Results 1-20 of 760 for in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates' speaker:Owen Smith

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Aerospace Industry (15 May 2013)

Owen Smith: Airbus is a quintessentially European company. It employs 6,000 people in Wales and 10,000 in the UK, and 100,000 further jobs support it. Does the Secretary of State believe that those jobs will be more or less secure if Wales is not part of Europe?

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Aerospace Industry (15 May 2013)

Owen Smith: Leaving the pedantry aside, we had no answer from the Secretary of State on whether he believes that those 6,600 jobs in Wales will be more or less secure if Wales is not part of the EU. For the record, could he clarify his position on whether the jobs will be more secure if Wales is in or out of the EU? What is our Secretary of State’s opinion?

Opposition Day — [18th Allotted Day] — Housing Benefit (Under-occupancy Penalty) (27 February 2013)

Owen Smith: Will the Minister confirm that the total amount of money available in discretionary funds to Wales will be £6.1 million? He will have seen that the Welsh Government last week estimated the total cost to Wales of the bedroom tax at £25 million. Does he concede that there is a significant shortfall, or is he proposing to increase the money available to Wales—and, indeed, to the...

Opposition Day — [18th Allotted Day] — Housing Benefit (Under-occupancy Penalty) (27 February 2013)

Owen Smith: The Minister is generous in giving way. He says that Wales is doing exceptionally well, but his own impact assessment demonstrates in black and white that 46% of claimants will be affected in Wales versus a UK average of 31%. Wales faces the largest impact—more than anywhere else in the country. Will the Minister therefore reconsider his remark that Wales is doing particularly well out...

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Economic Policy (27 February 2013)

Owen Smith: Last week the Joseph Rowntree Foundation warned that Wales faces a decade of destitution as a result of policies pursued by this Government, and the Welsh Government said that £600 million is being taken out of the pockets of ordinary Welsh people. Is the Secretary of State telling the Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues what people are saying about his Government in Wales, or is...

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Under-occupancy Penalty (27 February 2013)

Owen Smith: How on earth can the Minister defend a policy that is unfair and unworkable and will penalise the disabled, forces’ families and foster parents in Wales? Does he deny that his Government’s own impact assessment shows that Wales will be harder hit than anywhere else in the UK? Is there not a single issue on which he and the Secretary of State will stand up for Wales?

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Work Benefits (16 January 2013)

Owen Smith: Could the Secretary of State tell us exactly how many households will see their modest incomes cut as a result of the reductions in tax benefits and other social security benefits that he voted for last week?

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Work Benefits (16 January 2013)

Owen Smith: There was no answer there from the Secretary of State, as usual. Let me tell him the answer. There is no excuse for his not knowing, because his own income assessment makes it clear that 400,000 households—a third of all households in Wales—will lose out as a result of these changes. Let us contrast that with the 4,000 households—that is 4,000 versus 400,000—that will...

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Commission on Devolution in Wales (28 November 2012)

Owen Smith: May I first add my words of sympathy and best wishes to those who have been affected by the floods in Wales, and my thanks to the emergency services and volunteers, and to the Secretary of State for going there tomorrow? As the Secretary of State will know, the Silk commission’s report is a very important document that has produced recommendations relating to air passenger duty and...

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Commission on Devolution in Wales (28 November 2012)

Owen Smith: I think the Secretary of State said he is in favour of a debate on the Floor of the House, which is welcome, as his predecessor committed to holding such a debate when we last discussed the Silk commission. In anticipation of that debate and outside the Silk commission, so to speak, the right hon. Gentleman will know that borrowing powers are extremely important to the Welsh Government. Can...

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Respect Agenda (17 October 2012)

Owen Smith: I add my words of support to those of the Secretary of State in support of the Dyfed-Powys police and the community of Machynlleth as they live through the awful events of recent weeks. I also warmly congratulate the Secretary of State and his deputy and welcome them to their new role. The Opposition are thrilled that the Prime Minister finally found a Welsh MP to take on the post. In...

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Respect Agenda (17 October 2012)

Owen Smith: Mr Speaker, you will forgive me if I think that the Secretary of State’s view that the Assembly “could” be good for Wales is hardly a ringing endorsement of the devolution settlement that was so decisively supported by the Welsh people. Are not his view that the devolution settlement has “damaged our constitution” and his deputy’s view that it is...

[Mr Philip Hollobone in the Chair] — Elections (National Assembly for Wales) (3 July 2012)

Owen Smith: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hollobone. I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Paul Murphy) on securing this useful and important debate. It is a profound matter of regret to me, and to my right hon. Friend, that the Secretary of State is not here to listen to the arguments on both sides, not least because the Minister’s comments, and their...

[Mr Philip Hollobone in the Chair] — Elections (National Assembly for Wales) (3 July 2012)

Owen Smith: No, it very clearly does not. The Labour party is here today speaking for Wales, and it is a shame that the hon. Gentleman sought earlier to misrepresent the options in the Green Paper. He suggested that on the table was one option of keeping the status quo, and he knows that that is not straightforwardly true. The option is to keep 40-20, but to shift to a more equalised block of...

[Mr Philip Hollobone in the Chair] — Elections (National Assembly for Wales) (3 July 2012)

Owen Smith: I find it absolutely amazing that Members from the so-called party of Wales should be absent from a debate on electoral arrangements for the people of Wales alone. It is an absolute dereliction of duty for them not to be here engaging in this debate. Suspicions only harden when we consider the fact that No. 10 has now been dragged into the debate about Wales. That too strikes me as...

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: The Welsh Cavalry (27 June 2012)

Owen Smith: May I first associate myself with the Secretary of State’s remarks about the sacrifice made by all the Welsh men and women who fought for this country? They should never be forgotten in the House or in the country. I wonder whether the Secretary of State could bring herself to comment on the worrying rumours that, while the Welsh cavalry may well be saved following a campaign across the...

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: The Welsh Cavalry (27 June 2012)

Owen Smith: Despite the bluster, the Secretary of State’s silence on the fate of the Royal Welsh will have been heard throughout the armed forces, including those in Afghanistan, where the 1st Battalion is currently serving. Does she not agree that it will be a truly pyrrhic victory for the QDG if a cap badge is saved in Wales but we lose a battalion with several hundred jobs?

Oral Answers to Questions — Treasury: Age-related Income Tax Allowances (24 April 2012)

Owen Smith: The Chancellor claims to be credible and consistent in his decision making, including his decision to withdraw the age-related tax allowances—the so-called granny tax that my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent (Nick Smith) just asked about. In that case, will the Minister confirm why, in February 2009, the present Chancellor explicitly called for the tax-free allowance for...

Diabetes Prevention (Soft Drinks): Clause 209 — The Bank Levy (18 April 2012)

Owen Smith: There are still 1 million unemployed young people in this country. That is the highest rate since records began. Long-term youth unemployment is growing as never before. In my constituency of Pontypridd, there has been a 333% increase in long-term youth unemployment in the last year alone. The point of the amendment is to highlight that problem in the real economy. We are trying to connect...

Diabetes Prevention (Soft Drinks): Clause 209 — The Bank Levy (18 April 2012)

Owen Smith: I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for giving me this opportunity to clarify the wording—[ Interruption. ] No, there is no “Ah ha” moment, I am afraid. The wording we have used reflects the wording used by the OBR to describe the temporary bank payroll tax. It is no more than that.