Brian H Donohoe: What assessment he has made of the effect on local economies of the reduction of jobs in the civil service.
Brian H Donohoe: Can the right hon. Gentleman explain why he shut an office in my constituency that I fought long and hard to maintain, given that people have more than met the targets they have been given on every occasion in every year? Will he personally—he has not got long to go—have a wee look at that and perhaps write to tell me why he shut that office?
Brian H Donohoe: I notice that there are no Scottish nats in the Chamber at present, which is not unusual. Will my hon. Friend touch on the effect of the price of North sea oil on the economy of today?
Brian H Donohoe: When the Secretary of State meets the First Minister, will he get information—this is not in the public arena—on how much compensation is being paid to wind farms in Scotland from his and my electricity bills as a consequence of the fact that they are, in my view, inefficient?
Brian H Donohoe: Does the Minister have any discussions with other Departments about the closure of offices? Offices are being closed in my constituency, and that would clearly not be happening if efficiency were the criterion. What co-ordination does the Minister apply to the closure of offices in the areas that need them most?
Brian H Donohoe: May I ask the shadow Minister a simple question? Is this a case of DNA being genetically modified?
Brian H Donohoe: rose—
Brian H Donohoe: rose—
Brian H Donohoe: I am grateful to the Secretary of State for his generosity in giving way. One matter concerns me greatly. We are approaching a general election in May, and the same youngsters who were enabled to vote in the referendum will then be disfranchised. What effect will that have on their future involvement in politics? The point was not made this evening, although I expected it to be.
Brian H Donohoe: The Secretary of State is being generous in giving way, which is very useful. Surely it is possible to give 16 and 17-year-olds the vote for the whole United Kingdom, even at this late stage, because in Scotland all the facts and figures are already on the register. Surely that could be replicated across the whole United Kingdom. Would not that be in all our favour?
Brian H Donohoe: Could the Scottish Parliament decide in future to lower the voting age further, say to 15 or 14? Does this order make that possible?
Brian H Donohoe: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2014 to Question 205620, how his Department calculated the cost of providing the information requested.
Brian H Donohoe: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to pursue a claim for costs against Rangers Football Club.
Brian H Donohoe: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria HM Revenue and Customs uses to assess the prudence of settling a tax case when costs of pursuing a case are compared to the settlement offer.
Brian H Donohoe: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of HM Revenue and Customs' accounting procedures relating to assessing the cost of pursuing big value claims.
Brian H Donohoe: As a local MP, the Minister knows something about Glasgow Rangers, but she might not know as much about USC. Is there an urgent need for a change in the law if, on the one hand, a creditor can seek a winding-up notice and, on the other hand, the company can frustrate that by making an application to the courts for administration?
Brian H Donohoe: Will the Minister and her Department do that through the criminal courts in this case?
Brian H Donohoe: May I ask to be kept posted, within reason, on anything that happens in the Department and whatever action or otherwise is taken by BIS?
Brian H Donohoe: Will the Minister write to me?
Brian H Donohoe: It is good to see you in the Chair, Mr Hollobone, and the Minister in her place. Of course, Mr Hollobone, you and I served in the same police force for 10 years, and I think that you still serve in the police, so it is good to see you here—after this debate, we might need your services. I would like to make a few remarks by way of background to the reason why I asked for the debate. This...