Results 1-20 of 2,082 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Don Touhig

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Parliamentary Standards Authority (20 May 2009)

Don Touhig: I welcome my right hon. and learned Friend's statement. I also thank you, Mr. Speaker, for taking the initiative of calling together the MEC and all the party leaders—all the party leaders—yesterday. You invited me to attend the meeting as Chairman of the Committee on Members' Allowances, and I was very pleased that the meeting accepted all the recommendations from my Committee,...

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Industrial Injuries (29 Apr 2009) has video

Don Touhig: What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the compensation scheme for persons with arthritis of the knee arising from industrial injuries sustained in former Welsh coalfields.

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Industrial Injuries (29 Apr 2009) has video

Don Touhig: Following the announcement, to which my hon. Friend has just referred, that miners who suffer from beat knee will be compensated, the National Union of Mineworkers in south Wales is warning that some solicitors are trying to cash in by persuading miners that they have to go through them to make a claim. That is untrue, so what are the Government doing to protect claimants from those seeking...

[Miss Anne Begg in the Chair] — UK Energy (Coal) (17 Mar 2009)

Don Touhig: I echo the remarks made today in congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon (Mr. Anderson) on securing this debate. The volatility of global energy markets has once again pushed the case for coal to the forefront. Twenty- five years ago, we could not have imagined that such a thing would ever occur. Although coal is an abundant source of energy—it is the fuel of choice in...

Public Accounts (12 Mar 2009) has video

Don Touhig: I apologise to the hon. Gentleman and to the House—I would like to take part in this debate but I have to attend a meeting of Members' pension fund trustees shortly. I pay tribute to him and his chairmanship of our Committee. He makes a very important point about the successful operation of Jobcentre Plus. Does he share my frustration at the fact that the good practice that we do see in...

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Small Business Support (11 Mar 2009) has video

Don Touhig: Small businesses will be greatly helped if they can recruit people with the skills that they need. At Oakdale comprehensive school I saw for myself last week that young people are being prepared well for the workplace and given good IT skills. What initiatives exist to ensure that we have strong school-business links, so that when we come out of the economic downturn Welsh companies are...

Business of the House: Welsh Affairs (26 Feb 2009) has video

Don Touhig: In view of the hon. Gentleman's comments, I hope that the Conservative party will submit names for the regional Select Committees that the Government are trying to set up.

Business of the House: Welsh Affairs (26 Feb 2009) has video

Don Touhig: Does my hon. Friend recognise that when we were councillors together, we made great strides in putting investment into Welsh medium education in Gwent, which has benefited greatly? That was done by Labour councillors.

Business of the House: Welsh Affairs (26 Feb 2009) has video

Don Touhig: No one could have predicted that a problem that began with banks in America would lead to people throughout this country sitting at their kitchen tables worrying about their finances. Although the economic downturn we face is correctly described as global, its impact is local in the sense that every family in Wales has been affected. It is right of our Government to act now to boost the...

Business of the House: Welsh Affairs (26 Feb 2009) has video

Don Touhig: I was very happy to give way to the architect of "new Plaid", and I think that he had some positive and important things to say. I am sure that they will be listened to by Ministers, because these problems will not be solved unless we all work together. I recognise that that is an important point to make. One of the vital strengths of the Welsh economy is the readiness of our companies, both...

Business of the House: Welsh Affairs (26 Feb 2009) has video

Don Touhig: The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, and I shall answer it in a moment. It is not good enough in this instance for us to be told that the Assembly will decide the measures—how it will use the new powers—if the LCO is passed. We cannot take a "suck it and see" approach. We need to know now and in some detail the implications of the measures for jobs, the economy and the...

Business of the House: Welsh Affairs (26 Feb 2009) has video

Don Touhig: That could be a question for scrutiny by the Welsh Affairs Committee. I am sure that hon. Members on both sides of the House will receive letters from their constituents about that matter. With the country facing serious economic challenges, along with the rest of the world, it would be a serious step indeed to impose even more regulation on companies in Wales. I have one final word on this...

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: All Wales Convention (28 Jan 2009) has video

Don Touhig: What recent discussions he has had with the chair of the All Wales Convention on the work of the convention.

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: All Wales Convention (28 Jan 2009) has video

Don Touhig: When families across Wales are concerned about their future does my right hon. Friend think that anybody gives a fig about the All Wales Convention? It is wasting £1 million of taxpayers' money, calling shambolic meetings, showing videos that give a distorted picture of Wales and pandering to those who think that the big issue of the day is independence. Would it not be better spending...

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Engagements (28 Jan 2009) has video

Don Touhig: The Corus job losses are a bitter blow, and all our efforts must now be dedicated to helping the steelworkers and their families. But even in this difficult time, should not our message be that Britain is the right place to invest and the right place to grow a business, and that the British people are worth backing? Despite the doom-mongers opposite, our society is not broken and we are...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Veterans (Homelessness) (12 Jan 2009) has video

Don Touhig: I welcome what my hon. Friend said about help for homeless ex-servicemen and women, but many who leave the armed forces have problems moving from service to civilian life. What is being done to promote the Veterans Agency as the first point of contact for servicemen and women who need help?

Oral Answers to Questions — Treasury: Iraq (18 Dec 2008) has video

Don Touhig: I welcome my right hon. Friend's statement today, and in particular his announcement at the end of his statement that the Basra memorial wall will be brought to this country. Will the Government find a suitable opportunity, when all our troops are back, to allow the people of this country to demonstrate publicly their admiration and affection for the brave men and women of our armed forces?

Consolidated Fund Bill: Parliamentary Pensions (17 Dec 2008)

Don Touhig: My hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) was quite right to point out that some of our constituents are having difficulties with their pensions, but the House should be aware that, of about 770 Members who left the Commons in the past 10 years, only 34 qualified for the full pension.

Oral Answers to Questions — Health: Royal Mail (16 Dec 2008) has video

Don Touhig: I welcome the debate that will now ensue after my right hon. Friend's statement, and I say to him that without radical reform and a substantial change to senior management, Royal Mail does not have a future at all. Can he tell the House whether the Government will engage directly with those who work for the Royal Mail? I have no confidence whatsoever that the present management will discuss...

Pleural Plaques (Compensation) (26 Nov 2008)

Don Touhig: We know that we have a friend in the Minister on this issue, but such is the anger in the country that it is looking to the House of Commons to overturn the Lords' decision, and the Government must lead on that. My constituents are outraged, and 600 of them signed a petition organised by Brian Prosser because they were so angered by the Lords' decision. I hope that the Government will make a...