Christmas Adjournment

I would advise them to vote Labour, because the fact is that the hon. Gentleman's Front-Bench colleagues promise massive cuts to the building schools for the future programme, which will be far more serious than anything that he described this afternoon. My hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth, North (Sarah McCarthy-Fry) gave a considered speech on the position of women in this country. She connected the way of life of many women, and their problems—low income, unequal entitlement to pensions, and domestic violence—with the need for political reform. She pointed out that it is important to have more women in political life, so that those issues get the proper attention that they deserve. Of course I will draw her remarks to the attention of colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Communities and Local Government, and to my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister for Women and Equality. I will also pass on her points about apprenticeships for young women to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. The hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) gave a wide-ranging speech, which covered the problems faced by the Fair Havens hospice. I hope that he heard the earlier intervention made by the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink). The hon. Member for Southend, West also mentioned Iran and the treatment of a particular group whose name I am not sure that I can pronounce. He mentioned African horse sickness, police pay, hepatology, Remploy and the Women's Land Army medal. On police pay, he needs to take account of context, and the fact that crime is down 32 per cent. in the past 10 years. It is not right that, as I think one of his constituents suggested, we had destroyed law and order.