Results 1-20 of 2,373 for in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates' speaker:Lord Wills
- Publishing: Public Lending Right — Question (22 May 2013)
Lord Wills: My Lords, will the Minister say what estimate has been made of the income made by local authorities for charging out e-books and digital books? If he cannot give an answer today, please would he agree to write to me with such an estimate? In asking this question, I declare my interest in this matter.
- Procedure of the House — Motion to Take Note (24 April 2013)
Lord Wills: My Lords, my arguments against the current procedures have been well rehearsed, and the case for change has been well made. I do not intend to repeat any of them now. If this is put to a vote I shall vote in support of the proposal. As the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, stressed repeatedly, this is an experiment. It seems to me that the success of the experiment depends crucially on the criteria...
- Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill: Report (5th Day) (18 March 2013)
Lord Wills: Before the Minister leaves this point, can he explain a little more about the Government's thinking on why freedom of information will not be extended to the proceedings of this new body? It seems rather curious, when transparency is such a cardinal virtue, that it should be denied in the case of this body.
- Taxation: Avoidance — Question (14 March 2013)
Lord Wills: My Lords, what consideration are the Government giving to persuading the G8 to require multinational corporations to produce country-by-country reporting of their tax payments so that not only can the tax authorities in developing countries be better informed about what these companies are paying but the people of those countries can be better informed, so that they can hold those companies...
- Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill: Report (4th Day) (Continued) (11 March 2013)
Lord Wills: I am very grateful for that, but I just hoped that before my noble friend sat down he could address one particular issue that is of concern to me. He has put forward a compelling case for these amendments, and I hope that the Government will consider them extremely carefully. In his closing remarks he put his finger on one of the main problems with this whole area; it is not just that...
- Freedom of Information Act 2000 — Question (27 February 2013)
Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to amend the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
- Freedom of Information Act 2000 — Question (27 February 2013)
Lord Wills: My Lords, I very much welcome what the Minister has just said about giving the Information Commissioner new powers but I hope he will recognise that suggestions have been made by other Ministers-not this Minister whose commitment to freedom of information is exemplary-that they will tighten the Act. I hope this Minister will recognise that tightening the Act in the way that has been suggested...
- Tibet — Question (26 February 2013)
Lord Wills: What representations have the Government made about the fate of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the young boy identified in 1995 by the Dalai Lama as the new Panchen Lama, the second highest office in Tibetan Buddhism? The Minister will recall that shortly after that identification, that young boy was taken into what the Chinese Government called “protective custody” and has never been seen...
- Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust Inquiry — Statement (6 February 2013)
Lord Wills: My Lords-
- Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust Inquiry — Statement (6 February 2013)
Lord Wills: My Lords, I welcome the Minister's emphasis on the importance of involving patients and their relatives more centrally in decisions about their own care. Does the Minister think that principle should be extended throughout the NHS, including the new policy on value-based pricing for new medicines?
- South London Healthcare NHS Trust — Statement (31 January 2013)
Lord Wills: I am very grateful-
- South London Healthcare NHS Trust — Statement (31 January 2013)
Lord Wills: I am very grateful to the Minister and apologise for intervening inappropriately. On the question of legal advice, notwithstanding the convention, will he agree that it is open to the Government to waive legal privilege in exceptional circumstances and that this might be such a case, since these are clearly exceptional circumstances?
- Electoral Registration and Administration Bill: Report (23 January 2013)
Lord Wills: My Lords, a change in public policy on this issue is long overdue, and I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Norton, on his persistence in returning to it on Report. I associate myself with everything he said in support of his amendment. In the past, Ministers have talked about the register being used as an aid for business and commerce, and we have heard in this debate about its uses for...
- Prisoners: Work Programmes — Question for Short Debate (15 January 2013)
Lord Wills: My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, on securing this debate on this important subject. He has set out the issues compellingly and I do not want to rehearse them here again or go over the ground set out so well just now by the noble Baroness, Lady Stedman-Scott. I want to focus my remarks on the difficulties that small voluntary organisations face in making a...
- Electoral Registration and Administration Bill: Committee (2nd Day) (14 January 2013)
Lord Wills: Very briefly on this point of relevance, perhaps I may draw the attention of my noble and learned friend to Clause 16 of this Bill which, like this amendment, deals with electoral boundaries. It deals with the reviewing of boundaries, as does this amendment. Both Clause 16 and the amendment both deal with the timing of the reviews, not their outcome. Does my noble and learned friend agree...
- Electoral Registration and Administration Bill: Committee (2nd Day) (14 January 2013)
Lord Wills: My Lords-
- Electoral Registration and Administration Bill: Committee (2nd Day) (14 January 2013)
Lord Wills: I address myself briefly to the remarks of the noble Lord, Lord Deben, with which I largely agree. I think that the criterion should be that it is fair and reasonable. Incidentally, I do not think that taxation is an issue here; taxation has never been a criterion for voting in this country and it is not now. It seems to me that what is, to use the noble Lord's phrase, fair and reasonable, is...
- Armed Forces: Long-Term Care — Question (19 December 2012)
Lord Wills: My Lords, I also very much welcome what the Minister has said so far. In helping the Afghan army and police develop responsibility for their own security, what efforts are the Government making for the rehabilitation and long-term care of people in those forces who have suffered life-changing injuries? For example, are processes in place to pass on all the knowledge and expertise gained over...
- Roads: Roadworks — Question (28 November 2012)
Lord Wills: In pursuit of the earlier question about reinstatement, does the Minister accept that one problem is that the utility companies that do the work often do not notify the local authorities when they have finished and therefore it can take weeks for the local authorities to put right the damage that some of these utility companies have done? Can the Minister offer any reassurance about the...
- Higher Education: Reform — Question for Short Debate (12 November 2012)
Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the impact of recent reforms of the higher education system on university education and research in the arts, humanities and fundamental science.