"My Lords, I certainly support this Bill, which will help with the operation of the right-to-buy scheme. I was doubtful about right to buy when it first came in, but I do not now support its abolition in any sense, although I recognise that in Wales and Scotland they have …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Addington. Over the many years I have seen him performing, he has been a brilliant contributor and we need to recognise that, because of his educational needs, he brings a particularly important thing to the attention of the …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"My Lords, as the 29th speaker, I fear that many of my original points have disappeared, but the noble Lord, Lord Wallace, in particular, has inspired me to make a few more. I join others in commending the noble Lord who chaired this committee, and the committee itself, on getting …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"My Lords, I put on record my profound support for this very significant commitment, which meets not only the fuel poverty objectives but the environmental and economic objectives in developing our energy policy. The Minister may dimly recall that many years ago I was the Minister who brought in and …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"I too did not intend to speak on this group, but it occurs to me that these are such wide-ranging provisions that the charging of one local public authority by another is probably covered, in which case I wish to refer to a matter which was referred to when we …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"That is true at present, but we are about to invent a new system of regulation of the total water system, which must have some interface with the planning system that we are referring to in this Bill. It may not be in this clause, but somewhere in the Government’s …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"That is true, but it does not require a ballot of individual shareholders. There is a vote once a year, or whenever, so that a donation can be made at the annual general meeting. It is not a ballot...." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"My Lords, like others, I would have preferred renationalisation, but a strengthened and unified regulator was my second choice so I welcome much of this report. However, will the next stage, the White Paper and the later legislation, envisage a situation where there is a system closer to franchising than …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"My Lords, I would like to correct, in a sense, the impression given by the noble Lord, Lord Burns, of the activity of his Select Committee at the time. I was a member of that Select Committee, along with my noble friend Lady Drake, representing the interests of the Labour …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"My Lords, the concentration during this Question has been on national finance and national taxation, but the real crisis is in the finance of local authorities of all descriptions in all parts of the country, and under all political control. Do the Government intend to look at the basis of …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech