Results 1-20 of 201 for in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates' speaker:George Eustice
- Agricultural Wages Board (24 April 2013)
George Eustice: I worked in the farming industry for 10 years and was involved in this debate when the issue was last discussed some 20 years ago—I will come back to that in a moment. It is worth noting—this has been alluded to by some, including the Secretary of State—that in the early ’90s, all other remaining wage councils and wages boards were scrapped. There was no rationale for...
- Agricultural Wages Board (24 April 2013)
George Eustice: Equally, we could say that the introduction of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority deals with some of the working conditions problems that Opposition Members have highlighted in a way that makes the AWB ever more redundant. To return to the 1993 debate, the then Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Gillian Shephard, held a consultation. A small number of us in the farming industry...
- Agricultural Wages Board (24 April 2013)
George Eustice: My hon. Friend is right and underlines my point that the GLA has made the AWB ever more redundant. Those at the bottom on those low incomes have new protections. One big thing in this debate compared with the last one—it is important to recognise this—is that the National Farmers Union is on the right side. For once, it is saying that we should get rid of the AWB because it is out...
- Agricultural Wages Board (24 April 2013)
George Eustice: The group of people the hon. Gentleman is concerned about are protected by the minimum wage. That is already there and is set at roughly the same level as a grade 1 agricultural worker, so I do not think that that is an argument at all. What I am saying is that being too rigid can actually frustrate the development of more progressive pay policies. The other point, which the Secretary of...
- Agricultural Wages Board (24 April 2013)
George Eustice: I do not want this debate to get distracted, but even in the current Parliament the coalition Government have changed tax thresholds that help all working people, especially those on the lowest income. Another problem with the rigid pay structure is that, as currently structured, it can discourage training and career development in small farm businesses. I will explain why. A small farmer...
- Agricultural Wages Board (24 April 2013)
George Eustice: My hon. Friend makes an incredibly good point. Farming has changed. The biggest farm employer in St Ives is a firm called Winchester Growers, which does not receive subsidies like the large farmers and tends to rent land and employ lots of people. Quite often, young men who would have had farms themselves become managers and supervisors within such businesses and have a proper career...
- Agricultural Wages Board (24 April 2013)
George Eustice: The Agricultural Wages Board existed when that case came to light, so it clearly did not create the defence that the hon. Lady suggested it might.
- Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Royal Charter on Press Conduct (18 March 2013)
George Eustice: Did my hon. Friend expect any thanks from the press?
- Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Royal Charter on Press Conduct (18 March 2013)
George Eustice: I start by acknowledging that the discussions and negotiations on this matter have been incredibly difficult and contentious for those of us who have been close to them. It would be fair to say that no love has been lost between the editors on the one hand and the Hacked Off campaign group on the other. It is also no secret that immediately after the Leveson report was published, I found...
- Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Royal Charter on Press Conduct (18 March 2013)
George Eustice: I thank the right hon. Gentleman for doing that damage. Before I move on, it is important to note that all party leaders have behaved very responsibly in this matter and I would like to give credit to the shadow Secretary of State, the right hon. and learned Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman), for the way in which she has approached it; she genuinely tried to seek agreement in a...
- Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Royal Charter on Press Conduct (18 March 2013)
George Eustice: My hon. Friend makes a valid point. The serious problem has not been the code itself, but the fact that it has not been enforced rigorously enough. Although it has caused us several days of anxious scurrying around to get an agreement, the Prime Minister was right, in my view, to bring the matter to a head, so in some ways that was a relief to us. A number of us have spent week after week in...
- Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government: Topical Questions (18 March 2013)
George Eustice: Will the Secretary of State update the House on the progress on implementing the Government’s home on the farm policy, which will make it easier to develop housing on derelict farm sites to meet local needs?
- Oral Answers to Questions — Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Puppy Farms (7 March 2013)
George Eustice: What recent representations his Department has received on tackling the problem of backstreet puppy farms and breeders.
- Oral Answers to Questions — Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Puppy Farms (7 March 2013)
George Eustice: I am grateful for that answer. In the Committee’s recent inquiry, we received evidence that a contributory factor in respect of the problem of status dogs is the number of backstreet puppy breeders, because dogs are more likely to become aggressive and unmanageable if they are not socialised and cared for properly in the first few months. The law currently allows people to breed up to...
- Oral Answers to Questions — Transport: Great Western Rail Franchise (28 February 2013)
George Eustice: What steps his Department is taking to secure an operator for the Great Western rail franchise.
- Oral Answers to Questions — Transport: Great Western Rail Franchise (28 February 2013)
George Eustice: My right hon. Friend will be aware that under the original tender document there was much concern in Cornwall about the potential for the number of through services to be reduced, and that there are local ambitions to expand the use of the branch lines. Can he assure the House that those services will at the very least be protected at the current levels for the next couple of years?
- Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill [Lords]: New Clause 1 — Exception for suppliers with high turnover (26 February 2013)
George Eustice: We have had plenty of time to understand how supermarkets deal with their suppliers and it is precisely because of that that everyone who has looked seriously at this issue has concluded that we need an adjudicator.
- Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Press Regulation (13 February 2013)
George Eustice: I welcome the progress that has been made, in particular the agreement now from the Government that some statute is required in order to create the incentives to join such a new system. I acknowledge that a royal charter could be an alternative way of establishing an independent body, provided the recognition criteria are right. But can my right hon. Friend explain to the House what happens...
- Housing Market Reform: Europe (30 January 2013)
George Eustice: Would the hon. Gentleman acknowledge that all those arguments were put forward during the euro debate and that they were all proved wrong? For example, it was said that the Japanese car companies would all go, but that did not happen. It is a sorry state of affairs when the European Union seems almost incompatible with a democratic referendum or with the will of democratically elected...
- Housing Market Reform: Europe (30 January 2013)
George Eustice: I start by saying that the speech the Prime Minister gave last week was probably the most important speech that a Prime Minister has given on Europe since we joined 40 years ago, and the first time we have seen a Prime Minister showing genuine leadership on the issue. There has been lots of rhetoric from previous Prime Ministers about wanting to lead in Europe, but all too often they have...