Mr Andrew Hargreaves: My alarm was designed to cut out earlier than 20 minutes, but for some reason beyond my control it did not do so. That, too, may be a problem for constituents in my street who may be away visiting sick relatives. What can they do about their alarm going off? Those people are not deliberately making an excessive noise that disturbs others. The cause of the noise may be beyond their control....
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: My hon. Friend is absolutely right, but those who make such occasional noise incur the same penalty as those who are persistently noisy. That is why I should like that part of the Bill to be reconsidered. The hon. Member for Vauxhall and some of my hon. Friends have spoken about the possibility that the Bill might cover noise from cars playing loud amplified music. I may be wrong, but I...
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: On one occasion I went to speak to that person on my own behalf and that of my neighbours. I cannot repeat in the Chamber the language that met my request. Had I not been vaguely familiar to the occupants of that car, I might have been met with violence as well. My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the usual reaction from such people, who do not respect either the privacy or the...
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: I hope that I shall never have to do anything else to my alarm. I look forward very much to hearing further from my hon. Friend that the important matters that I have raised will be dealt with in Committee.
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: I counsel my hon. Friend that, if such a thing were covered—as I shall argue if I am lucky enough to catch your eye, Mr. Deputy Speaker—I would oppose the Bill.
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: I had flu recently. I hope that my speech will he audible; I also intend it to be short. Like other Conservative Members, I found the speech of the hon. Member for Motherwell, North (Dr. Reid) regrettable and out of character. It was partisan, specious and fatuous, and said nothing about what Labour wanted to do. It hid behind a cloak of stating the obvious. All NATO countries have made cuts...
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: In view of the number of questions asked by hon. Members on both sides of the Chamber during recent Defence questions, will my right hon. Friend take time to speak with the Secretary of State for Defence on the subject of the forthcoming order of ambulances for the Army?
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: It is my pleasure to contribute briefly to the debate, and as so much has been said my contribution will be briefer than I had anticipated. First and foremost, I disagree with Opposition Members' interpretation of clause 2. It seems to me, as a result of my brief experience with the Royal Navy, visiting various shore establishments during my time as a participant in the armed forces...
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: Does my right hon. Friend accept that, as one who is unaccustomed to attending the House for statements about Wales, I feel that the higher spending that he has announced—I believe that he mentioned extra spending of as much as £100 per head on health, which is £100 more than is spent in the rest of the country, particularly Birmingham—will strike my constituents as inexplicable?...
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: I, too, have noticed a huge increase in the NHS work load that results from my mailbag. I am sure that other hon. Members have shared the same experience. I return to the difficulties that were experienced by the hon. Gentleman's constituent as a result of a mammogram. A close member of my family went through the same experience slightly more than a year and a half ago. There were exactly...
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: Will my hon. Friend give way?
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: My hon. Friend is too kind. Does he agree that the Select Committee, as well as the Standing Committee which will consider the Bill, should he only too well aware and sensitive of the extra time that will be involved when the clinical element is included in the investigative work of the health commissioner?
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: It gives me great pleasure to participate in this debate. I hope that the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) will forgive me if I do not follow his particular path, which is profoundly and blindly misguided. However, the hon. Gentleman's speech was sincerely made, and I compliment him on it. I identify with the remarks of my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Sir. G Johnson Smith)...
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: Would my right hon. Friend give way?
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: What about the office? Put a figure on it.
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman, who is seeing fair play. The right hon. Gentleman mentioned the Red Cross. On a number of occasions, the Red Cross has expressed its concern about its own members being taken hostage in just such circumstances as these.
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: The hon. Gentleman misheard me. I think that I was suggesting that submarines could be used for the subtle escalation or projection of force. That would be in conventional terms, of course, rather than nuclear.
Mr Andrew Hargreaves: I am especially grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate, and especially pleased to follow the hon. Member for Dunfermline, West (Ms Squire), because we are just completing our attachment to the Royal Navy under the armed forces parliamentary scheme, and I should like to say what a pleasure it was to accompany her on the various visits; some of those visits were slightly more...
