Adam Holloway, MP

Adam Holloway, MP

Member of Parliament
for Gravesham

  

 

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10th January 2012
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure drugs approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence are made available to all patients in the NHS.
Andrew Lansley
(Secretary of State, Health; South Cambridgeshire, Conservative)
The national health service is required to fund drugs and technologies recommended in National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) technology appraisals, in line with the NHS Constitution.
The NHS chief executive's report, “Innovation, Health and Wealth” sets out plans to ensure rapid and consistent implementation of NICE technology appraisal recommendations throughout the NHS.
Happy New Year 2012
12th December 2011
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
What steps she is taking to tackle metal theft.
Craig Whittaker
(Calder Valley, Conservative)
What steps she is taking to tackle metal theft.
Nadine Dorries
(Mid Bedfordshire, Conservative)
What steps she is taking to tackle metal theft.
James Brokenshire
 
(Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Home Office; Old Bexley and Sidcup, Conservative)
 
The Government recognise the growing problem of metal theft and are taking urgent steps to address it. The Home Office is discussing with other Departments what legislative changesare necessary to assist enforcement agencies and deter offenders, including introducing a new licence regime for scrap metal dealers and prohibiting cash payments. We are also working with the Association of Chief Police Officers to establish a dedicated metal theft taskforce.
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
Metal theft costs us a huge amount of money in this country, as the Minister knows, whether it is of dodgy copper wire or lead from churches such as those in Ifield in my constituency. Is there any argument for seizing the entire inventories of metal dealers found to be purchasing what are effectively stolen goods?
James Brokenshire
(Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Home Office; Old Bexley and Sidcup, Conservative)
I certainly recognise the impact that metal theft has on our communities, with the estimated cost ranging anywhere between £220 million and £777 million per annum. We underline and recognise the seriousness attached to metal theft, which is why we are seeking to establish a new taskforce better to inform intelligence and ensure that those responsible for such crimes are brought to justice.
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28th November 2011
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
In Afghanistan and, indeed, Iraq, I felt very sorry for the previous Government because one often had the feeling that they were not being told the truth at every opportunity. On a Defence Select Committee trip to Afghanistan, I remember being briefed by a guy in the Foreign Office who gave us the normal line that everything was going terribly well but that there were challenges. Six weeks later, he sidled up to me in a restaurant and said, “Adam, I’m really sorry about that briefing I gave you, but the problem is that no one gets promoted for telling it how it is.”
28th November 2011
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
Just after the fall of Tripoli, I, with the director of the Conservative Middle East Council, went out there and, in the chaos of the week after, met an Islamist who, having fought against us in Iraq and Afghanistan, made the most extraordinary comment, saying: “This is the first time that the west has stood with ordinary people in the region. We shall not forget it.”
1st November 2011
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
(1 November 2011)
Written Answers — Transport: Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls
Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the letter from the Under-Secretary of State for Roads and Motoring of 9 September 2011, reference MC/13916, what estimate has been made of the likely change in the volume of traffic at the Dartford river crossing compared to 2003 if the tolls are (a) halved and (b) doubled.
Written Answers — Transport: Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls
(1 November 2011)
Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will estimate the likely change in the volume of traffic using the Blackwall tunnel if tolls at the Dartford river crossing were doubled.
Written Answers — Transport: Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls
(1 November 2011)
Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in what year officials from (a) her Department and (b) the Highways Agency first gave consideration to (i) continuing with charges at the Dartford river crossing after a sum had been collected to cover future maintenance charges and (ii) offering discounts for river crossings made by residents living in Dartford and Thurrock.
Written Answers — Transport: Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls
(1 November 2011)
Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what purpose monies from the fund to cover reasonable future maintenance charges at the Dartford river crossing established under the powers to collect tolls of the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Act 1988 is being used; and on what date the amount required to fund such maintenance was reached.
Written Answers — Transport: Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls
(1 November 2011)
Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) cost and (b) source of funding for maintenance at the Dartford River Crossing was in each of the last 15 years.
Written Answers — Transport: Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls
(1 November 2011)
Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the differences are between the trial to suspend the use of toll booths at the Dartford River Crossing during high congestion or emergencies and the provisions of the A282 Trunk Road (Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Charging Scheme) Order 2008.
27th April 2011
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effects on revenue at the Dartford River Crossing of constructing a lower Thames crossing; and if he will make a statement.
Michael Penning

(Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Roads and Motoring), Transport; Hemel Hempstead, Conservative)
No specific assessment has been made as yet on the effects on revenue at the existing Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing from the construction of a new lower Thames crossing.
The Department for Transport made clear in its Spending Review announcement that it would embark on a review of the options for future capacity in the lower Thames.
Following that review, which is expected to take around 12 to 18 months to complete, the Department's intention, as part of the statutory process, would be to publicly consult on the merits of the potential options.
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8th March 2011
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress he has made on the introduction of GP commissioning in (a) Gravesham constituency and (b) West Kent.
Simon Burns
(Minister of State (Health), Health; Chelmsford, Conservative)
Two groups within the national health service West Kent area have been awarded general practitioner consortia pathfinder status. The Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley pathfinder was announced as part of the first wave in December 2010 and the Maidstone and Malling pathfinder as part of the second wave in January 2011. These and all the pathfinders across the country are playing an increasing role in commissioning care for patients in their areas, and their learning will inform our future arrangements for commissioning
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4th March 2011
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health
(1) whether he has assessed the effect of whistleblower rights and protections on safeguarding of (a) patients and (b) public funds; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what measures are in place to (a) protect and (b) encourage whistleblowers in the NHS with concerns over (i) the use of public funds and (ii) the competence of a doctor in (A) general practice and (B) a hospital trust; and whether he plans to introduce any new measures.
Anne Milton
(Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Public Health), Health; Guildford, Conservative)
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) is part of the wider employment rights legislation and gives the full protection of the law to all staff who act in the public interest, providing they follow the procedures set out in the Act. It therefore applies to all staff working in the national health service.
Although PIDA does not in itself require organisations to set up whistleblowing policies and procedures, it does provide an impetus for doing so. The Department issued guidance to the NHS in 2003 ("So Long Silence-whistleblowing in the NHS: The policy pack"). This guidance made clear that NHS organisations should put in place local policies and procedures that comply with PIDA and set out minimum requirements for such policies.
Following the recommendation made in the Health Select Committee report on Patient Safety published July 2009, this guidance has been revised and published by the Social Partnership Forum, in conjunction with Public Concern at Work, who drafted the guidance. Published on 25 June 2010, "Speak up for a Healthy NHS" provides some simple steps to help NHS organisations ensure their whistleblowing arrangements work in practice.
On 9 June the Secretary of State for Health, Mr Lansley, announced a full public inquiry into the role of commissioning, supervising and regulatory bodies in the monitoring of Mid-Staffordshire Foundation Trust. As part of this, he also stated his intentions to undertake further work on whistleblowing and improve procedures for those who wished to raise concerns.
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2nd March 2011
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to make Government procurement simpler for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Oliver Letwin
(Minister of State, Cabinet Office; West Dorset, Conservative)
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier.
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13th December 2010
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children of each nationality have attended schools in Gravesham in each of the past 10 years.
Nick Gibb
(Minister of State (Schools), Education; Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, Conservative)
holding answer 6 December 2010
The Department does not collect information on the nationality of pupils in schools.
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8th December 2010
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)

What recent discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on support for the aerospace industry in Wales.
David Jones
(Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Wales; Clwyd West, Conservative)
My right hon. Friend and I have had regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on support for the aerospace industry in Wales. I am pleased that we will take forward our order for A400M transport aircraft and the future strategic tanker programme, safeguarding hundreds of highly skilled jobs in north Wales.
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)

Does my hon. Friend regret the pre-election scaremongering, especially in Wales, that we would scrap the A400M, project?
David Jones
(Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Wales; Clwyd West, Conservative)
I do. The A400M is of crucial importance to the aircraft industry in north Wales. Although the wings are not made there, the technology that produces the wings is based there, and it is of extreme importance to the aerospace industry in Broughton.
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2nd December 2010
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)

Members such as the saintly hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) have allowed the impression to be put about that expenses are, somehow, some sort of perk. In fact they are what we need in order to do our job. Before I entered the House, I worked for months, or years, with "Newsnight", "World in Action", "Panorama", The Sunday Times and ITN, and what amazed me on arriving here was how many things that I needed to do my job had to be paid for from my own pocket, which was never the case when I worked in the media. I cannot think of any organisation that regularly expects one subset of its members to spend seven or eight hours at home every night on this issue. It is extraordinary.
Hilary Benn

(Leeds Central, Labour)

The salaries of the staff who support us in our work are not by any reasonable definition an expense. In fairness to my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw, I do not think he was making that argument; that is an interpretation that others have sought to put on what has been said.
A number of issues have been identified both in this afternoon's debate and elsewhere. The first is the expense of the whole system because of its complexity, the multiple checking, and the transaction cost to IPSA and Members of Parliament in trying to make it work. The second is the sheer amount of time it takes, in part because compared with the old system a lot of the inputting of data has been outsourced to Members of Parliament and their staff. The time taken in collecting, checking, clarifying, going online, copying and posting and so forth means MPs and their staff are spending too much time doing accounts, rather than holding the Government of the day-of whatever party-to account, which is what we are elected to this House to do. We know that some MPs do not claim back legitimate expenses because they are afraid of getting it wrong or because of the time it will take. Some also say they get contradictory advice, in that a claim might be accepted one week but not the next.
The third problem was the assumption at the beginning-we must all acknowledge that this is changing-that all MPs had a bottomless private pocket out of which they could pay bills before claiming the money back. They do not. Some people are still owed money, others have been overdrawn, and we should recognise that the situation is particularly difficult for new Members, who have additional costs because they are establishing offices for the first time
Every one of us dislikes intensely the fact that the money is forced to go through our personal bank accounts. It should not, and that is another reason why the system has to change. The point has been made forcefully that we know of no other workplace where one would tell an employee-although we are not employees-to pay the rent or the photocopier bill out of their own resources, and then pay them back. That is why direct payment has to be the way forward.
The fourth problem is that the budgets set do not reflect in all cases the commitments that MPs already have, the work loads in their offices or the higher cost of renting offices in some parts of the country, some cities and some towns. One practical and simple step to help MPs would be to allow virement between the staffing, office rent and office costs budgets, because that would allow Members to make that judgment. The overall budget level needs to be looked at, because adding the 10% pension contribution has created a real problem. The argument was, "We have taken some other expenses out," but I do not know many Members who claim them.
MPs who have been worried that they cannot meet their commitments to staff-the number of hours and so on-have been told that they can approach the contingencies fund. I hope that IPSA will in all cases, therefore, meet those costs out of contingencies, because that problem needs to be addressed.
We heard from my hon. Friend Liz Kendall about the difficulties of trying to obtain paternity leave, and I know of problems with maternity leave, too. I echo what my right hon. Friend Paul Murphy said about consulting staff and the unions. We should recognise the enormous contribution that our staff make in supporting us and in doing a job on behalf of our constituents.
Fifthly, we have heard about the impact on family life. The fundamental truth is that MPs have to live and work in two separate places, and we should not make it difficult for MPs, their partners or their children to do so. On the problem that my hon. Friend Tony Lloyd raised, the current rules are utterly inconsistent, because they only partly acknowledge family life, paying for some things but not others.
Sixthly, there are the problems that arise because of the definition of London. We have already heard some of those cases, including the commuting distance at unsocial hours because of the unpredictability of House business. That needs looking at.
There is also the problem of what is known as extended travel, including by Opposition Front Benchers, which is an issue for us now, given the outcome of the election. The Opposition get Short money to help meet the costs of research and support, as the current majority governing party got over the previous 13 years. In addition, the Fees Office used to pay extended travel for Opposition Front Benchers and others, but when IPSA arrived it said, "No, we're not going to pay that any more." That prevents Opposition Front Benchers from doing their job, travelling the country to talk to people, listen and bring that experience and voice back to the House.
Another point, which affects all hon. Members, is that if we look at the IPSA rules on extended travel, we get the impression that it sees us only as constituency MPs. That is incredibly important, because we are also parliamentarians, and, if a matter in which we have an interest comes before the House, the ability to travel to gain knowledge and understanding-to listen, which is what we need to do as Members-is important. It is important that IPSA changes that interpretation. I have written to the chief executive to make that point.
I shall make three other points in conclusion. First, one difficulty we are grappling with is that each MP is different, a point that has been forcefully made. The way in which we work is different, and a system that does not reflect that is a system that is not working. Secondly, all that has an impact on people who have become MPs or might be thinking of doing so, a point that Mr Walker made more eloquently than I can.
A battle was fought-the Osborne judgment has been referred to-and winning that £400 a year payment was a big step forward, so we should not go backwards now. We should remember that 19 years earlier Keir Hardie arrived in the House. As hon. Members will know, when he was spied and people looked at his clothes, they said, "Are you working on the roof?", and he replied, "No, I'm working on the Floor." We must not go back to the time when how much money we had determined whether we could undertake this job.
Thirdly, to be perfectly honest, I wish that we did not have to spend time debating what should be straightforward in any job, which is having the means to do the job. The fact that we are tells us that there is a problem that needs to be sorted out. That is why the review that IPSA is undertaking is an opportunity, just as this debate has been an opportunity for hon. Members to send a clear message.
I end by welcoming the fact that the chief executive, Andrew McDonald, has shown a willingness to engage in discussion about how things can change. I am confident that we can get change, but it needs to be the right change and it needs to happen soon.
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1st December 2010
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)

What recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Scotch whisky industry; and if he will make a statement.
Michael Moore
(Secretary of State, Scotland; Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, Liberal Democrat)
I regularly have exchanges with the industry and will be meeting the Scotch Whisky Association in the near future.
1st December 2010
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
The Prime Minister's recent trade delegation to China succeeded in securing geographical indication of origin status for Scotch whisky. How much will that be worth to the UK trade balance?
Michael Moore
(Secretary of State, Scotland; Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, Liberal Democrat)
The importance of the Scotch whisky industry, not just to Scotland but to the United Kingdom, is shown by the fact that it contributes roughly £4 billion to our economy, £3 billion of which is represented by exports. At the moment our exports to China are very small in comparison with those to the rest of the world. This important new concession-this agreement with the Chinese-which we very much welcome, will ensure that we can grow our exports in China as we have done in the rest of the world.
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8th November 2010
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many complaints Ofsted received through its complaints procedure in the latest year for which figures are available; how many such complaints were (a) at Stage 1, (b) at Stage 2 and (c) referred to the Independent Complaints Adjudication Service for Ofsted; and to how many such complaints Ofsted responded within (i) 25 working days at Stage 1 and (ii) 20 working days at Stage 2.
Nick Gibb
(Minister of State (Schools), Education; Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, Conservative)
This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to my hon. Friend and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries.
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 13 October 2010 :
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
In order to provide the most up-to-date information, I have interpreted your request for the figures in the latest available year to run from 1 October 2009 to 30 September 2010. The figures you request are set out in three tables at the end of this letter.
Table A details the total number of stage 1 complaints about our work in this period and the number we responded to within 20 working days of receipt. Prior to 1 September 2010 and so for the majority of the period you have requested information on, our timescale for response was 20 working days from receipt of the complaint. As a result, we monitored our performance against this standard and so Table A has been compiled using this target deadline. I hope this is acceptable, but please do not hesitate to contact me further if you want the 25 day figure specifically. Following public consultation and the introduction of our new complaints process earlier this year, we now make a telephone call to the complainant to clarify the detail and assess the type and scope of the complaint in the first five days after we receive the complaint. We now aim to provide a substantive response to complainants within 20 working days of the initial contact telephone call, or within 25 working days of receipt of the complaint, whichever is earlier. The timescale for the investigation begins the day after the telephone call with the complainant or six working days after the complaint was received if no contact has been made.
Table B shows the total number of complaints about our work in this period that progressed to stage 2 and the number to which we responded within 20 working days of receipt of the stage 2 request from the complainant. The number of complaints is approximately 10% of the complaints received at stage 1.
Table C shows the total number of complaints that progressed to the Independent Complaints Adjudication Service for Ofsted in the last year. This figure represents approximately 2% of complaints received at stage one.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for Schools.
Table A-Stage 1 complaints
Number of complaints Completed in 20-day target
1 October 2009 to 30 September 2010 1,713 1,360
Table B-Stage 2 complaints
Number of complaints Completed in 20-day target
1 October 2009 to 30 September 2010 205 131
Table C-Complaints to the Independent Complaints Adjudication Service for Ofsted
Number of complaints
1 October 2009 to 30 September 2010 41
11th October 2010
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received on improving secondary school provision in Gravesham constituency.
Nick Gibb
(Minister of State (Schools), Education; Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, Conservative)
Although the Department has not received specific representations from others, my hon. Friend wrote to the Secretary of State recently to clarify local authority powers to require schools to admit pupils above their published admissions number where there is a shortage of places.
We want all parents to have access to a good school, and our new academies and free schools policies are designed to address this, providing more choice for parents and the necessary freedoms to drive up standards across the country.
15th July 2010
Jessica Lee
(Erewash, Conservative)
What assessment has been made of the effect on providers of home information packs of the suspension of the requirement for such packs to be produced.
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
What assessment he has made of the effect on the housing market of the suspension of the requirement to provide home information packs.
Eric Pickles
The suspension of HIPs has given a much needed boost to the housing market. Reports from the industry suggest that the number of new homes coming on to the market has increased by more than one third since HIPs were suspended. We have also estimated that abolishing HIPs could save consumers just short of £900 million over the next 10 years.
Jessica Lee
(Erewash, Conservative)
Estate agents in Erewash have conveyed to me their relief at the home information pack scheme being abolished. Indeed, one estate agent has just described the scheme to me as being a complete barrier to people selling their homes. Can the Secretary of State inform the House whether that sentiment is shared by other people working in the housing sector across the country?
Eric Pickles
(Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government; Brentwood and Ongar, Conservative)
I am delighted to inform my hon. Friend that joy and happiness among estate agents is not confined to Erewash. Throughout the land, there is a general understanding that the drag anchor that HIPs were is no longer a constraint on the housing market.
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
What further plans does the Secretary of State have to roll out that happiness and smooth the conveyancing process?
Eric Pickles
(Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government; Brentwood and Ongar, Conservative)
I am all for spreading as much joy and happiness, and indeed love, as I can, where'er I go. It was clear even from the trials that HIPs were going to be a real mess. We now need to look to the future and at what can be done to speed up transactions. I know that my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing is looking at ways to speed up the introduction of e-conveyancing.
Alan Whitehead
(Southampton, Test, Labour)
Why has the Secretary of State decided, alongside the abolition of HIPs, that energy performance certificates should no longer be required at the point when a house is initially viewed for purchase? Does he intend to downgrade the importance of those as well?
Eric Pickles
(Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government; Brentwood and Ongar, Conservative)
Gracious, no-indeed, under our green deal, energy certificates will perform a much more important role. They will be about bringing the price of energy down and ensuring that somebody with a house that has a good energy certificate does well, because we want to get houses on to the market. We will insist that the energy certificate be commissioned and in place before the sale takes place. It is about speeding things up-the hon. Gentleman is not familiar with that idea. We are in favour of house sales, not bureaucracy.
Christopher Leslie
(Nottingham East, Labour)
I am glad to hear that the right hon. Gentleman thought deeply about the consequences of removing the home information pack arrangement, but in his careful and calculated assessment, did he work out the number of people whose jobs might be affected? Clearly a number of people across the housing market professions have been gearing up to work in that area and will now no longer have that employment. How many people?
Eric Pickles
(Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government; Brentwood and Ongar, Conservative)
When the hon. Gentleman was in another job, during his brief interregnum between spells in this place, he used to advise me solidly to cut away waste and speed things up, and I have followed that advice. HIPs were just part of a service that was provided. We have just heard from Dr Whitehead about energy certificates, and a number of such services are available..
It has to be said that it is not as though the removal of HIPs came as a shock. It appeared clearly in the manifestos of the Conservative party and the Liberal Democrats, and in the coalition document
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6th July 2010
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
What recent discussions he has had on the future of the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and if he will make a statement.
David Lidington
(Minister of State (Europe and NATO), Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Aylesbury, Conservative)
The Peace Implementation Council, which met in Sarajevo at the end of June, discussed progress towards the conditions necessary for the closure of the Office of the High Representative but, as those had not been met, no decision on closure was taken.
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
What discussions has my hon. Friend had with his EU counterparts on the future accession of Balkan states to the EU?
David Lidington
(Minister of State (Europe and NATO), Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Aylesbury, Conservative)
Both my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I have raised during, I believe, every bilateral conversation we have had with European counterparts and at formal sessions of the Foreign Affairs Council the importance that we accord political and constitutional progress in the western Balkans and the need for the EU to make as one of its highest priorities the strengthening of both the incentives and disincentives in respect of those countries pushing forward with further reform, so that their welcome into the family of European nations can be given as soon as possible.
16th June 2010
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
Every household in Gravesham has inherited a sort of second mortgage of debt. Can the Prime Minister give us some idea of the level of debt per household across the country?
David Cameron
(Prime Minister; Witney, Conservative)
My hon. Friend is entirely right that every single person in this country is now carrying £22,000 of debt because of the mess that the last Labour Government left us. The fact is this: if we do not do something about it, by the end of this Parliament, we will be paying £70 billion in debt interest. That is more than we spend on schools and more than we spend on defence. It would be a tragic waste of money. That is why, however painful it is, we have to get to grips with the deficit that we were left by the last Labour Government.

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16th June 2010
Adam Holloway

(Gravesham, Conservative)
What recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on Scotland's future energy needs.
 
Michael Moore
(Secretary of State, Scotland; Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, Liberal Democrat)
My colleagues and I are fully committed to ensuring that Scotland is able to continue to play an important role in meeting the UK's aspirations for climate change and security of supply.
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
Can my right hon. Friend give us an assurance that Scotland's energy capacity will remain at the forefront of global renewable advances?
Michael Moore
(Secretary of State, Scotland; Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, Liberal Democrat)
I am very happy to give that assurance.
Brian H Donohoe
(Central Ayrshire, Labour)
My constituency has three of the five biggest users of energy. Does the Secretary of State agree that the only solution is nuclear power?
Michael Moore
(Secretary of State, Scotland; Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, Liberal Democrat)
As I said earlier, the Government have set out a clear policy on their energy strategy, and arrangements are in place to ensure that we have diverse sources of supply and security for the future.

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3rd June 2010
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on the provision of support for people who are unable to work as a result of disability.
Maria Miller
(Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Disabled People), Work and Pensions; Basingstoke, Conservative)
The Government recognise that some people will not be able to work, or prepare for work, because of a disability. These people will receive unconditional support and will be able to have help to find employment on a voluntary basis.
Financial support for those who are unable to work will be through cash benefits, such as disability living allowance and the employment and support allowance (replacing incapacity benefits).

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3rd June 2010
Adam Holloway
(Gravesham, Conservative)
Now that we know that the last Government spent £1 billion on advertising and "invested" £12,000 in golf balls, is the Prime Minister surprised that there is no money left?
David Cameron
(Prime Minister; Witney, Conservative)
We are not really surprised, not least because of the letter that we got from the former Chief Secretary to the Treasury. I am glad to see that he has apologised for the letter, although he has not yet apologised for the legacy. My hon. Friend makes a good point. In addition, we have discovered that £320 million was spent on hotels, £1.5 billion on consultants and-this really did amaze me-one Department spent more than £140 per person on cut flowers and pot plants. Perhaps we could have a lottery to find out which one it was.

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