Results 121–140 of 1300 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Lord Maples

Business of the House: Legislative Process ( 1 Nov 2006)

John Maples: Well, the hon. Gentleman worked out that people who were spending £25,000 a year on postage were sending out 600 letters a day. I cannot believe that all those letters were individually signed, and if they were not, they were circulars. It is expenses more than anything else that brings us into public disrepute, which is a reason why the communications allowance should be stopped quickly....

Business of the House: Legislative Process ( 1 Nov 2006)

John Maples: I expect that the hon. Member for Hendon will deduce from that that he ought to be sending out 2,600 letters a day.

Business of the House: Legislative Process ( 1 Nov 2006)

John Maples: The hon. Gentleman tempts me again. He said earlier that he thought that the amount that people spent depended on their generation in Parliament and that those who were elected relatively recently, such as him, spent more than those who came in a long time ago, such as me. I suspect that the correlation is with the marginality of people's seats and that it has nothing to do with how long they...

Business of the House: Legislative Process ( 1 Nov 2006)

John Maples: I appreciate that point, which was why I said that the limit should be 20 minutes, plus interventions. However, there must be some self-denying ordinance on Front-Bench spokesmen. They make speeches about how Back Benchers should have more time, but then occupy the time themselves. If Back Benchers are to be restricted to three, five, or eight minutes, Front-Bench spokesmen should also be...

Business of the House: Legislative Process ( 1 Nov 2006)

John Maples: No, I want to move on—[Hon. Members: "Give way!"] The hon. Gentleman will get to make his own speech.

Business of the House: Legislative Process ( 1 Nov 2006)

John Maples: I will check the record. I was present, and I seem to remember the speech going on for much longer than that. I wanted to speak about the sub judice rule, which is a highly technical piece of parliamentary procedure that I had not come across until I ran into it about two years ago. The case is no longer sub judice so I can mention it. The Foreign Affairs Committee heard evidence from two...

Business of the House: Legislative Process ( 1 Nov 2006)

John Maples: I shall give way in a moment, as I know that the hon. Lady has been involved in the matter as well. If we had sought in our report to say that the people who had brought the action against Saudi Arabia were right, I can see that that would be treading on the judiciary's turf. We do not want the judiciary on our turf, so in general we should stay off its turf. But that must be done around the...

Business of the House: Legislative Process ( 1 Nov 2006)

John Maples: The case in which the hon. Lady was involved has been mentioned in the debate and she may wish to check what was said. I am grateful for her support. I am sorry my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Mr. Cash) has left. I have discovered that the sub judice rule does not apply to cases once they have been taken to the European Court of Human Rights or the European Court of Justice. I am sure...

Business of the House: Legislative Process ( 1 Nov 2006)

John Maples: I thought that I had already said that I can see two reasons for the sub judice rule. First, it avoids us appearing to prejudice a court's decision, and, secondly, it prevents us from getting on to the courts' turf at all. The comity point—the obligation not to comment on things that are rightfully the business of a court while proceedings are under way—should be more narrowly defined,...

Business of the House: Legislative Process ( 1 Nov 2006)

John Maples: It would be inappropriate to share with the House any discussions that I have had with the Speaker, but it had occurred to me that that was my first port of call before my right hon. Friend suggested it. I made representations to the Procedure Committee when it was chaired by my hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield. In fact, we discussed the issue, and he explained the reasons for the...

Business of the House: Legislative Process ( 1 Nov 2006)

John Maples: On discretion, the Order of the House regarding sub judice restricts Mr. Speaker's discretion to a case that "concerns issues of national importance such as the economy, public order or the essential services". In the recommendations of my right hon. Friend's Committee, it is simply said that the phrase "national importance" in the resolution should be interpreted reasonably. Why, in view of...

Business of the House: Legislative Process ( 1 Nov 2006)

John Maples: rose—

Business of the House: Legislative Process ( 1 Nov 2006)

John Maples: It would help us considerably if we had some idea of what sort of figure the right hon. Gentleman envisages. Are we talking about £5,000 or £20,000? The total amount of our allowances is a matter of great public concern, and there is a wide disparity in the total amounts spent by different hon. Members. What amount are we talking about?

Opposition Day: [Un-allotted Half-Day] — Iraq (31 Oct 2006)

John Maples: The Foreign Secretary prayed in aid the Select Committee's report. I was a member of that Committee, and I have to say to her that her predecessor and the Government obstructed the Committee's proceedings at every stage possible, refusing to produce witnesses and documents.

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Climate Change (30 Oct 2006)

John Maples: I think that we are all agreed on the seriousness of the problem, and the debate is shifting to some difficult questions about what one does about it. The Secretary of State has acknowledged that the problem is global, which means that nothing we do in this country—although it may make us feel good—will actually solve the problem if others do not act. That leads to many conclusions, but...

Oral Answers to Questions — Defence: Child Support Redesign (24 Jul 2006)

John Maples: The CSA has been particularly hopeless in dealing with the cases of self-employed fathers who seem to manage to live extremely well on negligible incomes and who change some minor aspect of their affairs when they are in danger of being caught up with in order to be put back to the bottom of the heap. I am sure we all have experience of that. Is the Secretary of State confident that his new...

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Engagements (19 Jul 2006)

John Maples: May I urge the Prime Minister to find time in his busy day to rethink his holiday plans? I do not know which Italian palazzo he has lined up this year, but may I commend to him the benefits of a holiday in the United Kingdom? One of the benefits for the rest of us, of course, is the fact that he would not have to leave the Deputy Prime Minister in charge. If the Italian palazzo has a croquet...

Learning Disability Services (Cornwall): Energy Review (11 Jul 2006)

John Maples: Can the Secretary of State foresee any circumstances in which he could meet his carbon dioxide reduction commitment without at least replacing, if not increasing, the share of nuclear generation in our overall generating capacity?

Points of Order: Broadcasting (10 Jul 2006)

John Maples: Surely the crucial difference between the BBC and the private sector is that businesses in the latter have to compete for their revenue. Entirely voluntary transactions earn them that revenue, but that is not so with the BBC. If it misuses its revenue in the way that it competes or pays its staff, that is a matter of public concern.

Points of Order: Broadcasting (10 Jul 2006)

John Maples: One of the issues that bothers some of us is that the BBC is taking a great deal of licence payers' money and a lot of money out of some of its programming to finance its new digital platforms, particularly its website. It is doing that in competition with people in the private sector who have to compete for their revenues and raise their own capital. At some point, that can become really...


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