Results 1-20 of 216 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Bob Laxton

Nato: Turkey and Armenia (20 Oct 2009)

Bob Laxton: What assessment he has made of the implications for Government policy in the region of the conclusion of protocols on (a) development of relations and (b) establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia.

Nato: Turkey and Armenia (20 Oct 2009)

Bob Laxton: What further steps can the Government take to encourage both Turkey and Armenia to ratify and implement these protocols, because the benefits will be immense for the region? We need to ensure that momentum in this process is maintained.

Prayers: Statutory Redundancy Pay (Amendment) Bill (13 Mar 2009) has video

Bob Laxton: Let me take up that theme of getting the message over. The vast majority of the population, who have seen so-called ex-masters of the universe such as Goodwin—I prefer not to use the cuddly name "Sir Fred"— walk away with huge sums, would be rightly aggrieved and enraged if the Bill was not given a smooth passage. We are talking about only a small proportion of the sort of money...

Oral Answers to Questions — Transport: High-Speed Rail Services (10 Mar 2009) has video

Bob Laxton: Following the decision on the inter-city high-speed trains, does my right hon. Friend agree that the award of the contract to Hitachi/Agility Trains means that if the manufacture of the trains does not involve many UK parts, there could be a sharp decline among companies in the supply chain for the rail industry in the United Kingdom?

Business of the House: Regional Select Committees (Membership) (3 Mar 2009) has video

Bob Laxton: Decisions on the big transport issues in the south-west, such as rail and road links, are almost always made by the South West of England regional development agency, and even when it does not make the decisions, huge influence is exerted on the decision-making process by the RDA.

[Mr. Bill Olner in the Chair] — Higher Education (21 Oct 2008)

Bob Laxton: I am interested that the hon. Gentleman thinks that it is his duty to comment on where the Government are going. I would have thought that it was more his duty to comment on Liberal Democrat views on student fees.

[Mr. Bill Olner in the Chair] — Higher Education (21 Oct 2008)

Bob Laxton: I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Derek Wyatt) on obtaining this Adjournment debate this morning. My hon. Friend has opened up a few interesting issues and probably set the odd hare or 30 running, given his views on major restructuring of the higher education sector here in the UK. He is a bit like Don Quixote, tilting at windmills, but I am not inclined...

[Mr. Bill Olner in the Chair] — Higher Education (21 Oct 2008)

Bob Laxton: I am telling the Minister the obvious, I suppose, because he knows his role better than I do. In December, he will be making decisions about the allocation of £1.9 billion of research funding to universities, and I believe that that allocation will be announced by the funding council in January 2009. It is important that he understands the role of universities such as my local...

Aviation Duty (8 Oct 2008)

Bob Laxton: I very much share the views of my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer). My view is simply that the proposals for consultation are fundamentally flawed, that the new tax will not produce the environmental benefits that are claimed for it, that it is unlikely to provide any additional revenue to the Exchequer and that it will simply damage the UK's competitiveness...

Burton on Trent Brewing Museum (17 Jul 2008) has video

Bob Laxton: I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Burton (Mrs. Dean) on her campaign to keep the Bass brewery open. Forty-odd years ago, when Burton was still the brewing capital of the world, and still producing magnificent beers, a few fairly rumbustious friends and I used to travel to Burton by train. I well remember Burton at the time. It used to smell of three things: gasworks, breweries and...

Burton on Trent Brewing Museum (17 Jul 2008) has video

Bob Laxton: It still smells of breweries and Marmite—great place. Here is one of my memories of those days. I was a pint drinker; we drank beer in pints in Derby. I had the unique experience of going into a public house in Burton—I think it was called "The Derby Turn" because, coming from Derby, we would go into "The Derby Turn"—and saying, "I'll have a pint of Bass, please", and...

Burton on Trent Brewing Museum (17 Jul 2008) has video

Bob Laxton: I was well aware that Bass is still brewed. People can still get good copperhead Bass. It is still excellent quality, but it is brewed at Marston's brewery. For those who want to be technical, the Union brewery process is used to make another excellent beer—Marston's Pedigree—but, thankfully, Bass is also brewed there. It would be an absolute tragedy if almost the last name of...

Burton on Trent Brewing Museum (17 Jul 2008) has video

Bob Laxton: The Minister ought to take the opportunity to visit the museum. I have heard little rumours—they might be malicious—that he has been occasionally seen imbibing alcohol, namely beer, in odd places around here. He should go to Martson's brewery and sample a good half pint of Marton's Pedigree, followed by an excellent half pint of copperhead Bass—wonderful; the elixir of life....

Oral Answers to Questions — Health: Liver Disease (18 Dec 2007)

Bob Laxton: What steps his Department is taking to reduce the prevalence of liver disease.

Oral Answers to Questions — Health: Liver Disease (18 Dec 2007)

Bob Laxton: I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. In 2000, liver disease killed more men than Parkinson's disease and more women than cancer of the cervix. The death rate from alcoholic liver disease has doubled in the past 10 years, and one person in 25—4 per cent. of the population—have tested positive for abnormal liver function. Is it not time that we had a proper screening...

[Mr. Eric Martlew in the Chair] — Canals (11 Dec 2007)

Bob Laxton: indicated assent.

[Mr. Eric Martlew in the Chair] — Canals (11 Dec 2007)

Bob Laxton: I congratulate the hon. Member for Lichfield (Michael Fabricant) on obtaining this Adjournment debate. Like him, I welcome the new waterways Minister, but I shall not go so far as to endorse the hon. Gentleman's comments and the rather unparliamentary language, I suspect, that he used about the previous Minister.

[Mr. Eric Martlew in the Chair] — Canals (11 Dec 2007)

Bob Laxton: That is as may be. I wish to refer to the exceptional usage that the canal system gets. I have a cutting from a Birmingham newspaper, headed "Noddy floats in to walk with the stars". It states: "A celebration of Birmingham's canal heritage returned to the city yesterday with 19 decorated boats winding their way from the National Indoor Arena to the Mailbox." The event was watched by more than...

[Mr. Eric Martlew in the Chair] — Canals (11 Dec 2007)

Bob Laxton: They can, and I agree entirely with my hon. Friend that the costs of opening locks, perhaps having temporary lock-keepers and clearing up after such events fall on British Waterways. It should say, "Here is an opportunity to generate income." I know that it can lock off sections of the Birmingham canal navigation, which I have fallen into on a number of occasions over the years—I can...

Oral Answers to Questions — Culture, Media and Sport: Lottery Funding (10 Dec 2007) has video

Bob Laxton: Where will funding for activities such as cycling and walking come from in future? As a result of the redefinition of sport, which I understand excludes cycling and walking, there will be a shortfall in funding. Is that money likely to come from Departments such as the Department of Health, rather than the Department for Culture, Media and Sport?