Brian H Donohoe: I have visited most of my food banks, but there are so many of them that it is very difficult. Has my right hon. Friend noticed, like me, the type of person turning up at these food banks? I saw a woman who was a skilled worker—a draughtswoman—who could not get a job and had not had one for four years as a result of the Government’s policies. Did he see anybody like that?
Brian H Donohoe: I declare an interest, as secretary of the all-party parliamentary scotch whisky and spirits group. Nearly every week the group receives representations about the whole question of the duty escalator and the unfair treatment of the spirits industry in relation to the beer industry. The Chancellor gave so much to the beer industry in his most recent Budget. What representations has the...
Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average clearance time is for passport control at Heathrow for (a) non-European passport holders, (b) EU passport holders, (c) UK passport holders and (d) VIP visitors.
Brian H Donohoe: The right hon. Gentleman makes an important point. Lay people do not necessarily get the information, because the Government do not give the facts out. Is that not the case?
Brian H Donohoe: I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. Scotland is virtually clear of TB in cattle. Is there not an awful lot to be said for the argument that the Government down here, whose experiment has been a folly, should look at the Scottish situation instead of continuing a cull that nobody recognises as being of any use?
Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the processing backlog of medals for veterans.
Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the length of passport control delays at Heathrow airport.
Brian H Donohoe: I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing the debate. Three of the five biggest users of energy are located in Scotland, so he will understand my interest in this subject and, in particular, in the effect of Government policy. These industries are not able to get the grants available to their competitors in mainland Europe, which is leading to the possibility of job losses. Does he accept...
Brian H Donohoe: I am grateful again to my hon. Friend for giving way. I have had many representations from the glass industry about its being excluded. There is a highly successful glass factory in my constituency, but its concerns are so great that it is bound to lose jobs as a consequence of being excluded from compensation. Does he agree?
Brian H Donohoe: First, may I add my condolences to the friends and families of those who have lost their lives? Many years ago, along with the then convenor of police in Strathclyde, Jimmy Jennings, I fought hard for the maintenance of the helicopter service, so I would not want any possibility of a knee-jerk reaction grounding of these pieces of kit. As someone who has operated with that piece of kit, I can...
Brian H Donohoe: Will the Minister accept that a number of the jobs brought into the economy are part time? Would it be better for the Government to calculate the number of jobs in terms of hours worked by individuals, and would they find that the number of jobs has actually dropped in real terms if those hours are taken into account?
Brian H Donohoe: I have done some work on this subject. Is not a consequence of the number of part-time jobs advertised not just in my constituency but across the country that wages have dropped to today’s level?
Brian H Donohoe: It is my understanding that the circumstances are no different in England and Scotland, whereas Wales has that new legislation. It is necessary to put on the record that Scotland should also consider changing the law to prevent the same situation from arising.
Brian H Donohoe: I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate. Like my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Mr Smith), I have had many letters from constituents about this issue. However, I want to clarify one thing with the Minister. Is it the case that racehorses are not in this situation because of the fact that they are microchipped as a matter of course, so they do not become part...
Brian H Donohoe: I am a practical individual. In my lifetime, I have lost hundreds of full-time jobs within the armed forces in my constituency, with the latest losses due to air traffic control at Prestwick moving down to Swanwick. That means that there is not a single full-time job within our armed forces in my constituency, whereas before there were hundreds, yet there is still a recruitment centre. What...
Brian H Donohoe: Surely a consequence of that is that fewer women are able to put their children in day care and get back to work.
Brian H Donohoe: Perhaps the Minister will give the hon. Lady a glass a water to help her throat. May I just ask about pensions for young people today, and what will happen to them in the future? Child care today does not mean that those young people will get a pension tomorrow—in fact, quite the reverse.
Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to correspondence from the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire of 1 July, 16 September and 9 October 2013 on the EgyptAir flight that landed on 15 June 2013 and the five Syrian passengers it contained who were seeking asylum.
Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he intends to publish the Warwick University study on the use of food banks.
Brian H Donohoe: The hon. Gentleman is right to say that the prices are lower, but can he explain why in the last few years the increase has been larger than in any other European country?