Comparison of Divisions: Business of the House — Regional Grand Committees — 12 Nov 2008 at 16:17 with Division No. 104 on 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49
(Swap the two divisions around).
Vote (a) (unedited): Business of the House — Regional Grand Committees - 12 Nov 2008 at 16:17 - Division No. 322
Motion made, and Question proposed,
That the following new Standing Orders be made, with effect from 1st January 2009 until the end of the current Parliament-
A. Regional grand committees
(1) There shall be general committees, called Regional Grand Committees, for each of the following English regions:
(a) East Midlands
(b) East of England
(c) North East
(d) North West
(e) South East
(f) South West
(g) West Midlands
(h) Yorkshire and the Humber
which in each case shall consist of those Members who represent constituencies within the region and up to five other Members nominated by the Committee of Selection, which shall have power from time to time to discharge the Members so nominated by it and to appoint others in their place.
(2) A motion may be made by a Minister of the Crown providing for-
(a) a Regional Grand Committee to sit on a specified day at a specified place in the region to which it relates or at Westminster;
(b) the time and duration of such a sitting; and
(c) the business as provided in paragraph (4) to be conducted at it.
(3) The question on a motion under paragraph (2) shall be put forthwith and may be decided after the moment of interruption.
(4) The business of the committees may include-
(a) questions tabled in accordance with Standing Order (Regional Grand Committees (questions for oral answer));
(b) statements by a Minister of the Crown, in accordance with paragraph (5) below;
(c) general debates on specified matters.
(5) The chairman may permit a Minister of the Crown, whether or not a Member of the House, to make a statement and to answer questions thereon put by members of the committee; but no question shall be taken after the expiry of a period of 45 minutes from the commencement of such a statement.
(6) If the House has resolved that the business at a sitting of a committee shall be concluded at a certain hour and it has not otherwise been concluded before that time the chairman shall, at that time, adjourn the committee without question put and any business then under consideration shall lapse.
B. Regional Grand Committees (questions for oral answer)
(1) Notices of questions for oral answer in a Regional Grand Committee by the relevant regional minister, on a day specified in an order made under paragraph (2) of Standing Order (Regional grand committees), may be given by members of the committee in the Table Office.
(2) Notices of questions given under this order shall bear an indication that they are for oral answer in a specific Regional Grand Committee.
(3) No more than one notice of a question may be given under this order by any member of the committee for each day specified for the taking of questions.
(4) On any day so specified, questions shall be taken at the time provided for in an order under paragraph (2) of Standing Order (Regional Grand Committees); no question shall be taken later than three quarters of an hour after the commencement of the proceedings thereon; and replies to questions not reached shall be printed with the official report of the committee's debates for that day.
(5) Notices of questions under this order may be given ten sitting days before that on which an answer is desired save where otherwise provided by a memorandum under paragraph (8) of Standing Order No. 22 (Notices of questions, motions and amendments), provided that when it is proposed that the House shall adjourn for a period of fewer than four days, any day during that period (other than a Saturday or a Sunday) shall be counted as a sitting day for the purposes of the calculation made under this paragraph. [Ms. Harman.]
Amendment made : (a), in line 1, after 'made', insert 'and Standing Order No. 117 (Regional Affairs Committee) be suspended' .-<[/i> Sir George Young.]
Amendment proposed: (c), in line 15, leave out from 'region' to the end of line 18 .-[Simon Hughes.]
Question put, That the amendment be made:-
The House divided: Ayes 107, Noes 219.
Vote (b) : Gurkha Settlement Rights — Government defeat - 29 Apr 2009 at 15:49 - Division No. 104
The majority of MPs voted in favour of the motion:[1]
- This House
- regrets the Government's recent statement[2] outlining the eligibility criteria for Gurkhas to reside in the United Kingdom;
- recognises the contribution the Gurkhas have made to the safety and freedom of the United Kingdom for the past 200 years;
- notes that more Gurkhas have laid down their lives for the United Kingdom than are estimated to want to live here;
- believes that Gurkhas who retired before 1997 should be treated fairly and in the same way as those who have retired since;
- is concerned that the Government's new guidelines will permit only a small minority of Gurkhas and their families to settle whilst preventing the vast majority;
- further believes that people who are prepared to fight and die for the United Kingdom should be entitled to live in the country; and
- calls upon the Government to withdraw its new guidelines immediately and bring forward revised proposals that extend an equal right of residence to all Gurkhas.
As a consequence, the alternative Government motion, which read:[3]
- This House
- recognises that this Government is the only one since the Second World War to allow Gurkhas and their families settlement rights to the United Kingdom;
- notes that in 2004 the Government permitted settlement rights to Gurkhas discharged since 1997, following the transfer of the Brigade HQ from Hong Kong to the United Kingdom;
- further notes that under these rules around 6,000 Gurkhas and family members have been welcomed to the UK;
- acknowledges that the court judgement of September 2008 determined that the 1997 cut-off date was fair and rational, while seeking clarification of the criteria for settlement rights for those who retired before 1997;
- further notes that on 24 April the Government published new and more generous guidelines for the settlement applications of Gurkhas who retired before 1997;
- supports this revised guidance, which will make around 10,000 Gurkhas and family members eligible to settle in the UK;
- further notes that the Government undertakes actively to inform those who may be eligible in Nepal of these changes and to review the impact of the new guidance within 12 months;
- further notes that the contribution Gurkhas have made is already recognised by pensions paid to around 25,000 Gurkhas or their widows in Nepal that allow for a good standard of living there; and
- further notes that in the year 2000 Gurkha pensions were doubled and that, earlier in April 2009, in addition to an inflationary uplift of 14 per cent., those over 80 years old received a 20 per cent. increase in their pension.
... was never voted upon.
Although this extremely rare Government defeat in an opposition day motion is not binding (has no legal force)[4] a Government minister made a statement later in the day to bring "forward the date for the determination of the outstanding applications to the end of May."[5]
- [1] Christopher Huhne MP, House of Commons, 29 April 2009
- [2] Phil Woollas MP, Written Ministerial Statement, 29 April 2009
- [3] Phil Woolas MP, House of Commons, 29 April 2009
- [4] Home Secretary Jacqui Smith blamed for humiliating Gurkhas defeat in the Commons, Daily Mail, 30 April 2009
- [5] Phil Woolas MP, House of Commons, 29 April 2009
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Opposite in Votes - sorted by party
MPs for which their vote on Motion (a) was opposite to their vote on Motion (b). You can also see all differing votes between these two divisions, or simply all the votes.
Sort by: Name | Constituency | Party | Vote (a) | Vote (b)
| Name | Constituency | Party | Vote (a) | Vote (b) |
| Graham Allen | Nottingham North | Lab | aye | no |
| David Drew | Stroud | Lab (minister) | aye | no |
| Eric Martlew | Carlisle | Lab (minister) | aye | no |
| Gordon Prentice | Pendle | Lab (minister) | aye | no |
| Ian Cawsey | Brigg and Goole | Lab (minister) | no | aye |
| Harry Cohen | Leyton and Wanstead | Lab (minister) | no | aye |
| Joan Humble | Blackpool North and Fleetwood | Lab (minister) | no | aye |
| Julie Morgan | Cardiff North | Lab (minister) | no | aye |
| Steve Pound | Ealing North | Lab (minister) | no | aye |
| Nick Raynsford | Greenwich and Woolwich | Lab | no | aye |
| Linda Riordan | Halifax | Lab (minister) | no | aye |
| Keith Vaz | Leicester East | Lab (minister) | no | aye |