Results 1-20 of 1,293 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Ian Gibson

London Metropolitan University (20 May 2009)

Ian Gibson: Given that we often look on universities as regional centres of education, and that students can move between them on exchanges, will my hon. Friend consider the possibility of financial collaboration between them, instead of rivalry? Why do they not work to support each other? The three universities should work together to serve the community—let us have some money from Imperial going...

London Metropolitan University (20 May 2009)

Ian Gibson: I have to rise to the bait. The hon. Gentleman did not name his college. Will he tell me how poor it really is, so I can check it out?

London Metropolitan University (20 May 2009)

Ian Gibson: They can go back.

London Metropolitan University (20 May 2009)

Ian Gibson: Does my hon. Friend agree that teaching in universities these days has an international aspect? The university's institute for Cuban studies, a subject that is interesting in itself, attracts attention from students across the world, who go there to talk about what is happening in the Caribbean and other parts of the world. More and more universities in this country depend on international...

London Metropolitan University (20 May 2009)

Ian Gibson: Will my hon. Friend communicate to the Chamber what the vice-chancellor's salary might be—vice-chancellors are known to be shelling it in?

London Metropolitan University (20 May 2009)

Ian Gibson: I guess my hon. Friend may be able to help me in this matter. The head of the HEFC is now moving to another university vice-chancellor's job somewhere in the Midlands. Does he think that there could be a problem arising from the fact that that organisation has gone solid at the base?

[Mr. Edward O'Hara in the Chair] — Sports Betting (13 May 2009)

Ian Gibson: I welcome all right hon. and hon. Members to this debate, and I thank them for entering into the spirit of things. We touched upon some of the problems of sports betting a few months ago, but we have the opportunity today to consider the matter in some depth and to hear contributions from across the House. I see that some of the sharpest brains in the House are here—I say that in the...

[Mr. Edward O'Hara in the Chair] — Sports Betting (13 May 2009)

Ian Gibson: Far be it from me to be critical, but there is enough dismay and concern for the Gambling Commission to take the matter seriously. Indeed, our debate may have precipitated the Accrington-Bury decision. I shall mention later something of what the Minister has said about corruption and the possibility of stamping out such things. The problem is being taken seriously by many. Indeed, the...

[Mr. Edward O'Hara in the Chair] — Sports Betting (13 May 2009)

Ian Gibson: I cannot be sure of the number, but I remember from the previous debate that it is small. We could investigate that, but I am not sure. It starts from a low base, of course, getting the right people into the commission to investigate matters with professionalism, with the right contacts and so on, but it is a difficult arena in which to get evidence. The commission is not quite there yet; but...

[Mr. Edward O'Hara in the Chair] — Sports Betting (13 May 2009)

Ian Gibson: I agree with my hon. Friend to some extent, but that is no excuse for not trying to root it out completely. I am trying to stop the syndicates and others involved in illegal acts as they emerge. They may be small in number, but they cause a lot of disruption for little effort, and we have to stamp it out. If we ever lose the belief that sport has integrity, we will lose the public. We must...

[Mr. Edward O'Hara in the Chair] — Sports Betting (13 May 2009)

Ian Gibson: I concur with the hon. Gentleman. Some players at that level end up in the championship or the premiership. I saw a match in the former when at least three or four players came from that level. Some also come in from Sunday league football and go on to become stars. We must encourage that in this country. The all-party group has suggested that the number of foreign players might need to be...

[Mr. Edward O'Hara in the Chair] — Sports Betting (13 May 2009)

Ian Gibson: There is an argument there, but it is the job of the taskforce to say how each organisation should play its part. The taskforce may want to separate issues or keep them intact. I am not putting down a formula; I am suggesting that we need to get the right people around a table to talk about the ideas. I will bring my speech to an end, because I think that I have put across my message. We need...

[Mr. Joe Benton in the Chair] — Honey Bee Health (29 Apr 2009)

Ian Gibson: I congratulate the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (John Penrose) on raising this issue once again. It is important to follow through on achievements and to comment on some of the things that we would like to see happen. He speaks as only a beekeeper can, with knowledge of the organism itself. That is important. This has been one of the most delightful campaigns in which I have been...

[Mr. Joe Benton in the Chair] — Honey Bee Health (29 Apr 2009)

Ian Gibson: I thank my hon. Friend. It is true—the problems have been much the same across the planet. The value of bees in development and other aspects of agriculture has been recognised in other places. Britain is taking a major lead in trying to find out the causes of the collapse, and that will help other countries to develop their programmes. I know that there is plenty of contact. The public...

Amendment of the Law (28 Apr 2009) has video

Ian Gibson: The hon. Gentleman is painting a gloomy picture, but there are rays of sunshine, are there not? In the insurance industry, for example, he will have seen that Aviva, the parent company of Norwich Union, is boasting that people trust its products and have stuck with them; indeed, savings have increased, and its figures look good at this point. We can be miserable and say that we do not know...

Amendment of the Law (28 Apr 2009) has video

Ian Gibson: Will my right hon. Friend give way?

[Mr. David Wilshire in the Chair] — Online Gambling (18 Mar 2009)

Ian Gibson: I congratulate the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) on raising this issue. My interest stems from being contacted by the press following a football match between Norwich City and Derby where strange betting irregularities had been described at half time. The hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb) and I raised the matter in Parliament, and we have tried to find out...

[Mr. David Wilshire in the Chair] — Online Gambling (18 Mar 2009)

Ian Gibson: I thank my hon. Friend for that comment, which is true. The case to which I referred, which will be a sensational one, has involved some clever investigative work on identifying betting patterns by Betfair and others. Bets were made in a small, precise area of England, and that was tied up through intelligence. However, when it happens in the Asian markets, it is very difficult to deal with....

[Mr. David Wilshire in the Chair] — Online Gambling (18 Mar 2009)

Ian Gibson: I thank the hon. Gentleman for that. I agree, although I also think that there is some conservatism—with a small "c", of course—in the organisations involved. They do not want to raise the issue or to see it on the front pages of the newspapers, because that would break down the integrity of the sport and make the public suspicious. There is plenty of evidence in Europe that...

[Mr. David Wilshire in the Chair] — Online Gambling (18 Mar 2009)

Ian Gibson: I thank the hon. Gentleman for that. The Gambling Commission has been in operation for only a year. I have met the people who run it, and they are gingerly feeling their way forward on how far to take things in a sensitive situation. They will have to interact with the police eventually if criminal charges are to be laid. However, he is right to suggest that things will reach a breaking...