DOCSLIB.ORG

Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) Thursday Volume 517 4 November 2010 No. 65 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday 4 November 2010 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2010 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Parliamentary Click-Use Licence, available online through the Office of Public Sector Information website at www.opsi.gov.uk/click-use/ Enquiries to the Office of Public Sector Information, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU; e-mail: [email protected] 1025 4 NOVEMBER 2010 1026 schemes. We are talking about the nation’s front line in House of Commons protecting our environment. The Government claim to be the greenest ever, but is not the reality that the Thursday 4 November 2010 Secretary of State is prepared to sacrifice Natural England and our precious environment in a bid to win friends and credit at the Treasury? The House met at half-past Ten o’clock Mrs Spelman: I should like to countermand those suggestions. Natural England, in common with all the PRAYERS arm’s-length bodies in the DEFRA delivery network, is taking a pro rata reduction. It is required to make efficiency savings in the same way as the core Department [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] has to. None the less, there will be no changes in Natural England’s statutory functions. It will cease to undertake some activities, such as lobbying and policy Oral Answers to Questions making, which should rightly be the domain of the Department at the centre. Consideration is being given to options for improving the management of our national nature reserves because that is consistent with a big ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS society approach. Biodiversity The Secretary of State was asked— Natural England 2. Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD): What plans her Department has to maintain levels of biodiversity. [21641] 1. Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con): What steps she is taking to reform Natural England; and if The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and she will make a statement. [21640] Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman): Tackling biodiversity loss is one of my Department’s top priorities. I have just The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and returned from international negotiations in Nagoya Rural Affairs (Mrs Caroline Spelman): First, I welcome where the UK played a pivotal role in securing agreement the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mary Creagh) and her on the ambitious new framework to halt biodiversity new team to the Front Bench. I enjoyed cordial relations loss. The challenge now is to implement this domestically.In with her predecessors in the short time we were opposite the spring, I intend to publish a White Paper outlining each other and I hope that cordiality will continue. the Government’s vision for the natural environment, The Department for Environment, Food and Rural backed up with practical action to deliver that ambition. Affairs has been working closely with Natural England on substantial reforms to transform it into a leaner, Annette Brooke: I thank the Secretary of State for her more efficient front-line delivery body that is focused answer. Given the Government’s intention to sell off a strongly on the Government’s ambitions for the substantial part of the forest estate, what measures will environment. be in place to ensure the biodiversity potential of this land and to ensure that the commitments in the Forestry Julian Smith: I thank the Secretary of State for that Commission’s forest design plans will be fully implemented? response. Will she give a little more detail regarding the Mrs Spelman: I can give the hon. Lady clear assurances impact of the comprehensive spending review on the on this point, but we need to start with a little myth-busting two stewardship schemes that are run by Natural England on the back of press speculation. Only 18% of forests and how she sees that impact progressing in coming and woodland in England are owned by the state and it years? is wrong to confuse ownership with any suggestion of a reduction in biodiversity. It is quite right, and in the Mrs Spelman: I am delighted to tell my hon. Friend spirit of the coalition agreement, to consider giving the that as a result of the comprehensive spending review, community who live nearest to the forest the opportunity both types of stewardship scheme will be maintained. to own it, as that community and civil society are most There will be new entrants to both the entry-level and likely to give it the best protection. Finally, I should like the higher-level stewardship schemes. We have ambitions to reassure her by clarifying that not one tree can be to increase by about 80% the number of farmers in the felled without a licence being issued by my Department. higher-level stewardship scheme and to increase qualitatively In the last analysis, we are committed to forest biodiversity the environmental benefits provided under the entry-level and to enhancing biodiversity. Our forests are among scheme. the richest of our genetic resources and we have every intention of protecting them. Sir Peter Soulsby (Leicester South) (Lab): Natural England is the nation’s principle conservation agency Mr Speaker: We need to be pithier from now on. That and our champion of biodiversity. In the name of should be pretty clear. reform, the Government are leaving it with no choice but to hand over 140 national nature reserves to anyone Mary Creagh (Wakefield) (Lab): May I begin by who will take them on, to put our network of national thanking the Secretary of State for welcoming me to my trails up for grabs and to cut back on the expert support new role and for the briefing that she gave me on that is vital to delivering the environmental stewardship Nagoya? I am sure that the whole House will join me in 1027 Oral Answers4 NOVEMBER 2010 Oral Answers 1028 welcoming the new fund that the Government have Forestry Commission pledged in order to deliver international biodiversity benefits through international forestry. 3. Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab): What recent On Government plans to maintain biodiversity at estimate she has made of the monetary value of the home, however, we have seen a series of deeply worrying land managed by the Forestry Commission. [21643] moves from the right hon. Lady over the past three months. The Government plan to sell off or simply give 10. Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion) (Green): away 140 national nature reserves; our national parks, What plans she has to sell or lease part of the Forestry which a Labour Government began in 1949, will suffer Commission estate. [21652] a catastrophic 30% cut to their budgets, leaving park workers unemployed, our national trails abandoned The Minister of State, Department for Environment, and precious habitats neglected; and her Department Food and Rural Affairs (Mr James Paice): There is an has announced a review of England’s forests, seeing ongoing programme of sales run by the Forestry them sold to the highest bidder—asset stripping our Commission, year on year, to achieve operational efficiency. natural heritage. Is it not the case that she preaches In the 2009-10 accounts, the public forest estate in environmental evangelism around the world and practices England was valued at £700 million. That is the net environmental vandalism at home? book value; it does not necessarily reflect the true market value. I intend to consult on proposals for new Mrs Spelman: That is a disappointing opener from ownership options for the public forest estate in England, the hon. Lady. She appears not to understand that her and on how to secure the important public benefits that own party when in government would have had to make they provide. cuts, and there will be no credibility to her accusations unless she tells the House where she would have made Kerry McCarthy: I think that for once, given the savings. In any event, however, there is no suggestion answers that we have heard today, The Daily Telegraph that we are poised to sell off nature reserves. Can she might be right, because it says that the Government not see that it is not necessarily for the state to do cannot see the forest for the fees. However, can the everything? The Wildlife Trusts welcome the opportunity Minister give a categorical assurance that, contrary to to be more involved in the management of our nature other press reports, if Government-owned forest is sold reserves. off, it will not be sold off to developers to be turned into things such as Center Parcs and golf courses? Mary Creagh indicated dissent. Mr Paice: I am delighted to have the opportunity to debunk that absurd notion. As my right hon. Friend the Mrs Spelman: The hon. Lady shakes her head, but I Secretary of State has said, before trees can be felled, suggest that she ask them. As for selling off the forests, one requires a felling licence from the Forestry Commission. she just heard my explanation that it is wrong to confuse The Forestry Commission will continue to have that ownership with the quality of environmental protection, role, even through those disposals, if that is what happens; and I believe that the communities and charities that and, of course, planning consent would be required to would like to be more involved in protecting and enhancing undertake any of those things, such as golf courses or our forest biodiversity welcome our suggestions. Center Parcs. We have no intention of seeing our forest damaged; we want to maintain the public benefits that Mary Creagh: The truth is that the Government have we already have.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • From 'Greenest Government Ever' to 'Get Rid of All the Green Crap': David Cameron, the Conservatives and the Environment
    This is a repository copy of From ‘greenest government ever’ to ‘get rid of all the green crap’: David Cameron, the Conservatives and the environment. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/85469/ Version: Submitted Version Article: Carter, Neil Thomas orcid.org/0000-0003-3378-8773 and Clements, Ben (2015) From ‘greenest government ever’ to ‘get rid of all the green crap’: David Cameron, the Conservatives and the environment. British Politics. 204–225. ISSN 1746-918X https://doi.org/10.1057/bp.2015.16 Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ From ‘Greenest government ever’ to ‘get rid of all the green crap’: David Cameron, the Conservatives and the Environment by Neil Carter (University of York) and Ben Clements (University of Leicester) Published in British Politics, early online April 2015. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copy-edit version of the paper.
    [Show full text]
  • Getting to Zero
    Getting to zero A practical policy commission to deliver decarbonisation in the UK Ted Christie-Miller About Onward Onward is a campaigning thinktank whose mission is to develop new ideas for the next generation of centre right thinkers and leaders. We exist to make Britain fairer, more prosperous and more united, by generating a new wave of modernising ideas and a fresh kind of politics that reaches out to new groups of people. We believe in a mainstream conservatism – one that recognises the value of markets and supports the good that government can do, is unapologetic about standing up to vested interests, and assiduous in supporting the hardworking, aspirational and those left behind. Our goal is to address the needs of the whole country: young as well as old; urban as well as rural; and for all parts of the UK – particularly places that feel neglected or ignored in Westminster. We will achieve this by developing practical policies that work. Our team has worked both at a high level in government and for successful thinktanks. We know how to produce big ideas that resonate with policymakers, the media and the public. We will engage ordinary people across the country and work with them to make our ideas a reality. Onward is an independent, not-for-profit thinktank, registered in England and Wales (Company Registration no. 11326052). Thanks Onward is a small non-profit that relies on the generosity of our donors and patrons to do our work. We are particularly grateful to our partners for the Getting to zero programme - the European Climate Foundation, the Purpose Foundation and the Quadrature Climate Foundation.
    [Show full text]
  • THE 422 Mps WHO BACKED the MOTION Conservative 1. Bim
    THE 422 MPs WHO BACKED THE MOTION Conservative 1. Bim Afolami 2. Peter Aldous 3. Edward Argar 4. Victoria Atkins 5. Harriett Baldwin 6. Steve Barclay 7. Henry Bellingham 8. Guto Bebb 9. Richard Benyon 10. Paul Beresford 11. Peter Bottomley 12. Andrew Bowie 13. Karen Bradley 14. Steve Brine 15. James Brokenshire 16. Robert Buckland 17. Alex Burghart 18. Alistair Burt 19. Alun Cairns 20. James Cartlidge 21. Alex Chalk 22. Jo Churchill 23. Greg Clark 24. Colin Clark 25. Ken Clarke 26. James Cleverly 27. Thérèse Coffey 28. Alberto Costa 29. Glyn Davies 30. Jonathan Djanogly 31. Leo Docherty 32. Oliver Dowden 33. David Duguid 34. Alan Duncan 35. Philip Dunne 36. Michael Ellis 37. Tobias Ellwood 38. Mark Field 39. Vicky Ford 40. Kevin Foster 41. Lucy Frazer 42. George Freeman 43. Mike Freer 44. Mark Garnier 45. David Gauke 46. Nick Gibb 47. John Glen 48. Robert Goodwill 49. Michael Gove 50. Luke Graham 51. Richard Graham 52. Bill Grant 53. Helen Grant 54. Damian Green 55. Justine Greening 56. Dominic Grieve 57. Sam Gyimah 58. Kirstene Hair 59. Luke Hall 60. Philip Hammond 61. Stephen Hammond 62. Matt Hancock 63. Richard Harrington 64. Simon Hart 65. Oliver Heald 66. Peter Heaton-Jones 67. Damian Hinds 68. Simon Hoare 69. George Hollingbery 70. Kevin Hollinrake 71. Nigel Huddleston 72. Jeremy Hunt 73. Nick Hurd 74. Alister Jack (Teller) 75. Margot James 76. Sajid Javid 77. Robert Jenrick 78. Jo Johnson 79. Andrew Jones 80. Gillian Keegan 81. Seema Kennedy 82. Stephen Kerr 83. Mark Lancaster 84.
    [Show full text]
  • Women Mps in Westminster Photographs Taken May 21St, June 3Rd, June 4Th, 2008
    “The House of Commons Works of Art Collection documents significant moments in Parliamentary history. We are delighted to have added this unique photographic record of women MPs of today, to mark the 90th anniversary of women first being able to take their seats in this House” – Hugo Swire, Chairman, The Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art. “The day the Carlton Club accepted women” – 90 years after women first got the vote aim to ensure that a more enduring image of On May 21st 2008 over half of all women women's participation in the political process Members of Parliament in Westminster survives. gathered party by party to have group photographs taken to mark the anniversary of Each party gave its permission for the 90 years since women first got the vote (in photographs to be taken. For the Labour February 1918 women over 30 were first Party, Barbara Follett MP, the then Deputy granted the vote). Minister for Women and Equality, and Barbara Keeley MP, who was Chair of the Labour Party Women’s Committee and The four new composite Caroline Adams, who works for the photographs taken party by Parliamentary Labour Party helped ensure that all but 12 of the Labour women party aim to ensure that a attended. more enduring image of For the Conservative women's participation in the Party, The Shadow Leader of the House of political process survives Commons and Shadow Minister for Until now the most often used photographic Women, Theresa May image of women MPs had been the so called MP and the Chairman “Blair Babes” picture taken on 7th May 1997 of the Conservative shortly after 101 Labour women were elected Party, Caroline to Westminster as a result of positive action by Spelman MP, enlisted the Labour Party.
    [Show full text]
  • Conservative Party Leaders and Officials Since 1975
    BRIEFING PAPER Number 07154, 6 February 2020 Conservative Party and Compiled by officials since 1975 Sarah Dobson This List notes Conservative Party leaders and officials since 1975. Further reading Conservative Party website Conservative Party structure and organisation [pdf] Constitution of the Conservative Party: includes leadership election rules and procedures for selecting candidates. Oliver Letwin, Hearts and Minds: The Battle for the Conservative Party from Thatcher to the Present, Biteback, 2017 Tim Bale, The Conservative Party: From Thatcher to Cameron, Polity Press, 2016 Robert Blake, The Conservative Party from Peel to Major, Faber & Faber, 2011 Leadership elections The Commons Library briefing Leadership Elections: Conservative Party, 11 July 2016, looks at the current and previous rules for the election of the leader of the Conservative Party. Current state of the parties The current composition of the House of Commons and links to the websites of all the parties represented in the Commons can be found on the Parliament website: current state of the parties. www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary Conservative Party leaders and officials since 1975 Leader start end Margaret Thatcher Feb 1975 Nov 1990 John Major Nov 1990 Jun 1997 William Hague Jun 1997 Sep 2001 Iain Duncan Smith Sep 2001 Nov 2003 Michael Howard Nov 2003 Dec 2005 David Cameron Dec 2005 Jul 2016 Theresa May Jul 2016 Jun 2019 Boris Johnson Jul 2019 present Deputy Leader # start end William Whitelaw Feb 1975 Aug 1991 Peter Lilley Jun 1998 Jun 1999 Michael Ancram Sep 2001 Dec 2005 George Osborne * Dec 2005 July 2016 William Hague * Dec 2009 May 2015 # There has not always been a deputy leader and it is often an official title of a senior Conservative politician.
    [Show full text]
  • Contents Theresa May - the Prime Minister
    Contents Theresa May - The Prime Minister .......................................................................................................... 5 Nancy Astor - The first female Member of Parliament to take her seat ................................................ 6 Anne Jenkin - Co-founder Women 2 Win ............................................................................................... 7 Margaret Thatcher – Britain’s first woman Prime Minister .................................................................... 8 Penny Mordaunt – First woman Minister of State for the Armed Forces at the Ministry of Defence ... 9 Lucy Baldwin - Midwifery and safer birth campaigner ......................................................................... 10 Hazel Byford – Conservative Women’s Organisation Chairman 1990 - 1993....................................... 11 Emmeline Pankhurst – Leader of the British Suffragette Movement .................................................. 12 Andrea Leadsom – Leader of House of Commons ................................................................................ 13 Florence Horsbrugh - First woman to move the Address in reply to the King's Speech ...................... 14 Helen Whately – Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party ............................................................. 15 Gillian Shephard – Chairman of the Association of Conservative Peers ............................................... 16 Dorothy Brant – Suffragette who brought women into Conservative Associations ...........................
    [Show full text]
  • UK's WITHDRAWAL from the EU the Prime Minister
    UK’S WITHDRAWAL FROM THE EU The Prime Minister That this House notes the Prime Minister’s statement on Leaving the European Union of 26 February 2019; and further notes that discussions between the UK and the EU are ongoing. Amendment (a) Jeremy Corbyn Keir Starmer Emily Thornberry John McDonnell Valerie Vaz Mr Nicholas Brown Mr Ben BradshawRuth George Line 1, leave out from “House” to end and add “instructs Ministers (a) to negotiate with the EU for changes to the Political Declaration to secure: i. a permanent and comprehensive customs union with the EU; ii. close alignment with the single market underpinned by shared institutions and obligations; iii. dynamic alignment on rights and protections; iv. commitments on participation in EU agencies and funding programmes, including in areas such as the environment, education, and industrial regulation; and v. unambiguous agreement on the detail of future security arrangements, including access to the European Arrest Warrant and vital shared databases; and (b) to introduce primary legislation to give statutory effect to this negotiating mandate.”. As an Amendment to Jeremy Corbyn’s proposed Amendment (a): Sir Vince Cable Tom Brake Jo Swinson Mr Alistair Carmichael Sir Edward Davey Norman Lamb Christine JardineJamie StoneWera HobhouseTim FarronLayla Moran Line 2, leave out from “for” to end and add ”an extension of the period of two years specified in Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union for the purposes of a referendum on whether to exit the European Union under the terms of the negotiated Withdrawal Agreement or stay in membership of the European Union.”.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Michael Gove Speech at the 2017 Conservative Party
    Michael Gove Speech at the 2017 Conservative Party Conference It’s wonderful to be here in Manchester – speaking to you as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The fact that I’m on this stage this year is proof that this Government is committed to recycling. And, let me tell you, no-one is a bigger supporter of re-using once discarded material than me. So I’m naturally keen on politicians coming back to the frontline from a period of doing other things. But I do have a problem when those politicians return to the fray with a message that – in their absence – the public have got it wrong. When Tony Blair or Vince Cable tell us that the referendum decision to leave the EU must be overturned, that the votes of 17.4 million people should be disregarded, that we should exit from Brexit and stay in the European Union – then I feel it’s time to stand up for something precious, something special to us all, something that defines us a nation. Democracy. So let’s send a clear message from this hall today. We’re leaving. We’re taking back control. We’re going to make a success of life outside the European Union. And nowhere are the possibilities for progress greater than with the environment. We now have a once in a lifetime opportunity. For the first time in more than forty years we can – together – now determine our own environmental policies. We can do what we think is best to make our country cleaner, greener and more beautiful.
    [Show full text]
  • Sajid Javid MP House of Commons London SW1A 0AA Thursday 13Th
    Sajid Javid MP House of Commons London SW1A 0AA Thursday 13th June 2019 Dear Sajid Javid MP, Congratulations on your candidacy to be Leader of the Conservative Party and consequently Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. We are a group of the leading human rights, migrant, HIV and LGBTQI+ organisations in the UK, and we are writing to ask you to pledge your support for the growing cross-party consensus in favour of a strict statutory time limit on immigration detention. We acknowledge that if you are successful in your campaign for the leadership, you will be facing a large number of pressing issues and demands on your time. We believe, however, that indefinite immigration detention represents one of the most egregious injustices in the UK today, and benefits no-one, certainly not the taxpayer. Indefinite detention has been described in the higher courts as a “dramatic constitutional innovation” which is “unprecedented in peacetime”1. This year, both the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC)2 and the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR)3 have called for significant reform of the immigration detention system, including the introduction of a 28 day time limit and automatic judicial oversight of decisions to detain. We would like to draw your attention to the progress of the Immigration and Social Security Co- ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill, and to ask you to add your support to amendment clauses NC 1-44. If passed, these clauses would introduce external scrutiny over decisions to detain through automatic bail hearings after 96 hours and a 28 day time limit.
    [Show full text]
  • MEMO+ New UK Parliament and Government
    May 2010 Minority Ethnic Matters Overview MEMO+ is an occasional series of briefing papers on topics of interest to minority ethnic communities in Scotland. Supported b y It is produced by the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities in partnership with the Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure in Scotland , and is supported by the Scottish Government. Briefing: The New UK Parliament and Government General Election Results The elections to the UK Parliament in May 2010 resulted in the Conservative Party having the largest number of seats although no single party has an overall majority. Number of MPs elected in each political party Conservative 306 Labour 258 Liberal Democrat 57 Democratic Unionist Party 8 SNP 6 Sinn Fein 5 Plaid Cymru 3 Social Democratic & Labour Party 3 Alliance Party 1 Green 1 Independent 1 One seat still has to be decided. This is because one of the candidates for Thirsk and Morton died after nominations closed. As a result, no voting took place in that constituency, and a by-election will be held on 27 May. Negotiations between the main parties have resulted in an agreement to form a Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government, the first such agreement since 1945. The practicalities of this are not yet clear, but the Ministerial team includes MPs from both parties, and some policy compromises have already been announced. 1 MEMO+ The New UK Parliament and Government May 2010 How does the Parliament work? The Speaker The Speaker, who is elected from among their own number by the MPs themselves, chairs proceedings in the House of Commons.
    [Show full text]
  • Order of 2 February
    No. 109 1 House of Commons Tuesday 2 February 2016 Votes and Proceedings The House met at 11.30 am. PRAYERS. 1 Private Bills: City of London Corporation (Open Spaces) Bill: Second Reading Bill read a second time and committed. 2 Questions to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 3 Urgent Questions: (1) UK’s relationship with the EU (Mr David Lidington) (2) Zika virus (Mr Nick Hurd) 4 Mobile Telecommunications Network Coverage (Contractual Obligations): Motion for leave to bring in a Bill (Standing Order No. 23) Ordered, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision about the disclosure of the quality of mobile telecommunications network coverage by providers and establish penalties for non-compliance; to provide recourse for consumers who enter contracts for such services that do not perform as advertised; and for connected purposes; That Mr Alistair Carmichael, Tim Farron, Norman Lamb, Mr Mark Williams, Albert Owen, Graham Stuart, Nick Smith, Mr Charles Walker, Ms Margaret Ritchie and Glyn Davies present the Bill. Mr Alistair Carmichael accordingly presented the Bill. Bill read the first time; to be read a second time on Friday 4 March, and to be printed (Bill 126). 5 Enterprise Bill [Lords]: Second Reading Motion made and Question proposed, That the Enterprise Bill be now read a second time.— (Sajid Javid.) The Deputy Speaker announced a time limit on backbench speeches (Standing Order No. 47(1)). Question put. The House divided. Division No. 181. Ayes: 300 (Tellers: Sarah Newton, Stephen Barclay). Noes: 62 (Tellers: Marion Fellows, Owen Thompson).
    [Show full text]
  • Mrs Caroline Spelman
    House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges Mrs Caroline Spelman Sixth Report of Session 2008–09 HC 316 House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges Mrs Caroline Spelman Sixth Report of Session 2008–09 Report and Appendices, together with formal minutes Ordered by The House of Commons to be printed 3 March 2009 HC 316 Published on 3 March 2009 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 The Committee on Standards and Privileges The Committee on Standards and Privileges is appointed by the House of Commons to oversee the work of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards; to examine the arrangements proposed by the Commissioner for the compilation, maintenance and accessibility of the Register of Members’ Interests and any other registers of interest established by the House; to review from time to time the form and content of those registers; to consider any specific complaints made in relation to the registering or declaring of interests referred to it by the Commissioner; to consider any matter relating to the conduct of Members, including specific complaints in relation to alleged breaches in the Code of Conduct which have been drawn to the Committee’s attention by the Commissioner; and to recommend any modifications to the Code of Conduct as may from time to time appear to be necessary. Current membership Rt Hon Sir George Young Bt MP (Conservative, North West Hampshire) (Chairman) Rt Hon Kevin Barron MP (Labour, Rother Valley) Rt Hon David Curry MP (Conservative, Skipton & Ripon) Mr Andrew Dismore MP (Labour, Hendon) Nick Harvey MP (Liberal Democrat, North Devon) Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP (Plaid Cymru, Meirionnydd Nant Conwy) Mr Chris Mullin MP (Labour, Sunderland South) The Hon Nicholas Soames MP (Conservative, Mid Sussex) Mr Paddy Tipping MP (Labour, Sherwood) Dr Alan Whitehead MP (Labour, Southampton Test) Powers The constitution and powers of the Committee are set out in Standing Order No.
    [Show full text]