Results 1-20 of 1,792 for speaker:Martin Horwood

Kingston Hospital (8 Feb 2010)

Martin Horwood: I warmly congratulate my hon. Friend on her campaign, which has eerie echoes of the campaign that we fought in Cheltenham in 2006 to preserve maternity and other services. Is she aware that although we saved the maternity ward in Cheltenham, lasting damage was done to the public's trust in NHS decision-making processes because of what happened with that process? The situation in this case...

Terrorist Asset-Freezing (Temporary Provisions) Bill (Allocation of Time): Clause 1 — Temporary validity of certain Orders in Council (8 Feb 2010)

Martin Horwood: Am I right in thinking that, when a suspension of the Supreme Court's decision was requested, the Court refused it on the ground that it would simply be "a procedure that is designed to obfuscate the effect of its judgment"? In other words, did not the Court expect us to change the principle behind the regime, rather than simply try to find a way round its judgment?

Written Answers — Energy and Climate Change: Fuel Poverty (8 Feb 2010)

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of (a) individuals and (b) households in (i) England, (ii) Wales and (iii) Scotland who spend (A) over 20 per cent., (B) between 15 and 20 per cent., (C) between 10 and 15 per cent., (D) between five and 10 per cent. and (E) up to five per cent. of income on energy costs; and what estimate he...

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): Schedule 4 — Reservoirs (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: This Bill, if a little late and perhaps a little rushed-certainly today-is an important and much needed piece of legislation, which we continue to support. In just a few minutes, flood water has the power to instil fear in people, damage property-almost beyond belief in some cases-and cause enormous costs for households and businesses. In mercifully few cases, it can also take lives. It is...

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): Schedule 4 — Reservoirs (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: My hon. Friend makes a welcome contribution and raises an important issue. I thank the Minister and the hon. Member for Vale of York for their important and constructive contributions to the debates throughout. Although he is not present now, I would like to give particular thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Mr. Williams) for his wise and expert contributions....

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): New Clause 10 — Resilience of critical infrastructure (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: Given the limited time available, I shall speak to new clause 14, which I want to press to a Division. Insurance is a huge issue; an amendment in the name of the right hon. Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney) also addresses it. It is of huge public concern, and we did not have time to debate new clauses on it in Committee. It is therefore welcome that we finally have the chance to debate...

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): New Clause 10 — Resilience of critical infrastructure (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: Typically, my hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is in the interests of insurance companies themselves to get many of the issues relating to flooding and insurance sorted out. They do not want to insure properties that are at the most extreme risk-those that repeatedly flood and where no provision has been made to defend them against flooding-but we as a society have a common interest in...

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): New Clause 3 — Pilot schemes for adoption of private drains (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: rose-

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): New Clause 3 — Pilot schemes for adoption of private drains (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: We have little time remaining, so I want to ask the Minister a question. He mentions many consultations, and there is much public concern about these issues. Does he agree that two important issues have not been discussed tonight: insurance and planning permission for houses and new developments in flood-risk areas, which are both matters of huge public concern that we should be able to debate?

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): New Clause 3 — Pilot schemes for adoption of private drains (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: The amendments address hugely important issues. I am concerned, however, that there are real problems with new clause 3, as there were with the identical clause tabled in Committee. I agree with the hon. Member for Reading, West (Martin Salter), who is no longer in his place, that enforcing the establishment of pilot schemes and a long-winded assessment exercise could delay a move that...

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): New Clause 3 — Pilot schemes for adoption of private drains (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: I am not sure whether that intervention was addressed to me or the Minister, but anyway, the hon. Lady did not resolve the problem of what it is difficult to avoid calling a mistake in new clauses 5 and 6, namely the use of the word "urban", so I cannot support them. New clauses 7 and 8 and amendments 13, 16, 17, 14, 18, 2 and 3 repeat proposals made in Committee, none of which were pressed...

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): New Clause 2 — Regular maintenance of water courses (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: I can reassure the right hon. Gentleman that if he had tabled any amendments, the notes on those would have been on extremely dark blue paper.

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): New Clause 2 — Regular maintenance of water courses (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: I shall continue the spirit of cross-party friendship by expressing support for new clauses 2 and 9. New clause 2 addresses an issue on which many of our constituents have sought a lot of reassurance. As the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Mr. Robertson) rightly pointed out, in the aftermath of the floods, the maintenance of water courses-what had been and what had not been maintained-was a...

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): New Clause 2 — Regular maintenance of water courses (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: The right hon. Gentleman makes an eloquent point. The spirit of it is exactly right. It underlines the risk of endlessly creating more and more bureaucracy and responsibility. Some of it may be welcome, but if it is allowed to grow without restraint, we may find that the practical result is less flood defence, not more. New clause 20 and amendments 24, 25, 27 and 26, which were eloquently...

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): New Clause 2 — Regular maintenance of water courses (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: I am absolutely in agreement with the hon. Gentleman on that. In fact he could have taken the words out of my mouth. The Government's proposal to break up that shared service is very much to be regretted. I hope that it will not happen. The omission from the Bill of statutory duties relating to fire and rescue authorities must be, I hope, an innocent omission, but it is serious nevertheless....

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): New Clause 22 — Social tariffs (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: The explicit assurance that I and the Scout Association were looking for, however, was on the exercise of the remit in respect of the concessionary charges scheme. We want an assurance that Ofwat will clearly see that it is responsible for ensuring that the scheme is fairly applied to community groups.

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): New Clause 22 — Social tariffs (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: I hope that the House will forgive my pressing this point. In fact, just for once, it is not the ministerial guidance that we, and the Scout Association, are worried about. The concern is about whether Ofwat's remit will still conflict with this issue, and about the fact that Ofwat is not mentioned in the new clause. As long as the Minister can give the assurance that Ofwat will see it as its...

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): New Clause 22 — Social tariffs (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman was listening carefully, but that is not what I said. I said that, because the subsidy was going to be spread across a very large number of people-in Thames Water's proposed scheme, the suggestion is that 95 per cent. would be subsidising and only 5 per cent. benefiting, although that might be a bit niggardly-that would mean a terribly small increase...

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): New Clause 22 — Social tariffs (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: I would like to start by echoing the remarks of the Minister and the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh) about the positive atmosphere that prevailed in Committee. I share their desire to ensure that that positive and co-operative attitude continues. New clause 22 is certainly a positive place to start and is broadly based on the ideas behind our new clause 1 in Committee. We have...

Compensation Act 2006 (Amendment): New Clause 22 — Social tariffs (2 Feb 2010) has video

Martin Horwood: The right hon. Gentleman makes a fair point. Some of the figures put forward by Thames Water, which I can share with him another time, suggest that the number affected is a small percentage of the overall total. That means that if the money was to be recovered through other people's water bills, the increase for everybody else would be miniscule in practice, so the slightly poor would not...