Results 1-20 of 143 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Fabian Hamilton

Opposition Day — [19th allotted day]: Equitable Life (21 Oct 2009) has video

Fabian Hamilton: I start by thanking the Chief Secretary for reiterating the apology given by his predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper), which was certainly a good start. Earlier, the hon. Member for Reigate (Mr. Blunt), who is no longer present in the Chamber, said in an intervention that policyholders should be able to come forward and apply for...

Opposition Day — [19th allotted day]: Equitable Life (21 Oct 2009) has video

Fabian Hamilton: I agree; indeed, the situation is much more serious. People always lose confidence in the Government of the day, because they blame them for everything. However, people have enormous trust in this House. They may not like MPs or Parliament generally, but they like their constituency MP. They look to us to come here and use this House to redress injustice. It is the loss of trust in this House...

Opposition Day — [19th allotted day]: Equitable Life (21 Oct 2009) has video

Fabian Hamilton: That is why I agree with many right hon. and hon. Members—especially my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase—that the decision on how we should respond must be a matter for this House. The hon. Member for Reigate also made that point. I fully accept that there are huge implications for the Treasury and for taxpayers' money, but we have seen far greater sums of money being used...

Opposition Day — [19th allotted day]: Equitable Life (21 Oct 2009) has video

Fabian Hamilton: My honourable co-chair makes a good point. It has already been pointed out that, since Sir John Chadwick was appointed, he has refused to come to the House or to deal with individual Members. It is time that members of the all-party group, on behalf of all Members, were able to meet him and question him on the way in which he is setting about the business of remedying this injustice. I urge...

Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Council Rental Income (7 Jul 2009) has video

Fabian Hamilton: What steps he is taking to allow local authorities to retain rental income from new council homes; and if he will make a statement.

Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Council Rental Income (7 Jul 2009) has video

Fabian Hamilton: I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Does he agree that the changes that he has made would allow Leeds city council to regenerate one of the most deprived housing estates in the north of England—the Beckhill estate in my constituency? Will he agree at some later stage to visit that estate to see it for himself?

Equitable Life (24 Jun 2009)

Fabian Hamilton: It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr. Caton. So much has been written and said over the last few years about the collapse of Equitable Life that I begin this debate with some trepidation, especially as the previous debate in this House was barely a month ago and was introduced by the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis). Although our political perspectives are...

Equitable Life (24 Jun 2009)

Fabian Hamilton: I hope that the hon. Gentleman will listen carefully to my speech because it will include many of the points that he has rightly raised. I hope that he will be satisfied that I am pressing for the same things. Equitable Life was founded in 1762 as a mutual insurance company, based on the ideas of Charles Dodson, a fellow of the Royal Society and a man well ahead of his time. It started...

Equitable Life (24 Jun 2009)

Fabian Hamilton: I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that intervention. I will go on to talk about the regulatory failure and why I think that there should be a proper compensation scheme. I hope that I will cover some of the points that he rightly raised. The conclusion of the parliamentary ombudsman's report of 5 May stated: "In this case, I am satisfied that the injustice I found in my report to have...

Equitable Life (24 Jun 2009)

Fabian Hamilton: The hon. Lady is right. Later in my remarks, I shall address the points that she has made. Why is the regulator to blame? Surely investors must have understood that their investments could decrease as well as increase. How could Equitable Life have maintained a rate of return and a guaranteed annuity rate that was way beyond any competitor in the market? Those are the questions that Ann...

Equitable Life (24 Jun 2009)

Fabian Hamilton: Yes, I certainly agree with the right hon. Gentleman. Again, I will go on to highlight that matter further on in my remarks—I am afraid that we are not quite at the end of them yet. The Public Administration Committee also said: "It would also be wrong for the Government to refuse compensation on the basis of Lord Penrose's conclusion that Equitable Life was 'principally...the author of...

Equitable Life (24 Jun 2009)

Fabian Hamilton: Yes, I agree with the hon. Lady. I will address some of her points in a minute. I am not quite sure where I got to. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, who was the then Treasury Minister, delivered a fulsome apology—[Interruption.] It was a fulsome apology—these are the words of EMAG, in fact.

Equitable Life (24 Jun 2009)

Fabian Hamilton: I thank the hon. Lady for her comments. Again, I hope to address some of those points in a few minutes. I have some proposals that I hope the Minister will respond to positively. I live in hope—[Interruption.] One has to be an eternal optimist to be in this job. It appeared that compensation was on the horizon for the victims of the Equitable Life scandal; but sadly, that was not the...

Equitable Life (24 Jun 2009)

Fabian Hamilton: There is a reasonable spread of Members here from all parties. I would hope that perhaps Parliament could do that, under the leadership of our new Speaker. Let me finish my remarks, and perhaps the hon. Gentleman will want to come in, if he is able to. In the end, of course, the state will have to foot the bill, thus increasing the cost to all of us through higher taxation. It is imperative...

Equitable Life (24 Jun 2009)

Fabian Hamilton: Sorry—each day. That is even worse. I will say "each week," because that is the statistic that I was given, but even that is unacceptable.

Equitable Life (24 Jun 2009)

Fabian Hamilton: I give way to the hon. Gentleman.

Equitable Life (24 Jun 2009)

Fabian Hamilton: Per day—okay, I shall correct the record and say "per day," if that is what the Library note says. I thank the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden for his remark, but my point was based on the fact that if few of us save for our retirement because we have no confidence that the system will yield sufficient return, it will cost the Treasury and the state considerably more. I was...

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

Fabian Hamilton: My right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, West (John Battle) quoted two recent court cases from 15 May, which, in the case of Leeds, prove that the sanctions against such street traders are simply not tough enough. The results of those cases prove that those sanctions act as no deterrent to such individuals. Has the hon. Gentleman been to the centre of Leeds on a busy Saturday, or even...

Guide to the Rules Relating to the Conduct of Members: New Clause 3 — Removal of criminal sanctions from specified offences (9 Feb 2009) has video

Fabian Hamilton: With the leave of the House, I am grateful to the Minister for his responses to my new clauses 3 and 4. The Government have gone a long way towards meeting some of the criticisms held by me and by many other Members of the House, which were expressed in Committee by various hon. Members. I have two points to make. First, as I said in an intervention, police time could be better used to pursue...

Guide to the Rules Relating to the Conduct of Members: New Clause 3 — Removal of criminal sanctions from specified offences (9 Feb 2009) has video

Fabian Hamilton: Does my right hon. Friend not accept that the motivation behind new clause 4 was to ensure that the commission, which up to now has not been consistent in investigating various infringements, were consistent and monitored in respect of such consistency? Can he assure me and the House that what is proposed will ensure such consistency, which has been so sadly lacking?