Points of Order

Debate between Alan Duncan and John Bercow

Tuesday 11th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am extremely grateful.

[Sir Alan Duncan (Rutland and Melton) (Con)]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. I thank the right hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Sir Andrew Stunell) for his courteous and fulsome retraction. The reputation of the company in my constituency is intact. I am grateful to him for his courtesy.

[Mr Speaker]

Honour is served. I believe that both right hon. Members, and the House, are satisfied.

Points of Order

Debate between Alan Duncan and John Bercow

Monday 1st September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman who speaks with the experience of a former Leader of the House. People can express their views on the Floor of the Chamber, in letters to me or to the Leader of the House or the shadow Leader of the House or in the form of one-to-one conversations. I want to hear what people have to say. The right hon. Gentleman has started that process, but it is open to others to continue it. Let me repeat that I wish to hear all views from all Members from all parts of the House.

[Sir Alan Duncan (Rutland and Melton) (Con)]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. Will you confirm that the advisory panel constituted for the purposes of this appointment is now defunct and that inasmuch as you intend to go back to the House and its representatives, you will do so only to the House of Commons Commission?

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for that point of order. I do not know whether it is technically correct to say that the panel is, as he puts it, defunct, but I offer him the assurance I think he seeks that of course matters must proceed by reference to the House of Commons Commission, which meets on Monday 8 September and on the agenda of which there is, of course, an update on this matter.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alan Duncan and John Bercow

Wednesday 23rd October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Paul Blomfield]

The Minister has recognised in his reply that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is increasingly fragile. The impoverished Palestinian population is reliant on the tunnels for affordable goods. The tightening of restrictions by the Egyptian and Israeli authorities is resulting in shockingly high prices for fuel and basic commodities. With access to, and the affordability of, food becoming a huge problem, will the Government acknowledge that the blockade of Gaza is a violation of international humanitarian and human rights law and constitutes collective punishment?

[Mr Speaker]

There are extremely serious matters of life and death in Gaza. Let us hear the questions and the Minister’s answers.

[Mr Duncan]

I recognise exactly what the hon. Gentleman says. We would far rather see free movement and access for trade and economic activity in Gaza than an economy that is channelled through tunnels in a way that benefits Hamas. Israel’s plan to expand the capacity of the Allenby crossing between the west bank and Jordan is a welcome example of the sort of steps that can be taken to improve trade.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alan Duncan and John Bercow

Wednesday 12th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Ward]

Those who have been to the west bank and to Gaza will be frustrated constantly to see international aid used to pay for buildings which are promptly knocked down by the Israeli regime. Is the Minister aware that according to figures in the United Nations “Humanitarian Monitor” monthly report for April, there was a 30% rise in the number of Palestinians displaced by house demolitions, with a total of 46 structures demolished by the Israeli army, which included five paid for by international donors?

[Mr Speaker]

We are grateful to the hon. Member, but we need to have time for the answer.

[Mr Duncan]

The Government share the hon. Gentleman’s concerns about the nature and scale of the demolitions. I am pleased to say, however, that we have contributed to the construction of a number of schools in Gaza, where we hope children will be educated without their premises ever being demolished.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alan Duncan and John Bercow

Wednesday 30th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)]

I visited the west bank and Israel with colleagues last December, where I saw evidence of the daily indignity and injustice that Palestinians face. A number of EU and UK-funded schools in the west bank are under the threat of demolition orders. What are the Government doing to ensure that our investment is not wasted?

[Mr Speaker]

I think that we need to relate the matter to the question of 0.7%, which the Minister will be dextrous at doing.

[Mr Duncan]

Of course, some of the 0.7% of GNI, which we spend so well, goes to the Palestinian Authority, whose finances are in some peril. We wish to support them and we urge other countries to do so. A two-state solution, which we all want to see, is not served by a weak and fractured Palestinian Authority.

[Mr Speaker]

Dexterity duly demonstrated.

[Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) (LD)]

The If campaign emphases that if other countries followed our example on the 0.7% target, enormous investment in small-scale agriculture and child and maternal nutrition could be delivered. Will the Government use this year’s hunger summit to state not only that other countries should meet the 0.7% target, but that they should spend the money on those priorities to address hunger and poverty?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Duncan]

I apologise; I did not hear much of the hon. Gentleman’s question, but I understand that he is referring to eastern Congo. We will, of course, do all we can, and, if I may, I will write to him in more detail.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. If Question Time is to be meaningful, questions and answers must be heard. We are discussing matters of momentous significance to the people concerned and it would show some respect if the House listened. Let us have a bit of order.

[Fiona Bruce (Congleton) (Con)]

T3. What is DFID doing to encourage funding applications from the small organisations and charities we all have in our constituencies which support schools, hospitals and other aid projects in the developing world, and which often provide excellent value for money?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alan Duncan and John Bercow

Wednesday 12th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. May I just remind the House that we are discussing extremely serious matters? This question is about Burma, and it would be a courtesy if Members would listen to the question and to the Minister’s answer.

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Alan Duncan)]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), who has responsibility for Burma, will visit Rakhine state this coming Friday and Saturday, when he will see the situation at first hand and meet senior Burmese Ministers. The Burmese Government have founded an independent commission to investigate the situation in Rakhine state. The UK is very closely engaged with all parties to push for greater humanitarian access and a longer-term political settlement, including on citizenship.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alan Duncan and John Bercow

Wednesday 13th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan]

My hon. Friend is in some sense right, although the tunnels are in Egypt, not at the normal crossings from Israel. The volume of goods and mostly people—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I apologise for interrupting the Minister of State. I have been listening to the Minister of State for 20 years, and I want to carry on enjoying listening to him, and I want to be able to hear him.

[Mr Duncan]

Thank you, Mr Speaker; we are halfway there, perhaps.

My hon. Friend is right to say that much more comes in through the tunnels than through Israeli-approved access points. Perversely, that is assisting Hamas, which is something we would like to reverse.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alan Duncan and John Bercow

Wednesday 16th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Walker]

I recently took part in a delegation to Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territories of the west bank, and I refer the House to my related entry in the register. During the visit, we met many Israeli human rights organisations and NGOs involved in the peace process, some of which receive financial support from the UK Government. All of them were concerned at moves by elements of the nationalist right to crack down on and embarrass organisations in receipt of overseas funding, no matter how legitimate—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am extremely grateful to the hon. Gentleman, but this is Question Time.

[Mr Duncan]

My hon. Friend refers to a proposed panel of inquiry on the Israeli side, to look into the funding of its NGOs. Our ambassador to Tel Aviv discussed the issue with the Israeli ambassador to the UK, Ron Prosor, shortly after the Knesset vote on the issue. Officials raised the matter with one of the two members of the Knesset who had pressed for such funding investigation. We do not want such investigations to impede the legitimate work of NGOs in the west bank and elsewhere in the Palestinian territories.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alan Duncan and John Bercow

Wednesday 12th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan]

The OECD and the International Accounting Standards Board are both doing work related to that issue, and we hope that it will help to identify the best way forward. Action to tackle tax evasion through more transparency and the exchange of information, instigated by the G20 and led by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, has already produced good results, such as a big increase in the number of bilateral tax information exchange agreements. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. There is far too much noise in the Chamber. It is very unfair on Members who want to take part in questions to the Secretary of State for International Development. Let us have a bit of order.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Duncan]

The review has a specific focus on rapid onset humanitarian emergencies, which can either be natural disasters or sudden outbreaks of conflict. The urgent international response to disasters is often confused and unco-ordinated. Today is the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, and what happened there will play an essential part in our review. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The House must come to order again.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alan Duncan and John Bercow

Wednesday 13th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Alan Duncan)]

I saw for myself—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I understand that the House is in an excitable state. That is perfectly proper, but the mellifluous tones of the Minister of State deserve a better audience.

[Mr Duncan]

I saw for myself the challenges faced in Yemen and the impact of DFID’s programmes when I visited in July. I was also encouraged by the outcomes of the recent Friends of Yemen meeting in New York chaired by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary.