Results 1-20 of 268 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Hywel Francis

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Economy (11 Nov 2009)

Hywel Francis: Employment prospects in my constituency and throughout south Wales would be greatly enhanced if the Corus Margam new mine were to proceed. Will the Secretary of State undertake to ensure that the Wales Office, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Department of Energy and Climate Change work together to ensure that all the practical assistance that can be made available to Corus is made...

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Steel Industry (15 Jul 2009) has video

Hywel Francis: What recent discussions he has had with the First Minister on the future of the steel industry in Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Steel Industry (15 Jul 2009) has video

Hywel Francis: I thank the Minister for his reply. In order to build on the very good relations that have long existed between the steel unions—led by the largest union, Community—and the employers, Corus, will he and the Secretary of State consider working with the First Minister of the Welsh Assembly Government to call a Welsh steel summit to ensure the long-term security and integrity of...

[Sir Nicholas Winterton in the Chair] — Steel Industry (7 Jul 2009)

Hywel Francis: I congratulate my right hon. Friend on securing this debate, and on his outstanding and sterling work in defending the steel industry, particularly in his constituency of Rotherham. He makes an important point about Government intervention, but does he agree that the Welsh Assembly Government and their ProAct scheme, which resulted from discussions, particularly with the steel union community...

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: 2012 Olympics and Paralympics (10 Jun 2009) has video

Hywel Francis: What recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues and the Welsh Assembly Government on the establishment of training camps in Wales in preparation for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: 2012 Olympics and Paralympics (10 Jun 2009) has video

Hywel Francis: I thank the Minister for that reply, and welcome my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State back to his former position. I also pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Mr. Murphy) for the work that he did in that post. An important feature of the recent report from the Welsh Affairs Committee on the Olympics and Paralympics is the significance that it attaches to the...

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

Hywel Francis: I welcome the Secretary of State's observations, particularly his emphasis on partnership. One of the key elements of the Government of Wales Act 2006 is the role of the Welsh Affairs Committee in pre-legislative scrutiny of legislative competence orders. We have worked effectively with colleagues in the Assembly, especially Ministers, and we are committed to increasing that participation and...

Cardiac/Vascular Health (22 Apr 2009)

Hywel Francis: I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his initiative in seeking the debate, and convey to him the thanks of many of my constituents. Many of my constituents signed the British Heart Foundation's petition, which, as he knows, attracted 130,000 signatories. Will he share his thoughts on how a national strategy should develop, and does he welcome the way in which the Government have sought to...

Cardiac/Vascular Health (22 Apr 2009)

Hywel Francis: I welcome the way in which the hon. Gentleman has emphasised the importance of carers. As chair of the all-party group on carers, I extend to his group the opportunity of having a joint meeting on this crucial issue. Will he respond positively to that?

Steel Industry (24 Mar 2009)

Hywel Francis: Have those discussions included the trade unions?

Steel Industry (24 Mar 2009)

Hywel Francis: I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this Adjournment debate. Will he commend the excellent initiatives by the Welsh Assembly Government, supported by Corus and the trade unions in Wales, to retain skills through the two important schemes ProAct and ReAct? Such schemes would commend themselves across the United Kingdom.

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Engagements (18 Mar 2009) has video

Hywel Francis: May I add my condolences to the families of all the servicemen who have died recently in Afghanistan, including Corporal Dean John of Port Talbot in my constituency? Dean was a member of a well-respected service family. Many of our 6 million carers in this country have benefited significantly from the Government's new national carers strategy, and we should welcome that. However, the carer's...

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

Hywel Francis: I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this excellent Adjournment debate. I am sure that he is aware of the Welsh Affairs Committee report on energy, in which there is a strong recommendation that endorses all the points that he makes, particularly in relation to carbon capture technology. The report emphasises that to exploit this coal we need to invest not only in carbon capture...

Prayers: Autism Bill (27 Feb 2009) has video

Hywel Francis: rose—

Prayers: Autism Bill (27 Feb 2009) has video

Hywel Francis: I think that the hon. Lady has anticipated my question, but I would like to say, as chair of the all-party carers group, how grateful we and all carers in this country are to her for her initiative and her sterling work in this field. Is she aware of the various local authority initiatives already taking place in Wales, which greatly anticipate what she wants? As the promoter of the Bill that...

[Sir John Butterfill in the Chair] — Carers (26 Feb 2009)

Hywel Francis: I apologise for arriving late. I have been speaking in the Chamber about a Welsh Assembly Government legislative competence order on carers. Does my hon. Friend agree that we ought to recognise the excellent work that Crossroads does for carers, particularly at the local level? It works closely with local education authorities to assist young carers and help them through problems such as...

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

Hywel Francis: I wish to make a contribution to this debate from two perspectives: that of an individual Member—for Aberavon—and that of Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee. The perspectives and priorities are much the same—they follow those outlined by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales—and they are clearly about the economy, both local and global; nothing is...

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

Hywel Francis: I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will read the account of what my hon. Friend has just said. We have had an interesting discussion about the matter, and I reported that to my Committee. Although in some quarters we may be approaching the notoriety of the committee of public safety in revolutionary France, I am more of a Gramsci than a Robespierre, although I think that Robespierre had his...

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

Hywel Francis: I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention and congratulate her on the sterling work that she has undertaken on this matter. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State mentioned, we have undertaken a globalisation inquiry and a cross-border inquiry. Both these reports highlight heavily the importance for the long-term economic future of Wales of the need to establish higher-level...

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

Hywel Francis: We have made some observations on that matter. We have not done anything about roundabouts in Shrewsbury, but I am sure that we will come to that issue as well. The message of the two reports was very clear. With all due respect to the importance of widening access—I spent a quarter of a century in universities trying to achieve that—the whole question of student finance pales...