Former Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent South
Order. We can dissect different professions—I for one am not a lawyer, but that is irrelevant—but will the hon. Gentleman get back to the business before the Committee?
Before the hon. and learned Gentleman gets to his feet again, I should say that I have not been in the Chair long but I am beginning to worry that we are drifting into matters that may not be sufficiently to do with membership of the House of Lords. I understand that these short clauses are a temptation to us all, and the concordat is relevant, but I would welcome a little more emphasis on...
Order. The hon. and learned Member will know that the issue of the Lord Chancellor being a lawyer is dealt with in clause 3, which we shall come to in a moment. We are currently debating the particular issue of membership of the House of Lords.
I add my congratulations to my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Ms Walley), of our great city, on securing this debate. It is sad that the background to it is one of so much anger and frustration in north Staffordshire—and in Stoke-on-Trent in particular. Those feelings are based on our facing an unacceptable situation. We recognise that, like many other areas of Britain,...
I take that point. If the hon. Gentleman will bear with me for a few more seconds, I might be able to clarify what I mean by giving consumers the choice. One of the problems faced by the ceramics industry that is products that are manufactured elsewhere come into the UK with no mark of origin and are then decorated in the UK and sold as British products. That is unacceptable. We can discuss...
Is not one of the problems with the better integration of bus services—whether municipal or privately owned—the attitude of the Competition Commission to matters such as the interchangeablility of fares and tickets? The Competition Commission seems to take the view that they may be anti-competitive, so bus companies and organisations cannot serve the public in the way that they want by...
Order. Moving and withdrawing the amendment in the same breath is a first for me. I assume, however, that the hon. Gentleman has finished moving it.
Order. I was listening with great interest to the hon. Gentleman's pertinent point about the competitiveness of British industry, rather than his experience of answering or using the telephone.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to minimise adverse effects of second hand smoking on the respiratory health of children; (2) what information is available to new parents about the implications of second hand smoke for the respiratory health of children; (3) what assessment he has made of the effect of second hand smoke on the respiratory health of...
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what he estimates (a) single pensioners and (b) pensioner couples will on average receive each week from pension credit in Stoke-on-Trent in 2003–04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated at the North Staffordshire Hospital in each year since 1997.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for a first consultant appointment was in Stoke-on-Trent for each year since 1997.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the clinical areas where the NHS in Stoke-on-Trent has longer (a) waiting lists and (b) waiting times than the English average.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the additional revenue raised in Stoke-on-Trent by increasing the basic rate of income tax by one pence would be.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the additional revenue raised in Stoke-on-Trent would be if the top rate of income tax were raised to 50 pence in the pound for income over £100,000 per annum.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many complaints were received by the Local Government Ombudsman against local councils over the last five years; and what percentage of those complaints were upheld.
