Results 1-20 of 849 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Meg Hillier

Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department: Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (26 Oct 2009) has video

Meg Hillier: Mr. Speaker, may I say what a pleasure it is to be back and to serve under your chairmanship for the first time? It is interesting how much has occurred. I have given birth to a baby, and an awful lot has occurred in Parliament in that same period. My hon. Friend raises an important point, but we have no plans to review section 24 before we know the outcome of directive 86/609 on the...

Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department: Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (26 Oct 2009) has video

Meg Hillier: The situation is slightly more complex. There are two points in my hon. Friend's question. One is about the total number of experiments. It is important to say that we do not have a percentage cap on the number of experiments that can take place, so more science can equal more experiments. We make an effort to ensure that most of those experiments are done on the least sentient animals, and...

Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department: Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (26 Oct 2009) has video

Meg Hillier: I refer to my earlier point. It is a simple maths lesson, in a sense. If more science is proposed, more experiments are likely to come before the animals scientific procedures division to see whether it is acceptable to carry out those experiments. At all times the Home Office inspectorate looks very carefully at the suggestions put forward, ensuring that only experiments that can be done...

Identity Cards (11 Mar 2009)

Meg Hillier: I am pleased to speak for the second time this afternoon, Mr. Caton. I am delighted that my hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Mr. Todd) has raised this debate. Unbelievably, this is actually the first time that I have had the chance to debate the matter as the Minister responsible since I was appointed to take responsibility for ID cards in July 2007. I very much welcome his calm...

Police Interpreters (11 Mar 2009)

Meg Hillier: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Caton. I thank the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington (Mr. Leech) for raising this debate. Other hon. Members have spoken to me and to my hon. Friend the Minister for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing about the issue, particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham (Clive Efford) and my hon. Friend the Member for...

Police Interpreters (11 Mar 2009)

Meg Hillier: I have not discussed the issue widely, as I am not the policing Minister and it has not been a topic of conversation when I have visited police throughout the country, but from personal experience in my constituency, I can say that the police are anxious to ensure that interpreting is of good quality. They are aware of the sensitivities and issues. If they get someone who cannot do the job...

Police Interpreters (11 Mar 2009)

Meg Hillier: I agree that it is an important issue that we need to consider in full. My point is that the national agreement has some flexibility, and that it is right to explore the options. ACPO says that it is not aware of any outsourcing activity that does not operate in accordance with the national agreement, and I am keen to hear from hon. Members, as I have been doing, about how it is working in...

[David Taylor in the Chair] (24 Feb 2009)

Meg Hillier: It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Taylor. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, North (Bill Etherington) on securing this debate, and I echo the comments of the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Mr. Willis). I agree completely that we need greater transparency, and I welcome the debate for that reason. I became the Home Office...

Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department: Identity Cards (Manchester) (9 Feb 2009) has video

Meg Hillier: As many people will know, identity cards are to be issued to airside workers at Manchester airport in the autumn. No decision has been taken on the next stage, which will be issuing cards to ordinary people or to young people in 2010, but as they will be issued at Manchester airport, Manchester is certainly a strong contender for the phase after airports.

Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department: Identity Cards (Manchester) (9 Feb 2009) has video

Meg Hillier: There are already more police on the streets than there have been for some time, but perhaps I can give the hon. Gentleman a little lesson in how the cost of identity cards will work. There is not a big pot of money sitting and waiting to be spent on identity cards; there will be money to spend on them only if the general population choose to take them up. It is clear from my conversations...

Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department: Identity Cards (Manchester) (9 Feb 2009) has video

Meg Hillier: I am slightly puzzled by the hon. Gentleman's comments. We are looking to start with the airports scheme at Manchester airport and London City airport. We are still evaluating areas in which to start the general roll-out to the early adopters in the population and to young people from next year. We need to get going on identity cards. We have passed the Act, the scheme is under way and we are...

Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department: Identity Cards (Manchester) (9 Feb 2009) has video

Meg Hillier: Both my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and I have met trade unions a number of times. Most recently, my right hon. Friend met the trade unions from the airport on 29 January, on her visit to Manchester, and they were very supportive of the scheme. We are working closely with all the partners in the airports to ensure that the scheme delivers real benefits to airport workers, including...

Identity Cards (Welsh Language) (3 Feb 2009)

Meg Hillier: It is a pleasure, as ever, to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Hancock. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Llanelli (Nia Griffith) for securing this debate on the important issue of the inclusion of Welsh text on UK identity cards. It is fitting that we are having the debate today after what was a historic day yesterday in the history of the Welsh language, with the...

Identity Cards (Welsh Language) (3 Feb 2009)

Meg Hillier: I am certainly happy to do that if we can get it in fairly quickly, but I know that officials are already having discussions. In fact, the issue was first raised with me when I was at a roadshow in Cardiff about what identity cards would mean. People there were very concerned, and since then hon. Members have raised the subject with me persistently. We need to ensure that we do not...

[Mr. Bill Olner in the Chair] — Human Trafficking Convention (3 Feb 2009)

Meg Hillier: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Olner. I echo the comments made by the hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green) about the role of the hon. Member for Totnes (Mr. Steen) and his all-party group. I will rattle through because, as the hon. Member for Ashford rightly said, I have an awful lot of questions to answer. I am always keen to take interventions but, given the...

[Mr. Bill Olner in the Chair] — Human Trafficking Convention (3 Feb 2009)

Meg Hillier: That sounds like a sensible suggestion. I shall make sure that I clarify the position with the Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth, and get him to write to my hon. Friend to confirm whether that is the case. In addition, we have already invested £5.8 million in the POPPY project over the past six years to provide high-level specialist support for victims...

[Mr. Bill Olner in the Chair] — Human Trafficking Convention (3 Feb 2009)

Meg Hillier: I will ensure that the hon. Gentleman receives an answer to his letter very soon. We are still considering the matter, but the POPPY project has been given Government money and work has been done to regionalise that. Not all NGOs want to be so closely associated with the Government that their core funding comes from the Government, so it is clearly a matter for discussion. We are still...

[Mr. Bill Olner in the Chair] — Human Trafficking Convention (3 Feb 2009)

Meg Hillier: We are applying the rules of the convention. It would not be our intention to deport anyone who was identified as a victim, but I can obtain further clarification, if necessary. I think it is clear, however, that if somebody is identified as a victim, we would not intend to deport them. Many victims choose to return voluntarily, and we have assisted voluntary packages to help those young...

[Mr. Bill Olner in the Chair] — Human Trafficking Convention (3 Feb 2009)

Meg Hillier: I am afraid that I shall not give way, because I have only two minutes to answer several questions. I cannot comment on the individual case that was mentioned, but I commend the work of Devon and Cornwall police and hope that the measures we are introducing mean that there will be easier routes in. Front-line police, UK Border Agency staff and all new staff in police forces are being given...

Domestic Violence (Black and Minority Ethnic Victims) (29 Jan 2009) has video

Meg Hillier: I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton, North (Ms Keeble) for raising this subject, and for her eloquent and well-researched speech. She has a strong track record on this issue, as she has demonstrated today. I welcome this opportunity to set out how the Government are responding to some of the issues that she has raised. I will not repeat all the statistics that she highlighted....