Gordon Prentice: I have a lot to say, but I shall compress it because I know that so many colleagues on both sides of the House want to make a contribution. I begin by saying that what happens in Britain is not unique. I know a lot about Canada-I chair the all-party Canada group. Canadians can mail their MPs without putting a stamp on the envelope. Canadian MPs can send out annual reports; they can do what we...
Gordon Prentice: I have my own speech to make, and if the hon. Gentleman catches your eye, Mr. Cook, he will be able to make his own. When the communications allowance was brought in, I did not use it for the first year. I felt uncomfortable, to be honest. Since then, I have been 545th in the list. In the first year, I spent £2,349, on surgery advertisements and so on, but people were saying to me, "What on...
Gordon Prentice: I will not. I have a lot of ground to cover, and the Member can make his own speech. My fifth parliamentary report talked about hard choices regarding DNA, and I made it clear that my position is probably more akin to the Liberal Democrat position than the Labour Government's position. When people read my parliamentary report, therefore, they say, "Whatever his faults, this guy Gordon...
Gordon Prentice: I do not want to test the patience of colleagues, so let me just say that I have too many leaflets to go through; there are three years' worth. It is not just "Pendle Matters" that is being delivered; there is loads of other stuff as well. There are six-page booklets, which look like Hello! magazine, the ads in the local papers and so on. Let me come to my peroration. I think I have...
Gordon Prentice: What's new then?
Gordon Prentice: First, may I ask my friend about the records of the honours scrutiny committee? I understand that no records have been destroyed but that civil servants are looking at the criteria for selecting those that will be preserved in the national archives. In a briefing that I have received from the Campaign for Freedom of Information, I am told that the honours exemption would continue for 60...
Gordon Prentice: But there would be a public interest in disclosure if the heir to the throne, or the second in line, were to intervene and change public policy quite significantly. Surely we should know about that.
Gordon Prentice: I, too, shall vote against the programme motion. There is simply not enough time for us properly to consider all the proposed new clauses and amendments, including the proposals from the Select Committee on Public Administration, which is chaired so ably by my friend from Cannock Chase (Dr. Wright). Those proposals are in the fifth group, which includes my proposal-new clause 7-on the...
Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are employed by primary care trusts in England in the direct provision of health services to patients.
Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when he last reviewed safety arrangements for tall ships which are used for educational purposes for young people under 21; and if he will make a statement.
Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many wind turbines in England are situated within two kilometres of a dwelling house.
Gordon Prentice: Now that Commander Ali Dizaei has been convicted and jailed, may we have a statement as soon as possible on how senior police officers in the Met are selected and appointed, and on the question of whether the commissioner should not have a much greater role in that?
Gordon Prentice: May I return to the issue of HSMRs, which the Minister mentioned in his statement? He told us that there is no "clear account of how they should be used and interpreted. The result is confusion for patients and the public". He will know that people in east Lancashire are routinely told that the reconfiguration allegedly saved 200 lives. We know that academics and clinicians are reworking the...
Gordon Prentice: Am I the only one here to be concerned that primary care trusts are to lose their role as direct providers of health services?
Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will request the Charity Commission to require charities which have been found by the Commission to have raised money for a purpose outside their charitable objects to post information to this effect on their website and to indicate the steps they are taking to return such donations to the donors.
Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps the Charity Commission is taking to ensure that charities file their accounts with the Commission within the prescribed timescales.
Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport if he will take steps to ensure that local authorities prevent vehicles subject to a safety recall by Toyota from being used by licensed taxi companies; and if he will make a statement.
Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that funding allocated by his Department in respect of Afghanistan is spent as intended; and what audit trail there is in respect of such funding.
Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many UK citizens had permanent residence in the UK but were either not resident in the UK for tax purposes or did not have UK domicile status in each year since 2000.
Gordon Prentice: Has my friend visited gordonprenticemp.com today to see how the next election in my constituency is being bought by a tax exile? Does he agree that he needs me here, and that Pendle is not for sale?