Philip Davies: Earlier, the hon. Gentleman said that he was pro-consumer and that he saw an imbalance between the power of the supermarkets and that of the suppliers. Presumably, therefore, he wants the appointment of the ombudsman to result in higher payments from supermarkets to suppliers. That would inevitably lead to higher prices for customers. Given that he is so in favour of consumers, will he tell...
Philip Davies: No, it's what you're saying.
Philip Davies: The hon. Gentleman says that the Competition Commission's report was very clear. However, does he concede that the economist Professor Bruce Lyons, one of the two Competition Commission panel members working on supplier issues, concluded that the ombudsman would be counter-productive? He opposed the setting up of an ombudsman.
Philip Davies: I understand the hon. Gentleman's point, but can he explain how on the one hand he is asking the OFT to establish the ombudsman, and on the other saying that it should be independent of the OFT? How on earth can it be independent of the OFT if it has been appointed by it?
Philip Davies: The hon. Gentleman says that he does not want to set up a great empire, which I am sure is a great relief to everybody, but clause 1(5) states: "The Ombudsman may appoint staff which the Ombudsman thinks are necessary for the fulfilment of the Ombudsman's functions." That seems a pretty wide-ranging ability for him to appoint as many people as he wants, in order to create such an empire.
Philip Davies: May we have a debate on the desirability or otherwise of positive discrimination in the workplace? During that debate perhaps the Leader of the House will explain why she is so in favour of all-women shortlists in every single constituency around the country, apart from when her husband is seeking selection, and whether she considers that to be sleaze.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of prospects for reform of the EU budget.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress has been made on the development of a National Intelligence Model to enable the National Offender Management Service to disrupt the supply of illicit drugs into prisons.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of illicit drug seizures within prisons was attributed to (a) snuffer dogs, (b) closed circuit television, (c) strip searches, (d) intimate searches, (e) searches of prison cells and (f) police intelligence in each of the last five years.
Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality which organisations have received funding from the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) where a Commissioner or employee of the EHRC (a) is a member of and (b) has a financial or other interest in the organisation concerned.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to extend the areas in which the smoking ban operates.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) passive and (b) active dogs there are in each prison in England and Wales; and on what basis they are distributed.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether a positive mandatory drug test automatically results in the search of a prison cell.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance has been issued on the procedure to be followed by prison service staff when a sniffer dog makes a positive indication of the presence of illicit drugs on (a) a visitor, (b) a contractor, (c) a prisoner and (d) a prison officer.
Philip Davies: What plans he has for the future role of university training units.
Philip Davies: What effect does the Minister believe cuts in university training programmes and cuts in the training of those already serving in the armed forces will have on the long-term skills and capability of our men and women who serve in uniform? Is not the fact that the Government have brought these proposals forward another damning indictment of their mismanagement of the defence budget and the...
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many planned visits by Ministers in his Department within the UK were cancelled within 72 hours of the visit taking place in the last 12 months; and what the planned venue or venues were for each such visit.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the relationship between the supply of illicit drugs into prison and the effectiveness of drug treatment in prisons; and what assessment was made of the merits of including demand for illegal drugs in the remit of the Blakey Review.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department plans to launch its 12-week consultation on the UK Border Agency's authority to carry scheme.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been in relation to offences under section 22 of the Offender Management Act 2007; and what the average length of sentence was in cases of conviction.