Christmas Adjournment

Before the House adjourns for the Christmas recess I want to raise a number of points. A lot has happened since the last Christmas recess when Mr. Blair was still Prime Minister. The new Prime Minister has faced several challenges. He has cancelled a general election. The Home Secretary has admitted that the Government massively underestimated the number of illegal immigrant workers in the UK. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs has lost computer discs, and yesterday we heard that some more discs had been lost. We have had the political donations row, the signing of the EU treaty without a referendum and the police difficulties. Some of us have been sitting in the Chamber joyfully since 1.30 listening carefully to the speeches. I know that the Deputy Leader of the House does her best to get notes from her civil servants about the important points that I and other Members raise on behalf of our constituents, but I should be grateful if she will kindly make sure that Departments respond to our points within a few weeks. On Sunday I attended a carol service at Fair Havens, which is a wonderful hospice that serves a wide area. It has been announced that Fair Havens has only enough funding for another four weeks—an enormous tragedy for the hospice. Seventy-two per cent. of the funding for Fair Havens comes from the voluntary sector. As a result of the downturn in the economy, the hospice is in dire straits. It costs £2.6 million a year to run and people are desperate because we do not know where the money will come from, so if the Minister can come up with some money from our local primary care trust or find a big donor we shall be absolutely delighted. The People's Mujaheddin Organisation of Iran is opposed to the current regime in Iran. In the Chamber two weeks ago, I raised with the Foreign Secretary matters relating to the organisation's inclusion on the proscribed list. He told me the case was sub judice, but that is no longer so. On 30 November, justice prevailed when the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission handed down its judgment that the PMOI is not a terrorist organisation. The judgment found that the Government's attitude was ““flawed,”” ““perverse”” and ““must be set aside””. Of course, the Government persisted, but I am delighted to tell the House that last Friday, the POAC refused the Home Secretary's application for permission to appeal against its judgment. I hope that the Government will welcome the leader of the organisation, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, to the United Kingdom next year, and that, for once in their life, they will do something good and be on the side of the good people. African horse sickness has not yet arrived in the United Kingdom, but it has reached Europe. The disease is midge-borne and I am advised that there are sufficient midges in this country to support the virus. Apparently, it was originally transmitted to Europe by imported zebras. Following foot and mouth, if African horse sickness arrives in the UK next year, it will have devastating effects. I was at a press conference with a few celebrities this morning. A number of the Minister's colleagues are interested in the issue. We intend to have deputation next year. It is an important matter. We want the Government to tell us what preventive measures are in place. Vaccines should be prepared by next spring. I turn to police pay and the state of British policing. All hon. Members will have had faxes and e-mails from serving police officers expressing concern about pay and conditions. I will quote one such officer. I will not name him, but he is a long-serving police officer. He said that the Government are"““without doubt the most inept””" he has ever encountered. He said that they have"““systematically destroyed all trace of proper Law and Order, and replaced it with statistically driven incentive policing, where performance is measured daily only in figures for arrests and detections.””" He continued:"““They have compounded this by empowering the Crown Prosecution service to act as judge and jury with no trial. In addition, they insist on copious amounts of paper to encourage officers to stay in, and not go out on patrol.””" If one were to pick a time to have a fight with the police, whose morale is at rock bottom, this would not be it. This is a stupid time to choose. I hope that the Government will do something about the pay settlement for the police, and not continue with their current policy. The police officer also said, ““Come on the next general election,”” and I would certainly support him in his call. On the subject of hepatology, a number of hon. Members went to St. Mary's hospital in Paddington, including the hon. Members for Norwich, North (Dr. Gibson) and for Bolton, South-East (Dr. Iddon) and Lady Masham. We were taken to see the new facilities and the consultants gave us a wonderful briefing on liver disease. Liver disease is the fifth highest cause of mortality in the United Kingdom and is increasing pretty steadily. Lives could be saved through prevention, early detection and effective management, but the Government do not seem to be taking the issue on board and bringing it to the fore. In 2004, we had the national plan for liver services by the British Liver Trust. We are still waiting for a response. I hope that the Minister will get on to the Department of Health to see what is going to be done about the liver strategy. In Southend, we have cliff slippage. It seems a long time ago that I listened to the first speech in this debate, from the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody), who mentioned the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. I am also going to mention the Secretary of State. During an exchange with me a week ago, she talked about the possibility of my not being pushed off a cliff. If the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich had her way, the Secretary of State would be in considerable difficulties, judging by what was said earlier. In Southend, we have a desperate situation whereby the cliffs are slipping. We need joined-up support from Departments. As the Child Support Agency is being wound up, my constituents face more and more incredible situations. A very nice couple—they have asked me to mention this; it is not a private matter—are being pursued for a figure approaching £20,000. That is absolutely crazy. I wrote a letter in support of their court appearance last week. Apparently, those hearing the evidence did not allow the couple to speak. I wrote in my letter:"““Despite numerous attempts on my part to get the CSA to clarify exactly what amount my constituent owes to this organisation, I have met over the last year and a half a series of delays, poor answers, and late acknowledgements to my letters or no acknowledgment at all.””" I hope that the Deputy Leader of the House will pass that on. Many hon. Members' constituencies face the closure of their Remploy factory, as we do in Southend. The Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the hon. Member for Stirling (Mrs. McGuire), has been doing her best to reassure us, but my constituents are not reassured, so I hope that the Deputy Leader of the House will pass that on. A lovely lady who works at Basildon hospital came to see me at my last surgery. Although she wanted me to mention her name, I will not. She was breathalysed in 2003, when she was an alcoholic. She lost her licence, and it was reissued in 2006. After she had held her licence for a year, she had to apply for another one. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency required her to be tested, and the test found that she was just over the technical level. Her consultant and others have given her a number of independent blood tests showing that she is absolutely clear—she has not touched alcohol since. Will the Deputy Leader of the House pass this on to the quango, and can we please get this wonderful nurse back into work at Basildon hospital? I end on some positive notes. In previous such debates, I have talked about the lack of buses in Southend, West. I am delighted to say that two weeks ago, I was present at the unveiling of a new fleet of low-loader buses with disabled and easy access. People in Southend are jumping up in the air about those buses. Routes that were cut as a result of underfunding have been restored, so I am delighted to congratulate Arriva on that development. I congratulate the Government on the medals that they are giving to those who served in the Women's Land Army. Those women include my mother, who is in her 96th year. Although we need these medals fairly quickly, we are absolutely delighted about what the Government have done. I end by wishing everyone a very happy and joyful Christmas.