Results 1-20 of 597 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Paul Farrelly

Opposition Day — [20th Allotted Day]: Future of the Territorial Army (28 Oct 2009) has video

Paul Farrelly: Clearly, everyone welcomes the rethink on the £20 million for TA training. The armed forces review has caused some pain in the TA in my constituency, however, because it has led to the disbanding of the 58th Signals Squadron. That has clearly been the result of an Army decision to reorganise its signals function. However, the base in Cross Heath in Newcastle is used not only by the TA...

[Miss Anne Begg in the Chair] — Licensing Act (22 Oct 2009)

Paul Farrelly: Clearly, we in the Committee are concerned that the Government have not gone far enough in their response to the report, but will the hon. Gentleman at least welcome the proposal to exempt venues with a capacity for 100 people for live music from having to go through the licensing bureaucracy? That would help pubs, in particular, which used to benefit from the two-in-a-bar exemption, and in...

Business of the House (22 Oct 2009) has video

Paul Farrelly: May I ask my right hon. and learned Friend the Leader of the House—and, of course, the real deputy leader of the Labour party—whether we can have a date on the implementation date for the temporary and agency workers directive? Fairer treatment for vulnerable workers has been the subject of two private Members' Bills in this House as well as of a joint declaration from the TUC,...

English Libel Law (Parliamentary Proceedings) — [Mr. Roger Gale in the Chair] (21 Oct 2009)

Paul Farrelly: Clearly, from what has happened this week, it is not only Parliament that shares these concerns, but the Lord Chief Justice, the most senior judge in the land. Has the hon. Gentleman read his comments of yesterday—it is very rare that the Lord Chief Justice issues a press release—on super-injunctions? What is the hon. Gentleman's view about the concerns that the Lord Chief Justice...

English Libel Law (Parliamentary Proceedings) — [Mr. Roger Gale in the Chair] (21 Oct 2009)

Paul Farrelly: I congratulate the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris) on securing this debate. To say that it is timely is an understatement. I also congratulate Mr. Speaker for strongly exercising his discretion in allowing this debate to go on in the face of objections by the now even more infamous firm of libel lawyers, Carter-Ruck. I am a former journalist, which has been mentioned,...

English Libel Law (Parliamentary Proceedings) — [Mr. Roger Gale in the Chair] (21 Oct 2009)

Paul Farrelly: Strangely enough, I anticipated that question from the hon. Gentleman. As a former journalist, I would never reveal my sources. The issue has been alive on the internet for weeks for people to see, but not the British newspaper-reading or television-watching public. The Chairman of the Select Committee—I am glad to see him in his place—and I were at a media lawyers' conference a...

Points of Order (13 Oct 2009) has video

Paul Farrelly: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I want to raise a chain of events that may be of some concern to the House. Today The Guardian reported that it had been prevented from reporting a written question tabled by a Member of Parliament. This morning I telephoned The Guardian to ask whether that MP was myself. The question was printed on the Order Paper yesterday and relates to the activities of...

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Engagements (24 Jun 2009) has video

Paul Farrelly: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and may I also welcome you to your new role? Many of us here will welcome the fact that the Prime Minister has rowed back from holding an inquiry into Iraq in private. It would have been a misjudgment to do so. That said, the Opposition motion and the amendment before us this afternoon contain two points of difference—whether the terms of reference are discussed...

Oral Answers to Questions — Culture, Media and Sport: Community Sport (8 Jun 2009) has video

Paul Farrelly: My hon. Friend mentioned the excellent CASC scheme, which the Government introduced in 2002. It has helped sports clubs in areas throughout the country, including Newcastle-under-Lyme. As he will know, in November 2007 we wanted the Government to go a little further and extend gift aid to junior subscriptions. There was a "subs for clubs" campaign. What recent discussions has he had with the...

Appointment of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Electronic Communications (20 May 2009)

Paul Farrelly: It is important that the BBC does not get too big for its boots—indeed, the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport was recently critical of BBC Worldwide. The demands on the BBC are growing with, for instance, the current discussions about Channel 4's funding gap. What would be the effect on sensible business negotiations if the BBC's settlement was simply ripped up in the way...

Appointment of the Comptroller and Auditor General: Electronic Communications (20 May 2009)

Paul Farrelly: The point about the current impact on production has been well made by my hon. Friends. The BBC is also clearly playing a vital role in digital switchover. Its business plan has been well developed following a settlement in 2007 that was much below what it wanted. The hon. Gentleman's proposals could destabilise that business plan. In the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport, we...

Prayers: Statutory Redundancy Pay (Amendment) Bill (13 Mar 2009) has video

Paul Farrelly: I congratulate my hon. Friend on introducing the Bill. My hon. Friend the Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Andrew Miller) and I have been in the same position, with regard to temporary and agency workers. Does my hon. Friend agree that it would be a great shame if any hon. Member voted against a closure motion or against Second Reading, particularly any hon. Member on the Labour...

Prayers: Statutory Redundancy Pay (Amendment) Bill (13 Mar 2009) has video

Paul Farrelly: The Minister should intervene.

Prayers: Statutory Redundancy Pay (Amendment) Bill (13 Mar 2009) has video

Paul Farrelly: Does my hon. Friend agree that we should expect the Minister to go further than the Bill, and to prevail upon his Secretary of State in the other place to ensure that, in situations such as that at Wedgwood—where people are being done out of their enhanced severance agreements and banks have brought in receivers—where the banks have been state supported, they should, before...

Theft from Shops (Use of Penalty Notices for Disorder): Schedule 1 — Information to be included in a prospectus for a BRS (11 Mar 2009) has video

Paul Farrelly: We had a thorough discussion in Committee, but I still have a question about eligibility to vote on BRS schemes and whether the regulations might give local authorities flexibility to allow businesses that actually pay rates to participate, rather than those that are simply liable to pay a charge. On Second Reading, I used the example of a local Conservative councillor who operates three...

Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Icelandic Banks (Local Authority Finances) (3 Mar 2009) has video

Paul Farrelly: What assessment she has made of the effects of the recent performance of Icelandic banks on local authority revenue and reserves in 2009-10.

Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Icelandic Banks (Local Authority Finances) (3 Mar 2009) has video

Paul Farrelly: I thank my right hon. Friend for that welcome reply. Sadly, Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council invested £2.5 million—more than 5 per cent. of its reserves—in the subsidiary of Landsbanki on 14 September last year, just three weeks before the bank collapsed. In doing so, it ignored the warnings of a previous Conservative cabinet member for finance to avoid Icelandic banks....

Coroners and Justice Bill (26 Jan 2009) has video

Paul Farrelly: On the deaths of service personnel, I share with many Members concern about the resurrection of private or secret inquests. They hardly seem in keeping with the Obama zeitgeist. May I give an example of a case in which the Secretary of State might have been prevailed upon to issue a certificate on the grounds of national security? In June 1994, a Chinook crashed on the Mull of Kintyre,...

Olympics: Shooting Events (19 Jan 2009) has video

Paul Farrelly: When does my right hon. Friend expect the Government and the Olympic partners to determine a lasting legacy use for the Olympic stadium? When does she expect a statement to be made to that effect?

Business Rate Supplements Bill (12 Jan 2009) has video

Paul Farrelly: The local councillor was given full opportunity last April to respond to the matters of fact. He not only declined to do so but put the telephone down on me. The matters of fact have been laid in the public domain without the benefit of privilege.