Former MP for Northavon
Will my hon. Friend confirm that much scientific research and development of the best quality is also done in industry? Contrary to what the hon. Member for Greenock and Port Glasgow (Dr. Godman) said, some of it is done by firms that have invested in this country: for example, the Hewlett-Packard laboratories on the edge of my constituency are the only laboratories that that world-class...
Will my right hon. Friend confirm that, at our last defence debate, 21 Labour Members were against all arms exports and defence sales of any sort? Their policies would be extremely damaging right across the board to the jobs to which he referred.
I rise briefly to support what the hon. Member for Kingswood (Mr. Berry) has said. More of his constituents are affected than mine, but some of mine are affected in ways similar to those that he has outlined. The debate is not about road building in principle. I detected some hesitancy about road building in principle in some of the hon. Gentleman's remarks. I agree that we should be...
Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that all the criticisms of hygiene and practices in abattoirs disclosed in the report are, in so far as they are the responsibility of regulators, the responsibility of local authorities, which were the regulators until shortly before the report was compiled? The creation of the Meat Hygiene Service brought the practices under the purview of the...
Does my hon. Friend agree that the total number of cattle to be slaughtered under the cull has been vastly exaggerated, especially by Liberal Democrat spokesmen, and is unlikely to rise above 100,000?
I welcome this statutory instrument. As my hon. Friend the Minister admitted in his opening speech, it is new regulation on businesses, but I am encouraged to see that on today's Order Paper we have no fewer than four deregulation orders to decide later under the excellent new procedure of the Deregulation Committee. So that makes four motions to two, if one counts motion 3 on merchant...
I cannot vouch for the time that the hon. Lady mentions. I have been conscious for only about a year of the Labour party pressing for it, but it may have made the suggestion earlier. However long ago it claims to have made the suggestion, the matter has been on the Small Business Bureau's agenda for a long time. That is where the proposal originated. This is only one part of the DTI's...
That is quite correct. Many small businesses, particularly retail businesses, of which my hon. Friend has a great deal of experience, will not benefit from statutory interest on late payment, because by definition retail cash businesses have no debtors. They take cash over the counter. They are doing their best to manage their cash flow to try to sell the goods that they buy—before they...
