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Business of the House

I thank the Leader of the House for giving us the forthcoming business, particularly for her statement on how the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill will be handled. Many Members will welcome being able to debate those particular issues on the Floor of the House. Reports of the presidential election in Zimbabwe suggest that Robert Mugabe has lost. Members in all parts of the House continue to be concerned by the situation in Zimbabwe and its future, so when can we have the promised debate on Zimbabwe? On Monday, during Defence questions, the Defence Secretary was asked if he would deploy extra troops to Kosovo. No clear answer was given. The very next day, in a written statement, he announced the deployment of extra troops to Kosovo. It is inconceivable that Ministers did not know that on Monday, and it is a disgrace that they were not frank with this House, our armed forces or their families. On a recent visit to Catterick garrison, I met forces families who are very worried about the overstretch facing our armed forces. Will the Leader of the House guarantee that in future, when our brave servicemen and women are deployed abroad, the Defence Secretary will have the courage to come and face Members of this House? This week, when challenged about how the Government have let people on low incomes down, the Justice Secretary said:"““Sometimes…there are inadvertent consequences of changes. We put our hands up to that, we should have known more about the impact of the abolition of the 10p rate””." Does that not show how out of touch this Government are? I have received an e-mail from a constituent who earns £550 a month working for the NHS, and her annual tax bill will increase by £197, putting her under enormous financial strain. I want to be able to write to my constituent and tell her that she will be compensated, but the Government’s position is unclear. Before the Finance Bill returns to the Floor of the House, will the Leader of the House ensure that the Chancellor publishes a clear statement, and sends a copy to all MPs, on who will be compensated, by how much and when? This week, thousands of car owners have learnt that a Government stealth tax will land them with drastically higher road tax bills and cars that are virtually unsaleable. We are talking not about brand-new 4x4s, but family-sized cars used by hard-working parents. When everyone is worried about soaring prices, is it not typical of this out-of-touch Government to add another stealth tax to the huge financial strain on families? Can we have a debate on the impact of the Government’s actions on hard-working families? Criminal justice watchdogs claim that our justice system’s nonchalant approach contributed to circumstances in which Richard Whelan, an innocent man, was stabbed to death on a London bus. His murderer, Anthony Joseph, was released on bail only hours before killing him, even though a warrant was out for his arrest. He should never have been released. The prison where he was did not have access to the police national computer, so staff could not check if he was wanted elsewhere. More than two thirds of our prisons do not have access to this national computer, so is it any wonder that the watchdogs have branded the criminal justice system ““sloppy””. Can we have a statement from the Justice Secretary on what he will do about that? We learn today that 150 homes in residential areas will be used to house prisoners on early release. For much of the time, they will not be supervised, yet there has been no consultation with local residents. Therefore, can we also have a statement from the Justice Secretary on why the public are being faced with that unnecessary risk? The right hon. Member for Norwich, South (Mr. Clarke) has described the Prime Minister as"““dithering, controlling, drifting and tormented””." Some Labour MPs are reported as saying that the Prime Minister is an"““albatross in a tartan waistcoat””." On Sky TV last weekend, the Leader of the House said that Labour had been blessed to have two world-class leaders in a generation. One was Tony Blair, but who was the other one?