"My Lords, I am rarely disappointed by the words of the Minister on matters relating to transport. I am delighted that he concedes that the Blunkett amendment is close to perfection; I think it is. I rather hope that, between now and Report, those of us who want to see …..." Lord Bassam of Brighton - View Speech
"My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 121A on behalf of my noble friend Lord Blunkett who sends his apologies to the Committee this afternoon. He has a long-standing appointment that he could not cancel, so he asked me to speak to his amendment on his behalf. The noble Lord, …..." Lord Bassam of Brighton - View Speech
"My Lords, I have three amendments in this group, Amendments 120A to 120C. They are part of a theme that has been talked about before: the degree of devolution and centralisation of existing powers. In general, the Bill is a welcome move towards greater devolution, and my amendments were tabled …..." Lord Bassam of Brighton - View Speech
"My Lords, I apologise for not being here a bit earlier and hearing more of the earlier debate and discussion about parish councils. My amendment seeks to include all parish councils in the definition of a local authority which has a power of general competence. It would remove the eligibility …..." Lord Bassam of Brighton - View Speech
"My Lords, I will withdraw my amendment. I think the noble Lord’s primary argument was about a potential lack of capacity at local level and the need to have proper oversight and regulation. I entirely accept that. That is a reasonable point to make, but I do not see why …..." Lord Bassam of Brighton - View Speech
"My Lords, the Minister will be aware that Australia has already instituted a ban. I welcome the consultation that was announced last week. Will we look at Australia’s experience and try to interpret the experience of other jurisdictions in carrying out the consultation?..." Lord Bassam of Brighton - View Speech
"My Lords, this group has a number of amendments in my name: Amendments 50A and 51B; Amendment 53A to Schedule 3; and Amendment 196A. There are two separate issues involved in these amendments; I will speak first to those that relate to the restrictions on the number and roles of …..." Lord Bassam of Brighton - View Speech