Mr David Alton: May I assure the hon. Gentleman that many people will support his Bill, not least because of the provisions for hare coursing which it contains? Anyone who has followed what takes place at the Waterloo cup every year in the name of sport—it is just an act of barbarism—will be compelled to be in the Lobby supporting the hon. Gentleman today.
Mr David Alton: Let me return closer to home after presenting my petition. I thank Madam Speaker for the opportunity to raise the subject of the level of council tax that is being paid in my city of Liverpool—the highest in the land—and the reasons for it. Those reasons are a combination of the effects of the standard spending assessment formula, mismanagement of resources and crippling and debilitating...
Mr David Alton: The hon. Lady has, characteristically, made her point effectively. I am sure that the Minister will deal with it, and I associate myself with her remarks. Time is moving on and I must leave the Minister with half the available time in which to reply properly. I was saying that there is only so much that people can take. Grinding council tax bills are leaving people demoralised and depressed....
Mr David Alton: I wish to present a petition with more than 19,000 signatures collected by the Movement for Christian Democracy. The signatures are in addition to those that have already been submitted to the House by many right hon. and hon. Members from all parties. The petition concerns the scandal of overseas aid funds being given to organisations which in turn fund the appalling and abusive Chinese...
Mr David Alton: Did the Minister read the comment of Lady Warnock, who, when asked about the composition of her committee, which, after all, was the precursor of the HFEA, said that she had excluded one person from it when she found out that he was a Catholic? Does my hon. Friend think that that is a reason for disqualifying someone from membership of the committee?
Mr David Alton: I am sure that, like me, many hon. Members on both sides of the House welcome the hon. Lady's initiative in bringing this subject to the House's attention. I agree with her that it is disgraceful that not a single member of the HFEA holds the sanctity of human life in any reverence: that helps us to understand the decisions that it has made. Did the hon. Lady see the results of research...
Mr David Alton: I emphasise what the hon. Gentleman has said and I know that his view is shared by all parties in the House and throughout the country. Many people appreciate the contributions that the Foundation for Sport and the Arts has made to vital components of community life in our great cities and villages. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that underlying his remarks, with which I fully concur, is the...
Mr David Alton: I will not enter into the argument in which the right hon. Gentleman has just engaged. May I invite him back to the subject of north-west England for a moment? He will consider, as I do, that there is plenty of scope for savings in cities such as Liverpool and that there is certainly scope for greater efficiency. However, does not he also recognise that the formula and the way in which it has...
Mr David Alton: Will the Secretary of State accept that many hon. Members have had considerable confidence in him and in the Government because of the way in which they have conducted the negotiations so far, but to maintain that credibility it is vital that the Government are not seen to be aligned to any group? The Secretary of State's failure to respond to questions that have been put to him legitimately...
Mr David Alton: It is not for me to make such a cast-iron case, any more than it is for the Minister to do so. All three hon. Members who have spoken in the debate have said that the views of the haematologists, clinicians, consultants and other medics should be the ones that really count. Will the Minister assure the House that if clinical opinion is united in its opposition to the proposals, yet the NBA...
Mr David Alton: First, may I, through you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, thank Madam Speaker for the opportunity to raise the subject of the future of the Liverpool blood transfusion centre on the Adjournment of the House? May I also take the opportunity of thanking the Minister for being in his place to answer the points that will be made, and my colleagues the hon. Members for Wallasey (Ms Eagle) and for Wirral,...
Mr David Alton: The hon. Member for Dorset, West (Sir J. Spicer) put his views very well on behalf of the members of the Committee who would have liked to see the right hon. Member for Chesterfield (Mr. Benn) remain a member of the Committee on Privileges. It must be put on the record that the majority of Opposition Members voted for the meetings of the Committee to be held in public, but we were not aware...
Mr David Alton: I welcome what the hon. Lady has said so far. We are in danger of fighting the last battle in the wrong ditch. Much of what has been said this evening has ensured that the scent has gone cold in terms of the original allegations about which the House should be concerned. The hon. Lady says that we could have united on the Labour party motion, on which I agreed with her and for which I voted...
Mr David Alton: Recognising that the Merseyside police force has also made progress in the fight against crime and achieved a reduction in crime figures, does the Home Secretary agree that it is bound to lead to a loss of morale to publish proposals which the chief constable said could lead to cuts of 500 police officers and 100 civilians? Were that proceeded with, the only people who would benefit would be...
Mr David Alton: The Father of the House has given us wise advice today. I particularly support his remarks about the wisdom of having deliberative meetings in private, as that enables members to move their positions should that be then- wish. We have listened to some interesting points, but it should be said at the outset that the motion that was moved by the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, East...
Mr David Alton: Let me make a little progress first, because time is short and many other hon. Members wish to speak; then I will happily give way to the hon. Gentleman. A week ago, the Prime Minister stood at the Dispatch Box and told the House of his intention to set up the Nolan committee. My right hon. Friend the Member for Yeovil (Mr. Ashdown) said that he supported that move—indeed, there was a...
Mr David Alton: I agree. I made that point a little earlier in my speech. The hon. Gentleman makes a proper point. There are areas between which we much distinguish in determining the way in which we proceed.
Mr David Alton: I will give way once more, but after that the House would expect me to get on with my speech.
Mr David Alton: It is precisely because I believe in natural justice that I readily agreed to serve on the Committee. I used the very phrase that the hon. Gentleman has just used: I said that I would oppose any move to turn it into a Star Chamber or a kangaroo court. I believe that the Committee could consider many matters in public rather than in private. There is no question of the Committee's meeting in...
Mr David Alton: No, I will not give way again. A longer-term issue is the question of self-regulation, and whether ours is indeed the right body to make such decisions and conduct such investigations. We should ask ourselves whether we ought to employ procedures that smack of the blackballing associated with the more prestigious gentlemen's clubs, or whether, in all cases such as this, we should invite...
