Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on recruitment rates to the armed forces.
Philip Dunne: I am grateful to you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to address the House for the first time, and I am pleased to follow the hon. Member for Preston (Mr. Hendrick). Your predecessor encouraged us to be brief and I shall be relatively brief in accordance with his advice. I am particularly pleased to speak in a debate on such a vital topic at such a pivotal stage in European...
Philip Dunne: What discussions she has had with the farming industry about biofuels.
Philip Dunne: Why do the Government not encourage farming diversification and renewable energy production by offering comparable non-fossil fuel support to farmers producing biomass and biofuel crops, instead of supporting more environmentally contentious diversification such as onshore wind farms?
Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations she has received from the Local Government Association regarding the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003.
Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications have been made in (a) South Shropshire and (b) Bridgnorth district council areas for the new licences introduced by the Licensing Act 2003; what estimate she has made of the number of applications in each council area which remain to be made; and if she will make a statement.
Philip Dunne: If she will put back the 6 August deadline for licensing applications from premises selling alcohol.
Philip Dunne: The two local authorities in the Ludlow constituency have issued between 50 and 77 pages of application form and guidance notes for the conversion of existing licences. As of this morning, however, only 27 out of 350 licensed premises in South Shropshire and approximately 10 per cent. of those in Bridgnorth district council have submitted application forms. Does the Minister agree that the...
Philip Dunne: I support amendments Nos. 36 and 1. In common with many other Members, I declare an interest as a member of the National Trust—I am a life member—and I am expecting to become a trustee of the Ludlow Town Walls trust. I am also a member of the Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust. I support the remarks of my hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh (Mr. Francois) on amendment No. 36, but ask the...
Philip Dunne: To answer on behalf of my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon, I think that the word "accompany" is useful in assisting the hon. Lady with her point. A group leader pays on behalf of all its members precisely to avoid the need for up to 20 other people to form part of the queue. That is very sensible. I also wish to refer to the Broseley Conservative Association, because I am particularly...
Philip Dunne: I have another interest to declare in that I am a director of a bookshop, and I hope that I can help the hon. Gentleman in dealing with his point on national museums. The company that I am involved in operates the concession in the Science museum. When admission fees were abolished, the bookshop's revenue increased, I am delighted to say. In the interests of commercial sensitivity, I shall...
Philip Dunne: The Mappa Mundi has featured prominently in our debate. It is a map, and maps are not necessarily categorised as works as art. The chained library primarily contains books, which are not necessarily works of art. It is therefore not clear that the terms "artefacts" and "works of art" are sufficient, which is why I asked the Minister for clarity.
Philip Dunne: Will the Economic Secretary quantify how many charities are likely to be affected positively or negatively by the proposals?
Philip Dunne: I support the amendment moved by my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond), and echo some of the comments that have already been made by my hon. Friends about the importance of the private equity industry to the economy. I should—probably to the amusement of the Minister—declare another interest, in that I am the director of a venture capital trust that is...
Philip Dunne: I am pleased to contribute to the debate on this important issue. It is important because in my constituency and neighbouring constituencies that I am aware of, the lottery has been the main facilitator of numerous community-based projects that have been completed since it was so successfully introduced by the last Conservative Government. Other Members have mentioned multi-million pound...
Philip Dunne: Perhaps the Minister can explain.
Philip Dunne: I thank the Minister. In that case, it seems more likely that applications will have to be made to two distributors to achieve the same level of funding for the projects to which I have referred. I am especially concerned about the lottery's impact on major restorations of heritage monuments and features, for example, the Teme Weirs trust in Ludlow and the pending restoration of Ludlow's town...
Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many prisoners are registered on prison education programmes.
Philip Dunne: The picture that the hon. Lady paints of Plymouth is much more encouraging than the picture in my constituency, where the direction of travel, far from being positive, is the reverse. To pick up on the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Sir Paul Beresford), there is a brain drain to Australia rather than to the UK. When I was knocking on doors just before the election, I...
Philip Dunne: I should declare that I have an interest in a farming partnership in my constituency. I echo the hon. Gentleman's comments about collection times in remote rural areas. My constituency borders that of the hon. Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Mr. Williams). During the election, I stood across the valley looking into his beautiful constituency and discussed with farmers during the lambing...