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Estimates day on Wednesday, 5 December 2007, in the House of Commons, led by Tony Wright. The answering member was Baroness Merron.

Standards of Conduct in Public Life

Winter supplementary estimates 2007-08. First estimates day (part one). Motion that, for the year ending with 31st March 2008, for expenditure by the Cabinet Office— (1) the resources authorised for use be reduced by £10,596,000, as set out in House of Commons Paper No. 29, (2) the sum authorised for issue out of the Consolidated Fund be reduced by £2,938,000 as so set out, and (3) limits as so set out be set on appropriations in aid. Question deferred. Resolved.

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
468 c857-95 
Session
2007-08
Department
Cabinet Office
Procedure
Supply estimates
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Related items
Estimates
Thursday, 29 November 2007
Parliamentary proceedings
House of Commons
Show all related items (5)
Proceeding contributions
Greg Clark | 468 c891 (Link to this contribution) Will the Minister explain why, in respect of such a sensitive appointment, it was not felt appropria...
Greg Clark | 468 c884-9 (Link to this contribution) The debate has been a good one, rather better tempered than yesterday's exchanges. That is appropria...
Show all contributions (65)
Kelvin Hopkins | 468 c864 (Link to this contribution) I want to follow the point made by the hon. Member for Bridgwater (Mr. Liddell-Grainger), our collea...
Gordon Prentice | 468 c875 (Link to this contribution) I follow your strictures as always, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I would say only that I could not get the in...
Greg Clark | 468 c866 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman makes a compelling and most impressive case. His Committee clearly had some influ...
Tony Wright | 468 c862-3 (Link to this contribution) I very much agree that that was not this House's finest hour. The Public Administration Committee wa...
Baroness Merron | 468 c891 (Link to this contribution) There may be some confusion about the Government's commitment, so perhaps I can gently point out tha...
Baroness Merron | 468 c889-90 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Dr. Wright) on securing this debate. It ...
Kelvin Hopkins | 468 c889 (Link to this contribution) Is the hon. Gentleman committing his party to supporting all the recommendations in the report, espe...
Greg Clark | 468 c889 (Link to this contribution) As I said, there is much in the report with which we agree, but I cannot at this stage commit to its...
Douglas Carswell | 468 c881-4 (Link to this contribution) I read the report with great interest, and it is a timely report. The public feel growing concern ab...
Kelvin Hopkins | 468 c874 (Link to this contribution) As so often, I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. Does he agree that the moneys collected in small ...
Gordon Prentice | 468 c874 (Link to this contribution) I am prepared to defend the trade union-Labour party link, but we are not talking about that today. ...
David TC Davies | 468 c874 (Link to this contribution) I am slightly surprised at the hon. Gentleman's comments. Is it not the case that Lord Ashcroft has ...
Speaker | 468 c874 (Link to this contribution) Order. I hope the hon. Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) may not be diverted down that route, as he j...
David Winnick | 468 c875 (Link to this contribution) I did not agree with Tony Blair and, rarely for me, I do not agree with my hon. Friend. Surely we we...
Gordon Prentice | 468 c875-6 (Link to this contribution) I do not want to dwell on the issue; I have said what I wanted to say. My friend the Member for Cann...
David Heyes | 468 c876 (Link to this contribution) When the chairman appeared before the Select Committee, he was operating under a 40 per cent. budget...
Gordon Prentice | 468 c876-7 (Link to this contribution) That brings me neatly to a point that I was going to make later. It is all very well for the Governm...
Kelvin Hopkins | 468 c880-1 (Link to this contribution) We have heard many excellent speeches, notably that of my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (...
Lord Young of Cookham | 468 c877-9 (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice). I agree with him that sleaze s...
Kelvin Hopkins | 468 c872 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman was hinting that he favours proportional representation or something like it to g...
Lord Young of Cookham | 468 c868 (Link to this contribution) Before the hon. Gentleman gets carried away with his praise for the Prime Minister, will he recognis...
Simon Hughes | 468 c868-70 (Link to this contribution) Absolutely—what I am saying is not unqualified. That is one of the specific things that has not been...
Kelvin Hopkins | 468 c868 (Link to this contribution) I agree with what the hon. Gentleman is saying about Sir Alistair Graham. I, too, admire him and tho...
Simon Hughes | 468 c868 (Link to this contribution) I accept that it was not the current Prime Minister who took the view about Alistair Graham. The cur...
Stewart Hosie | 468 c872 (Link to this contribution) I wish the world was as the hon. Gentleman describes it. Perhaps he could explain why I got a Libera...
Simon Hughes | 468 c872 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that we all do it. I do not remember that survey, but I am not pretending that anybody is ...
Simon Hughes | 468 c870-1 (Link to this contribution) I may not get as much of a ““Hear, hear”” for my next proposition, but we will see how we go. We bel...
Gordon Prentice | 468 c873-4 (Link to this contribution) I shall pick up some of the points that have been made in contributions to the debate so far, before...
Simon Hughes | 468 c872-3 (Link to this contribution) That is a real debate. I shall deal with the matter briefly, or you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, will bring ...
Tony Wright | 468 c866 (Link to this contribution) We looked carefully at the Scottish model—indeed, we visited Scotland—and we were attracted by aspec...
Stewart Hosie | 468 c865-6 (Link to this contribution) I have read the report and was taken by the idea for a commission. In Scotland, we have various peop...
Tony Wright | 468 c866 (Link to this contribution) The answer is that the commission would report to Parliament in its turn. Parliament would be involv...
Stewart Hosie | 468 c866 (Link to this contribution) I should like to explore the hon. Gentleman's interesting proposal a little further. If the suggeste...
Tony Wright | 468 c864 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I do not want to pay huge tributes to all the members of the Commit...
Gordon Prentice | 468 c864 (Link to this contribution) I may be anticipating a point that my hon. Friend is about to make, but does he agree that the ethic...
Tony Wright | 468 c866-7 (Link to this contribution) I think the hon. Gentleman may be in a better position to answer that question than I am. I have no ...
Simon Hughes | 468 c867-8 (Link to this contribution) This is a welcome debate. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Cannock Chase (Dr. Wright) and his Co...
Ian Liddell-Grainger | 468 c863 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is making a very powerful speech, but does he agree that the problem is that we a...
David Winnick | 468 c862 (Link to this contribution) I apologise for not being in my place earlier in the debate. I agree with the changes that have been...
Tony Wright | 468 c860-2 (Link to this contribution) Of course we have to have standards of our own that we believe in and want to see enforced. I was ju...
Kelvin Hopkins | 468 c860 (Link to this contribution) I agree with what my hon. Friend has been saying, and I congratulate him on his speech. Does he agre...
Tony Wright | 468 c859-60 (Link to this contribution) It is good to have that announcement. My Committee did not recommend a particular nominee, but I am ...
Baroness Merron | 468 c859 (Link to this contribution) I thank my hon. Friend for his explanation to the House. It might help him, the Committee and the Ho...
Tony Wright | 468 c864 (Link to this contribution) It is one of his great charms and attractions: it is probably not greatly welcomed by those on the C...
Tony Wright | 468 c863 (Link to this contribution) I know the hon. Gentleman. He is a distinguished member of the Public Administration Committee, and ...
Tony Wright | 468 c857-8 (Link to this contribution) It is a great pleasure to introduce this debate on some of the work of the Public Administration Com...
Tony Wright | 468 c858 (Link to this contribution) If only the rest of the world would catch up with us. The Committee has examined, and recommended re...
Gordon Prentice | 468 c894 (Link to this contribution) The political honours scrutiny committee was abolished at the drop of a hat.
Baroness Merron | 468 c894-5 (Link to this contribution) We are committed to the existence, independence and effectiveness of the regulators, because they he...
Baroness Merron | 468 c894 (Link to this contribution) I believe that the number of special advisers is already a matter of record; the figure is in the Li...
Greg Clark | 468 c894 (Link to this contribution) Will the Minister say how many special advisers were in post in 1997?
Baroness Merron | 468 c892-4 (Link to this contribution) All good things are worth waiting for. It is important to note that we are the first Government to g...
Simon Hughes | 468 c892 (Link to this contribution) May I push the Minister a little further? Since 1998, it has been announced that a civil service Bil...
Baroness Merron | 468 c891-2 (Link to this contribution) I was about to refer to the points that the hon. Gentleman made, so perhaps I could do that first. H...
Baroness Merron | 468 c891 (Link to this contribution) I refer the hon. Gentleman to the ministerial code, which indicates that Ministers should come to Pa...
Greg Clark | 468 c891 (Link to this contribution) May I ask the Minister about the manner in which the appointment was announced? We discovered it at ...
Baroness Merron | 468 c891 (Link to this contribution) At the beginning of my remarks I said that we were considering all the points made by the Committee....
Kelvin Hopkins | 468 c891 (Link to this contribution) The Government have not yet committed themselves to the Select Committee's recommendation about appo...
Tony Wright | 468 c864-5 (Link to this contribution) Not for the first time, my hon. Friend anticipates a point that I was going to make. Indeed, much of...
Subjects
Codes of practice Conduct Civil service Committee on Standards in Public Life Ethics Public appointments Politics and government Public service Ministers Standards Regulation Public Administration Select Committee
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