Robert Goodwill: Is my hon. Friend aware that large-scale trawls have taken place when a request has been made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and that, for example, health trusts had to provide much information, which proved expensive and distracted them from their work?
Robert Goodwill: I shall be as brief as I can, because I know that the Minister does not want the passage of this important Bill to be held up. I note that she volunteered to be Minister for Fridays because she enjoys them so much. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for South-West Hertfordshire (Mr. Gauke) on the cogent and logical way in which he presented the case for the Bill. There can be no doubt...
Robert Goodwill: The Opposition are aware that the Treasury must have some knowledge of what is going on in the accounts of UK plc, and we should like more of that information to be available to the general public. Getting information from the internet is difficult and costly, but the cost should be borne by the people who need the information rather than by the Government who are searching for it. It has...
Robert Goodwill: Does the Minister have any estimate of the savings that could be made under the Bill? For example, civil servants would not have to spend time looking for information to respond to parliamentary questions and other freedom of information searches.
Robert Goodwill: I express some disappointment, Mr. Wilshire, that we will not have the pleasure of serving under your chairmanship during what could have been a long Committee stage. However, I express our thanks to the hon. Member for Manchester, Blackley for putting this important issue on the public agenda. The Minister’s statement shows that the Government are taking the matter seriously. I believe...
Robert Goodwill: I thank the hon. Gentleman for all the work that he has put into getting the problem on the agenda. I know that it is a problem in his part of the world, and I hope that the taskforce will come up with solutions. I also hope that there will be some cross-party input, because I know of right hon. and hon. Members who would very much like to be involved.
Robert Goodwill: What assessment he has made of the impact on pension funds of the abolition of dividend tax relief in 1997; and if he will make a statement.
Robert Goodwill: Various figures have been bandied around as to the effect of the abolition of dividend tax relief. To put the record straight, what is the most recent Treasury figure for the cumulative effect of that annual smash-and-grab raid on our pension funds?
Robert Goodwill: Has the Minister had discussions with Ministers from the Department for Children, Schools and Families to see how resources can be channelled through schools that have been proactive in this respect, such as George Pindar community school in Eastfield, which is tackling the problem of social exclusion on a whole-family basis?
Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the implications of the arrangements by which a Chinese driving licence can be exchanged for a British licence, via a Hong Kong licence, for road safety in England; how many licences have been issued in exchange for Hong Kong licences; and if she will make a statement.
Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of vehicles other than HGVs and LGVs failed the MOT test for reasons limited to exhaust emissions in the last 12 months.
Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people are employed by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency.
Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her estimate is of the value of the land and buildings used by the Vehicle and Operators Services Agency for its annual HGV and PSV inspections.
Robert Goodwill: I cannot even start to describe how angry doctors, nurses, unions and patients in Scarborough are after last week's announcement of 600 job losses at Scarborough hospital. That is one third of the hospital's staff. Will the Minister come to Scarborough this summer to see for himself the effects that the cuts are going to have, and to let us convince him that we need to maintain full A and E...
Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the MOT failure rate is for cars at (a) three, (b) four, (c) five, (d) six, (e) seven, (f) eight, (g) nine and (h) 10 years old.
Robert Goodwill: As we currently measure relative poverty, the only way to reduce child poverty is to increase pensioner poverty, and vice versa. Has the Minister looked at more realistic ways of measuring actual poverty, so that we can have a more sensible debate about the subject?
Robert Goodwill: Does the Minister agree that most householders already have very useful documentation that could be made available to buyers? I am referring to gas and electricity bills, which people are used to reading and understanding.
Robert Goodwill: Does the hon. Gentleman agree that in the north of England, in places such as Scarborough and Chesterfield, the stamp duty proposal would help many people?
Robert Goodwill: If he will make a statement on the progress of the consultation on the future of nuclear power.
Robert Goodwill: We have already lost vital time because of the way in which the Government botched this consultation. Will the Minister assure us that he at least has the bottle to make a quick decision on this matter?