Northern Ireland Assembly Members (Pay) Bill

The right hon. Gentleman has raised that point with me on several occasions and it has been discu...

The Secretary of State is right to indicate that the matter is for the House, not for the Governm...

At Question Time, we had a question about the transparency of donations and I am pleased that the...

I am surprised but delighted when, during election campaigns, I continue to receive a salary, not...

My right hon. Friend always asks helpful questions; he is not known for doing anything other. We ...

I encourage my right hon. Friend not to be distracted because a number of important points have b...

I thank my hon. Friend, the Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, for his intervention...

When the Secretary of State last made a statement to the House covering this particular issue, sh...

The hon. Lady is right that I did not set a specific date. I hope that representations will be ma...

I thank the Secretary of State for being so generous in taking a second intervention so quickly. ...

Of course I am happy to publish any representations made to me, although that might not be approp...

Does the Secretary of State have a view on what should happen to the salaries of those who work f...

I have said in the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee and elsewhere that I agree with the point m...

Will the Secretary of State take it from me that many people in Northern Ireland will be grateful...

rose—

I give way to the shadow Secretary of State.

I too, welcome what I think I heard from the Secretary of State, but may I clarify one point? Is ...

That is exactly what I am saying. As I have said, I know how hard my staff work, and I am sure th...

I have great sympathy with what the Secretary of State has said about not cutting allowances for ...

Yes, I am minded to cut the salaries of MLAs in line with the Trevor Reaney recommendation, on th...

I welcome the Bill. In the statement that was made last week, it was indicated that there would b...

I do not intend to consult the parties explicitly. What I have said is that I would welcome repre...

I absolutely agree with what the Secretary of State has said about constituency staff. They work ...

Those are issues that Mr Reaney looked at. He looked at the work that the MLAs are not doing beca...

We accept the need for a cut in MLAs’ salaries. The last Labour Government did that on three occa...

This is a bit like déjà vu all over again.

We, too, accept the Secretary of State’s points ...

I am delighted to see how much time there is for me to go through this Bill’s provisions, but I t...

May I just say that most Members of Parliament will now want to intervene on the hon. Member for ...

That is exactly what I was going to say, because I fear there will be nobody in this Chamber to i...

Perhaps the Deputy Speaker could give us some guidance on whether my hon. Friend the Member for S...

I am sure that, if there is nobody else here, he definitely will.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Last night, you were concerned that we were descending into talk of...

If it is helpful, I can tell the hon. Gentleman the way this will work. Once the Executive are fo...

I am grateful to the Secretary of State, but clause 1(3) gives me cause for concern. It states cl...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way. The first determination does cease at the point that t...

I thank the Secretary of State. That is exactly what was outlined earlier, but it still does not ...

I know that this is very technical, but I am trying to resolve this today, rather than have to co...

rose—

It may be easier if we write to the hon. Gentleman with exactly how it works. The intention as se...

That would be useful. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and I parse...

If a determination was made to reduce pay by a third, for example, is the hon. Gentleman’s unders...

As I have outlined, my concern is that the power ceases once we make the determination and the Ex...

We do intend that to be the case—I recognise that we are going around the houses slightly—and I s...

I know that you did not expect that exchange of views, Mr Deputy Speaker, but this is important. ...

Those are extremely good technical points, but I am assured that the determination that would be ...

I am grateful for that clarification, which is important in two respects. During the stasis in No...

My hon. Friend is right to press this issue with the Government. He will be aware that the websit...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right about that, and I agree wholeheartedly. If a website wis...

Does my hon. Friend also accept that this House has turned a blind eye to the hundreds of thousan...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. I have focused on the dark money coming from abroad bec...

Order. I think the point has been very well made. It would not be for this Bill to change that; i...

I am grateful for that indication, Mr Deputy Speaker. I think I have fairly outlined what the Gov...

It is a delight to follow the hon. Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson). I put on the record ...

I would be very interested in the hon. Lady’s opinion on two key matters under consideration. Fir...

Let me take the right hon. Gentleman’s very helpful points one by one. In respect of Sinn Féin, i...

It does.

In the meantime, the Secretary of State has been bold today. I encourage her to continue in that ...

Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker, for giving me the chance to conclude this debate from the...

As my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing North (Stephen Pound) has been performing in Westminster ...

I thank all Members on both sides of the House who have contributed to the debate. While there ha...

Even if I was wrong?

I was being charitable. The order of the day for this debate is very much that people should be b...