Great British Energy in Aberdeen and why we have announced £22 billion for carbon capture, which will be critical to the future of the North sea basin. It is also why we are looking to reindustrialise the future with things like hydrogen, nuclear and other energies.

The shadow Minister mentions the former leader of the Labour party, but he might want to look at what some of his own party’s former leaders have said in recent years. I thought Theresa May spoke very wisely last autumn, just as the Conservatives were performing a complete volte-face over net zero, when she said:

“When the sceptics say that the green transition will cripple business, we say they could not be more wrong…When the critics say transitioning to renewables costs too much, we say it’s wrong to see it as a cost. It’s an enormous investment opportunity”.

Bagpipe music is undisputedly the finest instrumental music around. Earlier this month, the 37-strong Falkirk schools pipe band, accompanied by 30 dancers from the Denny high school’s dance academy, participated in the Tartan Day parade in New York, commendably representing Scotland and Falkirk district. Starting less than three years ago, they have quickly developed into the pride of the town and the district. Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating these immense young people and the community, parents and educators who made their immense performance in New York earlier this month possible?

I am delighted to hear about the bagpipe musicians from my hon. Friend’s constituency going to New York. That sounds like a really fantastic visit. I thank him for raising it here and join him in congratulating them on their endeavours.

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

I have a beautiful four-year-old black labrador called Shadow and one of my favourite things to do, to get some exercise and clear my head, is to take her on a long walk. With the weather so gorgeous yesterday morning, I headed to Hylands park, a stunning 574-acre country park that straddles two constituencies, including mine. It is run and maintained by Chelmsford city council park staff with the help of a small army of amazing volunteers. Early in the morning, the only people we usually see are dog walkers, so there was nothing unusual about hearing dogs barking in the distance as I meandered through the woods. But it turned out that yesterday was no ordinary morning and the dogs were barking because their owner, Rebecca, had been knocked over in a canine encounter that had left her with an obviously dislocated knee. Another regular dog walker and I stayed with Rebecca, distracting her from the pain while we waited for the ambulance crew to arrive.

I would like to state for the record today just how brilliant the paramedics and hazardous area response team—otherwise known as HART—were in helping Rebecca. It was truly a privilege to observe close-up and at first hand as they put to use their vital skills and training: keeping calm, administering much-needed pain relief and eventually popping Rebecca’s knee back into place.

Will the Leader of the House join me in acknowledging and thanking the wonderful people working on the frontline of the East of England ambulance service and, indeed, all ambulance services across the United Kingdom as well as all the staff who support them, from the emergency service call handlers right the way through to the trainee paramedic technicians? They support us in our hour of need, and we never know just when that hour is coming.

I thank the hon. Member for paying tribute to all of those paramedics, the ambulance service and those on the frontline who come to our rescue at moments of need. She is right to raise and pay testament to them in this House. As the hon. Lady may know, my husband is an A&E consultant. I think people who work on the frontline in that way have a different mindset; he often says that fixing dislocated shoulders and knees is his favourite task to perform at work. I am sure the rest of us could not think of anything worse.

Today is election day, and a sunny day. I am sure that the hon. Lady, as a Liberal Democrat, is looking forward, as I am, to seeing pictures of her leader making the most of the sunny day, perhaps by throwing himself into a lake or river, or by dangling off a bungee rope. Maybe he will even give us a song and a dance, or something else rather hilarious.

I was pleased earlier this week to support Labour’s strengthened Football Governance Bill, which will put fans back at the heart of the game. Will the Leader of the House join me and many other Luton Town fans in wishing Matt Bloomfield and the squad all the best this weekend for their important match against West Brom, which will hopefully secure their championship place for next season?

I absolutely join my hon. Friend in welcoming and supporting the football regulator Bill. She is right that communities like hers in Luton, and the many communities represented across the House, strongly support the football regulator Bill, which will put fans right back at the heart of our national game, where they should be. That is why I was so surprised that the Conservatives, having really pushed and led on the issues that the Bill addresses, at the last minute set their face against this important Bill. It is shocking and shameful. I also join her in wishing Luton Town the very best in striving to secure their championship place when they play West Brom this weekend.

I call the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee.

In addition to the business that the Leader of the House has announced, on Thursday 22 May in the Chamber there will be a debate on access to NHS dentistry, which is a very popular subject among colleagues. In Westminster Hall next Tuesday, there will be a debate on parking regulation; it will start later in the day, due to our later hours in the Chamber. On Thursday 8 May, there will be a debate on cold and damp homes, followed by a debate on the potential merits of Government support for small abattoirs. On Tuesday 13 May, there will be a debate on the impact of churches and religious buildings on communities. On Thursday 15 May, there will be a debate on funding for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Fund, followed by a debate on the right to maintain contact in care settings. On Tuesday 20 May, there will be a debate on pensions for people living overseas.

At the moment, we are running at more than five applications a week, which we are adding to our waiting list. By my calculations, given that we have five opportunities for Backbench Business debates on a Tuesday and Thursday in Westminster Hall, and two opportunities in the Chamber, those applying now will get a debate sometime from 17 November. Can I urge colleagues who are thinking of requesting a debate to get their request in early, particularly if they are time-sensitive? We can then attempt to grant them. Obviously, any extra time that the Leader of the House can allocate to the Backbench Business Committee would be warmly welcomed. If she could give us an update on when estimates day debates are expected to take place, that would help us considerably in framing the debates.

Today is a glorious day, the first day of May. It is Maharashtra Day and Gujarat Day, which commemorate 1 May 1960, when those two states were created. Later today, after business questions, Members have the opportunity to join us to celebrate Gujarat Day in the Grimond Room in Portcullis House. I hope that the Leader of the House, and you, Mr Speaker, will wish all Gujaratis and Maharashtrians a very happy day as they celebrate their national days. Some 37% of my electorate emanate from Gujarat originally, so I am an honorary Gujarati and will celebrate with them today. I hope that the Leader of the House will join those celebrations.