Results 1-20 of 758 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Philip Dunne

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Clause 40 — Remuneration package of the Comptroller and Auditor General (4 Nov 2009) has video

Philip Dunne: I support amendment 57. It is obviously ironic that Members should be talking about the pay and rations of others today, but in this case it is appropriate for the individual who will be the primary custodian of probity in public finance to be prepared to show the way in terms of transparency about pay and rations. We are all acutely aware of the increased transparency that will apply to...

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Clause 38 — Status of the Comptroller and Auditor General etc (4 Nov 2009) has video

Philip Dunne: I am grateful for that clarification. I understand the need to put in place structures to help the internal career progression for senior people in the organisation, if that is what the right hon. Gentleman is seeking to achieve. I am not as concerned about what the role of the CAG will be in this new construct as about what the role of the chairman of the board will be. Of course, there is...

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Clause 38 — Status of the Comptroller and Auditor General etc (4 Nov 2009) has video

Philip Dunne: I endorse my hon. Friend's tentative concerns and shall start where he finished—on the extent to which international bodies look to the NAO as a beacon of light in the scrutiny of public expenditure. I have personal experience of the issue from my time on the Public Accounts Committee and, latterly, as a governor of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. We have entered the...

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Clause 38 — Status of the Comptroller and Auditor General etc (4 Nov 2009) has video

Philip Dunne: I completely understand that point and am grateful for that clarification. Indeed, as the Father of the House has just made clear, the purpose of the proposals was to deal with deficiencies in the oversight and scrutiny of two simple things—the expenses and the duration of appointment of the Comptroller and Auditor General. To deal with those two relatively minor aspects, however, we...

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Clause 38 — Status of the Comptroller and Auditor General etc (4 Nov 2009) has video

Philip Dunne: Indeed. If I have given the impression that I am concerned about that, I would like to correct it. The hon. Gentleman has made that clear, and I agree with him.

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Clause 37 — The Comptroller and Auditor General (4 Nov 2009) has video

Philip Dunne: I do not intend to detain the Committee for long, but I would like to follow up the observation I made to the Chairman of the PAC, my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh). He has described the process governing the first appointment under this legislation—although it has not been enacted yet, of course. He said that the chairman of the NAO was able to offer his advice to...

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Clause 37 — The Comptroller and Auditor General (4 Nov 2009) has video

Philip Dunne: The Minister referred a moment ago to the powers of the Public Accounts Commission being strengthened by the Bill. In the context of the exchange that we have just had on the point that I made earlier, will she reflect on how that will be achieved if the new board of the NAO is enhanced or enlarged with more non-executive members and a new chairman? Surely much of the advisory role that the...

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Clause 37 — The Comptroller and Auditor General (4 Nov 2009) has video

Philip Dunne: I am grateful to the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee for clarifying the important tenets of independence that the Comptroller and Auditor General will continue to have in carrying out his day job, if I can put it that way. Will he elaborate a little further on the distinction he made a few moments ago about the role of the board and the chairman in so far as they relate to the CAG?...

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Clause 37 — The Comptroller and Auditor General (4 Nov 2009) has video

Philip Dunne: My hon. Friend has just referred to the chairman of the National Audit Office having some involvement in the selection of the current Comptroller and Auditor General. Will he elaborate a little further on the relationships involved, in the context of the appointment of a Comptroller and Auditor General? The Prime Minister is involved, as is the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, but...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Territorial Army (2 Nov 2009) has video

Philip Dunne: What plans he has for the future of the Territorial Army.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Territorial Army (2 Nov 2009) has video

Philip Dunne: As the Secretary of State has just confirmed, the Government's strategic review of Britain's reserve forces was published barely six months ago. What part of it recommended cutting 30 per cent. of the TA's budget?

Opposition Day — [20th Allotted Day]: Future of the Territorial Army (28 Oct 2009) has video

Philip Dunne: I am pleased to have the opportunity in the final stages of this debate to make a modest contribution about some aspects of the TA that have not been covered in depth. I should perhaps declare that as a schoolboy I was a cadet in the school cadet force, and at university I was a member of the air squadron reserve. I am told that had there been a war in the 15 years after I left the air...

Territorial Army (26 Oct 2009) has video

Philip Dunne: My hon. Friend has referred persuasively to specialists' training, but does he agree that this is also about the training of junior leaders and officers in the TA? If they do not have interaction or training over a period of months leading up to deployment, they have no capacity to do their job and lead men in the field.

Oral Answers to Questions — Home Department: Topical Questions (26 Oct 2009) has video

Philip Dunne: The incidence of retail crime has reached record levels during this recession and attacks on cash and valuables in transit crews have doubled since 1997. What is the Home Secretary doing to reduce this threat?

Nato: Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill (20 Oct 2009)

Philip Dunne: I rise to cover two aspects of this subject—one included in the Bill and one not. Let me start with part 7, which deals with arrangements surrounding the Comptroller and Auditor General. I had the pleasure and privilege of serving on the Public Accounts Committee for two years, so I have some familiarity with the splendid work undertaken by the Comptroller and Auditor General and by the...

Nato: Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill (20 Oct 2009)

Philip Dunne: I have read that clause, and I referred to it earlier, but if the Minister is telling me that that is the form of words used for dealing with the eventuality that I identified, I take some reassurance from what he has said. The Minister may well be able to help me with my second concern, too. As I was saying, it relates to clause 38(8)(b)(iv), which requires "the National Audit Office to...

Nato: Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill (20 Oct 2009)

Philip Dunne: I am grateful to the Minister, who is being very fair in trying to get to the bottom of my concern. The short answer is that both categories exist, and in fact there is a third, with which I shall deal later. At the moment, I am focusing on those who are already disfranchised as a result of decisions made in the House.

Nato: Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill (20 Oct 2009)

Philip Dunne: I completely agree on both counts. The number of people who participate in our elections from overseas is pitifully low, but there are reasons for that, and they are built into the system we as a House have devised for allowing such participation. I shall come on to that. The 13 million figure includes some 3 to 4 million of British national overseas passport holders who received their...

Nato: Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill (20 Oct 2009)

Philip Dunne: I will be very happy to provide the Minister with the specific Hansard references for the parliamentary questions that were asked, but I do not have that information to hand at present. When he looks through his files and I provide him with the answer to his question, I am sure he will find that these estimates are made by foreign missions and given on an annual basis to the Foreign Office,...

Nato: Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill (20 Oct 2009)

Philip Dunne: The arguments took place before I was a Member of this House. I have, of course, read some of the debates, but I do not think it would be right for me to rehearse all those arguments, because they range over a large number of topics. I should say that one of the main arguments used was that once people have left this country, they no longer pay tax here. That is not true; a large number of...