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Summer Recess Adjournment

Indeed. My hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend, East mentioned his local airport and spoke about his constituents' problems with the tax authorities—something that affects all of us. However, most of us will have been particularly struck by the fact that hospitals, including his local hospital in Southend, are stopping people bringing flowers to patients. That is distressing news, both for patients and the friends and relatives who want to bring them a little lightness at a time of serious ill health. I wish my hon. Friend well in trying to overcome that ban at Southend hospital. My hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner) spoke about an issue that he has raised before concerning Vestas, a successful Danish company, which less than a decade ago received £3.5 million of British taxpayers' funds to help it start in the UK. On the day the company announced record profits, it also announced that 600 jobs would go in my hon. Friend's constituency. I was sorry to hear that he had been unable to speak to Lord Mandelson and had not even received the courtesy of a reply to his letter, but I have to say that I am not surprised. It is clear evidence that Lord Mandelson's attention is on anything but his various responsibilities; his only concern is trying to prop up a failing and discredited Prime Minister. The right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) raised a disturbing case of alleged fraud concerning a doctor. He also raised a broader issue—that we should ensure that public servants who are trying to act in defence of public funds are not themselves penalised. I hope that his criticism of the Government will be taken on board, and that the Deputy Leader of the House conveys the proper message to the relevant Ministers. My right hon. Friend the Member for West Derbyshire mentioned that Derbyshire county council has become Conservative after a number of years. That was one of the highlights on the day of the local and European elections and I join him in congratulating his local county councillors, and I wish them well in trying to undo the mess they inherited from their predecessors. My right hon. Friend also raised the important point that schools are burdened with so much regulation that many of them are considering no longer having exchange trips. I for one found such trips useful when I was at school, and few people would argue that they are not good for the development of the individual. My right hon. Friend is right to press ahead with the issue and I very much hope that his concerns will be heard by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, although he is another Secretary of State whose eye is anywhere but on his brief. I hope that the Deputy Leader of the House has taken on board the concerns about bovine TB expressed by my right hon. Friend. The issue concerns many of us who have rural constituencies. The hon. Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Mr. Moore) deserves congratulations from all of us on the fact that he has a new addition to his family. I congratulate him and his wife Alison on the birth of their daughter, Ella, eight weeks ago. The hon. Gentleman paid tribute to his local hospital. The health services generally deserve a big thank you for doing so well in difficult circumstances. We have a Government who are burdening them with excessive bureaucracy and who put targets above health priorities. Working under such conditions, the health services deserve credit. We often express our thanks to the doctors and nurses, but let us take this opportunity to thank the cleaners, the porters, the caterers, the receptionists and all the volunteers who also do such sterling work in the health services. My hon. Friend the Member for The Wrekin (Mark Pritchard) displayed his expertise and knowledge of matters foreign. He delivered a passionate and welcome speech on Afghanistan. I was privileged to visit Afghanistan last November and to meet some of our brave men and women, many of them very young. It is a matter of concern that they are not getting the full backing and resources they deserve when they are fighting for the interests of Afghanistan and the broader freedom of the rest of the world. It is a disgrace that although we have some 500 helicopters, there are only 30 in Helmand province. Moreover, it is regrettable that the Prime Minister does not have the courage to admit his contribution to the lack of helicopters through his failure to allow the proper budget for them when he was Chancellor. May I say how disingenuous it is that he speaks of a 60 per cent. increase in the number of helicopters in the past two years? When he talks about the increase in troops, he mentions specific numbers, yet on the subject of helicopters he has to resort to playing with words and speaking of 60 per cent. By doing so, he demeans himself and the office that he holds.