Results 1-20 of 197 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 Empey

Energy Bill — Second Reading (18 June 2013)

Lord Empey: My Lords, some time ago I had the opportunity to be Energy Minister in Northern Ireland for three years. Although it was only one part of my enterprise portfolio, it took up an amazing amount of time. Many noble Lords here today have served as Ministers and will be familiar with receiving a first-day brief from the Civil Service. In my case, I was advised that because energy was largely...

International Development: Budget — Question for Short Debate (11 June 2013)

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to transfer a portion of the international development budget to the budget of the Ministry of Defence.

International Development: Budget — Question for Short Debate (11 June 2013)

Lord Empey: My Lords, it is often said of politicians that they should not ask a question until they know the answer. However, I can truly say that I do not know the answer to the question that I will ask this evening, and that my motive in securing this debate is to seek answers and clarification. There is no doubt that large numbers of our fellow human beings live in terrible conditions that we can...

Queen's Speech — Debate (3rd Day) (13 May 2013)

Lord Empey: My Lords, every time the economy and public spending are mentioned, the word "growth" usually accompanies them. Today is no exception. People say that what we need are policies for growth, as this is the only way to close the deficit and reduce our borrowing. It is easy to see why this is a popular idea. When one looks at the graph of spending to borrowing, a rise in tax revenues brought...

Procedure of the House — Motion to Resolve (24 April 2013)

Lord Empey: My Lords, perhaps I may briefly raise one very minor point. It has occurred to me that when we deal with supplementary Oral Questions, there might be a difficulty for some Members with mobility issues in getting up quickly enough to actually put a Question. I do not know what the solution is, but perhaps the Chairman of Committees and his colleagues would bear it in mind. It frequently...

Crime and Courts Bill [HL] — Commons Amendments (25 March 2013)

Lord Empey: Before the Minister sits down, perhaps he can address the question that I raised. In circumstances where agreement is not reached, where the Executive do not make alternative arrangements to pursue crime as was intended by the NCA, and where evidence emerges that crime is developing in Northern Ireland and is being spread to the mainland, what steps will the Government take?

Crime and Courts Bill [HL] — Commons Amendments (25 March 2013)

Lord Empey: My Lords, the Minister's proposals are, as he said, a matter of deep regret with regard to Northern Ireland. For those noble Lords who perhaps have not followed the case, the Northern Ireland Executive refused to allow the powers of a constable to be conferred on an NCA official. This means that, in practice, Sinn Fein vetoed the establishment of the National Crime Agency in respect of...

Succession to the Crown Bill: Report (13 March 2013)

Lord Empey: Can the noble and learned Lord clarify one point concerning the relationship between this legislation and the other Commonwealth countries and what the implications of change would be?

Commonwealth and Commonwealth Charter — Motion to Take Note (7 March 2013)

Lord Empey: My Lords, I wanted to address a couple of issues this afternoon, the first being the economic dimension to the Commonwealth. As we have heard from many speeches, approximately one-third of humanity is engaged in the Commonwealth and it very largely shares with people and businesses in this country a common language and very similar approaches to law. Among these diverse countries are those...

First World War: Commemoration — Question (12 February 2013)

Lord Empey: My Lords, given that HMS "Caroline", which is currently moored in Belfast, is the last surviving commissioned light cruiser that participated in the battle of Jutland, what plans do the Government have for the future of that vessel?

European Council — Statement (11 February 2013)

Lord Empey: My Lords-

European Council — Statement (11 February 2013)

Lord Empey: It was 19 minutes when I got up.

Taxation: Avoidance — Question (6 February 2013)

Lord Empey: What is the role of the Charity Commission in this? If an organisation pays out to good causes only less than 1% of its revenue, does an alarm bell ring somewhere?

Energy: Wind Farms — Question (21 January 2013)

Lord Empey: My Lords, will the noble Baroness confirm that, because of the intermittent nature of wind power, there will be-there can be-no reduction in generating capacity from fossil fuel and nuclear sources? In this country cold weather, such as that we had two years ago, tends to be accompanied by high pressure, which means no wind. The intermittent nature of wind power will therefore not result in a...

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

Lord Empey: My Lords, the noble Earl is concerned that people only met at a later stage in separate rooms. People in negotiations that I have been involved in have been in separate nations, separate continents and different places before we actually got together, so we are well versed in "proximity talks", which I think was the phraseology that was invented to cover those circumstances. We seem in this...

Procedure of the House — Motion to Agree (9 January 2013)

Lord Empey: My Lords, I thank the committee for at least trying to address some of the issues that some of us have over this. I am a relatively new Member-although if the information given by the noble Lord, Lord Barnett, is correct, I may very well soon be able to describe myself as a veteran Member. The Chairman of Committees raised a point about distance. Whether people perhaps realise it or not, the...

Armed Forces: Future Size — Question for Short Debate (8 January 2013)

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of recent international developments particularly in the Middle East, whether they will review their plans for the future size, configuration and equipping of the Armed Forces.

Armed Forces: Future Size — Question for Short Debate (8 January 2013)

Lord Empey: My Lords, I welcome the opportunity for the House to discuss defence issues, given the ongoing sacrifice that our soldiers, sailors and Air Force personnel are being asked to make on behalf of this country. Sadly, another example of that sacrifice has been drawn to our attention today. Leaving aside the question of how or whether we should be fighting in recent theatres of operation, the...

Armed Forces: Long-Term Care — Question (19 December 2012)

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many members of the Armed Forces have sustained life-changing injuries as a result of their service in Iraq and Afghanistan; and what additional resources will be made available for their long-term care.

Armed Forces: Long-Term Care — Question (19 December 2012)

Lord Empey: I do not wish to get into an argument over statistics, but clearly the Minister's figures cannot possibly at this stage include people who will suffer from mental illness, which, as we know, emerges over time. However given that many of these casualties will require care for anything up to 60 years or more and that the care is of a specific nature which cannot inevitably be supplied by the...