Patrick Mercer: I have been visiting Crimea every year since 1992. This morning I was speaking to the parents of my godchild in Simferopol. They described the rapture with which the people of Crimea are greeting the Russian troops, but they are extremely concerned about the illegal, rough and appalling behaviour of the Cossack movement—not the Cossack people, but the Cossack movement. May I ask the...
Patrick Mercer: What impact does the Secretary of State believe the Downey decision will have on the Haass talks?
Patrick Mercer: The Secretary of State has wisely and correctly made reference to the national officer academy. Can he confirm that places will be offered to officers and officer cadets of neighbouring allied countries?
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) name and (b) regiment was of the Royal Engineer whose repatriation parade was scheduled for 31 December 2013 but which was cancelled soon after; and for what reason the repatriation was not carried out in public.
Patrick Mercer: I thank the Minister and I thank my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Stephen Phillips) for his intervention. This is clear and proper guidance. This is exactly the point of this style of debate. Not only was his meeting very helpful, but now it is on the record and all our constituents will be hearing exactly what we the elected Members have to do to try to...
Patrick Mercer: May I thank your office, Madam Deputy Speaker, for making it possible for me to have this debate today? I should also like to thank the right hon. and hon. Members on both sides of the House who have supported the project. I will certainly allow them time to speak later, if they so wish. I thank East Midlands Trains for being helpful and supportive. I thank the Under-Secretary of State for...
Patrick Mercer: As the Minister said, his dinner is in 10 minutes, so I will be as brief as possible. Newark has many, many assets, probably the best of which, as has been known since at least Roman times, is the ability to communicate quickly and effectively, particularly north to south, and south to north. During my time as a Member of Parliament, one of the things that I have noticed is that it is easy...
Patrick Mercer: I am grateful for that intervention. My hon. Friend has stood firmly by me throughout this campaign and indeed with Newark business club, which I really should have mentioned earlier on. I am grateful to him for his support. I hope that I have made it clear that I am not just talking about Newark constituents. My hon. Friend mentioned Ollerton and Edwinstowe, and they are crucial. They are...
Patrick Mercer: I am grateful to the gallant, hon. and learned Member, who makes an extremely good point. I hope that he appreciates that I am trying to address the area—that is, not just Newark but the financial penumbra thrown by the railways throughout the area, regardless of party political divide. We all want the scheme to succeed outside our constituencies and into the area as far west as Nottingham...
Patrick Mercer: My hon. Friend recognises a fact that I was about to point out. Of course we are talking money, and unfortunately, matters of government almost always revert to money, but there are real social benefits. I know, for instance, that the hon. Member for Nottingham South, who is present, uses the train extensively to travel between my constituency, where she is happy enough to live, and hers. The...
Patrick Mercer: The Secretary of State will be aware of the delight with which the rebuilding of Newark academy has been greeted in Newark, yet the establishment of the free school at the same time seems to be competing for small numbers of students who are needed inside the maintained schools. How does he answer that charge?
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers were injured in Phase 1 and Phase 2 training in each quarter of 2012 and 2013; and how many of those soldiers were using the Pay to Dine system.
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports he has received suggesting that a significant proportion of soldiers injured during training were undernourished as a result of the introduction of the Pay to Dine system.
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what responsibility the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has for Crimean War graves in (a) Turkey and (b) Ukraine; (2) what responsibility the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has for Baltic campaign war graves in the Baltic region.
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance his Department is planning to give to support the building of memorials in Ukraine to commemorate the UK's casualties in the Crimean War.
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many applications have been (a) received and (b) granted for bursaries under the National Scholarship Programme in the last three years.
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when she expects her Department's targeted consultation on child neglect to be completed.
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to ensure that students are not deterred from higher education on financial grounds.
Patrick Mercer: I entirely agree, in which case, in my 25-year experience, that is completely wrong. Moving swiftly on. The Army and training recruiting agency, as it was at the time, could not and would not recruit. We were 40 men under strength when I took command; inside a year, we were 120 men over strength—in a recruiting famine when the economy was apparently buoyant and there were difficulties in...
Patrick Mercer: I am grateful for that intervention. Recruitment in the Province was always good—despite the troubles—and I hope that it is even better now.