Mrs Eileen Gordon: The Bill is only short and the speeches have got shorter as the morning has worn on because many of the points have been covered. Fuel poverty is a terrible problem, but it has many solutions and we can tackle it. I used to think that if a measure was sensible it could be effected quickly, but I have learned that the magic wand theory of politics—we want it to be done, therefore it shall...
Mrs Eileen Gordon: If she will make a statement on the work of the Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons in relation to the use of timetabling for dealing with legislation. [109657]
Mrs Eileen Gordon: Does my hon. Friend agree that it is a great shame that the conclusions of a cross-party Select Committee report have been flouted by the Conservatives, whose antics in this place have been nothing short of scandalous? Will he ask the Committee to review progress on that important matter? Does he agree that the Conservatives are a bunch of sad people? Even if they have no life outside this...
Mrs Eileen Gordon: How many women joined the armed forces in 1999. [104535]
Mrs Eileen Gordon: I thank the Minister for that reply and congratulate the armed forces on that achievement. As in Parliament, we women play a valuable role and make a valuable contribution—and we need more of them. Has the increase been sustained across the three services? Are there posts still not open to women? If so, will he review those restrictions? I think particularly of ones that prevail at present...
Mrs Eileen Gordon: I am concerned that children should be treated equally and I hope that the Committee will consider that point.
Mrs Eileen Gordon: I thank the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) for his thoughtful remarks on the CSA, and I, too, wish to speak on that subject. As soon as it was created, it was clear that the CSA would never work properly or achieve its aims in the form in which it was set up. I know that we are starting a new millennium and that we are looking to the future, and I think that we are doing...
Mrs Eileen Gordon: I do agree with my hon. Friend. Such a loophole is a disgrace, and I hope that it will be considered in Committee. The Child Support Agency was dealing with responsible parents, rather than tracking down the irresponsible ones—the opposite of its stated intention. Changes have been made since the agency's disastrous launch, but tinkering at the edges could not solve the fatal flaw of the...
Mrs Eileen Gordon: I am a great supporter of NHS Direct—I could be accused of using it as a political football—which was introduced by the Labour Government. Is my right hon. Friend as pleased as I am by the valuable contribution that it has made during the influenza outbreak? Will he issue statistics on how many calls to NHS Direct concern flu-related symptoms? Is there any way of estimating how many of...
Mrs Eileen Gordon: Thank you, Madam Speaker, for allowing me to raise the issue of arthritis. The subject is of keen interest to me, as hon. Members will realise when I say that today is my 30th wedding anniversary, and I am here rather than out with my husband. Some would say that it is a case of familiarity breeding contempt, but I prefer to think that it is one of absence making the heart grow fonder. As...
Mrs Eileen Gordon: What plans he has to seek to amend the law relating to the treatment of those suffering from mental health problems. [98927]
Mrs Eileen Gordon: I thank my hon. Friend for that answer and for the Government's moves to modernise mental health services. For my constituents, the acute mental health hospital is Warley in Brentwood. Despite the best efforts of its staff, it is a dreadful Victorian institution that should have been closed about 10 years ago. Luckily, it will be soon be empty, and not a moment too soon. Does my hon. Friend...
Mrs Eileen Gordon: Is my right hon. Friend aware that the delay in the PFI decision on Oldchurch hospital in Romford is causing great anxiety within the community and having an impact on the modernisation of other health service facilities—for example, the overdue reprovision of Warley hospital, which should have been closed years ago? The delay is even having an impact on the local authority's review of...
Mrs Eileen Gordon: It would be impossible to discuss the modernisation of the national health service in London without first talking about why we need to modernise. I shall talk about acute services, because that is where I gained the little knowledge that I have on this subject. I shall talk particularly about Oldchurch hospital in Romford. I have campaigned to save Oldchurch hospital services for at least...
Mrs Eileen Gordon: I entirely agree with my hon. Friend; I shall deal with that point later in my speech. At the time of the campaign, I was a member of the community health council when we were invited to see the cockroaches in the nurses' home—not a very edifying sight. By 1997, the staff of the hospital were demoralised and everything was in limbo. However, the campaigners did not give up because we knew...
Mrs Eileen Gordon: The proposed plaques on street signs would represent a very simple, dignified recognition of the bombing. The streets have, of course, been repaired; one would not think that anything had happened. Essex road has been returned to its state before the bombing. We want to commemorate the bombing to let the people who live there know what happened, and so that the young will always remember.
Mrs Eileen Gordon: Civilians are helpless and random casualties of war, and too often their sacrifice and courage go unrecognised. That is why in Romford we want a memorial specifically recognising the civilian casualties of the second world war. When I first became involved in the project, I could not have foreseen the pictures on our television screens, night after night, of civilians being driven from their...
Mrs Eileen Gordon: The hon. Gentleman is being extremely patronising. I was talking about designated footpaths, which are meant to be maintained and accessible.
Mrs Eileen Gordon: Although I have been known to ramble from time to time, I hope that I shall not do so today. My remarks will be extremely brief. Many of the points that I intended to raise have already been covered in this interesting debate. I would not claim to have the depth of knowledge of many of my hon. Friends. However, I have received many letters and postcards from my constituents showing their...
Mrs Eileen Gordon: Will my hon. Friend join me in praising all the firefighters and members of the public who are fighting the cuts? Does he agree that perhaps the best plan of action would, as my hon. Friend the Member for Hornchurch (Mr. Cryer) said, be to impose a moratorium on the cuts until the Greater London authority and mayor are in place? After all, it is they who will decide the future of the fire...
