Mrs Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of opportunities for research and consulting disseminated by his Department resulted in (a) research reports and (b) physical deliverables in (i) 2001–02, (ii) 2002–03 and (iii) 2003–04.
Mrs Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether details of the late Lance Corporal Atkinson who was court-martialled for false imprisonment appear on the police database.
Mrs Anne Campbell: Will my right hon. Friend comment on a headline in a newsletter that has been widely circulated in my constituency, which reads, "Fees for school sixth forms planned for Blair's 3rd term"? Is there any foundation at all for such a headline?
Mrs Anne Campbell: Does my hon. Friend agree that much more public consultation in the case of the Hutton inquiry, for example, would have been useful? There was a great deal of controversy about the way in which it was set up and the narrowness of its remit. I am sure that there was private consultation between the Lord Chancellor and Lord Hutton, but would not it have been better to have had the public...
Mrs Anne Campbell: My hon. Friend makes two points. The flavour of the amendment is permissive, in that it says “may” rather than “shall” or “must”. It would therefore be up to the Government of the day to decide whether to follow the rules suggested. It is perfectly possible that they would have good reasons, including urgency, for not following them. In their evidence to the Select Committee, the...
Mrs Anne Campbell: I must confess to being disappointed that my hon. Friend is not prepared to accept this reasonable amendment. Setting out the proposed framework in the Bill would provide for a Minister to take different action if that was considered necessary at the time. It would also provide a good practice framework under which inquiries could be conducted. I completely take my hon. Friend’s point that...
Mrs Anne Campbell: I beg to move amendment No. 37, in clause 42, page 21, line 20, at end insert— ‘(1A)Rules under subsection (1) (a) may make provision for— (a)consultation on the terms of reference; (b)estimated costs at the commencement of an inquiry; (c)estimated duration at the commencement of an inquiry.’. It is pleasure to be sitting on a Committee under your chairmanship, Mr. Gale. I am...
Mrs Anne Campbell: I am not. The Select Committee discussed consultation on the terms of reference at some length, and some years ago the Salmon commission said that the terms of reference should be drawn as precisely as possible. In the course of taking evidence, we found that negotiation appeared to take place between the Lord Chancellor and the chairman of an inquiry. Lord Falconer told the Committee that if...
Mrs Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has for charging for 16 to 19 further education courses.
Mrs Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if she will make a statement on reducing the funding gap between school sixth forms and further education colleges in Cambridge; (2) what the reasons are for the funding gap between school sixth forms and further education colleges in Cambridge; and if she will make a statement.
Mrs Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) whether she expects fees for courses above Level 2 for adults to rise in Cambridge in 2005–06; (2) whether her Department will fully fund courses for adults at Level 3 in Cambridge in 2005–06.
Mrs Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to ensure that fee concessions remain in place for those aged over 60 years who wish to study at a further education college in Cambridge.
Mrs Anne Campbell: In answer to an earlier question, I should like to reassure the Committee that I am not a lawyer—in fact, I am a statistician, if that makes any difference. I return to the argument about ministerial conduct and misconduct, because there are differences between those things. Ministerial conduct, which relates to personal misconduct by a Minister, should rightly be investigated under the...
Mrs Anne Campbell: The Select Committee was clear that ministerial misconduct should be investigated by the ombudsman, not by a parliamentary inquiry. By using the words “public importance”, the Select Committee intended to refer to the direction and continuance of Government policy. Returning to my main objections, about which I spoke on Second Reading, the clause gives the Minister discretion on whether...
Mrs Anne Campbell: My point was that nowhere in the report does it refer to ministerial misconduct. It refers to ministerial conduct, which is a completely different matter when we look at how policy is conducted. It is completely different from the kind of inquiry that was conducted by Sir Alan Budd into potential ministerial misconduct, which the Select Committee firmly believes should be adjudicated on by...
Mrs Anne Campbell: The report of the Select Committee on Public Administration does not talk about misconduct. Instead, it recommends that the ombudsman should investigate alleged breaches of the ministerial code. The proposal is rather unfortunate because it refers to ministerial misconduct and at the same time causes the Minister to bring the inquiry. The amendments would force the Minister to do rather...
Mrs Anne Campbell: What would happen if it became obvious that an inquiry would exceed the estimated amount that the Minister had declared at its initial stages? Would the inquiry have to be abandoned or would the Minister have to return to the House and make a further statement? Will the hon. Gentleman explain a little more?
Mrs Anne Campbell: I have some sympathy with the hon. Gentleman because costs need to be kept under control, but I am a little puzzled about how it is possible to estimate the costs in a complex inquiry. Although no one wants costs to spiral out of control, the chairman may pursue lines of inquiry that lead to costs above the original estimates. I am worried that the amendments may curtail the inquiry...
Mrs Anne Campbell: I am sure that my right hon. Friend will be as pleased as I was with last week's announcement by the Chancellor of changes to Government procurement rules for small businesses. They will do a lot to benefit the small firms in my constituency, but does she agree that they need a very thorough overhaul? At present, they are designed to get the best value from the purchase of paper clips and...
Mrs Anne Campbell: I said that I was concerned not about ministerial misconduct, but about ministerial conduct. That is different, particularly if considered in the context of political action. I hope that my hon. Friend makes that distinction.
