Lord Stewartby: My Lords, I do not know whether I am the only one of your Lordships who came to this debate not only to participate but to learn a good deal about the situation, but I find that I now have more questions in my mind than I started with. I want to pick up on one or two points that have been raised and I apologise for any repetition. It is almost 50 years since I began an apprenticeship in the...
Lord Stewartby: My Lords, that is exactly the point. I used to run around the corridors for my noble friend Lord Lawson in the 1980s, when we were dealing with banking matters. I am glad to have him putting me right on that point, but it is true that nobody had put forward a formal offer at that stage. There were strong indications of interest but no formal offers, and that of Lloyds TSB was no different. I...
Lord Stewartby: My Lords, the noble Lord helpfully made some comments about the Lloyds TSB proposals of a few months back. As he correctly says, these were not fully worked out proposals. The impression that was gained in public was that the shutters had suddenly come down on Lloyds' ideas and that no attempt was made by the Chancellor to follow them through. Those proposals, if implemented in accordance...
Lord Stewartby: My Lords, I accept that the noble Lord's Question is well intentioned, but will the Government be very careful in planning any further steps in this area, bearing in mind that public companies already have to comply with an enormous range of information and other governance requirements? The last thing one wants to do is to increase the bureaucratic burden with which they have to deal.
Lord Stewartby: My Lords, when the noble Baroness responds on this amendment, I should be grateful if she could bring us up to date on the matter of the register. My noble friend Lord Marlesford has been raising this point for so long that I am beginning to wonder whether the Government have some sort of policy hang-up in this area. It is not possible to think of any good reason why this matter is still in...
Lord Stewartby: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether the customer of a business supplying goods or services to the public is entitled under the provisions of legal tender to make payment of the cost price in cash at face value without surcharge.
Lord Stewartby: My Lords, competition to take part in this debate has been so fierce that the list of speakers has had to be substantially reorganised to accommodate us all. I should point out that I am not aiming to tread on the toes of my noble friend Lady Hanham, who will be a wind-up speaker. Thirty years ago, for my sins, I was appointed opposition spokesman on the then Development Land Tax Bill. My...
Lord Stewartby: My Lords, without in any way wishing to suggest that the specification for the new carriers should fall short of meeting the operational requirement, may I ask the Minister to bear in mind that, over the years, the biggest contributor to delay and cost overruns in major procurement projects has been the constant tweaking of the technical requirements?
Lord Stewartby: My Lords, given that the projected June summit will have an agenda that includes many items of importance for the future of the European Union, is it the noble Lord's view that the United Kingdom's interests would be best served by being represented at that meeting by a new Prime Minister?
Lord Stewartby: My Lords, will the Minister commit the Government to taking a valuable step towards dealing with some of the congestion problems in London by banning bendy buses, which create nothing but congestion at corners and roundabouts in particular?
Lord Stewartby: My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord on having taken a grip on this project; he is the first person to have done so for a very long time. Can he give us his latest estimate of the out-of-service date of the current carriers? He has assured us that there will not be a gap.
Lord Stewartby: My Lords, the Statement repeated for us this afternoon is, I think, the most defensive Statement that I have ever heard in your Lordships' House. What is it that has touched a raw nerve? Can the noble Lord now answer the question asked by my noble and learned friend Lord Morris? Before the decision was taken to go ahead with this case, were the Law Officers consulted?
Lord Stewartby: My Lords, before the noble Lord sits down, will he explain why the sale value issue is being dealt with separately?
Lord Stewartby: I would also like to add a word in support of my noble friend Lord Renfrew. I share the privilege with him of being a member of the archaeology section of the British Academy. As the noble Baroness, Lady O'Neill of Bengarve, has just said, there are many people, including myself, who have been able to take advantage of the facilities provided by the British schools abroad during their student...
Lord Stewartby: My Lords, I rise to speak in this debate with considerable trepidation, because I have not in recent years been in a position to keep as much in touch with affairs in Northern Ireland as I would have wished. But when my noble friend Lord Brooke drew my attention to this debate on the Order Paper and, with great charm, suggested that I might participate, I began to read some of the things...
Lord Stewartby: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether liquid milk sold by retailers as "British" has to be produced from cows in the United Kingdom; and whether labelling requirements for the origin of liquid milk are being adhered to by the retail trade.
Lord Stewartby: asked Her Majesty's Government: How many persons currently hold ordinary accounts with the National Savings Bank; what are the total sums deposited in such accounts, the rate of interest currently paid, and the maximum sum which can be deposited in any one account; when that maximum was most recently changed; and what it would be if increased by inflation for the period since it was last altered.
Lord Stewartby: My Lords, I begin by declaring an interest, or what is a potential interest, although I had some difficulty in working out how exactly it would operate. I have been a coin collector for more than 60 years and should like to raise a number of points and questions as to how the Bill will affect coins and the numismatic trade. I should mention that I was chairman of the Treasure Trove Reviewing...
Lord Stewartby: My Lords, I begin by thanking my noble friend for giving us the opportunity to debate this subject. I, along with the noble Lord, Lord Graham, congratulate him on the comprehensive and effective way in which he opened the proceedings. He covered most or all of the important points, and I would not want merely to repeat what he said, but I have a long-standing interest in friendly societies....
Lord Stewartby: My Lords, I join other noble Lords in thanking the noble Lord, Lord Brennan, for giving us this timely opportunity to debate a topical subject. Like others, I must declare various interests. Perhaps I may do so in an omnibus way. My current commitments are listed in the register, but at one time or another over the past 30 years I have been a non-executive director of 10 public companies....
