John Greenway: The Justice Secretary will recall that I had the extreme pleasure of dealing with the Bill on behalf of the Opposition. I well recall that we warned that this eventuality might arise. My hon. and learned Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr. Grieve), who sits on the Front Bench, made the point that Labour Back Benchers were most critical of that aspect of the Bill. Putting that to one...
John Greenway: Can the Chancellor say whether he thinks that the changed terms of engagement with Northern Rock will enable it to review its lending interest rates? Northern Rock's standard variable rate is currently more than 5 per cent., against an industry average of 3.5 per cent. Does he share my concern that, with many people in negative equity, the prospects of finding a better deal elsewhere are nil?...
John Greenway: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will take steps to encourage a competitive broadband market in rural areas, with specific reference to North Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement.
John Greenway: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the contribution of the public sector-led broadband initiative NYnet to the economic competitiveness of North Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement.
John Greenway: The Minister cites the improved human rights record of countries such as Turkey and other countries in eastern Europe. Does she not acknowledge that much of that improvement stems from their membership of the Council of Europe and that the prospects of their joining the EU in the foreseeable future are pretty slim? On enlargement, does she agree that the Council of Europe's neighbourhood...
John Greenway: The Chancellor referred to the regulation of the Financial Services Authority. Another feature I should like to remind him about is the requirement for retail banks to abide by the principles of treating customers fairly. He has announced a very welcome cut in interest rates today, and we hope there will be further cuts to come. Surely, any banks helped by this system should treat their...
John Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated cost of the planned refurbishment of his Department's offices at Kings Pool, York is; and if he will make a statement.
John Greenway: I thank the Secretary of State and my hon. Friend the Member for South-West Surrey (Mr. Hunt) for their support for the Responsibility in Gambling Trust. May I point out to the Secretary of State and the House that funding for the treatment of problem gambling has increased more than tenfold since the trust was formed six years ago? Last year, we launched the gambleaware website. We have a...
John Greenway: Further to that point of order, Sir Nicholas. I endorse everything that has been said and I am grateful for the comments that have been made about my contributions. However, there is one serious point that I want you to take from the Committee, given your membership of other Committees. I must confess that I found the evidence session, which preceded our normal scrutiny of the Bill, an...
John Greenway: I am entirely at one with the hon. Gentleman’s objective, but I am slightly confused about why he thinks that we need the new clause. I understand that the personal accounts scheme would provide the same opportunities and entitlements that apply to all other pension schemes, particularly personal pension schemes, where the open market option already exists. However, we should address how we...
John Greenway: I must confess that I had not thought about this point before. Could the Minister clarify how he thinks the personal accounts scheme will be structured? If someone is in a group personal pension scheme operated by a major insurance company pension provider, and the default position is that that pension provider will convert the cash in the fund to an annuity at their rates unless the person...
John Greenway: I think that my hon. Friend is on to something with this new clause. I want to make a brief point that he did not touch on in his otherwise excellent rÃ(c)sumÃ(c) of the new clause. He has said that it will apply only when a divorcing couple both hold personal accounts. One of the attractions of the personal account scheme will be its low cost. On Tuesday, in Committee, we discussed changes...
John Greenway: I do not want to detain the Committee unduly. I congratulate my hon. Friend on his lucid and compelling summary of the case for conditional indexation. The Minister will know that I spoke strongly in favour of that on Second Reading. I will not repeat anything that my hon. Friend said—it is all on the record—because I simply want to support strongly what he said. I am slightly concerned...
John Greenway: I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the Third Reading debate. I had hoped to say something on Second Reading, but Pensions Bill Standing Committee duties took precedence. It is clear from much of the debate that I have heard that the Government's case for the nationalisation of Northern Rock and for the Bill lies in tatters. It has been cruelly exposed, not least by the...
John Greenway: That is true, but one of the reasons why Mr. Sandler was successful in the Lloyd's reconstruction and renewal project was that he had good people around him; I hope that he will have them in this case, too. We can have an argument on a difference of principle, but whatever happens at the end of this week has to be a success. If it is not, taxpayers will lose and jobs will be lost. We can have...
John Greenway: I intervene solely to say that it is entirely correct that we should be having this discussion under your chairmanship, Sir Nicholas. If I remember correctly, when the link was broken, you were the robust Chairman of the then Select Committee on Social Services, which in those days was against the breaking of the link.
John Greenway: I will try to make a brief intervention, rather than a longer speech later. What are the two critical points? First, that is a specific problem relating to people who, traditionally, are employed on short-term contracts, which are then renewed. Second, as a consequence, it is not so much a recruitment issue, which is what the new clause refers to, but a negotiation of terms and conditions...
John Greenway: I apologise for not having heard all the speech made by my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne. I am familiar with the arguments that he will have outlined, but I was less familiar with what the Chancellor and the shadow Chancellor were saying about the business in the main Chamber, which explains my absence. I am listening carefully to the Minister's argument. Perhaps I could put the...
John Greenway: I rise not merely to apologise to you, Sir Nicholas, for the length of my intervention, but to respond to your invitation. I should like to add the two sentences that I was not allowed to add earlier, which I am sure will require no response from the Minister. By moving from a defined benefit world to a defined contribution world, we are changing the parameters of pension provision. One of...
John Greenway: My hon. Friend knows from my interventions yesterday and today that I very much share his concerns. Has he also taken on board the fact that the likely offering of Northern Rock to depositors could have such wide implications that it could undermine the gilt market? That is undoubtedly the view in the City of London.