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Summer Adjournment

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire (Mr. Vara), who has kept to his side of the bargain on keeping to time in a very co-operative manner. I, too, shall begin with a confession: this is my first summer Adjournment debate. Now that I have been initiated into its mysteries, I hope that hon. Members will be satisfied by the way in which I respond to their points. My right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz) raised a delayed private finance initiative project. As I understand it, the project has been delayed because the costs have risen by more than £200 million. That is obviously a matter for the Department of Health, and I will draw it to the attention of Health Ministers, but in so far as my right hon. Friend is concerned about the proper use of public money, that is, of course, a matter for the National Audit Office. My right hon. Friend also raised the serious problem of video games, and I will refer the matter to colleagues in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Finally, my right hon. Friend raised the case of his constituent whose car had been impounded. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs are aware of that case, but I will ensure that Treasury Ministers take account of it. The hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Angela Browning) is concerned about the advent of unitary status in her county. I can tell her that the parliamentary question has now been answered, and I hope that there is a letter on the Letter Board. I will draw the attention of my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government to her concerns about the criteria. As for floods, I heard this morning that we have had more rain than in any summer since 1789, so she is right about the assessment of the flood plains. My hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Harry Cohen) talked about the economy of the drugs market. When he began, I thought that I would be called on to refer those issues to the Home Office, or possibly to the Ministry of Justice, but as he developed his argument it became clear that the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development also have an interest in what is happening in this terrible trade. The hon. Member for North Southwark and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes) asked about the position of the Sri Lankan Tamils. I have been informed that the Border and Immigration Agency is actively engaging with detainees to discuss their concerns. The hon. Gentleman talked about the housing problems in his constituency, his concern about the closure of Maudsley hospital, about post office closures and about transport. I hope that he realises that we are continuing with the Crossrail legislation because we are committed to that piece of infrastructure for the capital. The issue of financing will follow once the legal infrastructure is in place. My hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, North (Dr. Gibson) talked about academies, particularly about Heartsease school in his constituency. He was concerned about the role of sponsors and the quality of education in that school, which has clearly been a controversial matter. It was evident that he is a former Chair of the Science and Technology Committee, given his particular concern about the quality of science teaching in the school. The hon. Member for Worthing, West (Peter Bottomley) raised several issues. I am fully aware of the problem of overseas pensioners, which centres on the contributory part of the state retirement pension. He talked about the reconfiguration of hospitals in West Sussex and his frustration about that. I am sure that he is aware of the next-stage review that Lord Darzi will undertake. Although there may be some difficulties with the reconfiguration of the hospitals, his primary care trust has had a 31.2 per cent. increase in resources over the past three years, and waiting lists in the NHS south-east area are down from over 30,000 to 32. Finally, the hon. Gentleman raised the question of the clemency appeal in the United States for Krishna Maharaj. I understand that the former Foreign Office Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney), has written to the Americans about that and that British consul will attend the clemency hearing on 10 August. The hon. Member for Vauxhall (Kate Hoey) also talked about the Maudsley. She mentioned several policy issues where she has looked for significant change—cannabis, casinos, licensing and a referendum on the European Union treaty. I think that she will be more fortunate on the first three than on the last one. She spoke about the Post Office and the liberalisation of the postal market. I will draw her remarks to the attention of my hon. Friend the Minister for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs. It is quite clear that the current stand-off between employees and management is partly about short-term issues, but partly about some long-term policy questions. The hon. Member for Orpington (Mr. Horam) talked about the Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust, and was well apprised of the complex issues in NHS financing. He pointed out that guidance on how to run PFIs has improved with experience, and I remind him that it is up to the primary care trusts to commission local services. My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Ms Stuart) talked about ““The Governance of Britain”” Green Paper and the need for it to have a more European emphasis. She also talked about her desire to see a referendum on the EU reform treaty. That is unlikely to be forthcoming because the Government’s four red lines, which we set at the outset of the negotiations, have not been broken. That is the matter that will weigh most heavily when we see the final text of the treaty in September. She is absolutely right about one thing: to be a real European does not mean being totally uncritical of all things European. Like her, I speak as one with mixed parentage.