"Last week was indeed a triumph for those in the Treasury tackling tax avoidance, but can the Chancellor tell us whether those tax receipts, which will have not been budgeted for, are going to be used to set against the deficit or to put money back in the pockets of …..." Duncan Hames - View Speech
"Grandparents often play an important role in supporting their children’s children. So why is it that the Government’s welcome commitment to a more generous state pension bizarrely has the effect of increasing the number of children statistically said to be living in poverty? What is the sense in that?..." Duncan Hames - View Speech
"The hon. Lady is making a typically impassioned and impressive speech. On the question of whether the Government broke the deal, would she not, given her experience before coming to the House, acknowledge that youth unemployment has been rising consistently since 2004? In my constituency, unemployment trebled in the previous …..." Duncan Hames - View Speech
"May I wish you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and all the staff of the Houses of Parliament a very merry Christmas?
I speak today in support of increased local decision-making in the planning system. Specifically, I would like to encourage the Government to ensure that the neighbourhood plans made possible by …..." Duncan Hames - View Speech
"The imposition of development plans that are not owned by the local community was exactly what we had in the regional spatial strategies—the grand regional plans left to us by the previous Government —and I applaud this Government for abandoning them. The RSS in the south-west of England never actually …..." Duncan Hames - View Speech
"I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman, and I am delighted to learn of his interest in Chippenham. In fact, it was that very concern about the hollowing out of the town centre that prompted the resignation last week of the chair of the Chippenham Vision group, who had sought, …..." Duncan Hames - View Speech
"The public are impatient for reform and proper regulation of our banks, so I applaud the Chancellor’s dexterity in separating the timing of the loss absorbency requirements from that of the requirements for increased competition and the introduction of a ring fence on high street banking. Having decided to introduce …..." Duncan Hames - View Speech
"Clearly, my constituents will wonder what the point of a financial services ombudsman is if they cannot seek redress through it to get a better deal than Capita is already offering...." Duncan Hames - View Speech
"I shall certainly be brief, Mr Owen, as I, too, look forward to the Minister’s speech about cleaning up the mess of financial scandals that arose long before he took office. I am not alone; it is worth reiterating that we have heard this morning from MPs from six political …..." Duncan Hames - View Speech