Bob Spink in Parliament this week
Tuesday, July 22 2008
Early Day Motions
EDM 2130 Speaker's conference on the representation of women and ethnic minorities
Bob Spink (Castle Point) (UKIP):
That this House recognises the desirability of increasing the number of women in Parliament and better matching the make-up of Parliament to the people it represents; and notes the Speaker's Statement of 22nd July but hopes that nothing will be done either to restrict the electorate's choice of their own hon. Member or further to strengthen the power of political parties to control the democratic process through the use of candidate list systems in elections
EDM 2127 New treatment for prostate cancer
Bob Spink (Castle Point) (UKIP):
That this House welcomes reports of the success of early trials of Abiraterone in treating an aggressive and often fatal form of prostate cancer; notes that eight out of 10 patients who have advanced prostate cancer may see their tumours shrink and be relieved of pain simply by taking a daily pill; further notes that full trials will be undertaken and that the drug may be generally available in three or four years; further notes that this drug, if it proves its potential during full trials, could help 10,000 men who die from aggressive prostate cancer each year; and therefore calls on the Government to ensure all possible support is given to accelerate the trials and ensure that the drug is available at the earliest possible moment.
EDM 2101 Renegotiation of the UK's relationship with the EU
Bob Spink (Castle Point) (UKIP):
That this House congratulates The Mail On Sunday on calling for the UK to renegotiate its relationship with the European Union; notes that its article of 20th July characterised the current relationship as `fatuous Brussels' rules and inflexible British functionaries' and called this `our national curse', stated that the current relationship `repeatedly operates against the interests of this country's small businessmen, farmers, shopkeepers and consumers', concluded that no one `can now seriously argue that Britain's long entanglement with the EU has been beneficial, successful or sensible', and called on Parliament `to think seriously about freeing ourselves from this absurd, annoying organisation, and go back to making and enforcing our own laws'; and calls on the Government to respond appropriately to The Mail On Sunday's advice.
EDM 2102 prescription charges in England
Bob Spink (Castle Point) (UKIP):
That this House notes the different prescription charging policies in UK countries; notes also that the NHS could save millions if more generic drugs were prescribed where appropriate; futher notes that the Office of Fair Trading report on the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme identified potential savings of £500 million from just a limited range of drug categories; further notes that paid for prescriptions raise only £430 million; further notes that people in England often cannot take the drugs they are prescribed, leading to health complications and further costs to the NHS; further notes that the National Audit Office estimated drug wastage in the NHS to amount to more than £100 million; and therefore calls on the Government to adopt UKIP policy of free prescriptions across the UK and to fund this by greater use of generic drugs and less wastage.
EDM 2103 Equitable life pensioners and policy holders
Bob Spink (Castle Point) (UKIP):
That this House congratulates the Parliamentary Ombudsman on her report on Equitable Life; notes that UKIP policy is to fully compensate Equitable Life policyholders; further notes that many pensioners are passing away without seeing justice done; and calls on the Treasury to honour the Parliamentary Ombudsman's recommendations without further loss of time and immediately open negotiations with representatives of the Equitable Life policyholders.
EDM 2100 Rheumathoid arthritis treatment
Bob Spink (Castle Point) (UKIP):
That this House congratulates the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society on its caring activities; notes the recent National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Final Appraisal Document; is aware of the pain, and the medical and social problems, suffered by people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis; further notes that effective treatment can save the NHS significant sums in the longer term; further notes that the NICE decision would deny 60,000 people with rheumatoid arthritis access to a range of anti-TNF drugs and could leave them facing high levels of pain, the possibility of more surgery and long-term disability; and therefore calls on the Government to ensure that anti-TNF drugs are available to rheumatoid arthritis sufferers according to their clinical needs.
Debates
Education Debate (External SATs testing of children):
Bob Spink (Castle Point) (UKIP): Let me spell out another sound UKIP policy on Education. In this as in so many other areas, smaller or less interfering Government is much better. Will the Secretary of State change his policy so that there is less externally validated testing?
We should trust teachers more: they are excellent, and they have the right judgment about the children in their care. Trusting them more, especially around key stage 3, would save a lot of money and anguish.
Ed Balls: I just explained to Liberal Democrat colleagues why I disagree with the approach that the hon. Gentleman sets out. I should like Making Good Progress to lead to more teacher discretion, but it would not be right for parents to move away from externally validated tests.
I disagree with him, and believe that the information from the tests is a very important part of our drive to raise standards in primary and secondary schools. On this matter, we will have to agree to disagree.
Mr. Deputy Speaker: I call Mr. Shailesh Vara.
Bob Spink: On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Is it possible to find a way either to extend the debate, or reduce the amount of Front-Bench time in what is essentially a Back-Bench debate?
That would enable Back Benchers who have sat here all day to deliver their speeches, even though they might have only a few minutes to make their…. Points, this House should not play games with our democracy or seek to prevent certain Hon members from speaking, just because they might not like the truth that is spoken for the people of this country, on post offices , the NHS, hospices, police and Europe for instance.—
Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. The hon. Gentleman is an experienced Member of this House and he knows exactly how we operate. It is unfortunate that people who have been here all day sometimes do not get called, but there is nothing that the Chair can do about it other than to exhort Members to take a little less time when they speak..
Defence:
Bob Spink (Castle Point) (UKIP): What assessment does the Secretary of State make of the linkage between Iranian military and Iraqi militia groups, which have been trained—by the allied forces, of course—armed and put on the street to help the security forces?
Des Browne: There were at one stage some concerns that militia had infiltrated Iraqi security forces. The hon. Gentleman and others will know that when General Mohan was in charge of troops in Basra steps were taken to ensure that the majority of recruits to the 14th division, which grew out of the 10th division of the Iraqi army, did not come from the Basra area. The fact that the troops could not be intimidated may well account for the dramatic effect of the deployment of the 14th division to Basra.
Learning disability:
Bob Spink (Castle Point) (UKIP): Does the Minister intend to take action on the plight of young people with hearing loss, who are suffering from a recent massive increase in the cost of lip-reading classes imposed by uncaring county councils, such as Essex county council, which are not spending their money appropriately?
Kevin Brennan: The role of central Government is to set the standards and framework, and it is for local government to deliver on that. That should be inspected against any action to be taken as and when necessary. I note the point that the hon. Gentleman has made.
Housing and Regeneration Bill:
Bob Spink (Castle Point) (UKIP): Lords amendments Nos. 169 to 171 allow local authorities to hold a ballot as soon as a notice is served, but also call on them to have regard to guidance given by the appropriate person. Where a local authority has already had a ballot, and tenants have voted against a transfer, would the guidance from the appropriate person allow local authorities to hold ballot after ballot after ballot until they get the answer that they want, or would those authorities’ ability to re-ballot be restricted?
Mr. Wright: I do not expect that the guidance will prevent a local authority that has had a ballot on stock transfer from having another one at some point. I think that it will say that a reasonable amount of time would have to elapse between a ballot and any subsequent ballot, to allow people to reflect and to consider. It would not be right for us to say that because one ballot had taken place, a local authority area could not have another one.
Welfare Reform:
Bob Spink (Castle Point) (UKIP): I broadly welcome this move, which in many ways follows UKIP’s welfare to work policy, as it does Liberal and Conservative policies. May I ask how the Secretary of State will ensure that decisions taken by the providers on the type of work and on enforcing work over the mandatory four-week period will be maintained as rational and non-discriminatory? Will there be any appeals? How will the quality of the decision be underwritten?
Sec of State James Purnell: It is absolutely right that the proposals should be subject to review and that they should be carried out in the right way. I am delighted to see that the hon. Gentleman’s parliamentary party is completely united behind his leadership in backing our proposals.
