Results 1-20 of 118 for in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates' speaker:Iain McKenzie

Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (18 June 2013)

Iain McKenzie: As we have heard, the agreement is potentially the biggest trade deal in history. Has the Foreign Secretary made any assessment of the benefits to Scotland of remaining part of the UK?

Nato: Pensions Bill (17 June 2013)

Iain McKenzie: I will focus my comments on issues raised with me by women from my constituency who were born in the early 1950s and who perceive an injustice in the changes proposed for state pensions. We are all well aware—especially at this time—of what great importance the public place on pensions, as evidenced by the reactions we have seen to any proposed changes. Perhaps we need a...

Nato: Pensions Bill (17 June 2013)

Iain McKenzie: I thank the Minister for that information. Louise Fox is not my constituent, but she will find that intervention very welcome. One further worry is that April 2017 is still not set in stone as the date for the start of the new system, and we have been told that it has now changed. Women in this disadvantaged group want to know why they have to wait until age 66 to claim their pension, and...

SMEs (Public Sector Procurement) — [Mr Philip Hollobone in the Chair] (11 June 2013)

Iain McKenzie: It is indeed a pleasure, Mr Hollobone, to serve under your chairmanship today. I start by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies) on securing this very important debate. He spoke on this subject with passion, enthusiasm and knowledge. I could not agree more with what he said, to the point that I fear I may just repeat his speech with a Scottish accent....

SMEs (Public Sector Procurement) — [Mr Philip Hollobone in the Chair] (11 June 2013)

Iain McKenzie: They are working jointly, and the McClelland report has been shared by both Administrations. As I said, it shone a light on procurement practices in local and national Government and updated them, bringing in many good, cutting-edge practices. It is recognised that if we devolve procurement to a local level, the supply chain can be improved and can be kept as short as possible. I should also...

SMEs (Public Sector Procurement) — [Mr Philip Hollobone in the Chair] (11 June 2013)

Iain McKenzie: Does my hon. Friend feel, as I do, that the McClelland report, which has also been used in Scotland, shone a light on procurement practices that were very much set in the past and brought procurement up to date sooner rather than later?

Energy and Climate Change: Energy Bills (6 June 2013)

Iain McKenzie: This House was told that the green deal would be the biggest home improvement scheme since the second world war, creating thousands of jobs and hundreds of new businesses. If that were true, why does Enact Energy, which has been in the insulation business for 20 years, cite late payments from the green deal as having put it into administration, resulting in the laying off of all its staff?

UK Manufacturing Sector (5 June 2013)

Iain McKenzie: On the subject of skills and innovation not only in products but into new markets, Promedics in my constituency has taken the existing skills of sewing machine technicians and moved them into a totally new market, supplying the NHS and others across Europe with surgical supports. It has taken that skill and applied it to a new market. What recognition or support can the Minister give such...

UK Manufacturing Sector (5 June 2013)

Iain McKenzie: The hon. Lady is being most generous with her time. I congratulate her on securing this important debate, but I just wish it had been longer than half an hour. I am sure she will agree that innovation in British manufacturing is nothing new. An example is an illustrious son of Inverclyde, James Watt, who innovated and dominated the market for 10 years. He is a prime example showing that...

UK Manufacturing Sector (5 June 2013)

Iain McKenzie: Will the hon. Lady give way?

UK Manufacturing Sector (5 June 2013)

Iain McKenzie: I thank the hon. Lady for again taking an intervention. Does she share my frustration that public procurement has not embraced, and moved as quickly as it should into, e-procurement, which the private sector has been using for 10 or 12 years?

Oral Answers to Questions — Deputy Prime Minister: Regulation of Lobbyists (4 June 2013)

Iain McKenzie: Why are the Government conflating the issues of regulating lobbyists with those of party funding, when previously no links whatever were made between them? Is this a shoddy tactic of the Prime Minister and the Government to get them out of a hole, given that they have done nothing about regulating lobbying before now?

[Mr James Gray in the Chair] — Vocational Education (4 June 2013)

Iain McKenzie: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gray. I will take your direction about this debate, in the knowledge that education is devolved to the Scottish Parliament. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Nic Dakin) onsecuring the debate, which, in the current economic climate for young people, is very welcome. The subject is dear to my heart. I have been...

[Mr James Gray in the Chair] — Vocational Education (4 June 2013)

Iain McKenzie: Thank you, Mr Gray. I will take that direction. Of course, the curriculum had to change to reflect what business was advising us about problems with employing school leavers. I have spoken to my local businesses and the chambers of commerce about what they required when hiring young people leaving school. The reply was always the same, and perhaps it is the same across the country. They said...

[Mr James Gray in the Chair] — Vocational Education (4 June 2013)

Iain McKenzie: I share the hon. Gentleman’s concern about charging for work experience. I represent an area whose population is not over-wealthy, and people would find it extremely difficult to pay for work experience. We are therefore fortunate that many employers offer work experience free of charge. We need a highly skilled, highly educated work force to meet the challenges of tomorrow and to...

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill: New Clause 15 — Marriages according to usages of approved organisations (21 May 2013)

Iain McKenzie: rose—

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill: New Clause 15 — Marriages according to usages of approved organisations (21 May 2013)

Iain McKenzie: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I will take your direction and end by simply saying that respecting faith and belief and equality are essential and must be extended to humanist marriages.

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill: New Clause 15 — Marriages according to usages of approved organisations (21 May 2013)

Iain McKenzie: I apologise, Mr Deputy Speaker, for having to leave the Chamber earlier. On Second Reading, I was in a minority among Labour Members in voting against the Bill. I voted against it not because I did not want to see equality, but because, as some saw it, people’s faith and beliefs were being challenged. Again, today, I acknowledge the need to respect people’s faiths and beliefs, but...

Cost of Living (14 May 2013)

Iain McKenzie: As we have heard throughout this debate, times are hard and the cost of living across the country seems to keep rising. The Queen’s Speech is further evidence, as if we needed it, that the Government are increasingly incapable of making positive changes to the cost of living for hard-pressed families. Prices are still going up faster than wages for those who are fortunate enough to be...

Childhood Obesity and Diabetes (24 April 2013)

Iain McKenzie: On that issue, is the hon. Gentleman concerned, as I am, about supermarkets that employ the tactic of making their fruit ripen as early as possible, so that families have to make several trips to purchase healthy options for their child’s lunch box?