Ian Lucas: I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in the debate and to record my pleasure at the contents of the Gracious Speech. It is an especial pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Lichfield (Michael Fabricant). Lichfield is a beautiful cathedral city, which I know well and visit often to meet close personal friends. I am also pleased to follow my hon. Friend the Member for South Shields...
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what disclosure he requires from consultants employed by the National Health Service of those consultants' income from private medical practice.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she proposes to introduce the changes outlined in the public consultation paper on proposed legislative changes under the Weights and Measures Act 1985 issued in December 2000.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to support the teaching of English in Mozambique.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment she has made of the benefits of introducing contingency fees as a method of payment for lawyers in personal injury cases.
Ian Lucas: I am grateful to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien), who referred to Wrexham in his question. I would like to point out to him and to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister that Wrexham council has recently appointed a recycling officer. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that that is fully in accordance with his policy, the Labour policy, which is to re-use and to recycle?
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the North Wales young offenders team; and if he will make a statement.
Ian Lucas: What assessment she has made of the effect a tax on incineration set at the same level as the landfill tax would have on the level of recycling carried out by local authorities in England and Wales.
Ian Lucas: I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that reply. Is he aware that there is great concern in my constituency about the relative amount of recycling and incineration outlined in a recent application to site a waste recovery centre there? What steps will the Secretary of State take to ensure that the recycling targets set out in "Waste Strategy 2000" are met and that the amount of future...
Ian Lucas: Does the hon. Gentleman accept that part 5 relates to civil proceedings, not criminal proceedings, and proceeds upon the civil standard of proof? Therefore, we are talking not about convictions and the criminal standard of proof, but about the civil standard of proof. In those circumstances, it may be entirely appropriate that someone be acquitted on the criminal standard, yet still be held...
Ian Lucas: What does the hon. Gentleman believe will be the difference between the Assets Recovery Agency and the present position of the Inland Revenue or Customs and Excise when pursuing civil proceedings against individuals?
Ian Lucas: I am pleased to follow the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael). Orkney is my favourite holiday destination and I urge all hon. Members to go there as soon as possible. I speak as yet another lawyer, albeit happily retired, so I hope that I can bring some valuable insights to the debate. I have practised as a defence criminal solicitor and also been involved in the regulation...
Ian Lucas: I am delighted to give way to the hon. Member for Beaconsfield (Mr. Grieve).
Ian Lucas: I do not accept that for one minute. The thrust of Conservative Members' comments has been advocacy of a limited section of society. We did not hear such advocacy at any stage while the Conservative party was in government—quite the contrary.
Ian Lucas: I must move on. We must make it clear that profit from the crime of trade in heroin is so intolerable that we are determined to seek to eliminate it. The mandatory nature of the confiscation procedures proposed is essential. It sends a clear message that there will be no profit from crime. The piecemeal measures taken in the past few years, though welcome, have diluted the message that...
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) medical examinations by doctors and (b) screening tests by nurses were carried out at Healthcall's screening centre at Grosvenor road in Wrexham in each month between June and September inclusive.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment the Government have made of the contribution the pensioners credit scheme will make to the income of pensioners in the United Kingdom.
Ian Lucas: Is not the primary purpose of the Bill to deter? For example, the general public must realise that, if they commit a drug-trafficking offence, enforcement action against them will follow. Saying that an economic assessment will be made of whether the Assets Recovery Agency should proceed will diminish the deterrent effect of the Bill, the primary purpose of which is to reduce crime and deter...
Ian Lucas: I, too, urge the Minister to reject the amendment. The creation of a system of accredited financial investigators will form an important check and balance on the director of the agency. That will make the agency more effective, because any complaints about a person's conduct can be measured against that system. There is no reason why the director cannot be closely involved in setting up the...
Ian Lucas: What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry concerning the progress of settlements of claims in the miners' compensation scheme in north-east Wales.