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Bob Russell: In his introduction, the right hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham) rightly drew attention to paragraph 73. I commend him for that, and for the manner of his presentation. I also concur with much that has been said by my colleague on the Committee, the hon. Member for Burton (Mrs. Dean), and by the hon. Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry). I particularly congratulate the hon....
Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will ensure that Kent schools receive funding in an early phase of Building Schools for the Future.
Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many social services departments do not have an intervenor service for deafblind children.
Lord Alton of Liverpool: rose to ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review the provisions in statute that permit conditions such as cleft palate and cleft lip to be regarded as "serious handicaps" for the purposes of terminating the lives of the unborn after 24 weeks' gestation. My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the issue this evening in this short debate. I am grateful to those members...
Michael Martin: Order. Miss Widdecombe, when you ask a question it is polite to wait for the answer—even if you consider it not to be an answer.
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall: My Lords, I add my congratulations to my noble friend Lady Gould on introducing this debate. She and other noble Baronesses have left few stones unturned for a tail-end Charlie. I hope that I shall not lower the tone too much. The brilliant, if somewhat wayward American humourist, Dorothy Parker, was asked to produce an aphorism containing the word "horticulture". She came up with the...
Chris Leslie: The only core change that the Bill proposes is in respect of the issuing of a new birth certificate through the gender recognition register. That is the main register that will effectively be created by the Bill. No specific consequential series of changes will be made to public information held elsewhere, and, as was said, there will be no attempt to rewrite history. The original birth...
Andrew Dismore: No, the hon. Gentleman has had his time. It is clear that the will of the House is that hunting with dogs should be banned. We have voted nine times since 1995 for a total ban on hunting. As the Bill is about hunting, we should measure it against the aspirations of the whole elected House. The hon. Gentleman claims that more than 40 hon. Members support his approach, but where are they today?...
Peter Hain: ...Time, it suggests that the Leader of the Opposition intends to remain in that position for a long time. Let us consider the more serious points. The Newton committee review was published today and laid before the House with a written ministerial statement from the Home Secretary. We will issue a statement in response to the report and consider the hon. Gentleman's request. The hon....
Sir David Amess: I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision for stray animals and for their ownership; and for connected purposes. In all our constituencies, as we walk up and down the streets visiting people, we often see pinned to trees notices advertising various animals that have been lost and found. I wonder whether the House has any idea that re-homing animals is in no sense...
Lord Faulkner of Worcester: No, my Lords, but it is a reason why I was prepared to sit through the only all-night sitting at which I have been in this House to pass the Act dealing with football hooliganism in order to curb the activities of those hooligans. If by getting this Bill through we shall get rid of the hooligans in hunting, that will be time well spent. The third issue I wish to touch on concerns the role of...
Mr Tony Banks: I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Minister for the way in which he has conducted the Bill. That was done on the basis of a free vote of the House. Indeed, the Bill has changed as it has gone through the House; that is the way that we do things. On a free vote, we were entitled to act in the way that we did. The hon. Member for North Wiltshire (Mr. Gray) said that the Bill had been...
Mr Gerry Steinberg: I will not. The hon. Gentleman has had a good say today. I want to get on because others want to get in. Licensing has done nothing to abolish fox hunting, which clearly the Bill set out to do. The Bill has banned hare coursing and hunting and deer hunting, but not fox hunting, which was the prime aim in the first place. Fox hunting was the core issue and it has been ignored. If it is wrong...
Ann Widdecombe: To call the programme motion a Horlicks is to be profoundly unfair to the nightcap of that name. The motion and the recommittal proposition are merely another means of delay and another means of not delivering on something that was promised before 1997. It is the latest procedural shenanigan. We were told that Parliament would have an opportunity on a free vote to decide whether it wanted a...
John Stanley: My debate has been triggered by a horrendous chain of events at a location in the green belt in my constituency called Deer's Leap. I shall return to that but the House and the Minister should be in no doubt that the events that I shall describe have a significance that goes far wider than only my constituency. They have relevance to the south-east region and beyond, because they call into...
Frank Roy: I thank members of the Committee for giving up their time for this important Bill. I also thank you, Miss Widdecombe, not least for the advice that you were good enough to give me some moments ago. Disruptive passenger behaviour, or air rage as it is commonly known in this country, is a serious offence. It could affect anyone who flies in an aircraft. Figures show a 400 per cent. increase in...
Kelvin Hopkins: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship again, Miss Widdecombe. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Motherwell and Wishaw on introducing the Bill. I wanted to speak on Second Reading but was unable to; I might have said what I am about to say at that time. I want to make some important points. The Bill dovetails nicely with the Railways and Transport Safety Bill, which...
Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make an immediate offer of political asylum to Mr. Henry Olonga.
Ann Widdecombe: I want to press the hon. Gentleman on the point that was raised by my hon. Friend the Member for South-West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous). Does the hon. Gentleman accept that teaching a child encompasses an element of influence? Is it not therefore important, when teaching children, that a way of life that—as the hon. Gentleman has just admitted—can cause problems in adult life should not...
Dr Lewis Moonie: I congratulate the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) on securing this debate on an important subject. I am, of course, aware of and wholeheartedly endorse the high esteem in which Gurkhas are held on both sides of the House. I am also aware of the concern frequently expressed by the media and general public about their terms and conditions of service. Interest...