Gordon Banks: Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the argument put by the hon. Member for Solihull (Lorely Burt) is not assisted by the fact that people such as Mr Brydon are unable or unwilling to put a figure on what the maximum number of years will be? That undermines her argument.
Gordon Banks: Does my hon. Friend agree with the people who believe that it may not be legal pressure that prevents the Minister from making the proposed arrangement possible, but Treasury pressure?
Gordon Banks: On the hon. Gentleman's point about doing a deal with a supermarket, does he agree that there is absolutely nothing to prevent Royal Mail from doing a deal with other supermarket chains?
Gordon Banks: I am listening to the Minister's remarks with great interest. He has explained his position on why the GLA is not relevant to the construction industry, but will he expand on why he has changed his mind since signing early-day motion 1366 in 2009?
Gordon Banks: I commend the hon. Member for Castle Point (Rebecca Harris) for bringing the Bill before us. I hope she is enjoying today's experience a little more than the Postal Services Bill Committee, on which we both sit. I suspect she might have become sick of the sound of my voice over the past few weeks, but if she will tolerate me a little longer I might have something interesting to say to her....
Gordon Banks: Irrespective of the length of the trial-two and a half or three years-it is a substantial period that would enable the gathering of a significant amount of information and allow us to make the decision on the basis of information gathered in the UK, not in Indiana or somewhere else, and the decision would be based on the UK in the 21st century. When I read the official transcript of the...
Gordon Banks: I thank my right hon. Friend for his intervention. There is a lot of conflicting information and there are many conflicting viewpoints. My suggestion, without giving away too much of my speech at this point, would be that a review could gather a lot of important information that could be well studied and well debated to allow a longer term decision to be made.
Gordon Banks: I was waiting for that one. If I remember correctly, the hon. Gentleman said that he had not had a sensible response to any of those proposals in any of the debates, and I do not think he will get one from me, either. In performing my duties as Member of Parliament for Ochil and South Perthshire, I have received representations from constituents that show the strength of feeling on both sides...
Gordon Banks: I do not want to argue or disagree with the hon. Gentleman. If he bears with me, my position will become a little clearer.
Gordon Banks: I think it is important for the Opposition to identify some of the problems that a number of people outside the House, as well as a number of Members, have with the Bill. However, I believe that there is a solution to those problems, and I believe that that solution is in the Bill. Let me now make our position a little less fuzzy for the benefit of the hon. Member for Bournemouth East....
Gordon Banks: I would argue that the independent commission's job is to scrutinise both sides of the argument independently. Only then can it comply with the Bill and the regulations to make the position fair for all parts of the United Kingdom. I trust the independent commission to be able to do that. With great respect to Members who are present, I suspect that most of them have decided whether they...
Gordon Banks: I do not disagree with that. After the commission has reported and trials of a permanent change have taken place, it will be possible for a vote to take place in the House, and for us all to make our views known at that stage.
Gordon Banks: I could not agree more. I put my faith in the commission's ability to gather evidence from all over the United Kingdom, and to analyse it in an independent, structured and transparent way. Following the Adjournment debate, I was intrigued to read in Hansard that the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell), had...
Gordon Banks: If the hon. Lady had been listening to my remarks, she would have known that we are not going to oppose the passage of the Bill today. However, some questions need answering and that is why the Committee and the commission will sit. It is right that these questions are asked and that some of these concerns are voiced in this debate. I wish to go back to the debate about 9 to 5 and 10 to 6. We...
Gordon Banks: I have already told the House that we are not going to block the progress of the Bill. We look forward to the information that will flow from the Bill and allow us the opportunity to come back to have a full vote before any overall change is made to the time structure in the United Kingdom for a period longer than the trial period. I have discussed only a few of the issues that have concerned...
Gordon Banks: What recent discussions she has had with the Gangmasters Licensing Authority on the use of child labour in the farming and food industry sectors.
Gordon Banks: The Minister is right that we are all shocked at the news of those Romanian children. I take on board what he said about the GLA, but does he feel that given the remoteness of some locations where people are expected to work in the agricultural sector, managing the possibility of child exploitation is difficult?
Gordon Banks: We have heard a lot today about the impact that the CSR will have on some of the most vulnerable people in society. I support the view that it cannot be acceptable that families are expected to pay more than the banks, and that the public and private sector workers who did not cause the crisis will pay more and lose their jobs, while the banks are treated lightly. Among the doom and gloom of...
Gordon Banks: Could the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister possibly have been at the school in my hon. Friend's constituency getting some arithmetic lessons?
Gordon Banks: rose-