Northern Ireland (Regional Rates and Energy) (No. 2) Bill

I am very grateful to the Secretary of State. She says that I am irresistible; how could I disagr...

As I have said, these are the measures that we need to take now to ensure that the scheme remains...

The Bill is in many ways an abuse of the processes of the House. I hope that the Minister will ta...

I appreciate the shadow Secretary of State making those kind and glowing references to Ballymena....

Like the hon. Gentleman, I very much welcome this piece of good news, but it has to be set agains...

The shadow Secretary of State is making some good points. The financial difference is stark, beca...

The hon. Lady makes a valid point. Obviously, it is not a small difference; in fact, it is a huge...

I agree with much of what the hon. Gentleman is saying. The purported purpose of this legislation...

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, and to the extent that some of those affected were ...

The shadow Secretary of State is absolutely right. Apparently, this morning, at the High Court in...

That seems logical, but—I am not a lawyer, so the hon. Gentleman will forgive me if I am not righ...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his generosity in giving way. Is it not a fact that the weight of ...

I am not being generous with my time because we have to tease out these important issues, and we ...

It is crucial that we tease out the details before we give our approval—if we give our approval—t...

That is a fair point. There is nothing in this Bill that talks about post-legislative scrutiny. W...

The clause 4 powers to instigate the buy-out arrangements are to be exercised only in the period ...

That has to be right. We have a duty to ensure not only that we dispatch the legislation where it...

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that, as far as we are aware, senior civil servants do have the power...

A guarantee that everybody in the health service receives the same uprate as their opposite numbe...

Whenever that legislation was discussed by the House, it was very much part of the context that i...

It may be helpful to deliver that kind of guidance. The problem we all have to face is that, in t...

These are unusual times for Northern Ireland and this is an unusual Bill. It is difficult to avoi...

Does that not go to the heart of the matter? The existence of a voluntary buy-out scheme seems an...

I share the right hon. Gentleman’s concerns in that respect. As a lawyer, he will know better tha...

I rise to speak briefly in this Bill on devolved Northern Ireland business. The hon. Member for S...

The reason we are here is that the Assembly has not been sitting for over two years now. There ar...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Lewes (Maria Caulfield). I thank her for her genui...

It strikes me, as an MP who is still fairly new in this place, that the attitude is often, “It’s ...

The hon. Lady makes her point well, as she did in her speech.

Not everyone abused the schem...

rose—

I knew that that would get the hon. Lady going.

May we ask the Minister if—when we leave the EU on 29 March—we could look again at the subsidy is...

I agree with the hon. Lady. One of the reasons why we need scrutiny of the legislation, even afte...

Before I call the next hon. Gentleman to speak, I have to announce the result of today’s six defe...

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson), who, apart from ...

The regional rate will make up roughly 46% of the overall domestic rate in household bills from A...

That is an interesting point. The hon. Gentleman has shared with the House another important piec...

The hon. Gentleman has put his finger on a number of issues. We have been told that it is the leg...

I cannot really add to what the hon. Gentleman has said, other than to agree with it. That sums i...

It is good to follow the hon. Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker). When he said, “Where there’s a ...

Does my hon. Friend not think it is rather ironic that we have had all these debates in the House...

The consequences of and ripples out from this are so significant. It is not about cheap energy; i...

It is always a pleasure to speak in this House at any time, whether it be first or last—whatever ...

During the wind-ups, it is customary to say that we have had a wide-ranging debate, but we have n...

I will try to address a series of specific points that various Members have made during the cours...

Does the Minister agree that it is rather ironic that a scheme that is meant to decarbonise—for s...

The right hon. Gentleman said that he was not quite sure why burning wood was any better than bur...

The Minister needs to address the point raised by a number of right hon. and hon. Members about t...

I am very happy to address that point. There is one thing that I know a number of people have fou...

rose—

I will come to the hon. Gentleman in a minute, if I may.

I remind Members that although the...

rose—

I will take interventions in a moment, but I want to finish this point.

The costs are paid ...

I gave the example of one of my constituents, whose legitimate expectation was to have repayments...

Some people will have done very well out of this scheme, but I think the House will have a great ...

I am grateful that the Minister is being so generous with his time. None of us has any brief for ...

I am delighted to be able to set the record straight. I think that I have already mentioned this,...

I appreciate that the Minister is making the case that has been given to him by the Department, b...

We will have to come back to the question of how to get more evidence into the room, as it were, ...

The Minister, in response to a number of interventions, has repeatedly relied on data and detaile...

There is an old saying that if you want something to be kept secret, you announce it on the Floor...

The Minister said that the figures have been published. What I would really like are the calculat...

I think the answer to the hon. Lady’s question is yes. I have not actually seen the figures—the o...