Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Richard Arkless and John Bercow

Tuesday 7th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Extreme brevity, please.

[Richard Arkless (Dumfries and Galloway) (SNP)]

Despite the Government’s attempt to recruit more prison officers, staff rolls at many prisons continue to fall—High Down’s went down by 30. Is this recruitment drive working, or are demoralised prison officers leaving before they can recruit more?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Richard Arkless and John Bercow

Monday 6th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Richard Arkless (Dumfries and Galloway) (SNP)]

My constituent Barrie Smith was born in Dumfries, was raised in Dumfries and is 100% Scottish. Due to a mistake with his mother’s maiden name on her marriage certificate, he has been denied a passport and been told that he will need to reapply for British citizenship at the cost of £2,000. Will somebody from the Home Office meet me behind the Speaker’s Chair so that we can discuss this hideous case?

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman does not need to make it sound quite so furtive. It can be behind the Chair, but it could be in quite a large number of other places on the parliamentary estate, or in a ministerial office for that matter. There is nothing odd about it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Richard Arkless and John Bercow

Thursday 2nd February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Richard Arkless (Dumfries and Galloway) (SNP)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

On the subject of the cost to the public purse, I hope, rather than a rerun of all the arguments, which would be very tedious.

[Richard Arkless]

I think the whole House would like to know that we got value for money in that judgment, and of course there are lots of rights and obligations in many Acts of Parliament and it is the courts’ job to interpret them. Can the Attorney General explain why the Supreme Court held that the Sewel provisions in an Act of Parliament were not a matter for the courts?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Richard Arkless and John Bercow

Monday 13th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Richard Arkless (Dumfries and Galloway) (SNP)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Gentleman is going to tell us about Stranraer I dare say.

[Richard Arkless]

The previous coalition Government removed the Border Force staff from my home port of Stranraer, in my constituency, a number of years ago. Given the increased threats that we face from contraband and puppy smuggling from the rest of the European Union, will the Secretary of State commit to re-examine that decision, so that we can have appropriate defences at our port in Stranraer?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Richard Arkless and John Bercow

Thursday 26th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Ingenuity is a valuable parliamentary commodity.

[Richard Arkless (Dumfries and Galloway) (SNP)]

I am genuinely mystified at our apparent ingenuity. Clearly, human rights are not listed in schedule 5. Schedule 5 is the exhaustive list of reservations, and human rights are not on it. What is the legal basis for the Attorney General’s assertion? Human rights are devolved to Scotland.

Police Funding, Crime and Community Safety

Debate between Richard Arkless and John Bercow

Wednesday 24th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Richard Arkless]

I can confirm that that was the case, but we made our protestations abundantly clear at that time, and we also made it clear that we would campaign on the issue. There is an old saying: if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, the chances are it is a duck. That looks unfair, it feels unfair and I can assure the hon. Gentleman that it is unfair. Surely that cannot be right.

[Mr Speaker]

I discern that the hon. Gentleman has finished his speech. We are very obliged to him.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Richard Arkless and John Bercow

Thursday 2nd July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I do not want a situation to develop in which we have time for the questions but not for the answers. We are short of time.

[Richard Arkless (Dumfries and Galloway) (SNP)]

The Prime Minister celebrated the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta by announcing his intention to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998. The Attorney General will no doubt be aware that the European convention on human rights is enshrined in UK law through the Human Rights Act and, in Scotland, through the Scotland Act 1998. What assessment has he made of the implications of the repeal, particularly for the relationship and interactions between Scots law and the legal system of England and Wales?