Statistics and Registration Service Bill

Debate on bills on Monday, 2 July 2007, in the House of Commons.

Statistics and Registration Service Bill. Programme motion (No 3) for proceedings on consideration of Lords amendments and subsequent stages. Agreed to on question. Lords amendments considered. Lords amendments 1 and 2 to 9 disagreed to. Lords amendment 10 disagreed to on division (297 to 172). Lords amendments 11, 16 to 19, 31, 32, 33 to 39, 65, 66, (a) to (qqq), 71 and 73 agreed to. Lords amendments 12 to 15, 20 to 30, 40 to 64, 67 to 70 and 72 disagreed to. Committee appointed to draw up reasons to be assigned to the Lords for disagreeing to certain of their amendments. Reasons reported and agreed to. Message to the Lords to communicate reasons. Bill and amendments.

About these Parliamentary proceedings

Reference

462 c702-46

Session

2006-07

Department

Treasury

Proceeding contributions

Brooks Newmark | 462 c724-5 (Link to this contribution) I, too, welcome the Minister to her new position. I also invite her, however, to take a new position...

Michael Fallon | 462 c723-4 (Link to this contribution) I do not think that the tenability of the Exchequer Secretary’s position is quite as important as th...

Show all contributions (69)

Angela Eagle | 462 c723 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman suggest that I resign as soon as I have arrived?

Michael Fallon | 462 c723 (Link to this contribution) I, too, support the Lords in their amendments, especially Nos. 12 and 15. Like the hon. Member for T...

Vincent Cable | 462 c722-3 (Link to this contribution) No, there is no such example and no attempt has been made to justify the Government’s approach in th...

Lord Deben | 462 c722 (Link to this contribution) Is the hon. Gentleman aware of a single example that the Government have been able to cite which sho...

Vincent Cable | 462 c720-2 (Link to this contribution) I very much echo the comments of the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs. Villiers). Indeed, we hav...

Theresa Villiers | 462 c718-20 (Link to this contribution) I am afraid that I can only respond exactly as I did to the Minister’s previous intervention. We sim...

Angela Eagle | 462 c720 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Lady welcome my earlier announcement that we will publish a draft form of the statutor...

Theresa Villiers | 462 c728 (Link to this contribution) The Exchequer Secretary has said repeatedly that the reduction in the time limit to 40.5 hours acros...

Angela Eagle | 462 c728 (Link to this contribution) I hope that the right hon. Gentleman will also give us credit for reducing that time limit from five...

Theresa Villiers | 462 c732 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move amendment (a) to the Lords amendment.

Angela Eagle | 462 c728-9 (Link to this contribution) Because my duty at the Dispatch Box tonight is to say that the Government think that 40.5 hours is t...

Theresa Villiers | 462 c728 (Link to this contribution) The Minister seems to have put forward two arguments today: first that we should continue to operate...

Lord Deben | 462 c728 (Link to this contribution) It is true that the time scales are all different, but all have one thing in common—they are very mu...

Angela Eagle | 462 c728 (Link to this contribution) I do not accept the hon. Lady’s interpretation of what I have said. I said earlier that the differen...

Lord Deben | 462 c725 (Link to this contribution) The Government’s only argument in defence of their position is that things have always been like thi...

Stewart Hosie | 462 c726-7 (Link to this contribution) On 13 March, at column 217, the then Financial Secretary, the hon. Member for Wentworth (John Healey...

Angela Eagle | 462 c727-8 (Link to this contribution) I know from some of my reading over the weekend that we have had a debate similar to those during th...

Vincent Cable | 462 c736-7 (Link to this contribution) I simply wish to acknowledge that this is an important area of debate and that the basic differences...

Speaker | 462 c732 (Link to this contribution) With this we may discuss Lords amendments Nos. 16 to 19 and Nos.31 and 39, and amendments thereto.

Theresa Villiers | 462 c732-6 (Link to this contribution) We very much welcome the Government’s change of heart on the issues covered by this group of amendme...

Angela Eagle | 462 c708-9 (Link to this contribution) First, I thank all those hon. Members who generously welcomed me to the Front Bench. It is always ni...

Stewart Hosie | 462 c707-8 (Link to this contribution) I, too, welcome the Exchequer Secretary to her new role. She may be aware—I am sure that she has bee...

Michael Fallon | 462 c706-7 (Link to this contribution) On behalf of my constituent, Guy Hands, I thank the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) for putti...

Vincent Cable | 462 c706 (Link to this contribution) I extend my congratulations to the Exchequer Secretary. A few weeks ago, I found myself debating wit...

David Gauke | 462 c704-6 (Link to this contribution) First, may I congratulate the Exchequer Secretary on her re-appointment to the Front Bench? I had th...

Angela Eagle | 462 c703-4 (Link to this contribution) The amendments all deal with where residual responsibility for the statistics board should lie. As w...

Speaker | 462 c703 (Link to this contribution) With this we may discuss Lords amendments Nos. 2 to 9, 21 to 30, 40 to 64, 66 and the Government mot...

Angela Eagle | 462 c703 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That this House disagrees with the Lords in the said amendment.

Speaker | 462 c709 (Link to this contribution) With this it will be convenient to take Lords amendments Nos. 12 to 14 and the Government motions to...

Angela Eagle | 462 c709-10 (Link to this contribution) I suspect that, with this grouping of amendments, we have come to the nub of the remaining points at...

Angela Eagle | 462 c709 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That this House disagrees with the Lords in the said amendment.

Angela Eagle | 462 c710-1 (Link to this contribution) We shall talk about these matters in detail as we consider the difference between the Lords amendmen...

Theresa Villiers | 462 c710 (Link to this contribution) If the Government are prepared to entrust many other important decisions about statistics and our st...

Angela Eagle | 462 c711 (Link to this contribution) I will deal with this point a little later. I have seen the correspondence that passed between my pr...

Angela Eagle | 462 c712 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady has done her homework, but not quite well enough. If she had spoken to the hon. Member...

Theresa Villiers | 462 c712 (Link to this contribution) It seems that the Minister herself has been critical of the rules on pre-release arrangements, as sh...

Brooks Newmark | 462 c712 (Link to this contribution) Will the Minister give way?

Angela Eagle | 462 c712 (Link to this contribution) Let me finish my explanation—

Brooks Newmark | 462 c712 (Link to this contribution) It is very long winded.

Angela Eagle | 462 c712 (Link to this contribution) Well, I think that it is important to stress that, when one is on the Treasury Committee, if one can...

Brooks Newmark | 462 c712 (Link to this contribution) On a point of clarification, will the hon. Lady at least admit to the Chamber that she was present a...

Stewart Hosie | 462 c713 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady said a few moments ago that she believed in evidence-based policy making, and that is ...

Angela Eagle | 462 c713 (Link to this contribution) It was not in my job description this morning when I arrived at the Department that I was going to b...

Theresa Villiers | 462 c713 (Link to this contribution) I do not think that there is any attempt to condemn the Minister for trying to be constructive, but ...

Theresa Villiers | 462 c714 (Link to this contribution) I again thank the Exchequer Secretary for giving way; she has been very generous on this point. From...

Angela Eagle | 462 c713-4 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman had been listening earlier, he would have heard me announce that we will publi...

Angela Eagle | 462 c714-5 (Link to this contribution) I suspect that these issues have grown to be the way they are because of custom and practice. If the...

Theresa Villiers | 462 c718 (Link to this contribution) Unfortunately, only the Exchequer Secretary can answer her question, because the number of people wh...

Angela Eagle | 462 c718 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Lady admit that the current confused pre-release system, which led to the hon. Member ...

Theresa Villiers | 462 c715-7 (Link to this contribution) I start by congratulating the Exchequer Secretary on her appointment and by welcoming her to the Fro...

Angela Eagle | 462 c717-8 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Lady accept that some of the changes introduced in the Bill—particularly those giving ...

Angela Eagle | 462 c745 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That this House agrees with the Lords in the said amendment.

Angela Eagle | 462 c741-2 (Link to this contribution) I seek the support of the House for the amendments from another place which seek to clarify the role...

Speaker | 462 c741 (Link to this contribution) With this we may discuss Lords amendments Nos. 33 to 38.

Angela Eagle | 462 c744-5 (Link to this contribution) I do not accept for one moment the final assertion that the hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs. Vi...

Theresa Villiers | 462 c742-4 (Link to this contribution) At the outset, I want to put it on record that I welcome this group of amendments. Throughout the d...

Angela Eagle | 462 c740 (Link to this contribution) Dancing on the head of a pin occurs in this debate. It is clear that there is an acceptance in gener...

Theresa Villiers | 462 c740 (Link to this contribution) The Government have consistently resisted the argument that we should get rid of the two-tier system...

Angela Eagle | 462 c741 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That this House agrees with the Lords in the said amendment.

Theresa Villiers | 462 c740-1 (Link to this contribution) I do not propose to press my amendment to a Division. I hope that Minister, given the way in which s...

Angela Eagle | 462 c737-9 (Link to this contribution) I am pleased about the general welcome that has been given by both Opposition parties to the progres...

Speaker | 462 c745-6 (Link to this contribution) With this we may discuss Lords amendments Nos. 71 and 73. This group of amendments responds positiv...

Theresa Villiers | 462 c720 (Link to this contribution) I certainly do welcome that, and I hope that publication takes place as soon as possible. In any ev...

Brooks Newmark | 462 c725-6 (Link to this contribution) It would indeed be good if the Government applied that argument to traditional causes; as my right h...

Angela Eagle | 462 c712 (Link to this contribution) That is absolutely true, but I believe in evidence-based policy making, and as I had, unfortunately,...

Theresa Villiers | 462 c711 (Link to this contribution) The Exchequer Secretary is generous in giving way again. Would it not be easier to resolve the diffe...

Fiona Mactaggart | 462 c724 (Link to this contribution) I wish to speak on this group as it seems the only opportunity to raise an issue that I have consist...