Results 1-20 of 1,093 for in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates' speaker:John Hemming
- Business of the House: Child-care Ratios (9 May 2013)
John Hemming: May I first refer the House to my interest as the father of a nine-month-old baby who will be going to nursery in September? I ask the Minister to listen carefully to the representations of those who are concerned about the ratios, particularly for very young children and believe that those ratios should be very low.
- Public Service Pensions Bill: Schedule 1 — Persons in public service: definitions (22 April 2013)
John Hemming: The Opposition seem to be saying that the decision should be made today without negotiation, but does my hon. Friend agree with me that negotiation is the best way forward, and that to have such negotiation, we need to support the Government’s proposal for negotiation?
- Public Service Pensions Bill: Schedule 1 — Persons in public service: definitions (22 April 2013)
John Hemming: Does my hon. Friend agree that this is about the physical efforts of the uniformed services, and that the £10 million will not derail the whole package? We need to be aware that certain jobs are particularly physically demanding, and that people cannot keep on doing them until they reach the relatively young age of my hon. Friend the Member for Colchester (Sir Bob Russell), for example?
- Business without Debate: Clause 56 — Commission for Equality and Human Rights (16 April 2013)
John Hemming: Does the right hon. Lady agree that the key thing about the general duty is section 12 and the requirement to monitor the progress of society towards the general duty? That is where it has a practical effect.
- Business without Debate: Clause 56 — Commission for Equality and Human Rights (16 April 2013)
John Hemming: Does my hon. Friend accept that were the Government motion to pass, this issue would not return to the House of Lords and could not be subject to a further amendment, but it is possible to deal with it through a statutory instrument? There is general agreement that the Lords proposal is not an acceptable solution that would solve the problem properly.
- Business without Debate: Clause 56 — Commission for Equality and Human Rights (16 April 2013)
John Hemming: Will my hon. Friend give way?
- Business without Debate: Development orders: development within the curtilage of a dwelling house (16 April 2013)
John Hemming: Does my right hon. Friend accept that one reason why no compensation has been paid under article 4 is that local authorities are frightened to issue article 4 directives under which they may have to pay compensation?
- Business of the House (26 March 2013)
John Hemming: I refer the House to my declaration of interest as the chairman of the Justice for Families campaign. I remain concerned about cases in all the secret courts in the UK. The more secret the court, the more the system acts against the rule of law. Narrow freedoms of speech are at least as important as broad access to publicity—reporting wrongdoing to regulators and asking for advice are...
- Backbench Business — Death Penalty (India) (28 February 2013)
John Hemming: Does my right hon. Friend agree that the key aspect of deterrence is detecting and identifying criminals, rather than the nature of the punishment?
- Backbench Business — Death Penalty (India) (28 February 2013)
John Hemming: I thank my hon. Friend for giving way, and I—
- Backbench Business — Death Penalty (India) (28 February 2013)
John Hemming: When I listened to my hon. Friend’s speech on television earlier, I noticed him stressing the importance of our role as a Parliament in commenting on what happens in other countries. Does he agree with me, however, that on issues such as the death penalty in India or the rule of law in Kashmir, it is right for all Parliaments to be committed to improving human rights throughout the world?
- Children and Families Bill (25 February 2013)
John Hemming: I refer the House to my declaration of interest as chairman of the Justice for Families campaign. Does the Minister accept that there are some people, including myself and some in foreign countries, who believe that sometimes children are adopted who should not be adopted?
- Bills Presented — Financial Services (Banking Reform) Bill: European Union (Approvals) Bill [Lords] (4 February 2013)
John Hemming: I found the Bill interesting when I looked it up this morning on the internet. I read the explanatory notes, which refer to two draft decisions of the Council of the European Union and one draft decision of the European Council. Obviously, I know the Council of Europe is nothing to do with the EU, but what is the difference between the Council of the European Union and the European Council?
- Points of Order (31 January 2013)
John Hemming: On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Departments of State have varied records as to the quality and timeliness of answering questions. The Department of Health is very good, but the Department for Education has been particularly bad—so bad, in fact, that an evidence session with a Minister of State in December at the Procedure Committee, and an evidence session with the Secretary of State...
- Business of the House (31 January 2013)
John Hemming: As part of the Procedure Committee’s inquiry into the failure of the Department for Education to answer written questions, I have been hacking into the computer database that holds the records for the House as a whole. I have discovered that some Departments are very good at answering questions and that some are not. Looking at questions that were tabled in 2011 and had not been...
- Council Tax (Benefit Claimants) (29 January 2013)
John Hemming: Will the Minister confirm that if a local authority has not agreed a scheme, central Government will impose a scheme where people on JSA pay no money?
- Council Tax (Benefit Claimants) (29 January 2013)
John Hemming: Does the Minister agree that if the council produces massive figures by exaggerating, for instance, inflation, it gets misleading results?
- Council Tax (Benefit Claimants) (29 January 2013)
John Hemming: I am pleased to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger, and I thank Mr Speaker for allowing such an important debate. A single person on jobseeker’s allowance or income support gets £56.25 a week if they are under 25 or £71 a week if they are over 25, but the Welfare Reform Act 2012 means that those people’s income will fall about 56p or 71p behind inflation next year....
- Council Tax (Benefit Claimants) (29 January 2013)
John Hemming: Thank you, Sir Roger. I am trying to ensure that I can make my speech and allow time for interventions, but I will slow down a little. On council tax benefit, it may be that that relationship can be changed in the future, but I would expect it to be needed for at least a decade. Any additional funding could be only by discussion, not through automaticity, as has previously been the case. The...
- Council Tax (Benefit Claimants) (29 January 2013)
John Hemming: The argument is about whether it is best to compare people on the basis of the percentage cut in spending power or the total cut. If another council is only spending £40 and they have the whole amount cut, then that is going to cause them a lot more problems. There is no doubt that it is the percentage that matters, and Birmingham’s percentage in this particular spending round is...