Results 1-20 of 2,478 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Francis Maude

Onshore Wind Turbines (Proximity of Habitation): Clause 7 — Minimum requirements for civil service and diplomatic service codes (3 Nov 2009) has video

Francis Maude: I beg to move amendment 50, page 4, line 29, at end insert 'with a fiduciary responsibility to spend taxpayers' money responsibly.'. The civil service code and its entrenchment in statute is the central part of the civil service portion of the Bill. It is extremely important; we strongly support it. In a way, clause 7, which sets out some minimum requirements for that code, is the heart of...

Onshore Wind Turbines (Proximity of Habitation): Clause 7 — Minimum requirements for civil service and diplomatic service codes (3 Nov 2009) has video

Francis Maude: There is no harm in making that designation more explicit, and giving it some teeth by entrenching it in statute. There is, of course, already a provision enabling a permanent secretary who feels that he or she is being required to do something that is not in the interests of the taxpayer to put in writing to the Secretary of State a request that he or she—the permanent...

Onshore Wind Turbines (Proximity of Habitation): Clause 7 — Minimum requirements for civil service and diplomatic service codes (3 Nov 2009) has video

Francis Maude: I have listened to the comments of the Minister and others. We think that this duty is an important part of the obligations on civil servants and that a statement of that would give additional protection to civil servants, but there are other ways of addressing the issue and we should look into them further. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn....

Onshore Wind Turbines (Proximity of Habitation): Clause 3 — Management of the civil service (3 Nov 2009) has video

Francis Maude: rose—

Onshore Wind Turbines (Proximity of Habitation): Clause 3 — Management of the civil service (3 Nov 2009) has video

Francis Maude: I am grateful to the Minister for confirming that the Bill intends to make no change to the current arrangements, which have persisted reasonably successfully for a long time without serious challenge. Will she also confirm that the protection for civil servants against ministerial political interference in recruitment, dismissal or promotion lies with the Civil Service Commission, as it has...

Onshore Wind Turbines (Proximity of Habitation): [Sir Alan Haselhurst in the Chair] (3 Nov 2009) has video

Francis Maude: Does the Minister not find it slightly embarrassing that the Cabinet Office, where she is Minister responsible for civil service matters, has shrugged off any knowledge of civil service numbers, and regards the information as something to be tracked randomly by the ONS? Is that information not central, and should not the centre of Government be in possession of it?

Onshore Wind Turbines (Proximity of Habitation): [Sir Alan Haselhurst in the Chair] (3 Nov 2009) has video

Francis Maude: I apologise, Sir Alan, for being a little previous in attempting to intervene during the last grouping. I have worked out that I last led for my party during the Committee stage of a Bill in 1992—so perhaps I am a little rusty. However, I hope that I shall get the hang of it before long. The Conservative party supports the proposal in amendment 10, but new clause 33, which stands in my...

Onshore Wind Turbines (Proximity of Habitation): [Sir Alan Haselhurst in the Chair] (3 Nov 2009) has video

Francis Maude: I look forward with interest to the Minister's response to that question— [Interruption.] She is looking anxiously to the civil servants' Box for advice on that important matter—so at least it should come from the horse's mouth. Executive non-departmental public bodies, with the exception of three Crown NDPBs, are not counted within civil service head counts, and regional...

Onshore Wind Turbines (Proximity of Habitation): [Sir Alan Haselhurst in the Chair] (3 Nov 2009) has video

Francis Maude: We have tabled new clause 33, which has been grouped with the amendment.

Oral Answers to Questions — Cabinet Office: Operation Miser (28 Oct 2009) has video

Francis Maude: The Minister says that there was some concern about national security, but Sir Ian Johnston's report makes it absolutely clear that these leaks were only matters of "embarrassment" that were "not...likely to undermine government's effectiveness." So why did a Cabinet Office director write to counter-terrorism asserting that there was "considerable damage to national security" from these...

Oral Answers to Questions — Cabinet Office: Operation Miser (28 Oct 2009) has video

Francis Maude: But the report says explicitly that these were only matters of embarrassment that were not likely to undermine Government effectiveness. On 31 October, the Cabinet Office demanded a scoping exercise that then went into detail about the involvement of "members of the Conservative party". Does the Minister think it right that counter-terrorism officers were misled and used, in effect, to try...

Nato: Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill (20 Oct 2009)

Francis Maude: It is a pleasure to speak at the perhaps somewhat premature end of this debate, which has been reassuring to some extent but also slightly depressing. It has been reassuring because debates on Bills of this sort bring out the best in the House, in many ways, and the tone has been reflective, thoughtful and serious in addressing very important issues; but depressing because it has been poorly...

Nato: Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill (20 Oct 2009)

Francis Maude: My hon. Friend makes a good point. On the tax credits episode, the special adviser in the Treasury, who was notoriously the intermediary between the Chancellor and Treasury officials, is now Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. He was described on the radio yesterday by his hon. Friend—that may be the wrong way to put it— the Member for Huddersfield (Mr....

Nato: Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill (20 Oct 2009)

Francis Maude: I agree with much of that, and I am delighted to have the Lord Chancellor's endorsement of our general approach. It is most heartening and encouraging. I accept that many of the non-executive board members are independent and have lots of experience, and that their presence is very beneficial. I certainly would not say for a second that we should not have people with a public sector...

Nato: Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill (20 Oct 2009)

Francis Maude: The Minister asks my hon. Friend what the arguments were when the House decided this. The Minister talks as if the House took a wholly free decision to reduce the period from 20 to 15 years. That is not how I recollect it; the Government produced a proposal and, as they had a majority in this House that was well into three figures, they drove it through. There was no suggestion that there was...

Political Parties and Elections Bill (Extension of Carry-over): Clause 8 — Declaration as to source of donation (13 Jul 2009)

Francis Maude: Does the Justice Secretary share my gratitude to the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann) for making it absolutely, nakedly clear that this is a blatant piece of partisanship, which the Justice Secretary has been bounced into accepting by his Back-Bench colleagues? After all, he was reported in The Guardian only at the beginning of last week as having told members of the parliamentary...

Political Parties and Elections Bill (Extension of Carry-over) (13 Jul 2009)

Francis Maude: Does the right hon. Gentleman realise quite how offensive it is to suggest that the Opposition need time to get our act together, when the Government, on a matter of huge difficulty, which is the legislative equivalent of brain surgery, have produced six pages of amendments on the morning that these matters are to be debated in the House? To suggest that the Opposition need time suggests a...

Oral Answers to Questions — Cabinet Office: Civil Service Reform (1 Jul 2009) has video

Francis Maude: It is a pleasure to congratulate the Paymaster General and the Minister of State on their appointments. We look forward to having many fruitful discussions both across the Dispatch Box and elsewhere. A report in May by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that finance directors in central Government Departments do not "have a pivotal place" at the public sector "top table" and "their boards have a...

Oral Answers to Questions — Cabinet Office: Civil Service Reform (1 Jul 2009) has video

Francis Maude: We are familiar with the numbers that the Paymaster General has just read out, but we are slightly less convinced about their relationship with the reality of efficiencies actually delivered. Will she confirm that the now much delayed Constitutional Renewal Bill will include provisions that were in the draft Civil Service Bill, which was promised for more than a decade but still has not seen...

Oral Answers to Questions — Duchy of Lancaster: Social Enterprises (20 May 2009) has video

Francis Maude: Is not the biggest barrier to the expansion of the role of social enterprises in providing public services the lack of appropriate finance for expansion? Would not the quickest way to fill that gap be the rapid establishment of the social investment bank? Does the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster agree with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government? She said yesterday at...