Results 1-20 of 836 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Michael Clapham

Energy and Climate Change: Power Cuts (5 Nov 2009) has video

Michael Clapham: Will my right hon. Friend say how much gas there is in 10 GW? I understand that demand is for something like 22 GW of gas-fired electricity. If that is correct, in the next 20 years we could be over-dependent on gas, so does he intend to take measures to cap gas in the energy mix?

Oral Answers to Questions — Justice: Pleural Plaques (21 Jul 2009) has video

Michael Clapham: I hear what my right hon. Friend says about the medical evidence of IIAC, but will he look further at medical evidence during the recess, because I can tell him that the consultant who leads the charge for a national centre for asbestos-related diseases says that he believes that pleural plaques are a disease, and he sees people on a daily basis, a proportion of whom are affected by pleural...

Business of the House (16 Jul 2009) has video

Michael Clapham: May I draw the attention of the Leader of the House to early-day motion 1886, which stands in my name? [That this House considers that the Donaghy report on the construction industry, entitled One Death is Too Many, sets out in its 28 recommendations the necessary structure required to improve health and safety; and calls on the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to accept and...

Business of the House (2 Jul 2009) has video

Michael Clapham: Will my right hon. and learned Friend join me in congratulating Katrina London, Jason Addy and Paul Glanville on undertaking the mesothelioma awareness ride? It will cover 12,000 miles from Glasgow to Southampton, and today they arrive in London. The intention, of course, is to raise awareness of mesothelioma cancer, which is caused by exposure to asbestos, and at the same time to raise funds...

Asbestos in Homes (29 Jun 2009) has video

Michael Clapham: I am grateful to have secured this debate, because it is on an important and complex issue, and I believe that there is a common-sense way to deal with it. I am also pleased to see the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Jonathan Shaw), in his place, because he has some knowledge about asbestos in relation to social housing,...

Asbestos in Homes (29 Jun 2009) has video

Michael Clapham: I agree entirely with my right hon. Friend. We will see the number of cases increase until about 2015, then plateau and fall way by 2050. Tradespeople working on maintenance jobs who are exposed to asbestos are likely to develop mesothelioma, so it is important to consider what action might be taken on asbestos in houses. As the Minister will know, asbestos was a common house building...

[Mr. Eric Martlew in the Chair] — Skills Gap (23 Jun 2009)

Michael Clapham: The hon. Gentleman will be aware that in the 1980s, when many of the older industries that we have talked about disappeared, little was put in their place. As a result, despite social mobility arising from education policy, there is still a lag, dating back to that time, that affects people whose skills were not transferable. That is the group of people we must reach. That means new jobs...

[Mr. Eric Martlew in the Chair] — Skills Gap (23 Jun 2009)

Michael Clapham: One statistic relating to Barnsley stands out hugely in the debate. In 1975, the crime level in Barnsley was 15 per cent. below the national average. In 1995, it was 15 per cent. above the national average. In between, we had experienced something that we had not previously seen—the influx of drugs into the town.

[Mr. Eric Martlew in the Chair] — Skills Gap (23 Jun 2009)

Michael Clapham: The hon. Gentleman mentioned his party's industrial policy. Does his party also agree that the architecture of the RDAs will be essential to creating new jobs in the new industries that will emerge as we come out of the current recession?

[Mr. Eric Martlew in the Chair] — Skills Gap (23 Jun 2009)

Michael Clapham: I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon (Mr. Anderson) on securing the debate, which is particularly important for older industrial areas and the people who live there. I want to make three brief points. First, I want to discuss how to break the cycle of generational unemployment to improve people's life chances in areas such as Barnsley, Blaydon and Rochdale. Secondly, I shall...

[Mr. Eric Martlew in the Chair] — Skills Gap (23 Jun 2009)

Michael Clapham: That is the circumstance. The college has set out to increase the number of 16 to 18-year-old students as well as adult students. The whole strategy was, as I said, approved by the LSC as early as July 2007. That was given further, reinforced approval in November 2008, leading the college to go ahead with demolition in the belief that it would have the resource to start building a new college...

[Mr. Eric Martlew in the Chair] — Skills Gap (23 Jun 2009)

Michael Clapham: Does my hon. Friend agree that we need not only training and apprenticeships, but the creation of jobs? Does he agree that regional development agencies have an important role in creating job opportunities for people in older industrial areas?

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

Michael Clapham: My right hon. Friend will be aware that the Scottish Assembly recently introduced legislation to make pleural plaques a compensatable condition. Now that the consultation process is completed, when will he make his statement and will he follow the Scottish route?

Business, Innovation and Skills: Small Businesses (11 Jun 2009) has video

Michael Clapham: As my hon. Friend will be aware, reducing the imposition of regulation on small business is important, but another important factor is ensuring that the finance is available for small businesses. He is aware that the enterprise finance guarantee is working well and is getting money for small businesses to where it should be. Is he satisfied that there is sufficient money in that scheme to...

[Mr. Bill Olner in the Chair] — Fire Safety (Schools) (19 May 2009)

Michael Clapham: I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney) on obtaining this debate. I am glad to see the Minister in his place. He was a member of the all-party fire safety group and a promoter of sprinkler systems, and he knows that sprinklers are an important aspect of the package that is needed to give protection to schools and other buildings. There has been a marked...

[Mr. Bill Olner in the Chair] — Fire Safety (Schools) (19 May 2009)

Michael Clapham: I am grateful for that correction. The net suggested that between 2000 and 2004, the cost of fires was £58 million per year on average. Again, that is an enormous cost compared with the programme that the Government are pushing through in building new schools. In my constituency, we are building a raft of primary schools and new learning centres at secondary level. We built our first...

[Mr. Bill Olner in the Chair] — Fire Safety (Schools) (19 May 2009)

Michael Clapham: I accept my hon. Friend's point but, as he knows, local government will often try to reduce the cost of a building, even to the point of making it less safe. That is why the Minister needs to consider how he might firm up and reinforce the point to ensure that local authorities follow that duty, as instructed by his Department. Since 1997, the proactive work of the fire and rescue services...

[Mr. Bill Olner in the Chair] — Fire Safety (Schools) (19 May 2009)

Michael Clapham: I congratulate my right hon. Friend on two things: securing this debate and his 10th grandchild. The social cost, to which he referred, tends to spread into the community. Does he agree that, because schools are now used much more by communities, a fire can leave them bewildered and vulnerable? Much more can be done to support communities, and not just the schools.

Gangmasters (Construction Industry) (13 May 2009)

Michael Clapham: I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. As he will be aware, the unions in construction, including the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians, have been calling for some time for an extension of the gangmasters regulations to include construction because of the size of the migrant labour population in that sector. If we could extend those regulations,...

Gangmasters (Construction Industry) (13 May 2009)

Michael Clapham: As my hon. Friend is aware, the construction industry is peculiar in its diversity. It is made up of some 274,000 companies—that figure was given to the Select Committee on Business and Enterprise—and has many thousands of self-employed workers, many of whom have their tax deducted at source as though they were full-time employees. That makes the industry peculiar, and the...