Brian Binley: My concern lies more with the defence of the realm. Does the Minister foresee even the slightest possibility of a decision under amendment 18 affecting the defence of the realm and the work of our military forces in that respect?
Brian Binley: Before the Minister gets too involved with her notes, and recognising that delay can be considered maladministration, I shall be brief in saying that I am fearful and wonder whether the Minister agrees with me. I am fearful that the Opposition are mixing the role of ombudsman with that of a regulator. It seems to me that an ombudsman acts on complaints, whereas a regulator in parliamentary...
Brian Binley: Do you know where you are, Kevan?
Brian Binley: Forgive me, but I am losing touch with the meaning of maladministration. Is deliberate delay not maladministration? Does the ombudsman not have the opportunity to point out a trend in his annual report anyway?
Brian Binley: The hon. Lady is making a moving case for our service personnel. Would not a very simple change from “may” to “will” in the amendment’s first line answer all her problems?
Brian Binley: Is it not true that if the coroner service is it fault, it is necessary to reform the coroner service? That is not the point of the debate, however. The coroner is designed to be the last line of defence for all people in this country. If the coroner decides that there is a case to answer, their decision tips off other authorities to become involved. That is the role of the coroner. Having...
Brian Binley: Does my hon. Friend not realise that if a pub is boarded up and the issue goes to the local authority, the local authority will want to move pretty quickly to stop a building becoming derelict? That is not a problem, but does he also recognise that the owner of the building is often not the owner of the business that operates inside that building? Does he therefore share my concern that in...
Brian Binley: Is not the argument that the Minister has just made the perfect argument for new clause 16?
Brian Binley: On the issue of security, I have been arguing for some two or three years that Iran had no intention of giving up its ability to make weapons-grade fissionable material and that it is intent on building a nuclear weapon, which is the only reason why it is pursuing its particular plan. Does my right hon. Friend recognise that that is now the case, and that Iran simply wanted to ease the...
Brian Binley: Will my right hon. Friend give way?
Brian Binley: I am sorry that my right hon. Friend did not give way. I hope that that is on the record.
Brian Binley: I made a point earlier about being a secondary modern schoolboy at a time when only 2% of the population went to university, and I desperately regret not being able to take advantage of further education. I am really glad that so many of our young people can now do so. I was one of those boys that Harold Wilson was perhaps talking about—I was not a great fan of his, but that is another...
Brian Binley: Of course I understand both the experience and knowledge with which my right hon. Friend speaks, but at the end of the day we do have a duty—it is why children and grandchildren have been mentioned so much in this debate—to think about what they will inherit. Does he recognise that, and how does he see that duty being undertaken by this Parliament?
Brian Binley: I deliberately mentioned black holes because they have an event horizon. Once an object crosses that event horizon, it is stretched out of existence. Part of the reason why I want us to have a review is to know where that event horizon is. That would be one of its important purposes. Is my right hon. Friend eschewing the other aspects that we talked about—better debt collection, better loan...
Brian Binley: I pay tribute to my colleague the Chairman of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, the hon. Member for West Bromwich West (Mr Bailey), not just for the report, but in recognition of all the years during which we have worked together on the Committee, with me as his would-be vice-Chairman. I believe that I speak as the longest-serving member of the Committee: I have been a member...
Brian Binley: I was talking about patronage on the Front Bench.
Brian Binley: No, not patriotism; I meant patronage, and I am glad that my right hon. Friend has pointed that out. I will now continue to speak according to the terms of the motion, Mr Deputy Speaker, which I am sure will delight you. My colleague—indeed, I shall use the term “hon. Friend”—the Chairman of the Committee said that he would concentrate on wider issues than that of the money itself. I...
Brian Binley: I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s remarks. I shall say a little more about my views on the point he raises as my speech unfolds, but I will say now that every small business man in the land—I do not mean small in stature; I mean small in the sense of the size of the business—will know that if he lends money that he will not get back, he will have a cash flow problem that will create real...
Brian Binley: I will allude to that problem, which I hope will be corrected when this place discusses—if it has the courage to do so, and I pray it does—devolution and the Barnett formula, because there is no doubt that Scottish students who attend Scottish universities get a much more helpful and lucrative deal than Scottish citizens who attend English universities. This is a matter not of English or...
Brian Binley: I am most grateful for the right hon. Gentleman’s remarks, and I add that this situation should cause real alarm to not only every Member of this House, irrespective of their position or party, but to every parent, business man and citizen in the land. At some stage their children and grandchildren will have to meet this charge if we do nothing about it now. I do not take the accounting...