21/04/2016 House of Commons


21/04/2016

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of Parliament at 11pm tonight. First, we have questions to the

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Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Andes ministers.

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Order, order. On the front page of today's order paper, it is noted

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that on the 23rd of April 1916, the Honourable Michael Hicks-Beach,

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Viscount Quenington, Royal Gloucestershire Yeomanry, died of

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wounds received in action in Sinai, Egypt. We remember him today.

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Questions to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

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Might I begin by wishing Her Majesty The Queen are very happy birthday

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today. The whole country is celebrating. I am delighted to

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publish the first culture white paper for more than 50 years and I

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am pleased that the core of that white paper has that culture first.

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I join a minister in wishing Her Majesty The Queen are very happy

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birthday. Does the Minister agree that devolution combined with

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possibility of an elected Mayor, as we hope still having

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Gloucestershire, is a good thing to provide more score, leadership and

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resources for culture, media, music and everything else I did community

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needs to have? I do agree. It is clear that local leadership plays an

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absolutely crucial role in ensuring the power of culture can make a real

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impact on local communities. Is Government has implemented ?685

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million of cuts to Lancashire County Council, resulting in massive

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library and Museum closures. When this is Government going to get

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responsibility for this attack on our heritage and culture, making to

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treachery, when we lose these forever? Disgraceful. When will this

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Government take responsibility? Mr Speaker, the amount of cash going to

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local authorities is going up. The honourable gentleman should look to

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his own benches first, because Labour local authorities are

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overwhelmingly closing local libraries and it is conservative

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ones that are keeping them open. The honourable gentleman should not

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be expanding while exchanges take place. -- standing. I would like to

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join a minister in wishing her marriages are very happy birthday.

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-- her marriages. If leisure centres and libraries are closed, they will

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not have saved enough money to plug a financial black hole they face.

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That was the quote from the Tory chairperson of the Local Government

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Association. That is a black hole of the Government's making and local

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cultural institutions lose out the cause councils cannot get Arts

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Council grants. Our creative industries generate millions of

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pounds per year. The drivers of growth as well as inspiration and

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hope for future jobs. Why is this Government starving local Ritz? I

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don't agree. We I see examples of success all over the country.

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Looking at Hull as a City of Culture, for instance. She should

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have a word with her colleagues in the Labour Party and asked them to

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stop closing libraries! Can I have a sense of reality here? My local

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authorities desperately fighting to keep libraries open and museums

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going and it is a very tough call indeed. I know that there are

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problems. I'm not making a cheap point. But isn't it about time that

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we have more resources for local Government and universities to take

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given it is more seriously in terms of innovation and the arts? His

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point about universities is very well made and universities play an

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increasingly important role in local cultural provision. That is

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something they have driven and they are very important partners.

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Around half of Sir Brian Leveson's recommendations focused on press

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regulation. The Government has delivered orders in the process of

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delivering the majority of the other recommendations directed at them.

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The Secretary of State must realise that press abuse victims want him to

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implement section 40. Indeed, even the Prime Minister personally

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promised victims of press abuse and this House that it would be enacted.

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Why is a Secretary of State breaking the Prime Minister's promise? I have

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considerable sympathy with the victims of press abuse. I have had a

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number of meetings with some of those and with others who are

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rightly following this matter with great interest. I would say that

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having had my faith tested to the utmost, I still believe press

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freedom is a vitally important component of a free society and we

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should tread very carefully. However, the recommendations of the

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Leveson, some have been implemented and the new system is coming into

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effect. The exemplary damages provisions of section 40, he will be

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aware, have been enacted. The remainder are under consideration

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still. We do not yet have a recognised press regulator in place

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but we will continue to consider these matters very carefully. Can I

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ask, does the Secretary of State believe we have sufficient press

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regulation or would you like to see more regulation of the press? We do

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now have two potential press regulators, both of which are

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independent, self regulatory systems with sanctions and certainly

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represent considerable improvement on the Press Complaints Commission

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which went before. It is still early days. Beasley, we will watch very

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carefully to see how the new system operates and whether or not it is

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delivering the proper protection, which I think we want to see to

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ensure the abuses taking place in the past and not happen again. We

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support freedom of the press and broadcasters but in the case of the

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BBC, we also expect our national broadcaster to reflect the society

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in which we live. The Secretary of State airshow were seen highlights

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of the recent debate the House had on BBC diversity and all sides were

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in complete agreement that there is a striking shortage of black senior

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managers and an inexplicable lack of openly gay and lesbian presenters.

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There is a shocking absence of older women on screen anywhere. He's

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agreed the time for EBC studies at past and action is overdue. As it

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had chance to pass this debate the director general -- to the Director

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General? I have quite a lot of sympathy to his comments. We are

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still in the process of drawing up the new BBC Charter. I can give an

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assurance this is an issue that will feature in the white paper when we

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publish it, I hope quite soon. We take it very seriously. I don't

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believe in telling the BBC or setting quotas for the number of

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ethnic minority faces or older female faces are indeed Scottish

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faces that appear on screen behind the camera, but it is something

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we're all those groups and others who are currently underrepresented

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need to have better representation. That is what we are working to

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achieve. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Number three, please.

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Thank you, Mr Speaker. The department secured a very positive

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Spending Review settlement last year, and over this parliament, we

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will invest more money in grassroots sports than ever before. This

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settlement reflects the Government's support for the positive outcomes

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sport can bring and will be spent in line with the new Government

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strategy, Sporting Future, which encourages people from all

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backgrounds to engage in sport and physical activity. I thank the

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Minister for the response. What assessment has been made of any

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councils intervening and affecting grassroots sports participation,

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such as a park run, we're a pencil charges for wearing dear -- where a

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council charges for wearing dear? The decision to charge for an event

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that is the around the UK and across the world is one that we think

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should be reconsidered. We want to remove barriers to participation and

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encourage more people to get involved in sport. This is the key

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message Government was to get across. If my honourable friend were

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to speak to our right honourable friend, the Secretary of State, he

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would be aware that in Chelmsford there is thriving grassroots sport

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in the form of ice hockey. As the results of the Spending Review hold

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out any hole for ice hockey at grassroots to benefit from that. I

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am grateful to my right honourable friend for his question. Decisions

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on the budget for local authorities are their decisions and we welcome

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what is happening in jobs. I know are assiduous years in speaking up

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for his constituency. There are many examples across the country where

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local authorities are spending on sport, like Central Bedfordshire

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Council, which continues to invest in sport and physical activity

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provision. And that we encourage. Question number four, Mr Speaker. As

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I indicated a moment ago, no decision has been taken regarding

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commencement of the Crime and Courts Act. I am eating a variety of

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interesting parties with different views to discuss the issue. Thank

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you for taking us no further forward. Implementation of these

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cost incentives was promised by the then called researcher, the right

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honourable member for Basingstoke. They were promised as a key part of

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the Leveson forms the city were by the Prime Minister, not only by

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Parliament but to victims of press abuse, including the family of

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Madeleine McCann. The will of Parliament, breaching a

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cross-party agreement, but also breaking very firm, clear promises

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made by the Prime Minister and his colleagues?

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Well, I would just say first of all, I have not indicated that I have no

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intention, I simply said I was not minded which means that the matter

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is still under consideration and my mind and that of my colleagues is

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open on the matter which is why we are continuing to have meetings with

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those only this week, I had out meeting with some of the local

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publishers who have signed up with the Impress regulator who meets a

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very interesting comments and we will continue to listen to all those

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with an interest. We will in due course make a decision, however I

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would point out that of course section 40 will not come into effect

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fully until there is a recognised regulator even after the order is

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signed. There is not yet a recognised regulator so we are not

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yet at that position and we will continue to consider the matter. We

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consider that the Secretary of State's minded state was however

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meant. Question four. The first three things are remembrance, youth

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and education. We know that to date around 1.5 million young people have

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taken part including schemes like the battlefield twirls and legacy

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programmes, 14-18 now and protecting warmer morals. We are ensuring that

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young people are visibly catered for and take part in all of our national

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remembrance events. I thank him for that answer but it is important that

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young people understand the sacrifice made by earlier

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generations and I wonder if he would join me in congratulating pupils in

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my constituency who were given the opportunity to name a new fantastic

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recreation facility in their area and shows to Collett Newbould

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Centurion Park to commemorate the start of the First World War. I am

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honourable to my friend. We should perhaps be relieved that it was not

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called Parky McParkface. I join him in congratulating the pupils of that

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academy for choosing to commemorate those who give their lives in the

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First World War in choosing the name of the park. As I have said, there

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are hundreds of projects going on up and down the country and it is

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particularly important that young people have the opportunity to visit

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the First World War battlefields and it is extraordinarily encouraging,

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the enthusiasm and interest that they have shown in marking of this

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very important interior. Thank you, Mr Speaker. These matters are

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important but the department is also responsible for protecting children

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online. This morning, the Internet watch foundation said that child

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abuse images are appearing behind adult pornography sites. Could the

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Secretary of State explained to the House why he personally intervened

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to block the Tory party manifesto promise to enable Internet service

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providers to block websites where there isn't a proper age

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verification system? This is a very serious matter and could very

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properly be raised at topical questions but it is something of an

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abuse of the main thrust of this question. I let the honourable lady

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finished because I did not know where she was headed and I wanted to

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give her the benefit of the doubt but having given her the chance, I'm

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afraid if I may say so she was hanged by her own rope. We better

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move on. On Tuesday this week, I had the pleasure of attending your state

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rooms to celebrate the Sikh festival and I thank you for your general

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hospitality. -- generous. You know that Sikh soldiers made huge

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contributions to our First World War is an people now want a permanent

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monument in central London to commemorate that sacrifice. Can the

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Minister today promised the Government's support in principle

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for this project? We do have memorials to a number of the

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different communities who contributed in the First World War

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and many of whom lost many lives. I was privileged to attend a few weeks

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ago on Commonwealth Day, the ceremony but to close at the

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Memorial gates that marks the contribution of the Afro-Caribbean

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community and the Asian community in the First World War which was

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extremely important and perhaps doesn't always achieve recognition.

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We will of course keep an open mind. To some extent it would be a matter

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for other authorities but certainly if there are specific proposals I

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will of course look at them. I was very grateful to William Prichard

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and Billy Green from a school in my constituency who made a wreath in

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memory of my great grandfather who was killed on the first day of the

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Battle of the Somme in 1916. In this, its centenary year, can I

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encourage my friend to encourage school visits to the Somme

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battlefield memorials to remember those men who made so much sacrifice

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all those years ago? Well, my honourable friend illustrates what

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has become very clear which is that almost every person in this country

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will have have a relative who served in the First World War and many of

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whom died and I'm delighted to hear about to be attributed was paid to

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his own grandfather. It is incredibly important that young

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people to hear about and learn about the First World War and that is why

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we did put in place the school battlefields tour programme under

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which to pupils and one teacher from every state funded secondary school

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in England can visit the First World War battlefields and over 3.5

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thousand pupils have already been on that programme. Question number six.

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Mr Speaker, I have no plans to reform UK and in but following the

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Sunday Times allegation and independent review been launched

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into UK and the's handling of the information it received. It's

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important we allow that review to conclude before deciding what action

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to take. I thank the secretary for that answer but last week it was

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suggested that doping in sport could be criminalised in the UK. Has there

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been discussion in other departments regards to decriminalisation of

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doping. It is a matter that we are considering very actively. The

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allegations that were printed in the Sunday Times that suggested it may

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be that doping is taking place amongst UK sportsmen are very

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serious and something we want to examine very carefully but also

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urgently. If it becomes clear as a result of that that further action

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needs to be taken, possibly including the criminalisation of

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doping in sport, then we will not hesitate to act. Mr Speaker, does

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the Minister agree that we should be leading the way in terms of

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anti-doping and does he agree that sportsmen and sportswomen have at

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responsibility to be honest and clean especially as they inspire

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some any young people? What are they doing to work alongside the UK

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Anti-Doping Agency to tackle this problem? I completely agree with the

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honourable gentleman. It is essential that sport is seen to be

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clean and that is something that in this country we have until now has a

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very good reputation for and I hope that we still will have a good

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reputation. We are talking to all the UK sports bodies and do intend

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to draw up proposals which I hope all of them will adopt but beyond

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that, we are taking a lead internationally and the Prime

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Minister is holding anti-corruption summits next month and this is one

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of the issues that will be raised and discussed there. Thank you, Mr

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Speaker. The Prime Minister has said that his forthcoming anti-corruption

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Summit that he will consider whether doping in sport should be made a

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criminal offence but before anyone can be convicted, we have to have an

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effective tech Singh regime in place. Despite the billions that go

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in to sport -- testing regime, very little money is going into science

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to keep us ahead of the cheats. Will he join me in common upon the Prime

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Minister to discuss funding for research at his summit with an aim

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of setting up an independent funding body that would be independent of

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sports governing bodies so that we can have effective testing in state

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to keep ahead of the cheats? I agree that this is a very important matter

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which is why the Government does invest over ?5 million per annum in

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UK and in and that some is going up so that by the end of this

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Parliament, it will beat 5-point formally in pounds. National

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governing bodies in sport are doing quite a lot. For one example, I was

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with the horse racing authority, British horse racing authority to

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hear about the work they have been doing to ensure that their sport

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remains clean. Other sports are investing in it. Of course, there is

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more that we can do in this area and I would join with him in urging the

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national governing bodies of all our sports to give this the seriousness

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that it deserves and to invest more if required. Number eight, Mr

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Speaker. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I was delighted last month to work

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with the planning minister and the music venues trust to get changes in

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place to weaken protect our music venues. It is important we recognise

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the huge economic contribution that is made to the night-time economy

:21:49.:21:53.

and that take action where it is required. Thank you, Mr trigger.

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According to figures released by the industry body, the UK's restaurants,

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bars and music venues employ 1.3 million people and serve millions of

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Britons and tourists every year. Will the Minister join me in

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recognising the important role of this sector which contributes to our

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economy every year? Yes, I will. Not only an economic condition but a

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cultural echo contribute. In the light of the visit of the president

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of Indonesia, in Indonesia they count food and restaurant as part of

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their creative industries and I think from my own perspective, that

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is something we should take very seriously and perhaps consider.

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Question ten, please. We recently launched an appeal to encourage

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communities, businesses, organisations and individuals across

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the United Kingdom to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme

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on June 30 and July the 1st. We will continue to find ways to encourage

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commemoration of this most poignant brushwood war event through media

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activity and direct approaches. Guidance is available on the

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Government website and special information has been published by

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the Royal British Legion which contains information on hosting a

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sombre remembrance event. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The First World War was

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of course an enormous UK wide effort where millions of men and women

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served our nation. What additional information can the Secretary of

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State give a large Government so that the people of Wales and in

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particular young people can mark and honour the great sacrifices made in

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the First World War? I think my honourable friend thought that

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question. The wheels remembers 1914-1918 question was launched by

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the First Minister in January. It gives details of the commemorative

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events happening in Wales or further afield during 2016. There will be a

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vigil at the Welsh National Memorial in Cardiff to commemorate this and

:23:54.:23:56.

scenery of the Battle of the Somme and at Carmarthen car full, the

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poppies weeping window from the 11th of October to the 20th of November.

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On the 25th of June, Armed Forces Day, the national event is being

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held in Cleethorpes. Would my friend agree that this is an opportunity to

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not only mark the continuing bravery of our Armed Forces but also to make

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that with the sacrifices of the past? I think you make a very good

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points and we are so grateful for our Armed Forces and their continued

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service but one must never forget those who gave sacrificed in the

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First World War. Questionable 12, Mr Speaker. We published our action

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plan two years ago. We have lowered the threshold for what constitutes a

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nuisance call and also increased cooperation between the two

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regulars,, and the regulation office. Despite Government action,

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nuisance calls are a real concern to residents all over the country. What

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further steps can my right honourable friend take to ensure

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that we buy nuisance calls and prevent particularly elderly people

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from suffering this curse. Well, it is a very important issue and it

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annoys a greater number of people and also frightens particularly the

:25:14.:25:17.

elderly and vulnerable. We are working and have announced a fund to

:25:18.:25:22.

allow col barring equipment to be given to the elderly and fallible

:25:23.:25:28.

and we are considering our results for calling line identification.

:25:29.:25:35.

There is a real danger that increasing this small claims limited

:25:36.:25:38.

civil court cases will lead to more unwanted nuisance calls from claims

:25:39.:25:45.

management agencies. Well my honourable friend please liaise with

:25:46.:25:48.

ministers in the Ministry of Justice to ensure steps are taken to stop

:25:49.:25:53.

this from happening? Well, my friend takes a close personal interest in

:25:54.:25:57.

this issue and has been very supportive and makes an extremely

:25:58.:26:01.

important point. In my view, when Government is considering changing

:26:02.:26:04.

legislation in any department, they should consider the potential

:26:05.:26:07.

knock-on effect on nuisance calls so I will certainly take on his point

:26:08.:26:15.

Mr Speaker, the review reporting on the Government and regulation on the

:26:16.:26:24.

BBC in the 1st of March 20 16. Sir David's ideas for the principles of

:26:25.:26:27.

simpler Government structures and streamlined regulatory arrangements

:26:28.:26:32.

that have public sensitivity to market arrangements at heart would

:26:33.:26:36.

be difficult to overlook. We hope to set out plans for the future of the

:26:37.:26:43.

BBC governance in a white paper next month.

:26:44.:26:48.

And a recent YouGov poll commissioned, it showed 62% of the

:26:49.:26:56.

over 60s had no confidence in the Government to protect the BBC during

:26:57.:26:59.

charter renewal and over half for the BBC was the most trusted source

:27:00.:27:06.

of news. In light of that, how can this possibly increase confidence in

:27:07.:27:11.

the independence of the BBC? We do take the views of those who are

:27:12.:27:17.

submitted to a consultation seriously. -- who have submitted. It

:27:18.:27:25.

is the BBC's reputation for integrity and impartiality which we

:27:26.:27:32.

want to protect. There were very specific proposals about this that

:27:33.:27:37.

Sir David made. We are discussing this with the BBC and I hope we will

:27:38.:27:40.

be able to announce agreement on that in due course.

:27:41.:27:47.

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. The BBC's 39 local radio stations raised

:27:48.:27:52.

the prospect of further cuts as part of the corporation's attempts to

:27:53.:27:57.

meet the 700 million cost of free TV licences. Regional radio is a unique

:27:58.:28:02.

and vital service, tackling issues caused hearts of listeners who feel

:28:03.:28:07.

a very long way from the London centric national news coverage. Will

:28:08.:28:11.

he oppose any cuts to BBC local radio and in particular, in the

:28:12.:28:16.

north-east? I would say to the honourable lady that it is not my

:28:17.:28:20.

job or indeed the job of the Government to tell the BBC how to

:28:21.:28:23.

allocate the resources available to them. But... But... But I would say

:28:24.:28:30.

that I completely agree with other BBC local radio is one of the areas

:28:31.:28:37.

of BBC activity which is hugely valued and which would not usually

:28:38.:28:44.

delivered I any other means. -- hugely delivered. I am less familiar

:28:45.:28:48.

with the BBC local radio in north-east but she is to praise it.

:28:49.:28:53.

I am a big fan of BBC Essex and I would be sorry if it suffered cuts.

:28:54.:28:58.

I don't think that is necessary within a generous funding the BBC

:28:59.:29:04.

receives. The BBC promised us that they were going to learn from the

:29:05.:29:10.

mistakes of the past. As the Secretary of State had any

:29:11.:29:12.

opportunity to assess our question the logic of those BBC bosses who

:29:13.:29:16.

have decided to appoint a recently released from jail sex offender to

:29:17.:29:24.

front a prime-time youth talent show on the BBC? What were they thinking

:29:25.:29:30.

in that appointment? Well, I hear what the right

:29:31.:29:36.

honourable gentleman says. It is of course a matter of editorial

:29:37.:29:42.

judgment for the BBC. Obviously, the BBC has a duty to set an example and

:29:43.:29:46.

behave responsibly. I would simply say that I am sure the senior

:29:47.:29:50.

editorial management of the BBC will have heard what he said and I would

:29:51.:29:55.

encourage him, if he has concerns, to express them directly to the BBC.

:29:56.:30:05.

Question 14, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister's 5-point plan

:30:06.:30:08.

for tourism sets out how this Government will grow the tourism

:30:09.:30:10.

industry in England across Britain. In 2015, we saw 10% increase in the

:30:11.:30:16.

number of domestic overnight visits in England compared to the previous

:30:17.:30:20.

year. To further distinguished tourism, the Chancellor announced a

:30:21.:30:24.

new ?40 million Discover England's fund. This was what visitors to find

:30:25.:30:32.

even more of England's hidden gems. I thank the Minister for his answer.

:30:33.:30:38.

Alongside Government action, Trinity groups, like those in my

:30:39.:30:42.

constituency, play a key role in helping tourism. Will the Minister

:30:43.:30:51.

congratulate them? He makes a powerful point, which I agree with.

:30:52.:30:57.

The British Food Fortnight, which we had recently, has been a tremendous

:30:58.:31:04.

success. I congratulate the people in his constituency wholeheartedly

:31:05.:31:08.

for what they have done. This is the year of great British food, which we

:31:09.:31:12.

are highlighting the great British food that we have and showing that

:31:13.:31:19.

we are grateful nation. -- a great food nation. No, no, he consumed his

:31:20.:31:29.

dish earlier. He can't have a go now. You can always have a go at

:31:30.:31:33.

topicals. This is a useful lesson for new members to learn. Extremely

:31:34.:31:37.

fateful to the honourable gentleman. Topical questions. Patricia Gibson.

:31:38.:31:44.

Since the last oral questions, my Department has published the first

:31:45.:31:49.

cultural white paper in 50 years. Sadly, we have seen the passing of a

:31:50.:31:53.

number of distinguished figures, including Ted Grundy, the voice of

:31:54.:31:59.

Cornwall, the playwright Arnold Wesker, and National treasures

:32:00.:32:05.

Ronnie Corbett and Victoria Wood. On a happier note, we saw England reach

:32:06.:32:09.

the final of the men's cricket T20 cup and the semifinal of the womens

:32:10.:32:19.

and Danny will it -- Danny Willett was a winner at Gloucester. We look

:32:20.:32:23.

forward to commemorating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death

:32:24.:32:27.

on Saturday. And at the London Marathon on Sunday, to which I

:32:28.:32:30.

understand eight honourable members will be participating. And Jamie

:32:31.:32:35.

Murray, we note, is the number one doubles player.

:32:36.:32:41.

The department has indicated it wants the BBC to allocate ?100

:32:42.:32:46.

billion of its annual budget for local news and children's TV to

:32:47.:32:51.

outside suppliers work outside suppliers is meant and what impact

:32:52.:32:56.

assessment has been done on that? The BBC at the moment is subject to

:32:57.:33:01.

the 25% independent production quarter. It is not specified which

:33:02.:33:06.

particular genres that should cover but there is a general requirement

:33:07.:33:11.

of 25%. The extent to which the BBC offers the rest of its schedule up

:33:12.:33:15.

for competition from outside independent producers is a matter we

:33:16.:33:20.

are considering very carefully. There are some very good independent

:33:21.:33:24.

production companies in the sectors she mentions and I would hope the

:33:25.:33:28.

BBC will take maximum advantage of competition to ensure that we have

:33:29.:33:31.

the best possible programmes available to the licence fee payer.

:33:32.:33:38.

Mr Speaker, my constituents in Crawley appreciate lower prices and

:33:39.:33:41.

improved service. So can my right honourable friend say what his

:33:42.:33:46.

department is doing to competition in the telephone and broadband

:33:47.:33:50.

markets? Well, while we're on anniversaries,

:33:51.:33:54.

might I also congratulate Charlotte Bronte on her 200 birthday, which

:33:55.:34:00.

falls today. I don't see anything wrong with congratulating her. Shall

:34:01.:34:12.

I get on with it, Mr Speaker? We have done a lot. I also want to

:34:13.:34:16.

welcome and congratulate Ofcom's digital communications review, which

:34:17.:34:21.

is not 200 years old. In fact, it is extremely fresh, straight out of the

:34:22.:34:25.

box. And it will promote competition. We have issued a very

:34:26.:34:31.

clear statement that we will back Ofcom all the way on this. I'm

:34:32.:34:37.

starting to realise why this department is known as the Ministry

:34:38.:34:52.

For Foreign. -- Fun. We all know he has been distracted by his

:34:53.:34:55.

moonlighting for the APPLAUSE League campaign.

:34:56.:34:59.

He said he would clarify EU law to label the playing field between

:35:00.:35:01.

online platforms and content providers. This hugely boost the

:35:02.:35:10.

single market will stop why has he allowed his department to renege on

:35:11.:35:15.

that promise this month? It is something which I attach great

:35:16.:35:20.

importance to. It is a matter I discussed with the vice president of

:35:21.:35:27.

the European Commission not liable and I was reassured his shield are

:35:28.:35:30.

concerned that action should be taken to ensure that the music

:35:31.:35:34.

industry does receive the returns it is vital to from intermediaries that

:35:35.:35:40.

are currently underpaying. I have to say that is not something from which

:35:41.:35:43.

my Department has backed away and indeed it is something I am

:35:44.:35:45.

determined we will continue to press upon the European Commission.

:35:46.:35:54.

I have the letter year from UK Music. It has fallen into my lap.

:35:55.:35:58.

After expressing surprise and concern about this turn of events,

:35:59.:36:04.

it seeks, and I quote, give explicit confirmation that the UK Government

:36:05.:36:08.

remains committed to a clarification of EU law and their liability of

:36:09.:36:12.

online intermediaries and the use of safe harbour... Hasn't he spent more

:36:13.:36:17.

time arguing that we should walk away, that Britain should walk away

:36:18.:36:20.

from the biggest single market in the world than we as looking after

:36:21.:36:24.

the interests of UK creative industries in these crucial

:36:25.:36:29.

negotiations? The answer to the right honourable lady is no. Whether

:36:30.:36:36.

we will be subject to the regulations and directives under the

:36:37.:36:39.

Digital single market and indeed any other measures of the European

:36:40.:36:42.

Commission is something that the British people will decide in two

:36:43.:36:47.

months. However, in the meantime, I can assure her that I discussed this

:36:48.:36:52.

matter on Tuesday evening with the chairman of UK Music. I reassured

:36:53.:36:57.

him that in Norway had we reduced or diminished our support for the UK

:36:58.:37:12.

music industry. -- that in no way. And if clarification on these rules

:37:13.:37:15.

is needed, we would be happy to provide it. In times of committee

:37:16.:37:21.

crisis, challenge of success, listening to your local BBC Radio 1

:37:22.:37:24.

station or indeed watching local TV is vital for many constituents. And

:37:25.:37:32.

it sometimes feels like service. Does the Minister agree that the BBC

:37:33.:37:35.

and indeed local commercial radio proves to be a crucial lifeline to

:37:36.:37:41.

rural communities and should be funded appropriately? As I indicated

:37:42.:37:47.

a little earlier, I do think that local radio plays an absolutely

:37:48.:37:51.

vital role in communities. I know that my Oracle friend has particular

:37:52.:37:54.

experience in this area and speaks with that knowledge. -- my

:37:55.:37:59.

honourable friend. To give our recent example, in the flooding

:38:00.:38:05.

crisis in the North of England, BBC local radio and commercial radio

:38:06.:38:08.

played a vital part in ensuring communities were kept away of what

:38:09.:38:12.

was happening and given advice as to what they should do about it. That

:38:13.:38:15.

is where local radio becomes incredibly important and of course I

:38:16.:38:18.

want to see sustained and maintained.

:38:19.:38:25.

Like the Secretary of State, I have had my experience of the press

:38:26.:38:29.

tested. Let me remind him, it is not about politicians celebrities. The

:38:30.:38:34.

years are rolling on. When should victims of press abuse expect the

:38:35.:38:37.

Secretary of State to make his mind up on deciding to protect them? We

:38:38.:38:44.

covered this a little bit earlier. As I said, I entirely agree with the

:38:45.:38:49.

honourable gentleman that it is the people who have not chosen to enter

:38:50.:38:58.

public life but find themselves the object of press abuse only

:38:59.:39:02.

protecting most. That is why we are extremely keen to new, independent

:39:03.:39:06.

and tough regulator should be put in place. We have to regulators that

:39:07.:39:11.

are being established and we will see how effective those are. We have

:39:12.:39:15.

already implemented part of the section 40 provisions of the Courts

:39:16.:39:24.

Act. We are keeping an open mind of when to implement the remaining

:39:25.:39:27.

section. That is something which I accept we will need to reach a

:39:28.:39:31.

decision about relatively soon and I will insure the houses kept

:39:32.:39:34.

informed. Mr Speaker, it is good to see the members for Newcastle,

:39:35.:39:43.

Paisley and Renfrewshire in their places this season, because they

:39:44.:39:46.

have turned out for the Commons and Lords rugby club, which has

:39:47.:39:51.

distinguished itself this season by winning a game! The club has raised

:39:52.:39:55.

substantial sums of money for charity and I wonder if the Minister

:39:56.:40:03.

would join me in congratulating the members for the money raised,

:40:04.:40:06.

particularly adept you's Injured Players Foundation In Trouble. I

:40:07.:40:12.

Congratulate Not Only The Honourable Member For The Work Is Done On The

:40:13.:40:19.

Rugby... Football My Game. I shall be supporting Crystal Palace on

:40:20.:40:30.

Sunday. They are my local team, unfortunate for the gentleman

:40:31.:40:32.

opposite. I congratulate him for the wiki is done under Parliamentary

:40:33.:40:36.

Rugby team for all their charitable work for winning a game. -- and the

:40:37.:40:45.

work he has done. To conclude very briefly, I would like to offer my

:40:46.:40:52.

good wishes to all those who have -- who are participating in the London

:40:53.:40:54.

Marathon on Sunday, particularly the members of this House. The

:40:55.:41:03.

responsible gambling trust indicate that receiving ?7 million from the

:41:04.:41:06.

betting industry is a voluntary donation. How much funding is

:41:07.:41:11.

provided for research, education and treatment into gambling related

:41:12.:41:12.

harm? I agree with the honourable

:41:13.:41:20.

gentleman that this is a very important matter. It is already a

:41:21.:41:24.

requirement upon all gambling licence holders to make an annual

:41:25.:41:29.

financial contribution to one or more organisations which perform

:41:30.:41:32.

research into prevention and treatment of gambling related harm.

:41:33.:41:37.

The vast majority choose to make this to the responsible gambling

:41:38.:41:42.

trust who raised money from the industry in 14-15 but I entirely

:41:43.:41:47.

agree that we need research in this matter and we need to take decisions

:41:48.:41:53.

based on the evidence. Thank you, Mr Speaker. As always, I appreciate

:41:54.:41:58.

your patience and guidance. On the occasion of Her Majesty's 90th

:41:59.:42:03.

birthday, will the Minister join me in recognising her contribution to

:42:04.:42:09.

the tourism industry? Absolute delight is not only to add my

:42:10.:42:15.

congratulations to Her Majesty on her birthday and took to commence

:42:16.:42:18.

the tremendous service she has done in so many fields including of

:42:19.:42:29.

course terrorism. Turner's -- tourism. Next to the huge European

:42:30.:42:36.

market, in the European market we influence the market and the rules

:42:37.:42:40.

over application stalls. What rules would we have we walked away from

:42:41.:42:45.

the table? I think it would be a disaster if we left the European

:42:46.:42:49.

Union and the video games industry thanks to the fantastic bringing in

:42:50.:42:57.

of our tax credits and are backing for East sports means that Britain

:42:58.:43:01.

is forging ahead in the video games industry but we must work with our

:43:02.:43:08.

European partners. Mr Speaker, you and I attended last night the 10th

:43:09.:43:15.

anniversary of Asian Like a new newspaper both online and inference.

:43:16.:43:21.

Would my honourable friend with me in congratulating Asian Liked on ten

:43:22.:43:25.

years of publication and look forward to at least another ten

:43:26.:43:32.

years of their celebrated works. -- Asian Light. I am very pleased to

:43:33.:43:38.

congratulate Asian Light. I have had meetings recently with reputations

:43:39.:43:41.

of Asian media organisations to talk about how we can support them and

:43:42.:43:45.

also work with them in tackling problems like extremism but is

:43:46.:43:48.

essential that those communities do have thriving medium and therefore I

:43:49.:43:53.

am pleased to hear about this latest edition and to wish them

:43:54.:43:59.

congratulations. The Conservative manifesto pledged to stop children's

:44:00.:44:06.

exposure to harmful sexualised content online by requiring age

:44:07.:44:11.

verification for access to all sites containing pornographic material and

:44:12.:44:18.

each rated for all music videos. Why did the Secretary of State excludes

:44:19.:44:23.

this from the consultation document on child safety online which he

:44:24.:44:29.

published in February? Well, I'm grateful to the honourable lady

:44:30.:44:32.

particularly for the warning given for her question but she's right,

:44:33.:44:37.

this is a serious matter. We made it clear that we do think that there

:44:38.:44:43.

should be age verification in place for adult pornographic websites.

:44:44.:44:47.

There is a big distinction between child abuse images which are

:44:48.:44:50.

absolutely illegal and which we need to take every measure to canter and

:44:51.:44:54.

I share her alarm about the figures today, but that is not the same

:44:55.:44:59.

thing as sites which are a beetle for adults but where we need to

:45:00.:45:02.

increase the protection for children. -- illegal. We will be

:45:03.:45:10.

introducing measures to ensure age verification and I hope of bringing

:45:11.:45:14.

those forwards very soon for legislation in the next session. --

:45:15.:45:26.

legal. Questions for the Leader of the House and the representatives

:45:27.:45:29.

for the Commons Commission. Number one, Mr Speaker. With permission, Mr

:45:30.:45:40.

Speaker, I will answer one and six together. The Government has brought

:45:41.:45:44.

in-state quake changes to standing orders. In 2015, the House will do

:45:45.:45:49.

to improve new standing orders for English was for English law is

:45:50.:45:51.

delivering on a key Government commitment by giving England and

:45:52.:45:54.

Wales more control and decisions that they alone are affected by.

:45:55.:46:00.

Standing orders undergo frequent revision and are monitored to ensure

:46:01.:46:04.

that they reflect our business in the House and how it is conducted in

:46:05.:46:09.

practice. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The procedure committee on which I sit

:46:10.:46:13.

published a report this week on Private members bills calling for

:46:14.:46:16.

amendments to standing orders as the procedure is has been brought into

:46:17.:46:22.

total disrepute due to the frequency of bills being talked about. Does

:46:23.:46:26.

the Leader of the House agreed that the procedure is in total dispute or

:46:27.:46:32.

does he think that filibustering is Democratic? In this case, he is a

:46:33.:46:37.

she, Mr Speaker but we debated this last week as she will be a winner

:46:38.:46:42.

and participated in Westminster Hall. I think it would be remiss of

:46:43.:46:47.

me to say before the publication of the response to this report and we

:46:48.:46:51.

will publish that in due course. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The deputy

:46:52.:47:00.

leader referred to English laws they wish books it's obvious that we will

:47:01.:47:03.

not be able to make them see sense on how unfair that is but since the

:47:04.:47:07.

Government will not budge on that, does the Minister not appreciate

:47:08.:47:11.

that this is unworkable and has managed to make the procedure of

:47:12.:47:15.

this has even more intractable than it was before simply because they

:47:16.:47:19.

took a significant change to the Constitution of this House and

:47:20.:47:23.

changed it as if it was on a Wednesday afternoon as if it was a

:47:24.:47:26.

minor change to spelling in the standing orders. Will the deputy

:47:27.:47:31.

Leader of the House tell us when the standing orders will be brought back

:47:32.:47:33.

so that at least if they are going to do the wrong thing, they will do

:47:34.:47:37.

it right? The Government informant at its manifesto commitment in which

:47:38.:47:40.

it referred to standing orders of the House in this process. I think

:47:41.:47:46.

the procedures are perfectly workable and I pay tribute to the

:47:47.:47:48.

clerks and the speakers were applying them appropriately. Thank

:47:49.:47:53.

U, Mr Speaker. My honourable friend has referred to the excellent report

:47:54.:47:58.

from the procedure committee I sit. On the issue of private members

:47:59.:48:03.

bill, when will the Government bring forward a response and when can we

:48:04.:48:07.

in this House have a debate and a decision on reforming private

:48:08.:48:14.

members bills? Well, you should be aware that it's the usual process

:48:15.:48:18.

for the Government to respond within two months and we intend to stick to

:48:19.:48:27.

that timetable. I wonder whether, in retrospect, the Government will look

:48:28.:48:32.

at Private members' bills in a dispassionate way because in 1987,

:48:33.:48:38.

the late Enoch Powell wanted to introduce a bill and nearly got it

:48:39.:48:42.

through to ban all stem cell research. I discovered that morning

:48:43.:48:48.

that I could move the writ for Brecon and Radnor and. I spoke

:48:49.:48:56.

nearly the whole of the day and every time on BBC, I hear about stem

:48:57.:49:03.

cell research saving somebody's life, I know that that filibuster

:49:04.:49:12.

wasn't a bad thing at all. Well, Mr Speaker, the honourable member talks

:49:13.:49:15.

about filibusters and I'm sure if he was filibustering at the time, this

:49:16.:49:18.

bigger of the day would have brought him to order but is nonetheless seen

:49:19.:49:22.

found away at the time to find a device that meant the business he

:49:23.:49:24.

thought was not appropriate did not make its way through the House. I

:49:25.:49:31.

thought the honourable gentleman wish to intercede on this matter? No

:49:32.:49:35.

doubt we will hear them at the appropriate time. Thank you, Mr

:49:36.:49:44.

Speaker. As my friend made clear, we welcome the procedure committee's

:49:45.:49:48.

recognitions for changes to private members' bills. As the member for

:49:49.:49:54.

North action and Aaron has said, the majority of members of this House

:49:55.:50:00.

will be disappointed to hear that the Government have not yet

:50:01.:50:02.

committed to giving these proposals time to be debated because there are

:50:03.:50:07.

too many issues that people care about like hospital parking charges

:50:08.:50:11.

for carers or cheaper cancer drugs that have been talked out by the

:50:12.:50:15.

filibusters so will the Government follow the procedure committee

:50:16.:50:18.

recommendations and allow this to be debated on the four of the House? As

:50:19.:50:22.

I have just said, the Government will respond with in the time that

:50:23.:50:26.

is expected that as I made the point in the debate last week, these are

:50:27.:50:31.

important. Private members bills can be in important way to raise issues

:50:32.:50:35.

and they used to be the only way to get a debate on that matter. We now

:50:36.:50:39.

have many more ways to raise these issues that important pieces of

:50:40.:50:41.

legislation have gone through this House and also been stopped in

:50:42.:50:47.

highly appropriate ways that are allowed by the procedures of the

:50:48.:50:56.

House. Questionable too, please. With permission, I will answer to,

:50:57.:51:01.

three and eight together. The commission is committed to making

:51:02.:51:05.

the House family friendly so far as it rests within its remakes rather

:51:06.:51:11.

than being them matters for the House to debate such a setting hours

:51:12.:51:14.

and the debate calendar which I understand are to be addressed

:51:15.:51:20.

shortly. The diversion and inclusion strategy builds on opening of the

:51:21.:51:24.

nursery in 2012 and the recently introduced formalisation of flex

:51:25.:51:28.

temper staff offers one example of family friendly policies in

:51:29.:51:32.

accident. I thank the gentleman for his answer. The staff of this place,

:51:33.:51:37.

Mr Speaker, are often asked to work long hours at extreme is short

:51:38.:51:42.

notice. In addition, the Government has started on occasion releasing we

:51:43.:51:46.

says dates at brochure on notice. Have you received reputation is on

:51:47.:51:49.

how this might affect the family lives of the staff of this House?

:51:50.:51:56.

She raises important issues and as I feel vindicated in my room original

:51:57.:52:01.

response, this is an issue for the commission and for the House and of

:52:02.:52:05.

his Labour Leader of the House is here and has heard the concerns

:52:06.:52:08.

about the short notice that has been given in terms of recess dates. Then

:52:09.:52:16.

he, Mr Speaker. I wonder if honourable members of this House are

:52:17.:52:20.

parents of young children and are all from as to work along and

:52:21.:52:29.

offered it. Will the they consider following the example of the

:52:30.:52:32.

Scottish parliament in providing more services and ensuring that

:52:33.:52:37.

holiday is no longer fall within primary school -- fall in conference

:52:38.:52:48.

concision with members as decision was taken to set up a nursery rather

:52:49.:52:51.

than a creche because of the difficulties that arise as a result

:52:52.:52:57.

of the short notice that is given when children who need to use the

:52:58.:53:04.

crash crash want to make use of that facility. I will make sure that his

:53:05.:53:08.

concerns are passed on and I will make sure that they will consider

:53:09.:53:11.

the representations he has just made. -- creche. Thank you, Mrs

:53:12.:53:19.

vigour. Many workplaces are insuring employees on maternity and paternity

:53:20.:53:22.

leave are able to keep up-to-date with their work. What steps is the

:53:23.:53:27.

commission taking to ensure members of this House on maternity or

:53:28.:53:31.

paternity leave can continue to serve their constituents? Including

:53:32.:53:39.

issues like remote electronic voting for members on maternity leave? I

:53:40.:53:46.

thank the honourable lady for her question and again, I think it's a

:53:47.:53:49.

matter as much for the House as it is for the commission. Clearly, the

:53:50.:53:53.

commission through the IT provision can insure that this place is as

:53:54.:53:58.

accessible both to people who are here and also members who are way

:53:59.:54:05.

and I think the issue of voting for instance is something that needs to

:54:06.:54:09.

be considered by a much wider range of organisations than just the

:54:10.:54:17.

commission. Number four, please. The commission takes the learning and

:54:18.:54:20.

development needs of staff seriously. The House of Commons

:54:21.:54:25.

service is an investor in people and invest significantly in training to

:54:26.:54:28.

ensure that all staff have the skills needed for their jobs and to

:54:29.:54:31.

develop their careers. Our staff should agree a plan with their

:54:32.:54:35.

manager each and are able to select our wide range of learning

:54:36.:54:40.

opportunities including online, face-to-face training, coaching,

:54:41.:54:43.

mentoring and other events. My honourable friend knows that we

:54:44.:54:49.

benefit from fantastic and bent dedicated staff and over years I

:54:50.:54:52.

have those is that we have had people coming out quite a lowly

:54:53.:54:55.

grade actually going right through to senior management. I am afraid

:54:56.:55:00.

that I am seeing very talented people not getting that track into

:55:01.:55:05.

senior management. Can we make sure if there is talent, we give it the

:55:06.:55:10.

chance to grow? I would certainly echo that. Our staff are very

:55:11.:55:17.

dedicated and he will be aware of the training opportunities available

:55:18.:55:19.

that are originally publicised through learning News and the

:55:20.:55:24.

activities brochure and I think there are very significant

:55:25.:55:26.

opportunities is available for staff both to support them in terms of

:55:27.:55:30.

getting promoted but also retraining if that is something that they want

:55:31.:55:37.

to undertake. I want to put on the record my support and gratitude for

:55:38.:55:42.

the House employees as others have referred to. We are grateful to them

:55:43.:55:45.

and though we should do all we can to support them on any future path

:55:46.:55:49.

they want to take. Would the Minister boat believed that training

:55:50.:55:55.

opportunities should be a priority for those who want to progress

:55:56.:55:57.

within the House but outside of the House as well?

:55:58.:56:00.

Thank you for that. If he is aware of staff who put in particular

:56:01.:56:09.

requests for particular training not available currently, I would

:56:10.:56:11.

certainly like to know of that and be happy to pursue it.

:56:12.:56:19.

Mr Speaker, I have obviously now received a copy of the report, which

:56:20.:56:26.

I will study carefully. I can say, because we want to respond

:56:27.:56:32.

constructively, we'll take time to consider what it says. I am grateful

:56:33.:56:40.

for that reply. As he will be aware, some recommendations on the reporter

:56:41.:56:43.

more controversial than others. But as my observant right honourable

:56:44.:56:47.

friend will have noticed, there are 67 private members bills listed in

:56:48.:56:52.

the future business of today's order paper, which don't stand any chance

:56:53.:56:56.

at all of ever being given further time for consideration. So, as that

:56:57.:57:01.

is one of the proposals contained in the report, can I urge the Leader of

:57:02.:57:07.

the House to bring forward proposals to deal with at least the

:57:08.:57:10.

uncontroversial parts of the report as soon as possible?

:57:11.:57:16.

Members of the public are now looking at the list of private

:57:17.:57:19.

members bills and we believe there are still measures that can make

:57:20.:57:22.

progress. We know all, given where we are in the session, that is not

:57:23.:57:25.

now possible. I am very sympathetic to what my honourable friend says.

:57:26.:57:29.

There is a lot that is good report and I can give an assurance that we

:57:30.:57:33.

will respond carefully and thoughtfully to what it says. I pay

:57:34.:57:36.

tribute to him and my honourable friend who chairs the committee, for

:57:37.:57:45.

the excellent work he and his team have done this. I will assure the

:57:46.:57:54.

case a proper response. Departmental Question Time is on a

:57:55.:57:59.

valuable opportunity for members to scrutinise the Government. Topical

:58:00.:58:01.

questions add an element that means pressing and events -- press again

:58:02.:58:07.

then so the day can be answered. And the premised is here to answer

:58:08.:58:12.

questions from the I will try to stem the blight of planted

:58:13.:58:16.

questions, which has reached the present levels from both front

:58:17.:58:23.

benches. Being treated like a bazaar in Marrakesh, having questions

:58:24.:58:29.

thrust that you and then getting e-mails to remind us etc. Questions

:58:30.:58:38.

are meant to have a purpose where backbenchers, of all parties, hold

:58:39.:58:40.

Government to account. Not playing games between the two front benches.

:58:41.:58:49.

This is now going to planted backbench debates and planted

:58:50.:58:51.

Westminster Hall debates. And very soon, my honourable friend will find

:58:52.:58:56.

planted backbench debates if we're not careful. Could I ask the Leader

:58:57.:58:59.

of the House to meet with the Speaker and the chair of the

:59:00.:59:03.

procedure committee and have another look at this so that what should be

:59:04.:59:08.

backbench time actually becomes, once again, as it was when I started

:59:09.:59:13.

in this House, as much about backbenchers as frontbenchers. I

:59:14.:59:19.

don't think the Government should be interfering in... In the idea of

:59:20.:59:27.

what members can and cannot submit those questions. That is for members

:59:28.:59:35.

to decide. I can miss Lucy that I have never been handed a question by

:59:36.:59:40.

a whip, Mr Speaker. -- I can honestly say. Mr Speaker, dare I

:59:41.:59:48.

say, we have seen on today's order paper from the SNP the same

:59:49.:59:52.

question, two separate questions being submitted. And clearly, at

:59:53.:59:56.

times, members will work together because they want to pursue a

:59:57.:59:59.

particular theme. As such, I don't think it is right for the Government

:00:00.:00:03.

to try and tell backbenchers what questions they can cannot submit.

:00:04.:00:13.

Perhaps the most dysfunctional session we have had on departmental

:00:14.:00:17.

questions is on Scottish questions. English ports for English laws. I

:00:18.:00:21.

have written to the Leader of the House with a few modest reforms that

:00:22.:00:28.

can be worked on. Perhaps a little part of that session exquisitely

:00:29.:00:31.

devoted for Scottish members to ask departmental questions. I don't know

:00:32.:00:35.

they have had the opportunity to consider these modest reforms or

:00:36.:00:44.

that he is in a position to respond. The honourable gentleman oppose the

:00:45.:00:46.

proposals on English votes for English laws. This side of the

:00:47.:00:51.

House, the Government, Belize and the United Kingdom, and therefore

:00:52.:00:55.

matters which are not devolved to the Scottish Parliament Scottish

:00:56.:00:59.

Government, it is appropriate for any member to ask a question about

:01:00.:01:03.

Scottish matters, Welsh matters, Northern Ireland matters are indeed

:01:04.:01:05.

any

:01:06.:01:06.

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