Mr Timothy Devlin: Have not all the Select Committees been working extremely hard to get their reports out in time for the Prorogation of Parliament? Many Select Committees that have not published their reports will publish them tomorrow. Since everybody has been aware for some time of the need to complete those reports so that they can be published before Parliament dissolves, why has not the Select Committee...
Mr Timothy Devlin: I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to provide for the clear marking of a number or name on every dwelling and to make provision for standard sizes for all new letter boxes. Not so long ago, I found myself in a street in Merseyside. The road name-plate had been removed by some helpful person, and eight out of the 10 houses in that road had no number visible on any part of...
Mr Timothy Devlin: I will, Madam Speaker, this not being a Bill that most Conservatives would wish to sign up to. Bill ordered to be brought in by Mr. Tim Devlin.
Mr Timothy Devlin: I am interested to hear what the hon. Gentleman says. People in secondary care have not been compelled to audit their care outcomes—far from it. The royal colleges have of their own volition gone into the field very heavily. The hon. Gentleman probably knows that my father is involved in the biggest project: the confidential inquiry into perioperative death. That was a voluntary activity;...
Mr Timothy Devlin: —that the problem will be solved.
Mr Timothy Devlin: I have finished.
Mr Timothy Devlin: It was.
Mr Timothy Devlin: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 11 February. [13746]
Mr Timothy Devlin: Will by right hon. Friend confirm that, since 1979, average pensioner incomes have improved by 50 per cent. over and above inflation? Will he also confirm that 90 per cent. of today's pensioners reaching retirement age have an income in addition to their state pension? Does he think that that will be a comfort to the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) on his 65th birthday today?
Mr Timothy Devlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 20 January, Official Report, column 437, if he will announce his decision on the future of Stockton city challenge high street redevelopment scheme. [12501]
Mr Timothy Devlin: Given that it is a year since the public inquiry ended and that the whole of the town centre scheme in Stockton has been left in limbo because his officials have been sitting on it for so long, will my hon. Friend now deal with the matter as an urgent priority and disregard the representations that are obviously being received from Chesterfield Properties, which has a vested interest in...
Mr Timothy Devlin: Will my hon. Friend confirm that taking up benefits is not compulsory? There may be a variety of reasons why elderly people do not wish to claim income support or other benefits. The best way to target those people is to make them aware that benefits are available if they want them, not to sneak into records of their savings and other matters to find out whether they are entitled and to tell...
Mr Timothy Devlin: If, as I hope, the Leader of the House is now considering a debate on the constitutional arrangements, may we include in it some reference to the progress of the English regions? People in my part of the world are now beginning to wake up to the fact that, if we have a regional assembly in Newcastle, not only will they pay a Geordie tax to Newcastle but they will be given the crumbs from...
Mr Timothy Devlin: Can my hon. Friend tell me what proportion of the working-age population is currently in work, and how that compares with comparable countries in the European Union?
Mr Timothy Devlin: I welcome the Budget because it is pragmatic, effective and philosophically correct. It is pragmatic because, contrary to the assertions of the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley), it has not been framed solely with the election in mind. As my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor made clear, he was looking at the medium and long term as well as the short term. I know that he very...
Mr Timothy Devlin: That is silly.
Mr Timothy Devlin: As a regular traveller on the east coast main line, may I tell my hon. Friend how pleased I was that the punctuality of trains has improved dramatically since it was privatised and taken over by Great North Eastern? A much wider and better range of services is available for passengers on the east coast main line, which is yet another benefit of privatisation.
Mr Timothy Devlin: He is out of order: he must ask a question.
Mr Timothy Devlin: I ask for the hon. Member's assurance that if we pass the legislation in the form that he would like, that sort of massacre will never happen again.
Mr Timothy Devlin: I am not a gun owner or a licence holder, although I have shot one or two pistols. I am a legislator, and I come to the House as a representative of the people of Stockton, South, who hold differing views on this issue. Some people want a complete ban on firearms; others own firearms and do not want them to be banned. My duty is to represent all those views. Above all, however, my duty is...
