Results 1-20 of 829 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Derek Conway

Members' Allowances (30 Apr 2009) has video

Derek Conway: It is said that politics is a vain calling—that people stand in this place and say, "Hear my views. Look at me, look at me." I suspect that all Members of the House have looked at me in great detail and I still bear the scars. It would be a vanity on my part, however, to think that the Government's proposals on the employment of staff are down to the experiences that have been well...

Members' Allowances (30 Apr 2009) has video

Derek Conway: I in no way question how the Standards and Privileges Committee conducted its case with me—I accepted fully what it said—but that does not prevent me, any other Member of this House or any member of the public from contrasting the different reports that the Committee produces. It found in my case that the issue hung on the level of reward. Henry, my eldest son, was paid at the...

Members' Allowances (30 Apr 2009) has video

Derek Conway: I am not challenging what the Committee is saying. What I am asking is that if Members are looking for guidance on what level of pay to set for their staff, should they look to the House authorities, to the Green Book or to personnel practice? The Committee's different decisions in different cases do not necessarily help to provide that guidance, but they set a precedent—that is the...

Opposition Day — [3rd Allotted Day]: Parliamentary Standards (Constitutional Reform) (2 Feb 2009) has video

Derek Conway: Will the right hon. Gentleman accept that I repeat, without qualification, the apology that I have already given him in writing and that I accept, without any reservation, the Committee's conclusion that I breached a rule of the House? I would also like to withdraw the statement that I made to the media last Thursday.

Minister for the Olympics: Personal Statement (28 Jan 2008)

Derek Conway: With your permission, Mr. Speaker, I wish to make a personal statement to the House. The Committee on Standards and Privileges has today issued its report on the complaint made against me for employing my son as a researcher and parliamentary assistant. I will not delay the business of the House by going through the contents of that report, as it is publicly available. The Committee was...

Business of the House: British Council (Russia) (17 Jan 2008) has video

Derek Conway: The Foreign Secretary will doubtless be encouraged by the support that he has received from both sides of the House for not only his position but that of the superb British Council. Is he aware that many members of the Russian Duma are part of their non-voting delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly? Has he had the opportunity to discuss with the right hon. Member for Walsall, South...

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Benefits Uprating (5 Dec 2007) has video

Derek Conway: The Minister's statement has been rightly welcomed in all parts of the House, but may I press him on the proposal—itself very welcome—to ensure that information is sent automatically to councils, especially when it concerns council tax and housing benefits? Will the Department encourage local authorities to make that facility widely known to council tax payers in particular? Given...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Ministerial Responsibilities (3 Dec 2007) has video

Derek Conway: Will the Secretary of State tell the House whether, while juggling the time between his responsibilities in Scotland and at the Ministry, he has found time to visit Headley Court to see the work that is being done there for wounded soldiers? Will he pay tribute to The Sunday Times's fundraising campaign to make the facilities there more appropriate to recuperation and to the estimable Jeremy...

Queen Mary's Hospital (Sidcup) (19 Oct 2007)

Derek Conway: I understand what the Minister is saying and this is a helpful reply. Can she assure the House in relation to Lord Warner's activities that no chairman or chief executive of any of those four acute hospitals will be dismissed if they object to the way in which he is driving the measure behind the scenes?

Queen Mary's Hospital (Sidcup) (19 Oct 2007)

Derek Conway: May I thank Mr. Speaker for allowing me this brief debate on the future of services at Queen Mary's hospital in my constituency in Sidcup? I thank the Under-Secretary of State for Health, the hon. Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ann Keen), for being in her place to reply today. I am also delighted to see my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Mr. Evennett), who has been...

Orders of the Day: New Clause 1 — Appeals (19 Oct 2007)

Derek Conway: My hon. Friend's reminiscences about his days as a law student are very interesting, but I wish to press him again on the quality of the people who will be involved and their conduct. I recall once having to give evidence before an employment tribunal at which the chairman went way beyond the terms of reference. He was probably not up to the job, and the lawyers present had to remind him that...

Orders of the Day: New Clause 1 — Appeals (19 Oct 2007)

Derek Conway: My hon. Friend makes an important point. If an employer is about to appear before a tribunal and sees that the chairman has a beard, a copy of The Guardian and plastic shoes, he knows that he is probably in for a hiding. My hon. Friend makes a fair point about the quality of people before whom one might appear. Does he think that those who sit on tribunals should have no declared party...

Orders of the Day: New Clause 1 — Appeals (19 Oct 2007)

Derek Conway: rose—

Orders of the Day: New Clause 1 — Appeals (19 Oct 2007)

Derek Conway: Obviously we will abide by the directions of the Chair, but in terms of rising and sitting down I note that both the occupant of the Chair and my hon. Friend look in pretty good condition, so this exercise is probably very good for everyone. My hon. Friend says that he does not want to be pressed on the detail. I am sorry we are having to do that, but we do not have explanatory notes to new...

Orders of the Day: New Clause 1 — Appeals (19 Oct 2007)

Derek Conway: I am sorry that we are pressing my hon. Friend on this issue—I hope that he is not offended by that. I am not quite sure who the "better class of person" is to whom he referred. Perhaps my hon. Friend the Member for West Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) is the better class of person whom he wants. May I press my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Mr. Chope) on the point that my hon....

Orders of the Day: New Clause 1 — Appeals (19 Oct 2007)

Derek Conway: I have secured today's Adjournment debate and I have been following my hon. Friend's remarks in my office—I hope he will forgive me for not having followed them from the outset. He is setting out the difficulty that people—particularly those foreign to our country—will have in understanding the proposed legislation and its intent. The Bill is accompanied by helpful...

Orders of the Day: New Clause 1 — Appeals (19 Oct 2007)

Derek Conway: I do not wish to belabour the contribution of my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch; he was clearly trying to be helpful to the Government. However, to pick up on the point that my hon. Friend the Member for West Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) raises on subsection (3), my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch has included the word "conduct" in it. Is he aware that some tribunal chairmen tend...

Point of Order (24 Jul 2007)

Derek Conway: On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is right that the House has had statements today, yesterday and many days before that from Secretaries of State. Many written ministerial statements have also been made, and one wonders whether there is some kind of league table in operation. We know that the Prime Minister is keen on quoting league tables at us. I wish to draw your attention to...

HMRC Office (Kettering) (4 Jul 2007)

Derek Conway: Order. Before I call the next debate, may I apologise to the Chamber for the fact that from time to time we hear the loudhailing from outside? I shall report it to Mr. Speaker, but hopefully it will not distract us from our deliberations.

Hospital Services (Sussex) (4 Jul 2007)

Derek Conway: The hon. Gentleman has made his point, but the Minister was not out of order.