Results 1-20 of 1,832 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:John Battle

Bill Presented — Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill: Child Poverty Bill (20 Jul 2009) has video

John Battle: I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman for sticking with this issue since 1980s, paying close attention to the figures and having a clear analysis. Some of us were working on poverty in charities and non-governmental organisations at the time. Does he agree that perhaps the language that we have used has been wrong? We have looked at poverty as though there are puddles of poverty that can be...

Bill Presented — Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill: Child Poverty Bill (20 Jul 2009) has video

John Battle: I welcome the Bill, which I think will prove to be a significant milestone in tackling poverty in our country. I particularly welcome the provisions on local government. In order to meet the targets, can we encourage and support local government in all parts of the country to make rooting out poverty a top priority?

Enid Ruhango (16 Jul 2009) has video

John Battle: I understand that, and I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Minister. We should be grateful to the hon. Member for Leeds, North-West (Greg Mulholland) for the way in which he raised the issue, and for the facts that he has put on the table. I represent the reception centre for the whole of west Yorkshire—it is in my neighbourhood—and Waterside court. I probably see 100 or more...

Business of the House (16 Jul 2009) has video

John Battle: As Members of Parliament, we probably all regularly visit schools in our constituencies, but is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that we will now personally need Criminal Records Bureau checks and certificates to do so? I have been informed that we cannot apply individually—our place of work needs to sponsor and reference us. I know that locally elected councillors, for example,...

Bill Presented — Sustainable Energy (Local Plans) Bill: National Express East Coast Franchise (1 Jul 2009) has video

John Battle: I thank the Minister for his statement and welcome the Government's action. My city of Leeds is highly dependent on a link with London, not least because it is this country's second financial and commercial centre. We have taken a hit from the banking crisis, and without that link to London our city would find it difficult to recover. Will the Minister assure us that there will be no...

Asbestos in Homes (29 Jun 2009) has video

John Battle: The work done by my hon. Friend on this issue is incredible, but does he agree that we need to step up the campaign, as some people think that because asbestos has been banned, and some buildings have been stripped out, the problem is declining? However, there is a time lag with mesothelioma, so the number of cases will increase in the next 10 years, which people do not yet appreciate.

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice: Probation Services (16 Jun 2009) has video

John Battle: May I ask my right hon. Friend whether the good, hard work of probation needs much wider back-up and support, particularly in relation to people who are released from prisons such as Armley prison in my constituency, where 50 people a day come in, and 50 a day come out? The main issues are drugs, alcohol and mental health. Would it not be better if his Department was backed up a bit more...

Bill Presented: Leeds City Council Bill (By Order ) (3 Jun 2009) has video

John Battle: I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. This Bill follows on from other Bills that have already been debated at length. We have discussed the purposes of the Bills and the definitions of pedlars and street traders, and I do not intend to rehearse those arguments—I abide by your ruling, Mr. Deputy Speaker. The hon. Member for Christchurch (Mr. Chope) cannot be with us...

Bill Presented: Leeds City Council Bill (By Order ) (3 Jun 2009) has video

John Battle: I shall simply make two points to the hon. Gentleman. First, the Durham report suggests that there could be local, rather than national, solutions to this problem. We take that on board, and I respect the Durham report. Secondly, I walk regularly from my constituency to his, which is 12 miles along the Leeds and Liverpool canal. One has to go through my constituency and a few others to get to...

Oral Answers to Questions — International Development: Burma (13 May 2009) has video

John Battle: I thank my hon. Friend for his commitment on aid to Burma and pay tribute to the hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow), who has tirelessly campaigned on behalf of the Burmese people. I support the hon. Gentleman's question, because, although I welcome the money that is going to Burma, given the difficulty of the situation there must be a resolution in respect of the thousands of people...

Business of the House: Swine Flu Update (7 May 2009) has video

John Battle: I thank the Secretary of State for his statement, and I thank him and his colleagues for the calm and collected manner in which they, the Department and the PCTs have responded to this crisis. Some commentators have suggested that action to search for vaccines will jeopardise the provision of the flu vaccine in the winter. Will my right hon. Friend reassure pensioners, in particular, that the...

Petitions: Immigration (Asylum Seekers) (29 Apr 2009) has video

John Battle: I am presenting a petition that calls on Parliament to ensure that asylum seekers in the UK receive fair and compassionate treatment. It has been drawn up and collected by the Vincentian Millennium Partnership, which is probably better known as SVP—the St. Vincent de Paul Society. It is supported by more than 11,000 people throughout the length and breadth of Britain. It details a...

Opposition Day — [10th Allotted Day]: Sri Lanka (29 Apr 2009) has video

John Battle: I welcome this debate and would like to say a word of thanks to the Liberal Democrats for choosing this topic this afternoon. After 26 years and perhaps more than 70,000 dead—400 a week—we all have some responsibility both for not raising the profile of the issue much earlier and more often and for not pressing for action. I speak not as a person who has many Tamil families in...

Opposition Day — [10th Allotted Day]: Sri Lanka (29 Apr 2009) has video

John Battle: I completely agree; this is not an either/or. Of course, if any action is to be taken by the UN, resolutions need to be passed. It is time for the international community to hold hands and to say that this is a humanitarian crisis. We might not be able to sort the politics out tomorrow, but we need to act now because of the humanitarian issues. That means that, in practice, there needs to be...

Opposition Day — [10th Allotted Day]: Sri Lanka (29 Apr 2009) has video

John Battle: I appreciate that, but to follow up the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn), the Sri Lankan Government will not let the media in, and we must press for that. If I may say so in front of those on the Government Front Bench, I was disappointed to see that the Government amendment to the motion has omitted the point about ensuring that internationally...

Pleural Plaques (11 Feb 2009)

John Battle: I did not say that the Government are hiding behind the insurers, but I am worried that the Department officials actually say, "We're on the side of the insurers and not on the side of justice in this case."

Pleural Plaques (11 Feb 2009)

John Battle: We must be clear about the facts and the fictions. The hon. Gentleman hits on an important point, because work was done by Professor Richard Doll some 10 years ago, as hon. Members know, which set out accurate projections that are proving to be true of the number of people who would become victims. He proved that there would be a peak, then the numbers would draw down. It is not as if a...

Pleural Plaques (11 Feb 2009)

John Battle: I want to put on the record that that company, Turner and Newall, which was the parent company of J. W. Roberts in my constituency, where people died in the 1980s, denied that it even had any records. We had to go to court to force the records out of the company to find the list of employers, because they claimed, rather amazingly for an asbestos company, that the records had been destroyed...

Pleural Plaques (11 Feb 2009)

John Battle: I congratulate my hon. Friend on campaigning on the issue and on gathering us all together. For the life of me, I cannot understand why the Government will not move on the issue. The villain of the piece is the insurance companies. They are the backers of the polluters, and they have been moving away from the problem for years. All we ask is that the insurance companies pay up—not the...