Results 1-20 of 1,214 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Roger Williams

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Social Care Green Paper (11 Nov 2009)

Roger Williams: The Minister will be aware of the consternation that the consultation has caused in Wales and throughout the UK. It is becoming much clearer that the Government will not have the opportunity to act on the consultation before the election, and that they are highly unlikely to have the opportunity to do so after it. Will the hon. Gentleman therefore talk to his colleagues and ensure that the...

Olympics: Energy National Policy Statements (9 Nov 2009) has video

Roger Williams: What has been the involvement and input of the devolved nations in drawing up the national policy statements? They are likely to be required to provide a disproportionate amount of the UK energy need.

Probation Service (4 Nov 2009)

Roger Williams: That is certainly reflected in the Dyfed-Powys probation service, where seven or eight trainees were trained at great expense and only one was given full-time employment at the end of it. Several were given temporary employment until next March. That is surely a waste of resources that could have been put back into employing trained probation officers who could have coped with the case load a...

[John Cummings in the Chair] — Thalidomide (4 Nov 2009)

Roger Williams: The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful case, as have other hon. Members. It seems to me that if a similar incident occurred today, the sums of money awarded would be far in excess of those awarded by Distillers and Diageo, because we have greater expectations of what kind of life people with disabilities can and should lead and of the cost of achieving that. What was awarded is completely...

Farm Animal Welfare (3 Nov 2009)

Roger Williams: My hon. Friend is making very important points. Egg producers in this country often complain that eggs are imported from areas that have lower welfare conditions, but they also complain that eggs are imported not only as whole eggs but as egg products—liquid egg and powdered egg—so it is almost more difficult to ascertain their source of origin. Those products go into the...

Farm Animal Welfare (3 Nov 2009)

Roger Williams: The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about the market driving improvements in animal welfare, with 50 per cent. of eggs sold in supermarkets being free range. Surprisingly, all the eggs served by McDonald's, for instance, are free range now. That is a testament to the power of the market.

[Robert Key in the Chair] — Affordable Housing (Rural Areas) (3 Nov 2009)

Roger Williams: An example of that in my constituency is in Newbridge-on-Wye, where a development for 12 affordable houses has not gone ahead because the condition that the local authority wanted to put on them meant that no mortgage provider would provide the facilities to purchase them.

[Robert Key in the Chair] — Affordable Housing (Rural Areas) (3 Nov 2009)

Roger Williams: I intended not to make a speech this morning, but to attend the debate and perhaps make an intervention. However, I am surprised by the lack of enthusiasm for this subject because it must be a constant theme that representatives of rural areas encounter in their surgeries. I did not think that housing would be a big issue when I was elected, but it has turned out to be one of the most...

[Robert Key in the Chair] — Affordable Housing (Rural Areas) (3 Nov 2009)

Roger Williams: The hon. Gentleman speaks positively about community land trusts, and rightly so, but my experience is that every time we wish to implement one, we seem to have to reinvent it, with a lot of effort. One thing that the Government or the agencies could do is to derive a model that could be used consistently and persistently.

Oral Answers to Questions — Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Farmers (Suicides) (29 Oct 2009) has video

Roger Williams: When does the Secretary of State expect the TB eradication group to report back with its final recommendations, and will those recommendations be acted on?

Oral Answers to Questions — Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Farmers (Suicides) (29 Oct 2009) has video

Roger Williams: I thank the Secretary of State for that, but can I ask whether he has received any as yet unpublished reports that would help the TB eradication group develop better policies that would assist in reducing the levels of TB in cattle and in badgers? If there are any unpublished reports, can he make them available to the House?

Closed Circuit Television (Monitoring and Promotion): Clause 2 — General objective (27 Oct 2009) has video

Roger Williams: I have been following the hon. Gentleman's argument closely, but as I understand it, the IPC was set up and its commissioners chosen to consider a small number of very large applications. I think that he is suggesting that it now take on a much larger number of small applications. I am not sure whether the structure would allow that.

Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department: New Clause 2 — Power to enter into agreements with eligible bodies (26 Oct 2009) has video

Roger Williams: Will the Minister give way?

Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department: New Clause 2 — Power to enter into agreements with eligible bodies (26 Oct 2009) has video

Roger Williams: I thank the Minister for spelling out the matter in such great detail. Is he saying that the Welsh Assembly has the power to make secondary legislation to achieve those powers, rather than having to return to this House for a statutory instrument to provide the powers?

Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department: New Clause 2 — Power to enter into agreements with eligible bodies (26 Oct 2009) has video

Roger Williams: I thank the Minister again for going into so much detail, but he will understand that there are still some reservations about this, particularly the fact that the Welsh Assembly will have to come back to this place to assume powers that are now available to IFCAs—and only with the permission and consent of the Secretary of State. I understand the Minister's point that it would be a...

Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department: New Clause 2 — Power to enter into agreements with eligible bodies (26 Oct 2009) has video

Roger Williams: I, too, have taken great pleasure in being part of the Bill, because it is hugely important to protect the marine environment on which so many of our people depend for their employment and which makes an important contribution to biodiversity locally, nationally and internationally. I rise briefly to speak to amendment 27, which is in my name. Having said that, I welcome Government new...

Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department: New Clause 2 — Power to enter into agreements with eligible bodies (26 Oct 2009) has video

Roger Williams: If an IFCA delegated a responsibility to another body, such as the Environment Agency, and subsequently wanted to take back that power, would it have to wait for the review that the Minister mentioned, or would it be able to do so with the Secretary of State's permission?

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: UK Low Carbon Transition Plan (15 Jul 2009)

Roger Williams: I am sure that everyone will welcome the Secretary of State's announcement of a definite day— 1 April 2010—for the introduction of feed-in tariffs. For those companies and individuals that are producing renewable energy with the benefit of the ROC system, will there be an opportunity to change to a feed-in system if that is more appropriate?

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Aluminium Production (15 Jul 2009) has video

Roger Williams: No one will underestimate the importance of aluminium smelting to the island of Anglesey, but other smaller companies throughout Wales, such as Kaye in Presteigne in my constituency, which is involved in aluminium casting producing components for the automotive industry, have been badly affected by the recession. The scrappage scheme introduced on the continent has been very successful, and...

Business of the House: Swine Flu Update (2 Jul 2009) has video

Roger Williams: I support the Secretary of State's decision to cease the routine prophylactic use of antivirals for the contacts of people who have the disease. I heard what he said to my hon. Friend the Member for Romsey (Sandra Gidley) about keeping prophylactic use in hospitals and other health services under consideration, but I hope that he will not rule out prophylactic use for vulnerable individuals...