Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): In that respect, will the Minister look at the prohibition on the residential use of the community building? That will potentially have a negative impact on hospices, for example, which we all value so greatly in our communities.
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Miss Smith: That point has been raised, and I look forward to addressing the details of it with my hon. Friend and others. She will be aware that we have sought to put in place restrictions in respect of community buildings—the other being commercial and is in the same part of the Bill—because we want to focus the Bill’s provisions on charities that are operating for charitable purposes.
Miss Smith: That point has been raised, and I look forward to addressing the details of it with my hon. Friend and others. She will be aware that we have sought to put in place restrictions in respect of community buildings—the other being commercial and is in the same part of the Bill—because we want to focus the Bill’s provisions on charities that are operating for charitable purposes.
Thalidomide Victims - 5th September
Fiona Bruce: I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing this important debate. Does she agree that it is particularly pertinent at a time when thalidomide victims have reached a certain age and the support from their parents, who have been so faithful over most of their lives, is now coming, or has come, to an end?
Cathy Jamieson: The hon. Lady makes an important point. Many elderly carers have of course given up part of their time. Indeed, they have used much of their resources, which is another reason why the grant is so important, because the costs for people dealing with the disabilities associated with thalidomide have not been fully covered, and many elderly parents are now struggling with them.
Codes of Conduct - 5th September
Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): Does the Minister agree that it is for the Prime Minister to decide whether to initiate an investigation of an alleged breach of the ministerial code and that it is for Parliament to hold him to account?
Mr Letwin: Yes, I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. Indeed, that system has served us well and is, I believe, accepted by the independent adviser on ministers interests.
Industrial Strategy - 10th September
Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): Developing new sectors is vital, but does the Business Secretary agree that it is equally important to maintain and pass on viable manufacturing skills, some of which have been established over generations? Will he therefore join me in congratulating management and workers on the reopening of the former Ideal Standard factory site in Middlewich, under the new name of Ours Sanitary Ware Ltd? The site is creating valuable new jobs in the UK ceramics industry and bringing back to Cheshire the manufacturing and production of bathroom ware, which has a proud tradition in the area, but was sadly run down under the previous Government.
Vince Cable: The hon. Lady is right that a lot of manufacturing capacity was run down under the last Government. We can be positive not just about some of the more sophisticated, high-tech manufacturing, but about traditional sectors—she cited ceramics as one example. The first industrial visit I made as Secretary of State was to a bicycle factory, which was doing extraordinarily well, expanding and exporting to China. With access to good process innovation, traditional manufacturing can do just as well as some of the newer and more sophisticated forms.
Exam Reform - 17th September
Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con): I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement, and it will also be welcomed by Eaton Bank academy, which I had the privilege of opening on Friday. With reference to the teaching of languages, may I ask that the assessment of verbal skills during the examination process includes a genuinely spontaneous conversation with an independent external assessor so that those skills can be realistically assessed on the part of students?
Michael Gove: My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. One of the problems we have had with languages is not just the decline in the number of pupils taking them—the result of changes made by the previous
Government—but insufficient rigour in the way speaking and translation have been assessed. We aim directly to address that.
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