Results 181-200 of 2,246 for in the 'Commons debates' speaker:Lembit Öpik

Topical Debate: Eco-towns (19 Jun 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: I am pleased that we heard more from the Minister than we have heard before about the strategy behind the eco-towns. I shall say more about that shortly, but first let me praise the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) for his entertaining, interesting and passionate speech. He is a good speaker and a good friend, and indeed a fellow pilot. I think that, in the interests of...

Topical Debate: Eco-towns (19 Jun 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: The hon. Gentleman is right. There is a contradiction in the conditions established in the eco-town project. If the Government are to use eco-towns as probing technology, the houses need to be code 6 rather than code 3. The Government need to show more courage in that respect. I suspect that the Government have been rather ambitious in this context. At present there are 12 carbon-neutral...

Topical Debate: Eco-towns (19 Jun 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: I apologise to the hon. and learned Gentleman, who has my full support, for relocating his constituency into the city of Leicester. The Government do not seem to have understood the importance of vehicles in the new town proposals, because unless there is to be some utopian change in public transport, it seems almost inevitable that these towns will prompt a massive increase in driving rather...

Topical Debate: Eco-towns (19 Jun 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: I was aware of that, but only because my hon. Friend told me a few minutes ago. It is a good line and if this were "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue", he would get an extra point. But I still have the Floor. On that point, it looks as though the economic potential for profit making from these eco-towns has not been lost on large developers. That is fair enough, but once again it underlines the...

Topical Debate: Eco-towns (19 Jun 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: I am pleased to hear the point about carbon neutrality. That is something I have been looking at as well. I hope that on another occasion we can discuss in more depth what it means to achieve code 6 and whether it is reasonable to have entire communities like that, or whether we should set the individual targets for individual houses to achieve code 6.

Topical Debate: Eco-towns (19 Jun 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: There are many code 3 houses being built, but it is not that difficult to get to code 4. It gets challenging after that. On another occasion, we should perhaps have a debate about this very question: code 6 for an entire community or for individual houses? My concern is that we might lose the commitment to the environment because of the pressures on the economy. I implore the Minister to give...

Orders of the Day: European Affairs (18 Jun 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: Does the Foreign Secretary accept that this is one of the key strategic considerations for the Baltic nations, of which I know Estonia the best? The Estonians consider that their internal security is best served within membership of the European Union, but even though Estonia is a small country, Estonians are willing and eager to be strategic players on the world stage. The only way that they...

Orders of the Day: New Clause 8 — Parliamentary requirements (2 Jun 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: As I have made clear, I am quite a big supporter of aviation. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that Ministers do not really need to be too afraid of the proposal, because they could work in partnership with the aviation sector? It knows very well that the writing is on the wall and that it will have to work to consider the environmental consequences that he is describing in terms of emissions...

Orders of the Day: New Clause 8 — Parliamentary requirements (2 Jun 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: I apologise to the House for joining the debate late, but Virgin Trains has once again done its utmost to prevent me from being here on time. The climate change issue is so important that even people such as me, who are quite supportive of aviation, believe that aviation and shipping should be included in measures in this Bill and targets on climate change as a whole. Is my hon. Friend aware...

Oral Answers to Questions — Wales: Personal Debt (21 May 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: Absolute salaries in Powys have gone down by an average of 4 per cent. in the past 12 months, at a time when inflation has meant that people in that area are, on average, 7 per cent. worse off. At the same time, the spectre of negative equity is rearing its ugly head again. What comfort and practical support can the Secretary of State offer to those people who are facing repossession, on what...

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Engagements (21 May 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: The decisions that we made on the Human Embryology and Fertilisation Bill on Monday make it possible for researchers into motor neurone disease to explore new options for a cure to what is a dreadful and invariably terminal illness. The Prime Minister will be pleased to know that the international symposium to consider options for cures is coming to the UK later this year. If I make...

Orders of the Day: Clause 4 — Prohibitions in connection with genetic material not of human origin (19 May 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: There is room for both, surely. Professor Chris Shaw is not guaranteeing that this is the right way forward, but says that it would be unwise to abandon it. I recognise that there are ethical considerations for many Members, but does the hon. Gentleman not accept that, from a scientific perspective, it makes sense to pursue parallel paths in the knowledge that one of them might provide the...

Orders of the Day: Clause 4 — Prohibitions in connection with genetic material not of human origin (19 May 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: Will my hon. Friend give way?

Orders of the Day: Clause 4 — Prohibitions in connection with genetic material not of human origin (19 May 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: How did my hon. Friend guess? People do not assume that the cure for degenerative diseases will necessarily be found quickly or, indeed, in time to save current sufferers. However, there is a belief among sufferers and organisations such as the Motor Neurone Disease Association that the research may be the necessary path to finding a cure and that, once we have achieved that for one disease,...

Orders of the Day: Clause 4 — Prohibitions in connection with genetic material not of human origin (19 May 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: Motor neurone disease is an interesting example, because a proportion of people who develop the disease have familial genealogy, but a further proportion of people do not have a genetic history of the disease in their families. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the people who are researching that point are not the people about whom he is concerned, because they act with the greatest...

Orders of the Day: Clause 4 — Prohibitions in connection with genetic material not of human origin (19 May 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: On that very point, Professor Chris Shaw, professor of neurology and neurogenetics at King's college, London and a leading motor neurone disease researcher, has said something much in line with what the hon. Gentleman is saying: "I cannot guarantee that embryonic stem cells from hybrid embryos will lead to a breakthrough, but I do think it would be a huge mistake to slam the door on this...

Orders of the Day: Clause 4 — Prohibitions in connection with genetic material not of human origin (19 May 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: On this point, as has been pointed out, Professor Chris Shaw believes that embryonic stem cells are very important in terms of MND. Does the hon. Gentleman not agree that there must be competition between parallel and different methodologies, as we do not know which ones might lead us to solutions—if we did know, we would already have cured diseases such as MND? Therefore, while there...

Orders of the Day: Clause 4 — Prohibitions in connection with genetic material not of human origin (19 May 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: The Motor Neurone Disease Association, of which I am president, would agree with the hon. Gentleman on the shortage of stem cells. It has said that "there is no viable way of studying diseased human motor neurones in the laboratory, which is greatly inhibiting our understanding of" motor neurone disease and its causes. The association continues: "Stem cells derived from human-admixed...

Orders of the Day: Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill (12 May 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: On that point, is the hon. Gentleman aware that there is research that could be carried out now—I am most familiar with such research on motor neurone disease, but I am sure it could be done on other diseases, too—about which scientists are awaiting clarification of the law through this Bill? That will allow them to be sure that they stay within the law while carrying out laudable...

Orders of the Day: Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill (12 May 2008) has video

Lembit Öpik: On the substantive point about medical research, does the Secretary of State recognise that many organisations, including the Motor Neurone Disease Association, of which I am president, have watched with great interest and hope as the Bill has been formed? Many people face a sentence of death because of incurable diseases such as motor neurone disease, and are depending on the opportunities...