Results 1-20 of 769 for in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates' speaker:the Earl of Caithness

Death of a Member: Baroness Thatcher — Tributes (10 April 2013)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, this has been a fascinating afternoon and early evening of paying tribute to an extraordinary lady. I am sure that history will be more accurate as a result. She has been shown to be not only an iron lady but a caring and sensitive woman. She changed the lives of many of us. I remember sitting in the Lords' Gallery in another place in 1979 at the vote of no confidence, watching some...

Forestry: Independent Panel Report — Question for Short Debate (27 February 2013)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, I, too, thank the right reverend Prelate for securing this important debate today. It is always good that this House, which is so knowledgeable on forestry, has the chance to debate it. I declare an interest as a surveyor, although not one who has practised for some time; however, when I was practising, I did quite a lot of forestry. I want to focus on three parts of the Statement...

Marine Navigation (No. 2) Bill — Committee (1 February 2013)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, I did not take part in the earlier debate, because quite clearly it was of a species known as the "Berkeley herring", which is a close relative of its cousin, the red. I wanted to get on and talk about the Bill. Let me first chide the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, again-I do so with the best of intentions-for his discourtesy to the House in having every single amendment starred. We had...

Marine Navigation (No. 2) Bill: Second Reading (18 January 2013)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, I, too, congratulate my noble friend Lady Wilcox on introducing this important Bill. The great advantage of being tail-end Charlie is that you can tear up the speech that you were going to make because so many points have been made. I was particularly pleased to hear the noble Lord, Lord MacKenzie of Culkein, talking about the lighthouses, an area of interest to me. I agree with him...

Scotland Act 1998 (Modification of Schedule 5) Order 2013 — Motion to Approve (16 January 2013)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, as the noble Lord, Lord Empey, has said, words are important, and I come back to this word "independent", or "independence". I agree with my noble friend Lord Forsyth-on the hypothetical question that the Scottish Government would like to pose, I would very much like to vote yes because Scotland is, to me, an independent country now within part of the UK. I have been banging on...

Leveson Inquiry — Motion to Take Note (11 January 2013)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, it saddens me that due to the behaviour of a limited number of MPs and Peers we are still condemned by the press for our expenses and are now treated as guilty until we have proven our innocence. We seem to have fallen into the same trap and condemned all the press today as ethically corrupt, but equally I believe that to be a wrong impression to have of this debate. That is not to...

EUC Report: EU Freshwater Policy — Motion to Take Note (5 December 2012)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, I declare my interest as a member of Sub-Committee B and thank the noble Lord, Lord Carter, for introducing our report so well. Like him, I thank those who helped us with the report and all those who gave evidence to us. Water has been cast as the bloodstream of the biosphere; it is therefore absolutely critical that we get it right. However, the Minister should understand that...

Airports (Amendment) Bill [HL] — Second Reading (9 November 2012)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, I declare my interests again. First, I live in a more remote area than the noble Lord, Lord Empey. Secondly, I was formerly Minister of Aviation. I regret and welcome this Bill. I regret it, because I think that it is wrong for this House to debate exactly the same Bill as it debated in March, a mere seven months ago, when it did not receive the support of either Front Bench. It...

Civil Aviation Bill — Report (7 November 2012)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, I am not certain that I agree with the noble Baroness's argument that the amendment should be in this part of the Bill. Although I understand exactly the valid point she is making, the amendment sits pretty awkwardly with the rest of this part of the Bill, in Chapter 1, which we are discussing. It does not make good law suddenly to put in a clause like this which is so out of place....

Civil Aviation Bill — Report (7 November 2012)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, I apologise to the House for not being able to take part in the Committee stage of this Bill, although I have read with interest what was said. I congratulate my noble friend on bringing forward these amendments. They have gone a very long way towards meeting the concerns raised. The noble Lord, Lord Davies of Oldham, understands this House, and I am sure that he will make...

Army 2020 — Statement (5 July 2012)

The Earl of Caithness: Will my noble friend tell the House by how much the Royal Regiment of Scotland will be reduced?

Horses: Transportation — Motion to Take Note (5 July 2012)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lord Higgins on finding time for this debate. Although it is focused on horses, your Lordships will know that the EU regulations on horses also cover other vertebrates, and I am sure that the House would not want to give the impression that it is not concerned about other vertebrates. I have the honour to serve on Sub-Committee D, and we have been...

Food Security Policy — Motion to Take Note (24 May 2012)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, I, too, am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Miller of Chilthorne Domer, for introducing this debate. We could do with far more than two and a half hours to discuss such a major difficulty that faces us. The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change produced in March this year another report, Achieving Food Security in the Face of Climate Change. It is an excellent...

Queen's Speech — Debate (5th Day) (16 May 2012)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, the fact that we have spent the past four sitting days navel-gazing is a disgrace, considering the other matters that surround us. The fact that two of the days of debate on the gracious Speech were devoted to the constitution when we have had to condense all the other important issues into fewer days has done the House no good. Turning to the economy, we should all be grateful for...

Environment: Green Growth — Question (16 May 2012)

The Earl of Caithness: Would my noble friend also bear in mind, in response to the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Davies, that what the noble Lord proposed about greenness and efficiency would hurt hardest those in the country who do not have cavity walls but have solid brick or stone houses and no access to mains gas? It would penalise those in the country. That again shows that the Labour Party is very...

Scotland Bill: Report (2nd Day) (Continued) (28 March 2012)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, I return to the problem that we discussed earlier when we were on Amendment 16. I have read and reread Amendment 29 and wonder whether my noble friend can help me. Where does it tie in the Scottish Executive in the way in which the noble Lord, Lord Browne of Ladyton, mentioned in his amendment, which was supported by my noble friend Lord Sanderson of Bowden and the point that I...

Scotland Bill: Report (2nd Day) (Continued) (28 March 2012)

The Earl of Caithness: My noble friend said that what the noble Lord, Lord Browne of Ladyton, had proposed in his amendment was self-evident. For many of us who live north of the border, what we consider to be self-evident is not what the Scottish Executive would consider to be self-evident. This causes huge concern, of which I am not certain that my noble friend is aware. We are very sceptical of what is happening...

Scotland Bill: Report (2nd Day) (28 March 2012)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, if I might follow my noble friend Lord Forsyth, he said that the reply that our noble and learned friend was going to give was that all of this would just provide a power for the Scottish Parliament. That is true, but it has cost implications for the police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. If my noble and learned friend cannot accept this amendment, would it not...

Scotland Bill: Report (2nd Day) (28 March 2012)

The Earl of Caithness: My Lords, can my noble and learned friend inform the House whether he has had an invitation from the Scottish Government to give evidence to the committee that they have set up to look at the economic consequences of independence?

Scotland Bill: Report (2nd Day) (28 March 2012)

The Earl of Caithness: I support what my noble friend Lord Forsyth has said about information. In the United Kingdom we are woefully short on information as to the consequences of this potentially tragic leap that we are encouraged to take. I was disappointed in Committee by the lack of response from my noble and learned friend on these matters. I raised some of them, such as the UK's membership of Europe and what...