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Backbench debate on Thursday, 1 March 2012, in the House of Commons, led by Lord Murphy of Torfaen. The answering member was Cheryl Gillan.

Welsh Affairs

Unallotted backbench debate (part two). Agreed to on question.

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
541 c493-535 
Session
2010-12
Department
Wales Office
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Related items
Proceeding contributions
Speaker | 541 c526 (Link to this contribution) Order. What was that word? Is it Welsh?
Speaker | 541 c510 (Link to this contribution) Order. To enable as many Members as possible to speak, we are now introducing a time limit of six mi...
Show all contributions (126)
David TC Davies | 541 c498 (Link to this contribution) I understand the hon. Gentleman's point. It is also true, however, that many constituents in Wales w...
Jonathan Edwards | 541 c499 (Link to this contribution) I have some sympathy with the hon. Gentleman's argument as regards political sovereignty, but the bi...
David TC Davies | 541 c499 (Link to this contribution) I respect the hon. Gentleman's view, but it is not one that is shared by his political counterparts ...
Mark Tami | 541 c498 (Link to this contribution) Surely the hon. Gentleman accepts that it would be absurd to build another children's hospital in no...
David TC Davies | 541 c499 (Link to this contribution) I accept that that would be absurd, and I do not think for one moment that it will happen, because I...
Mark Tami | 541 c500 (Link to this contribution) On the reduction in the number of MPs, has the hon. Gentleman noticed the slight change in the glums...
David TC Davies | 541 c500-1 (Link to this contribution) There were different ways in which the problem could have been addressed. I think we all agree that ...
David TC Davies | 541 c499-500 (Link to this contribution) And the hon. Ladies, forgive me. Opposition Members want Labour to be in power in Scotland and Wales...
Robin Walker | 541 c501 (Link to this contribution) I agree with my hon. Friend's commendation of the excellent Select Committee report. Does he agree w...
David TC Davies | 541 c501 (Link to this contribution) I absolutely concur. There needs to be a mixture of skills in that body. There certainly needs to be...
Mark Williams | 541 c502 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend made a slightly negative characterisation of higher education, but will he acknowledg...
David TC Davies | 541 c502 (Link to this contribution) I absolutely accept that. There is a lot of detail in the Select Committee report, and I am just ski...
Cheryl Gillan | 541 c502-3 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend has just made a serious point about a lack of co-operation that means that officials ...
David TC Davies | 541 c503 (Link to this contribution) I thank my right hon. Friend for that. Of course, I shall be delighted to write to her. Welsh Affair...
Chris Ruane | 541 c503 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman explain why Welsh Members of Parliament of all other parties were not invite...
David TC Davies | 541 c503 (Link to this contribution) I was not responsible for the guest list. I look around the Chamber and see a few people whom I woul...
Madeleine Moon | 541 c503 (Link to this contribution) Some of us were still carrying out our duties as Members of Parliament representing Welsh constituen...
David TC Davies | 541 c503-4 (Link to this contribution) I commend the hon. Lady for that, because she was doing absolutely the right thing. If Ford would li...
Alun Michael | 541 c494 (Link to this contribution) Indeed. In many respects, therefore, the impact of devolution to London has a greater impact on the ...
Alun Michael | 541 c494 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend makes a powerful point, and he is absolutely right. He referred to the West Lot...
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 541 c495 (Link to this contribution) Whatever the reason, there is no question but that there is a lack of understanding of these things....
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 541 c495 (Link to this contribution) I think that devolution actually strengthens the Union if it is dealt with properly, because it ackn...
Madeleine Moon | 541 c495 (Link to this contribution) Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is important to understand how problems appear across the UK...
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 541 c494 (Link to this contribution) I do not agree. In a few seconds, I will address, in particular, the issue of the Health and Social ...
Chris Ruane | 541 c494-5 (Link to this contribution) On Government Members' lack of understanding of the devolution settlement, may I give my right hon. ...
David TC Davies | 541 c494 (Link to this contribution) Would the right hon. Gentleman's interesting argument not have more force were Welsh and Scottish MP...
Mark Tami | 541 c495 (Link to this contribution) As I represent a border area, I know that, when it comes to health care, the border is not there, be...
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 541 c495 (Link to this contribution) Of course, if there is a fundamental shake-up of the English NHS and how it is configured, with foun...
David Jones | 541 c496 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman is making an important point, because clearly many Welsh patients rely heav...
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 541 c496 (Link to this contribution) I do not because, as I said earlier and as the Minister will remember, the purpose is to set protoco...
David TC Davies | 541 c497-8 (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Torfaen (Paul Murphy), who does sterling work i...
Albert Owen | 541 c498 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is missing the point made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Paul Mu...
Mark Tami | 541 c496 (Link to this contribution) If my right hon. Friend took that to its logical conclusion for matters that affect Londoners, such ...
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 541 c496-7 (Link to this contribution) Of course. That is a truly important point, and it goes right to the heart of the debate that we are...
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 541 c493 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move,"That this House has considered the matter of Welsh Affairs." I am delighted to open ...
Nia Griffith | 541 c507 (Link to this contribution) Sue Essex is the Labour party representative on that matter. Would the right hon. Gentleman accept t...
Elfyn Llwyd | 541 c507 (Link to this contribution) No; quite the opposite. The whole point of the Development Board for Rural Wales was to assist exist...
Elfyn Llwyd | 541 c507 (Link to this contribution) That is one interpretation of the matter. Others might include disinterest or being dead against any...
Cheryl Gillan | 541 c504-5 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman will know how bitterly disappointed I was last year when I found out that t...
Elfyn Llwyd | 541 c505 (Link to this contribution) I am very grateful to the right hon. Lady for her support. I am sure she is quite sincere. I remembe...
Chris Ruane | 541 c506 (Link to this contribution) The theory behind redrawing the boundaries is that it equalises the seats. However, there are curren...
Elfyn Llwyd | 541 c505-6 (Link to this contribution) Yes. We might have lost five seats, which I think would have been more palatable under the circumst...
Roger Williams | 541 c506 (Link to this contribution) I have no doubt that Wales excelled at inward investment in the past, through the Welsh Development ...
Elfyn Llwyd | 541 c506 (Link to this contribution) That, too, is a big issue, and the hon. Gentleman is right: it is a grave concern. The word ““gerrym...
Glyn Davies | 541 c520 (Link to this contribution) I believe that the person of whom my hon. Friend speaks is suffering from bowel cancer, and I want t...
Lord Hart of Tenby | 541 c520 (Link to this contribution) When it comes to this subject, my hon. Friend has no equal in this House and outside. We all recogni...
Lord Hart of Tenby | 541 c518-20 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is determined to claim rugby superiority over me, but he cannot claim, as I can, that...
Guto Bebb | 541 c518 (Link to this contribution) In view of our discussion the other day about whether George North was from Whitland, I have some do...
Lord Hart of Tenby | 541 c518 (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to have an opportunity to celebrate Wales and, in my case, to celebrate Carmarthens...
Chris Ruane | 541 c517-8 (Link to this contribution) A training day for education in my constituency three weeks ago was attended by Denbighshire's direc...
Cheryl Gillan | 541 c517 (Link to this contribution) I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Bosworth (David Tredinnick) takes a great deal of interest...
Chris Ruane | 541 c516-7 (Link to this contribution) Absolutely, and my next point leads directly to that. People who are more mindful have higher and mo...
Madeleine Moon | 541 c516 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the risks we will face if we do not use therapies such as the ...
Chris Ruane | 541 c516 (Link to this contribution) I wish to talk in praise of the Bangor mindfulness centre in north Wales and the work that it does i...
Mark Williams | 541 c524-5 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State will not be surprised that I had the same discussion, in that there was no sp...
Albert Owen | 541 c523 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is trying to stir things up between members of the Labour party, but he knows tha...
David Jones | 541 c523 (Link to this contribution) I agree with the hon. Gentleman that ports are a valuable Welsh resource and more should be done to ...
Cheryl Gillan | 541 c524 (Link to this contribution) I also met S4C representatives this week and confirmed that they were happy with the arrangements. T...
Mark Williams | 541 c523-4 (Link to this contribution) As ever, it is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen). I concur w...
Albert Owen | 541 c521-2 (Link to this contribution) I have heard that my hon. Friend switched on the North Hoyle wind turbines. I have heard it 32 times...
Chris Ruane | 541 c521 (Link to this contribution) On green energy, is my hon. Friend aware that I switched on the 30 turbines of North Hoyle offshore ...
Albert Owen | 541 c522-3 (Link to this contribution) I am certainly aware of that, and Anglesey will make a bid for some of the money available from such...
Chris Ruane | 541 c522 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend refers to community benefits. Is he aware that npower renewables currently gives £30,...
Albert Owen | 541 c525 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, but electrification needs to be considered not just for...
Guto Bebb | 541 c526 (Link to this contribution) The Chairman of the Welsh Affairs Committee made the point that he was very—
Madeleine Moon | 541 c526 (Link to this contribution) May I reassure the hon. Gentleman—I said this in an earlier intervention—that I, too, was working la...
Guto Bebb | 541 c526 (Link to this contribution) I certainly agree with undertaking a cost-benefit analysis, but I am not a greedy man, and nor is th...
Guto Bebb | 541 c526 (Link to this contribution) I will take one final intervention.
Guto Bebb | 541 c526 (Link to this contribution) The Chairman of the Welsh Affairs Committee made it clear that he was congratulating the hon. Lady o...
Madeleine Moon | 541 c526 (Link to this contribution) I apologise. It is a Welsh expression.
Sian C James | 541 c527 (Link to this contribution) When we ring for advice or information, we are told, ““We haven't got that information yet,”” so the...
Guto Bebb | 541 c526-7 (Link to this contribution) The choir were absolutely superb, and they were from my hon. Friend's constituency, or possibly from...
Jessica Morden | 541 c528 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Nia Griffith | 541 c528-9 (Link to this contribution) What a pleasure it is to see you here chairing the debate today, Mr Deputy Speaker, and sporting you...
Guto Bebb | 541 c528 (Link to this contribution) I will not take another intervention. We have here a report that has been produced by a group of or...
Nia Griffith | 541 c529-31 (Link to this contribution) I will not give way. The hon. Member for Brecon and Radnorshire spoke of the importance of small bu...
Speaker | 541 c535 (Link to this contribution) As a good Welshman myself, I wish the House a happy St David's day.
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 541 c535 (Link to this contribution) They will get the opportunity not to drink sour wine but to raise a glass of good white or red wine,...
Cheryl Gillan | 541 c531-4 (Link to this contribution) It gives me great pleasure to stand at the Dispatch Box on St David's day, and I congratulate the ri...
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 541 c534-5 (Link to this contribution) With the leave of the House, Mr Deputy Speaker, may I say that you, as a Welshman, have presided ove...
Elfyn Llwyd | 541 c508 (Link to this contribution) Yes, but then I will have to make some progress.
Elfyn Llwyd | 541 c507-8 (Link to this contribution) I take what the right hon. Gentleman says, but I do not agree. Nobody can deny that the Holtham rep...
Jonathan Edwards | 541 c508 (Link to this contribution) Will my right hon. Friend give way?
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 541 c507 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman referred to my remarks about independence, and he was right. However, I hav...
Jonathan Evans | 541 c510-1 (Link to this contribution) It is always a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Mr Llwyd). However, ...
Elfyn Llwyd | 541 c508-10 (Link to this contribution) I am coming to that in a moment. My hon. Friend did not write the script; it is just that we are ad ...
Jonathan Edwards | 541 c508 (Link to this contribution) If it is good enough for Northern Ireland, it is good enough for Wales.
Elfyn Llwyd | 541 c508 (Link to this contribution) Well, yes; on this issue, that has to be right. If 60% of people are saying that fiscal powers are t...
Jonathan Evans | 541 c511 (Link to this contribution) Yes I will, as I apparently get some injury time.
Jonathan Edwards | 541 c511 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman also congratulate the Swansea City football club model? Supporters have a sh...
Jonathan Evans | 541 c511-2 (Link to this contribution) I am very happy to note the success of Swansea City, which the hon. Gentleman has put on the record,...
David Jones | 541 c512 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend mentioned the administration order that caused Wrexham football club, one of the olde...
Jonathan Evans | 541 c512 (Link to this contribution) I do, as I believe that supporters trusts have a big role to play. I give credit to Peter Hunt, with...
Jessica Morden | 541 c513 (Link to this contribution) New food banks are being set up across the country at a growing rate of one and a half every week. A...
Sian C James | 541 c512-3 (Link to this contribution) I am going to take things up a level by talking about the biggest issue in my constituency. I apprec...
Guto Bebb | 541 c513 (Link to this contribution) I have read the report that the hon. Lady mentions and I am absolutely disgusted by its contents. Th...
Sian C James | 541 c513 (Link to this contribution) I agree with my hon. Friend and I appreciate her words. We have a wonderful food bank in Swansea. It...
Jonathan Edwards | 541 c514 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady is making some very important and pressing points, but how will the Labour party's pol...
Sian C James | 541 c514 (Link to this contribution) We must consider this in the round, because we need to tackle some of the problems we have. It is no...
Sian C James | 541 c513-4 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comment, but obviously I do not agree. These charities are reputa...
Sian C James | 541 c514 (Link to this contribution) I will not on this occasion because others want to speak. I have been appalled by how child care co...
Madeleine Moon | 541 c514 (Link to this contribution) Is my hon. Friend aware that although there is a willingness to discard the increase in hours for pe...
Sian C James | 541 c514 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes an excellent point and that, again, affects people with families. Not only is t...
Roger Williams | 541 c515-6 (Link to this contribution) It is always a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Swansea East (Mrs James), who originates from ...
Sian C James | 541 c514-5 (Link to this contribution) Certainly. We have to make sure there is fair play for families. We have already got scared familie...
Elfyn Llwyd | 541 c504 (Link to this contribution) I shall follow that, Mr Deputy Speaker. I suspect the white wine concerned had not been in the hand ...
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 541 c494 (Link to this contribution) Indeed. That is the problem. We have this asymmetrical system of devolution in the United Kingdom—a ...
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 541 c496 (Link to this contribution) That is the sort of benign ignorance to which I referred earlier. I am not saying that the Ministers...
Jonathan Evans | 541 c493 (Link to this contribution) There was much force in the right hon. Gentleman's opening remarks but would not his last point have...
Jonathan Edwards | 541 c508 (Link to this contribution) When we debated the Silk commission a few months ago Labour Front-Benchers were completely opposed t...
Hywel Williams | 541 c496 (Link to this contribution) Does the right hon. Gentleman share my concern that the Minister of State, Department of Health, the...
Lord Murphy of Torfaen | 541 c493-4 (Link to this contribution) That is an interesting point, but it is also interesting that the House of Commons has, in effect, h...
Albert Owen | 541 c520-1 (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (Simon Hart),...
Guto Bebb | 541 c525 (Link to this contribution) It is always a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mr Williams), who is almost always...
Lord Hart of Tenby | 541 c526 (Link to this contribution) While my hon. Friend was doing all that work, I wonder whether he noticed where the choir who entert...
Guto Bebb | 541 c527 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for that intervention, but when the report was covered by the BBC—the people responsib...
Subjects
Constituencies Devolution NHS Members Public finance Reform Wales Trade promotion
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