Contributions
792 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDReopening of SchoolsLet me take this opportunity to associate myself with the comments made earlier about the terror attack in Reading, a near neighbour to my Basingstoke constituency. Our thoughts…22 Jun 2020HANSARDReopening of SchoolsWhat progress he is making on the reopening of schools for eligible year groups.22 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (Second sitting)Q Following up on one of the previous lines of questioning on the premise of the Bill, which is about equal-sized constituencies and the fairness of that, I was reflecting on what…18 Jun 2020HANSARDDFID-FCO MergerDepartmental fragmentation is a very real problem in government, which is why I welcome the announcement made by my right hon. Friend. This Government’s commitment to…18 Jun 2020HANSARDCovid-19: BAME CommunitiesI pay tribute to the hon. Member for Brent Central (Dawn Butler) for calling for this debate and to the Backbench Business Committee for granting it. It is a great pleasure to…18 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (First sitting)Q It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Paisley, on what I am sure will be a really interesting Committee. I thank the witnesses for the responses they have…18 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (First sitting)Q If you can do it in Scotland, why can you not do it in England? Tony Bellringer: At the moment, we do not have the postcode areas in England. We would have to create them; they…18 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (First sitting)Q May I probe a little further? We are talking about democracy here, so it is pretty important that we get it right, and a bit of extra hard work and extra IT is what the…18 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (First sitting)Q Mr Paisley, I do not know if this will help, but it might be useful if the commission provided the Committee with a note on the issue and how it could be overcome. Just because…18 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (First sitting)Q And any suggestions of changes in the law to do that would be really helpful. Can I ask one other question—will you indulge me, Mr Paisley? I noticed that the commissions try to…18 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (First sitting)Q Presumably, it would affect your geographical boundaries, which may not have live bodies in yet, but will in the future. Tony Bellringer: Yes and no. The distinction I am trying…18 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (First sitting)Q And in Scotland? Isabel Drummond-Murray: I do not think there is much to add to that. We have to work with the electorate as set out in the legislation. On the local government…18 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (First sitting)Q I start by thanking Shereen for her evidence today. In your evidence, you have highlighted the specific challenges in Wales because of the beautiful geography you have. Can you…18 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (First sitting)Q Sorry—that major change happened prior to 2005, actually. It is really reassuring to hear your comments. Going back to the question that my hon. Friend the Member for…18 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (First sitting)Q Very finally, in Wales you have the wonderful Ynys Môn constituency, which is the second-largest island in the United Kingdom—I am nervously looking at the Chair here—or maybe…18 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (First sitting)I wondered whether, as somebody who was brought up in Wales and understands the importance of cultural identity within the Welsh nation and the psyche, you have thought further…18 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (First sitting)Understood. Sorry, I have probably pressed you too far on that.18 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (Second sitting)Q Thank you so much for giving evidence. I want to probe further on the issue of automaticity in the Bill. We are currently working on boundaries that are decades out of date.…18 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (Second sitting)Q Surely the final recommendations not coming before Parliament would fulfil your criteria of not having political involvement at that crucial stage, which in the past has proved…18 Jun 2020HANSARDParliamentary Constituencies bill (Second sitting)Q Can you give an example of what might constitute influence on the Commission? Dave McCobb: I would like to come back to the 5% variation threshold. The Organisation for Security…18 Jun 2020