"My Lords, the Liberal Democrats have not had a turn in this Question. If we proceed quickly to the noble Baroness, Lady Thomas, we might then be able to have a question from the Labour Benches...." Earl Howe - View Speech
"My Lords, it may be a slight surprise to see a Minister from another Department of State responding to this amendment. However, my noble friend Lord Freud has asked me to speak to it as a reflection of the importance that he and I place on promoting research into mesothelioma. …..." Earl Howe - View Speech
"My Lords, I accept that fully and I will come to that point in a second.
Certainly there was a blockage in the research process, but it was not total. There is good news. As the noble Lord, Lord Alton, informed us, spending on mesothelioma research is not as low …..." Earl Howe - View Speech
"I think that there is scope for that, whether it is a stand-alone report or is built automatically into the report that is produced by the department or the MRC. I would be happy to take that idea forward...." Earl Howe - View Speech
"A very great deal of the research conducted in this country is funded by different sources. It is funded by the Government, charities, universities, and industry. Nothing in the arrangements that I have outlined precludes a joint arrangement for funding mesothelioma research, which is why I welcomed the indication that …..." Earl Howe - View Speech
"Before the noble Lord finally decides what to do with his amendment, may I just explain why the Government have not brought forward their own amendment, which was one of his criticisms? We do not believe that a legislative route is necessary. We believe—as the noble Lord, Lord Empey, indicated—that …..." Earl Howe - View Speech
"My Lords, it is one of the glories of the debate on the gracious Speech that it engenders a wealth of varied and expert contributions from all quarters of the House. Correspondingly, it falls to the lot of the responding Minister to try to do justice to those contributions. Because …..." Earl Howe - View Speech