Robert Walter: There are obviously serious difficulties with package 1, and it is clear that package 2 will never get off the ground. Does that not challenge the financial viability of the whole scheme, and has the Minister considered looking again at some of the investment the MOD has already made in my constituency at Blandford in the Defence College of Communications and Information Systems—more than...
Robert Walter: I came here today because I am sympathetic to Bournemouth's problems, but I am a little concerned about the 70 or so local authorities that are in the queue to which my hon. Friend refers. Does he feel that if Bournemouth's legislation is successful, those traders will move north into my constituency, right on the edge of Bournemouth? We have Wimborne market, a big open-air market that...
Robert Walter: Will the Minister give way?
Robert Walter: Absolutely. Will the Minister tell me why a combined fire authority, such as Dorset, gets a much lower percentage increase settlement that one such as his own in Gloucestershire, which is a county authority?
Robert Walter: I am pleased that the Minister mentioned the Audit Commission's report, because it said that Dorset fire and rescue service "has the highest percentage of indicators in the top quartile nationally". It was also the commission's No. 1 case study for high performance and good customer satisfaction. Is that not worth something?
Robert Walter: I share the Foreign Secretary's views about institutional reform, but he has not mentioned one of the disasters of the past couple of months: the failure to put together the EU force to go to Chad. If that will not be discussed, as he appears to imply, what will be the future for the European security and defence policy, given the embarrassment caused in connection with it by through European...
Robert Walter: The A303 is the major east-west artery through my constituency, so I welcome the Minister's suggestion that the consequences of this issue will be considered by local politicians. However, I remind him that the Government ignored the South West regional assembly on the A303 improvements west of Ilminster. More importantly, will the Minister confirm that the A344 closure will merely make the...
Robert Walter: My hon. Friend has struck on an important point. Will he tease out from the Secretary of State whether the EU's battle groups, which were heralded as the answer to such a crisis in Bosnia, could be deployed to meet any crisis that arises? Otherwise, the battle groups are of no possible worth whatever.
Robert Walter: It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Stockton, North (Frank Cook), who I know has done a tremendous amount of work on Afghanistan, which I shall deal with in a moment. He and I have discussed the matter before and I fear that he might not agree with everything that I have to say. I want to start off by dealing with two defence matters that relate specifically to my constituency,...
Robert Walter: The hon. Gentleman helps my point. We would then provide an alternative livelihood to the Afghan poppy farmer that he would not have if we simply destroyed his crop or tried to persuade him with a packet of seeds to grow some alternative crop for which there is no market mechanism. We have to work constructively first, to ensure that we preserve the livelihood of Afghan farmers and their...
Robert Walter: As has been said, the election of the Hamas Government was a result of the failure of the international community, especially Israel, to support the previous Fatah Government. Somewhat late in the day, the international community is rallying around the emergency Fatah Government, but support is needed. Will the Minister tell us specifically how much practical support the United Kingdom is...
Robert Walter: The Department for Work and Pensions informed me yesterday that two of three jobcentres in my constituency were closing, so it has not been a good week for Government announcements of closures. However, there is a little bit of good news. On Monday, after a long period without post office services, a new post office counter opened in the village of Hazelbury Bryan in my constituency. I hope...
Robert Walter: I congratulate my right hon. and hon. Friends on bringing this subject before the House today. I am sure that when they took that decision, they did not expect to see such a consensus across the Chamber, or a Government amendment very similar in its wording to the original motion. I have a dilemma—very much on the same lines as that of my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for...
Robert Walter: May I return to the question of Turkey, which is our most important ally in the Islamic world, and ask the Foreign Secretary, given that the nominee for the presidency of Turkey is her opposite number—the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mr. Gul—whether she has congratulated him on his nomination or counselled him otherwise?
Robert Walter: The whole question about London and the Greater London authority is a red herring. The GLA does not have legislative powers. The Scottish Parliament has legislative powers both primary and secondary. The Welsh Assembly has secondary legislative powers. The Northern Ireland Assembly will have, when it is up and running, primary and secondary legislative powers. That is not the case in respect...
Robert Walter: I hope that I can help the hon. Lady. She has strayed into the sphere of taxation and Treasury matters, which would not be affected. Those are United Kingdom matters and would continue to be so.
Robert Walter: My birth certificate states that I was born in Swansea, which is in Wales.
Robert Walter: rose—
Robert Walter: I think that the right hon. Gentleman was making my point in a slightly different way. I agreed that the preceding position on Northern Ireland was unacceptable, but we have moved on, because we have a Scottish Parliament, a Welsh Assembly and an up-and-running Northern Ireland Assembly. That is why we need the Bill.
Robert Walter: I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. This has been an important week for the provisions of the Bill, because we have had elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, a devolved Assembly that will have primary law-making powers, secondary powers and the ability to appoint Ministers who are responsible for the government of Northern Ireland. However, this is also an important...