Results 1-20 of 687 for in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates' speaker:Lord Harrison

Small Businesses: Late Payments — Question (11 June 2013)

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to amend the legislation on late payments to improve the cash flow of small businesses.

Small Businesses: Late Payments — Question (11 June 2013)

Lord Harrison: My Lords, the prompt payment code has been a palpable and egregious failure. Only one in five of Britain’s limited companies and only two out of 42 police authorities have signed up to it, leaving most small businesses £45,000 short in their ability to invest. While it is welcome news that the Government are implementing the March 2013 late payment legislation, failure has occurred...

EU: UK Trading Deficit — Question (21 May 2013)

Lord Harrison: My Lords, what prospect do we have of securing a successful EU/USA trade deal in the future if we are to absent ourselves from the negotiations with our EU partners? Has the Minister yet made contact with the successor to Pascal Lamy of the World Trade Organisation, Mr Azevedo, to secure the UK’s position in the WTO?

EU: Reform — Question (16 May 2013)

Lord Harrison: My Lords, is it possible for the Minister to be more vague and imprecise about the exact nature of the reforms that the UK would wish to propose within the European Union?

EU: Budget Report — Motion to Approve (25 April 2013)

Lord Harrison: I must say that we spotted these inherent flaws in our 2011 report and repeated them. The problem was that the Government were supine in their approach. It was only by our goading, and at the very last moment, that they began to act. The point that I make in so many of these areas is that the UK has to intervene early.

EU: Budget Report — Motion to Approve (25 April 2013)

Lord Harrison: My Lords, I welcome the good news this morning that our Chancellor has avoided the epithet of "the triple dipper"-of taking Britain into that sorry state and in that, as a good man of the north-west, rivalling Blackpool's big dipper in effecting the number of dips in the UK economy. As has already been identified, within those more positive figures, it is sad to see that housing construction...

Education: Languages — Question (12 March 2013)

Lord Harrison: My Lords, will the Minister look again at the discontinuation of the Asset Languages exams, which have so well helped to mobilise the rich range of languages that our schoolchildren have and point them into the way of employability or further academic work?

NHS: Healthcare UK — Question (14 February 2013)

Lord Harrison: Given that the National Health Service has much to learn from other health services and best practice elsewhere in Europe and the wider world, what methods will the Government adopt to promote that interchange? Will the noble Lord give an example of such an exchange which has benefited medical practice in this country?

Taxation: Tax Collection — Question (5 February 2013)

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have sufficient resources and staff in place for the full collection of tax.

Taxation: Tax Collection — Question (5 February 2013)

Lord Harrison: My Lords, given that the Public Accounts Committee found that £1.1 billion was lost to the Treasury by foolishly cutting 3,300 staff from the compliance and enforcement unit of HMRC, can the Minister give us a greater assurance that that folly will not be repeated, especially with the new comprehensive policy that has been announced on offshore tax evasion? Will the Minister say when...

European Banking Union: EUC Report: Motion to Take Note (24 January 2013)

Lord Harrison: My Lords, I thank all Members who have spoken this evening in what I think has been a stimulating and enlightening debate. I am very grateful to the Minister for promising to write to us on those points that he has not had time to take up. At one point I began to worry when I was accused of being "genial" and "courteous"; but, on a lighter note, I must say that I began to think of the power...

European Banking Union: EUC Report: Motion to Take Note (24 January 2013)

Lord Harrison: My Lords, some 20 years ago I led a vote in the European Parliament for the Monetary Sub-Committee, and included among my group was Pierre Moscovici, who is now the Finance Minister of France. It was a vote to approve Alexandre Lamfalussy as the new president of the European Monetary Institute, the forerunner of the European Central Bank, of which Mario Draghi is now the distinguished head....

Justice: Interpreting Services — Question (14 January 2013)

Lord Harrison: My Lords, there was also a requirement by the National Audit Office to ensure evaluation of the incentives provided for professionally qualified linguists, interpreters and translators that would encourage them back to the courts to work. What is being done on that score?

Diabetes — Question (10 January 2013)

Lord Harrison: My Lords, the point at issue is surely this: that to prevent the four out of five needless amputations that currently take place, Her Majesty's Government need to respond to the Question of my noble friend Lord Kennedy by saying how they will ensure that there are those multidisciplinary groups with specialist knowledge of feet and the ability to make sure that there is not a postcode lottery...

EU: United States Free Trade Agreement — Question (19 December 2012)

Lord Harrison: My Lords, is the Minister aware that, under the Irish presidency, Dublin hopes to host a meeting for the promotion of the European Union- United States free trade area agreement? However, does he believe, as I do, that, while there may be resort to plurilateral, bilateral and indeed regional meetings, we still require, for the most efficient purposes, multilateral agreements along the lines...

EU Council — Statement (17 December 2012)

Lord Harrison: My Lords, through the Leader of the House, I thank the Financial Secretary, Mr Clark, for keeping my committee, which concerns itself with EU economic and financial affairs, alert to what was going on last week, both on the publication of our report of the emerging conclusions-published early to help the Government-and in the aftermath, when he reported back through me to Sub-Committee A of...

Badgers — Question (11 December 2012)

Lord Harrison: My Lords, given that 92% of the people of this country are against the proposed cull, what conversations has the Minister had with his partners in the European Union who have successfully introduced vaccination?

Employment: Rural Employment — Question (5 December 2012)

Lord Harrison: Given that 98% of rural employment is not related to farming, will the Minister outline the strategy for encouraging small businesses in our towns, villages and hamlets by increasing broadband coverage and better transport links? In addition, has he thought of the idea of business advocates for the countryside to encourage the formation of small businesses?

NHS: Diabetic Services — Motion to Take Note (29 November 2012)

Lord Harrison: My Lords, I thank the noble Earl for his repudiation of the intemperate remarks made at the other end about type 2 diabetes. I share his acknowledgement of the width and the depth of this debate, in which so many interesting individual contributions were made. I thank colleagues who have joined us in the Chamber to hear my last words on this important day. As the warm-up act for the Leveson...

NHS: Diabetic Services — Motion to Take Note (29 November 2012)

Lord Harrison: My Lords, as a type 1 diabetic of 43 years' standing, I have received unparalleled support from the NHS and, in recent decades, from health professionals in Chester and Liverpool. I am ever grateful for their continuing expertise and engagement. However, recently I have witnessed a worrying decline in the care offered to me and other diabetics. First, my excellent local hospital no longer...