Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to encourage the development of democratic government in China.
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions his Department's Forced Marriage Unit has prevented a British national being forced into marriage overseas in the last 12 months; what work his Department has undertaken with foreign governments on the matter, in particular to provide support for hard to reach victims; and if he will make a statement.
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many perinatologists are employed in each hospital trust on Merseyside.
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of the smoking ban on (a) public health and (b) his Department's expenditure; and what mechanisms he has put in place to measure these effects.
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) cases of and (b) prosecutions for income tax evasion there have been since 2001.
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the budget is for each public library in Wirral, West constituency for 2008-09.
Stephen Hesford: I would categorise the position of the official Opposition as follows: opportunistic, contradictory and wrong. So far, we have had crocodile tears from Conservative Members, although I do not necessarily include the hon. Member for Northampton, South (Mr. Binley) in that. I have to say to some of my own colleagues that there is an element of naivety in the approach to the 10p tax rate...
Stephen Hesford: The hon. Gentleman has made his point. In the article to which I referred, the hon. Member for Tatton went on to say: "We must not rush to rash judgment or premature solutions", but that is exactly what the Opposition seek to put forward. The right hon. Member for Witney did so, among a litany of other issues, in the article to which I referred earlier. However, the hon. Member for Tatton...
Stephen Hesford: The hon. Gentleman's memory is short. During the 10 years that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister was in post as Chancellor, there were a number of pauses in the global economy, to say the least: the dotcom collapse, the Asian collapse and American problems in the early 2000s. One of the only economies that survived and prospered was this one. The Chancellor was entitled to take some...
Stephen Hesford: Of course it is uncomfortable, but a Lord Lamont-style rant, which talks down the situation for political gain and makes it appear worse, for political purposes, than it is, will not help. I exempted the hon. Gentleman from my opening remarks, because he has a genuine interest in the small businesses about which he spoke. However, it does not help those small businesses to talk up the credit...
Stephen Hesford: Unless I have completely missed something, was not the theme the credit crunch and the need for stability? The Budget was all about a steady-as-she-goes approach within that context. That surely was the theme, and it was successful.
Stephen Hesford: The hon. Gentleman is talking about vision, so has he not heard of the Climate Change Bill, which is going through the House? How does that Bill square with the idea of the Labour Government not doing anything about climate change? I simply do not understand the hon. Gentleman's point, as we are the only Government in the world to introduce a Bill to deal with climate change.
Stephen Hesford: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what percentage of students left university in their first year in the 2006-07 academic year; and what assessment he has made of the reasons for them leaving.
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of international compliance with conventions banning torture and other degrading practices; what steps the UK Government is taking to (a) encourage other countries to ratify such conventions and (b) monitor compliance; and if he will make a statement.
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was allocated by his Department to non-governmental organisations providing international relief or development aid in each year between 2005 and 2007.
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what (a) support and (b) guidance her Department gives to local projects to support the social interaction of elderly people living alone.
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps she has taken to tackle drug trafficking into the UK from the Caribbean; and if she will make a statement.
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage the Chinese government to support UN sanctions against Sudan; and if he will make a statement.
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the reasons for elective births by Caesarean-section in the last 12 months.