Results 1-20 of 2,909 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:David Maclean

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (18 Nov 2009) has video

David Maclean: It is a privilege to follow the right hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire (John McFall). I commend him on his loyalty in supporting the Government's programme, but I must tell him that these measures will not achieve their main purpose: they will not put clear blue or even clear red water between the Government and the Opposition in polling terms. I have seen this before, in 1996, when we...

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (18 Nov 2009)

David Maclean: In answer to that, I say to the right hon. Gentleman that perhaps he should look at the generality of election results around the country. He need cast his mind back no further than the county elections of last May, or the elections of 18 months ago, perhaps. I can understand why Labour Members are clutching at straws. I did a lot of whistling in the dark when I sat on the Government Benches...

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation — Amendment of the law (22 Apr 2009)

David Maclean: It is always a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Middlesbrough (Sir Stuart Bell). At the end of his speech, he said, "We will ask the Opposition which section of the community will be afflicted by any cuts they may make in the future." It is not for me to attempt to answer that 12 months before an election; no doubt my right hon. and hon. Friends will set out our plans in detail. I...

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation — Amendment of the law (22 Apr 2009)

David Maclean: Not at all. The hon. Gentleman is totally misrepresenting those proposals. I think that the Government made a mistake in not tackling some of the regulation, and their tripartite arrangements clearly do not work—nobody has been in charge, and a simple example of that is Northern Rock. I am told that six months after the Government took it over, Northern Rock was still lending 120 per...

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation — Amendment of the law (22 Apr 2009)

David Maclean: I agree entirely with the hon. Gentleman, and the point he raises has been made to me too. The Government just do not realise what is actually going on between the banks and their business customers. Admittedly, the Government and the Treasury have had to focus on the mega-picture of the scandal of the Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and so on—I leave it to others of my right hon. and hon....

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (3 Dec 2008) has video

David Maclean: When I was the Minister with responsibility for policing, I discovered that much of the information collected by the police was required by the Home Office because we in Parliament were asking questions about it. If we as parliamentarians are prepared to accept that we might not get to know the level of crime in a particular area on a particular Saturday night, the police will no longer need...

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (3 Dec 2008) has video

David Maclean: It is always a pleasure and a privilege to follow the hon. Member for Middlesbrough (Sir Stuart Bell), who is my esteemed colleague on the House of Commons Commission and the Members Estimate Committee. I do not speak in this House wearing my Commission hat but, with that as background, it may helpful if I comment on a few Bills in the Queen's Speech. I shall begin with the one that proposes...

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (3 Dec 2008) has video

David Maclean: The whole House has heard what the hon. Gentleman has said. I am not expert in that area and would not wish to go down that path, but we will all now wish to examine carefully any police accountability Bill to see what additional safeguards it might require. The hon. Gentleman mentions an independent inquiry. The Met has called in the transport police to conduct an independent inquiry....

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (3 Dec 2008) has video

David Maclean: Precisely. I had concluded my remarks on that matter, but I respect the Minister and I gave way to him. I simply make the point, which has been made by others, perhaps from a sedentary position, that we do not know whether any of these allegations are true, so why repeat them in this place? I have not made general attacks on the civil service; I have strongly criticised two very senior civil...

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (3 Dec 2008) has video

David Maclean: Yes, that is right. However, in some cases those private pharmacies will be open only nine-to-five and on Saturday afternoons; they will not be available during the out-of-hours times that a GP service could manage. If in my town of Kirkby Stephen, for example, somebody needed a prescription late on a Saturday afternoon and GPs were not allowed to prescribe, that person would not be able to...

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (3 Dec 2008) has video

David Maclean: I shall give way again, but then I must get on.

Outlawries Bill: Debate on the Address — [1st Day] (3 Dec 2008) has video

David Maclean: I would certainly accept that as a criterion, but it is not one of the three reasons given in the White Paper about why the Government are disturbing the system. There is no mention of making the system more effective through GPs or private pharmacies issuing better quality, more effective medicines. One of the main reasons given is cost. GP prescriptions for GP pharmacies are more expensive...

Points of Order: Summer Adjournment (22 Jul 2008) has video

David Maclean: Before the House rises for the summer recess, I wish to draw to its attention once again the plight of the Cumbrian economy—my perennial rant about our situation in Cumbria. That is because we are still the fifth poorest sub-region or county in the whole of Europe. It is not just me saying that; I am not talking down our county, with its superb people and innovators. The Commission for...

Opposition Day — [18th Allotted Day]: Members' Allowances (16 Jul 2008) has video

David Maclean: I intend to speak on narrow issues. I do not wish to discuss the MEPs. I am not very concerned about what is claimed by MEPs in either party, or about what they publish; I am more concerned about what they do. I apologise to the House for the fact that I will be chairing the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments at 3.45, and will therefore not be here for the winding-up speeches. I am...

Opposition Day — [18th Allotted Day]: Members' Allowances (16 Jul 2008) has video

David Maclean: Yes, it is a good mantra, and that is the point. What would happen if we were to move to any other list? I know that people joke about the IKEA list; it will have some good furnishings, but it will not have any electrical goods. Others have proposed an Argos list. The point is that there will still end up being a list of some sort—perhaps a National Audit Office list.

Opposition Day — [18th Allotted Day]: Members' Allowances (16 Jul 2008) has video

David Maclean: Yes, that is true; there has been inconsistent advice, and that was one of the purposes of the practice audit teams that we wanted to set up. They would go round to help colleagues get things right. I say to Members of all parties that if we do not have that and instead have only a toughened up NAO going round, I suspect that all it will be able to do is report on our errors—our genuine...

Opposition Day — [18th Allotted Day]: Members' Allowances (16 Jul 2008) has video

David Maclean: If the hon. Lady has evidence of such abuses, they should be recorded. Such allegations were made by external people. I think Sir Christopher Kelly was worried about that. We said point the finger at someone who has got a third home somewhere that is a holiday home and who is claiming additional costs on that. We went into the mortgage issue very carefully. Let me say with all the authority I...

Opposition Day — [18th Allotted Day]: Members' Allowances (16 Jul 2008) has video

David Maclean: I am running out of time and I do not want to be bogged down on this issue. We looked at the costs of renting property. If a Member is in this House for a few years—let us say 10, 12 or 15—and they rent a property, the rental costs are likely to increase every single year. There is a higher cost to Parliament in paying for rented properties than in paying mortgage interest costs....

Bill Presented: Members' Salaries (3 Jul 2008) has video

David Maclean: When this matter was last discussed, I was one of those Members who argued strongly that some of us on the Members Estimate Committee should have the right to submit our own report, or at least a memorandum, to Sir John Baker. The Leader of the House kindly assented to that and three of us on the MEC—the hon. Members for North Devon (Nick Harvey) and for Middlesbrough (Sir Stuart Bell),...

Orders of the Day: Climate Change Bill [Lords] (9 Jun 2008) has video

David Maclean: I rise to support the Bill. I want to concentrate my remarks largely on clause 11, paying particular attention to the international matters that the Secretary of State must take into account when setting carbon targets; and on clause 13, which states that any proposals and policies prepared to meet our carbon budget should "contribute to sustainable development". If I have time, I shall also...