Former Conservative MP for Chipping Barnet
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in the final day of debate on the Budget resolutions, and it is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins). If I may say so, he made a very interesting speech, which is worth re-reading. He has taken us intriguingly across a broad spectrum of time, from the Romans visiting and colonising his constituency to...
Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the problem with the stamp duty threshold is that, once it has been reached and the payment triggered, the duty is liable on the total cost of the home rather than on only that part of the value above £120,000? That is going to be the main problem for people living in his constituency and mine.
What recent meetings she has had with English Heritage concerning the listed buildings regime.
I am delighted to hear the right hon. Lady's response to my question, because she knows that, in certain parts of the fourth estate recently, there was speculation that her Department would not hand over the powers of the listed building system to English Heritage next month. Now that she has confirmed that she will be doing so, may I congratulate her and say that I have such confidence in...
I associate myself entirely with what was said by both the Secretary of State and my hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr. Duncan) about the need to encourage good governance and get rid of corruption in at least certain African countries. Does the Secretary of State agree that there is something that the developed world could do, namely end its obscene practice of subsidising...
In July last year, the Government set themselves the target of 0.3 per cent. biofuels as part of the total automotive fuel market. As it is now 2005, will the Secretary of State confirm that sales would have to increase sixfold to meet that target? Does he see a likelihood of that happening in the remaining nine months of the year?
Will the Leader of the House confirm that the Government have no intention of proceeding any further with the European Union Bill, which had its Second Reading nearly a month ago? Will he also confirm whether the Government intend to have the Identity Cards Bill, currently being debated in the other place, placed on the statute book in the next five weeks?
Further to the point made by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Mr. Simon), will the Minister confirm that more and more scams are now being perpetrated against small businesses, and that, since those cannot be dealt with by stop now orders issued by the Office of Fair Trading, it is necessary to rely on the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988? Is not it time now...
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what criteria were used to allocate funding to the London boroughs for initiatives to tackle homelessness in 2005–06.
To ask the Secretary of State forTransport how many local transport authorities in the Thames Gateway outside Greater London have reported on the six core accessibility indicators as part of their local transport plan.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much of the additional floor space required to accommodate the new jobs that the Government plan to realise in the Thames Gateway between 2003 and 2016 has received planning permission.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many of the planned new dwellings in the Thames Gateway for construction between 2003 and 2016 have received planning permission.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether it is his intention to continue the 14 to 16 years old increased flexibility programme.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, how many extra 16 to 18 year olds he expects to stay in education as a result of the education maintenance allowance in the London Borough of Barnet.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures he is taking to eliminate the funding gap between schools and colleges in the London borough of Barnet.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research his Department has undertaken to ascertain the willingness of employers to pay for training.
