Mark in Parliament

• Dec 20, 2011:
  • Communities and Local Government (20 Dec 2011)
    Mark Hunter: I am conscious that it is a privilege as well as a duty to wind up a debate for the Government from the Dispatch Box on any subject. Having spent some 18 years as a local councillor myself, including three years as leader of Stockport council, before being elected to this place, winding up a debate on local government issues today is a special honour for me. Members on both sides of the House...
• Apr 7, 2010:
  • Transport (North West) (7 Apr 2010)
    Mark Hunter: It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to contribute to the debate under your chairmanship, Mr. Howarth. I compliment the hon. Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) on securing the debate, which I am sure is of great interest to his constituents, just as it is to mine. He referred to the debate a few days ago on high-speed rail, to which a number of us present today were lucky enough to...
  • Transport (North West) (7 Apr 2010)
    Mark Hunter: The hon. Gentleman will understand that I find that temptation utterly resistible. I am happy to confirm that the earlier part of his jibe is fallacious. I will give him a further example. Liberal Democrat-led Stockport council has this year put an additional £2 million into its road repair budget. I hope that he will consider further the point that he made. There is potential for...
  • Transport (North West) (7 Apr 2010)
    Mark Hunter: Thank you for the observation, Mr. Howarth, but my constituency is in the north-west of England, the schemes that I have mentioned are transport schemes and the title of the debate is "Transport in the north-west". I await further guidance on that matter. The hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr. Goodwill) made a point about the reduction in the major roads budget, but he knows that my...
  • Transport (North West) (7 Apr 2010)
    Mark Hunter: I beg your pardon. That subject was touched on by the hon. Member for Chorley, but it needs to be given a little more time if we are to do justice to it in the wider context. The cost of buses has increased more than the cost in any other sector since the current Government came to power. Between 1997 and 2008 the real cost of motoring declined by 10 per cent. and the real cost of coach and...
  • Transport (North West) (7 Apr 2010)
    Mark Hunter: Having recently met the chair of the Greater Manchester integrated transport authority, I know that it is concerned about this matter, which is currently receiving attention. Following your guidance earlier, Mr. Howarth, to stick to the main subject, I do not propose to be diverted further, but I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is aware that discussions on that matter continue. I should like...
  • Transport (North West) (7 Apr 2010)
    Mark Hunter: I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. I am minded to say, "'Twas ever thus." Those of us familiar with the arguments about central Government funding for local authorities can testify that the argument is not always that there is not enough money in the pot, but simply that it is not appropriately allocated, and this is another example of precisely that. With his intervention, the...
  • Transport (North West) (7 Apr 2010)
    Mark Hunter: Thank you, Mr. Howarth. Yes, I was keeping an eye on the clock, and you will be pleased to know that I am coming to the end of my remarks. As I was saying, the proposals on concessionary fares will mean that 3 million people over the age of 60 will no longer be eligible for a bus pass. This year alone, some 92,000 people will be denied the bus pass they were expecting. I conclude by referring...
• Apr 6, 2010:
  • Written Answers - Children, Schools and Families: Children In Care: Missing Persons (6 Apr 2010)
    Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children went missing from care in each local authority area in each of the last five years.
  • Written Answers - Children, Schools and Families: Children: Human Trafficking (6 Apr 2010)
    Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department has taken to increase provision of accommodation for child victims of trafficking.
• Mar 30, 2010:
  • High Speed Rail (Government Policy) (30 Mar 2010)
    Mark Hunter: It is a pleasure to contribute to the debate under your chairmanship, Mr. Wilshire, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Carlisle (Mr. Martlew) on securing the debate. Given that there now appears to be widespread support across the House for high speed rail, I will start with a few comments on its potential economic impact, and will explain the background and context of the debate. The...
  • High Speed Rail (Government Policy) (30 Mar 2010)
    Mark Hunter: No, it means precisely what I said. It is sensible to take the opportunity to look at the details of the route, and it is right that that should go out for public consultation, but what is proposed is not set in tablets of stone. A detailed timetable from the Department for Transport referred to 2019 as the date by which construction could start. It would then take until 2026 for the line to...
  • High Speed Rail (Government Policy) (30 Mar 2010)
    Mark Hunter: I am not excluding the channel tunnel per se. If the hon. Gentleman will listen to the wider point, I am pointing out that, within the confines of the UK, only 27 miles of new railway have been built since 1997, compared with 1,000 miles of new road. Even if we were to include the channel tunnel, it would still be a poor comparison. Like the hon. Gentleman, I share some concerns about stops...
• Mar 25, 2010:
  • Written Answers - Children, Schools and Families: Children: Human Trafficking (25 Mar 2010)
    Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent estimate is of the number of child victims of trafficking in the UK.
• Mar 17, 2010:
  • Written Answers - Children, Schools and Families: Children in Care: Missing Persons (17 Mar 2010)
    Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children have gone missing from local authority care in each local authority in each of the last five years.
  • Written Answers - Children, Schools and Families: Children: Human Trafficking (17 Mar 2010)
    Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to introduce a system of guardianship for child victims of trafficking.
• Mar 16, 2010:
  • [Mr. Robert Key in the Chair] (16 Mar 2010)
    Mark Hunter: Will the Minister give way?
  • [Mr. Robert Key in the Chair] (16 Mar 2010)
    Mark Hunter: Will the Minister give way?
  • Defence Industry (Lancashire) (16 Mar 2010)
    Mark Hunter: The hon. Gentleman drew attention to some of my earlier remarks. I was not making a point about defence aviation generally; I was talking specifically about the Eurofighter, as the record will show. However, I certainly stand by my remarks. The hon. Gentleman says that politicians must look beyond the here and now, but does he not accept that all politicians have a duty to provide leadership...
  • [Mr. Robert Key in the Chair] (16 Mar 2010)
    Mark Hunter: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?