A briefing paper on the constitutional aspects of the Crown

A briefing paper on the constitutional aspects of the Crown

My hon. Friend has asked a very timely question, as this week is Family Business Week. I have warm feelings towards Penny Hydraulics. It sounds like a great firm. There are currently 5 million family-owned businesses in the UK. They enable 4 million people to have a pay cheque and...

My hon. Friend has asked a very timely question, as this week is Family Business Week. I have warm feelings towards Penny Hydraulics. It sounds like a great firm. There are currently 5 million family-owned businesses in the UK. They enable 4 million people to have a pay cheque and...

Last week I had the pleasure of joining celebrations at Penny Hydraulics Ltd, which has just received a royal warrant. This is a specialist engineering company that I am proud to say is based in Clowne in my constituency, although it started as a small family business in nearby Eckington....

Last week I had the pleasure of joining celebrations at Penny Hydraulics Ltd, which has just received a royal warrant. This is a specialist engineering company that I am proud to say is based in Clowne in my constituency, although it started as a small family business in nearby Eckington....

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the process is to determine whether to grant a request for a royal warrant.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the process is to determine whether to grant a request for a royal warrant.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether goods obtained by the Royal Household from Royal Warrant holders are obtained at the normal commercial rate.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether goods obtained by the Royal Household from Royal Warrant holders are obtained at the normal commercial rate.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Royal Warrants have been withdrawn in each year since 2008; and if he will list those that have been withdrawn.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Royal Warrants have been withdrawn in each year since 2008; and if he will list those that have been withdrawn.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many royal warrants are extant for (a) HM The Queen, (b) the Duke of Edinburgh and (c) the Prince of Wales.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many royal warrants are extant for (a) HM The Queen, (b) the Duke of Edinburgh and (c) the Prince of Wales.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role ministers play in the award or withdrawal of Royal Warrants.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role ministers play in the award or withdrawal of Royal Warrants.

Westminster Hall adjournment debate on the royal warrant system.

Westminster Hall adjournment debate on the royal warrant system.

It is a great delight to have this debate, and I am grateful to the Clerks of the House for providing me with robust advice on how to frame the issue. At one point, their robust advice was that I could not have the debate, but I have now been...

It is a great delight to have this debate, and I am grateful to the Clerks of the House for providing me with robust advice on how to frame the issue. At one point, their robust advice was that I could not have the debate, but I have now been...

I commend the hon. Gentleman on the deft way in which he has secured his debate. More importantly, he has hit on a crucial point. There is talk that Burberry production will be moved to China, so what does that mean in terms of air miles and so forth? What...

I commend the hon. Gentleman on the deft way in which he has secured his debate. More importantly, he has hit on a crucial point. There is talk that Burberry production will be moved to China, so what does that mean in terms of air miles and so forth? What...

My understanding is that the distinctive Burberry brand, which attaches to its very successful rainwear more than anything else, continues to be manufactured here. The polo shirts, which are manufactured and have been manufactured, I think, for some time in Spain and Italy as well as here, are not perhaps...

My understanding is that the distinctive Burberry brand, which attaches to its very successful rainwear more than anything else, continues to be manufactured here. The polo shirts, which are manufactured and have been manufactured, I think, for some time in Spain and Italy as well as here, are not perhaps...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) on securing the debate. We find ourselves in somewhat unusual circumstances, because the nature of such debates is that no Minister has policy responsibility for the matter in question. I know that my hon. Friend has written to the...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) on securing the debate. We find ourselves in somewhat unusual circumstances, because the nature of such debates is that no Minister has policy responsibility for the matter in question. I know that my hon. Friend has written to the...

The Minister said—I am sure that one cannot have a row with a parliamentary Clerk, but this is the row that I had with a parliamentary Clerk the other day—that because the Government do not have a responsibility for the matter, Parliament cannot debate it, but surely Parliament should have...

The Minister said—I am sure that one cannot have a row with a parliamentary Clerk, but this is the row that I had with a parliamentary Clerk the other day—that because the Government do not have a responsibility for the matter, Parliament cannot debate it, but surely Parliament should have...

Of course, and that is why we are discussing the issue, but the two points are not contradictory. My hon. Friend is saying that he was advised by the Table Office that an issue could be debated even if there was not parliamentary or Government responsibility for it. That is...

Of course, and that is why we are discussing the issue, but the two points are not contradictory. My hon. Friend is saying that he was advised by the Table Office that an issue could be debated even if there was not parliamentary or Government responsibility for it. That is...

My hon. Friend is being very generous, but I think that he is slightly missing the point. I have no desire to damage Burberry’s long-term success; I want it to be an enormous success. It has been a success in the past and it recently rescued itself from its previous...

My hon. Friend is being very generous, but I think that he is slightly missing the point. I have no desire to damage Burberry’s long-term success; I want it to be an enormous success. It has been a success in the past and it recently rescued itself from its previous...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that comment. Of course, the question of how a British company manages its environmental policy isimportant if it chooses to outsource to another country and is therefore effectively transporting large amounts of goods and services all around the globe. That is an...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that comment. Of course, the question of how a British company manages its environmental policy isimportant if it chooses to outsource to another country and is therefore effectively transporting large amounts of goods and services all around the globe. That is an...

It is remarkably difficult to find any instances of people from whom royal warrants have been removed—some have fallen into abeyance, so it is very difficult to tell. However, organisations clearly value their royal warrants because they make great use of them: they use the crest and the words ““By...

It is remarkably difficult to find any instances of people from whom royal warrants have been removed—some have fallen into abeyance, so it is very difficult to tell. However, organisations clearly value their royal warrants because they make great use of them: they use the crest and the words ““By...

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on raising this topic, which is of great interest at the moment. During his research, has he made any assessment of the effect of the removal of a royal warrant on an organisation’s business? He mentioned Harrods. Does he know whether that business paid any...

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on raising this topic, which is of great interest at the moment. During his research, has he made any assessment of the effect of the removal of a royal warrant on an organisation’s business? He mentioned Harrods. Does he know whether that business paid any...