Contributions
106 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal)This Parliament is at the very heart of our national story and our shared history, and it is what the Prime Minister’s great idol, Winston Churchill, called the “cockpit of the…03 Sept 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsT3. A number of constituents are trapped in unfair leases. What is the Minister doing to ensure that they can buy out their lease from a developer at reasonable cost?22 Jul 2019HANSARD High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) BillI am very interested in the point my hon. Friend is making. Can she tell the House why, if the reviews she mentions have taken place, the costs of this project have escalated by…15 Jul 2019HANSARD High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) BillHS2 has a number of subcontractors and contractors, and it has entered into NDAs with them. Under my new clause, an independent assessor would assess past NDAs. HS2 is incapable…15 Jul 2019HANSARD High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) BillThe Minister has explained why it is important for the efficiency of HS2 that it should have NDAs, but does she think that is right if it comes at the cost of constituents being…15 Jul 2019HANSARD High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) BillIt is always interesting to follow the hon. Lady, who is my neighbour. She extols the virtues of HS2, but it is not her constituents but mine who will feel an impact. The rolling…15 Jul 2019HANSARD High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) BillThere are some unusual cases in my constituency. There are a number of people with canal boats who pay for moorings. They are very hard to locate, and they will get no…15 Jul 2019HANSARD High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) BillSadly for Eddisbury, the number of losers there is very large. It will cost an extra £100 million just to do the extra 20 km of track from Crewe past Winsford. The geotechnical…15 Jul 2019HANSARD High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) BillI completely agree with my right hon. Friend, which is why I tabled new clause 5. NDAs should not be used to shut people up and prevent them from saying what is happening inside…15 Jul 2019HANSARD High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) BillI am glad to be giving voice, because I sound a bit croaky—I am losing my voice. I agree that there are potential benefits, but the question is whether those benefits are worth…15 Jul 2019HANSARD High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) BillI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising that point. He will see from the drafting of my new clause that it would allow an assessor to assess NDAs that have already been…15 Jul 2019HANSARD High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) BillSo far, HS2 has refused to answer freedom of information requests. It claims, in answers given to me as a result of FOI requests, that it is unable to provide answers because it…15 Jul 2019HANSARD High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) BillI completely agree. I am worried that NDAs are used to cover up wrongdoing in HS2, particularly in relation to redundancy payments, which have been discovered by the National…15 Jul 2019HANSARD High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) BillI have asked for details, and for a copy of an NDA but, again, there was a refusal to disclose that to me. The claim is that that is exempt from disclosure, because it is…15 Jul 2019HANSARD High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) BillI do not know, but presumably for the length of the project. That has an impact on Members representing constituencies on phase 2b of the route, because we cannot get information…15 Jul 2019HANSARD High Speed 2It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Luton North (Kelvin Hopkins). I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Member for South Northamptonshire (Andrea Leadsom) for…10 Jul 2019HANSARD High Speed 2I certainly do. I remember stating the figure of £100 billion on television, only to be told that it was ridiculous. Now it looks like a certainty, rather than the ridiculous…10 Jul 2019HANSARD Assisted DyingIt is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris). I thank the hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford (Nick Boles) for bringing forward this debate,…04 Jul 2019HANSARD Assisted DyingDignity in Dying estimates the average cost of a trip to Dignitas to be around £10,000, which is a substantial amount. Only one third of UK families have that much in savings, so…04 Jul 2019HANSARDSale of New Petrol and Diesel Cars and VansIt is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood), who, as ever, advanced cogent arguments in support of electric vehicles. Last month the House…04 Jul 2019