Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 19th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Ind)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Jeremy Hunt)]

With your permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to update the House on living standards in the UK. The most recent data suggest that despite a tough couple of years caused by the pandemic and the energy crisis, living standards will return to their pre-covid peak next year: a full two years earlier than originally predicted by the OBR. They have risen by £1,700 a household in real terms since 2010, and this year’s cut in national insurance will increase living standards by 1%. In other words, to coin a phrase, now is not the time to go back to square one.

[Andrew Bridgen]

Given that the Prime Minister has been forced to abandon his plans for an election on 2 May and could soon be facing a leadership challenge, does the Chancellor of the Exchequer believe that his Budget landed well with the public or even his colleagues on the Government Benches?

[Jeremy Hunt]

I say very simply to the hon. Gentleman, who used to be an hon. Friend, that the Budget will mean that the UK economy will grow faster than that of France, Germany, Italy or Japan in the next five years. That is doing the right thing for the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 19th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Reclaim)]

Thank you very much for doing the funnies, Mr Speaker.

Freeports can certainly be a catalyst of economic growth and prosperity in north Wales and the east midlands, but they must be in the right place. Putting a freeport in North West Leicestershire, which already enjoys some of the highest economic growth in the country, has low unemployment, and is capable of filling its industrial sites without incentives, makes little sense. Will the Chancellor agree to meet me to discuss better alternatives for the east midlands than the Diseworth freeport site?

[Jeremy Hunt]

I would be happy to ask one of my colleagues to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss why freeports are not appropriate in his part of Leicestershire.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 25th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

The hon. Gentleman puts it beautifully; he is absolutely right. Whatever the pressure that may or may not be exerted on the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, what works in Hong Kong at the moment is that the judiciary is independent, and that must not change.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend has said that one country, two systems must mean exactly that. Will he support the legitimate demands of the protesters, many of whom are waving Union flags in the hope of support from this Government and this House for the permanent withdrawal of this most contentious Bill?

[Mr Hunt]

I called publicly for the Bill to be halted, and I agree with what the Hong Kong Government belatedly decided to do, which is to commit to not bringing it back until concerns about democratic rights have been addressed.

Counter-Daesh Update

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 11th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I am happy to reassure my hon. Friend that our commitment to that part of the world is for the long term. Our military commitment is finite—it is restricted to the mandate given by the House of Commons—but we are committed in every possible way, because we recognise that if the region is unstable, we will pay the price back here, through terrorism, disruption to our economy and any number of ways. He is absolutely right that our commitment must remain.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

The Leader of the Opposition is a former national chairman of the Stop the War Coalition. Under his chairmanship, the coalition issued a statement praising Daesh for its “internationalism” and “solidarity”. Does my right hon. Friend agree that although we might have many words to describe Daesh, those are certainly not two of them?

[Mr Hunt]

I agree wholeheartedly. I think that it is a terrible mistake when people misjudge the atrocities that organisations such as Daesh are capable of just because they happen to share their own anti-western worldview.

Gosport Independent Panel: Publication of Report

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Wednesday 20th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I think actions speak louder than words. Such an approach is what Bishop Jones requested on this occasion, and we have done that. We obviously need to think through some process issues, because when a Minister wants to report to the House, they need to be a little bit informed as to what they are talking about. However, I think we have found a way to do that with this report and with the Francis report, so I think it is a good template.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

May I commend the diligence and determination of the right hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb), without whose efforts we would not be hearing the truth today, as grim and disturbing as that truth might be? Does my right hon. Friend agree that this raises further questions about the way in which doctors’ performance and patient safety are monitored? With the GMC, doctors are in effect policing themselves. Is it not time to say that this system has to change?

[Mr Hunt]

We do have to ask those questions, and we have to be able to respond to the concerns of my hon. Friend and his constituents about how we can be absolutely certain there will not be a closing of ranks. My experience, however, is that doctors are very quick to want to remove those of their number who are letting the profession down because this damages everyone’s reputation. There are some very difficult questions for the GMC and for the NMC. Because their processes took so long, I do not think they can put their hand on their heart and say that they have kept patients safe during that period.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 4th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

We will look carefully at the Samaritans’ report, as we always do with what the Samaritans say. I think the signs are that our policies are having an impact and reducing suicide rates significantly, but suicide remains the biggest cause of death among men under 50.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Funding our national health service to meet the needs of UK residents is one proposition; funding an international health service open to the world is another proposition entirely. Are there any indications that advance charging for non-emergency treatment for overseas patients is putting more money into our NHS?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 20th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

May I gently urge the hon. Gentleman to be careful with his rhetoric? We are not closing operating theatres for a month over Christmas. We need to be very careful what we say in this place, because people outside are listening. The answer is to ensure that we increase capacity in the NHS, and that is why we have 11,000 more doctors and 11,000 more hospital nurses than we had six years ago. We are training 15,000 more doctors every year from 2018-19 to ensure that we can avoid these problems in the future.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

9. What progress the Government are making on recovering money from overseas visitors and other chargeable NHS patients.

Junior Doctors Contract

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Thursday 19th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is not just a safer deal for patients, but a system that is much fairer for doctors than the current one. We are giving a pay rise of between 10% and 11%, for which we say that people are expected to work one weekend day a month, but doctors who work more than that get more, and it goes up, so more weekends worked means more extra pay. I think that is one of the reasons why the BMA was prepared to sign up to the agreement: it values the people who give up the most weekends.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

I was contacted by a constituent who told me how his four-year-old daughter fell through a pane of glass, severely cutting her face. Unfortunately, the accident happened on a Friday evening, and because insufficient doctors were working over the weekend, she could not have an operation to remove any remaining glass from the wound until Monday, by which time the wound had started to heal and was misaligned. That four-year-old girl will suffer severe facial scarring for the rest of her life. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this is why we need a seven-day NHS?

[Mr Hunt]

I could not put it better myself. We all hear stories of that sort from our constituents and our families. That is why, in the end, yesterday’s agreement was a very positive step forward in that seven-day agenda.

Junior Doctors Contracts

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 25th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

We do believe we will be able to keep all A&E departments open tomorrow and the next day, during the days of the strike, but that does not mean there will not be huge pressure on hospitals, which is why we are urging people to go to A&E only if they really need to. I would simply say to the hon. Gentleman that this disruption is the responsibility of the people who are choosing to withdraw emergency care for the first time in the history of the NHS.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Can I ask my right hon. Friend to stick to his guns and not to give in to the unreasonable demands of the BMA? Doctors are among the most highly remunerated of our public servants—far better remunerated than members of the police or the armed services, who are essential workers and who are barred by law from taking strike action. Can I urge my right hon. Friend to review the situation with regard to A&E medics?

[Mr Hunt]

Interestingly, A&E departments will benefit from the new contract because there are special premiums to encourage more people to go into A&E as a specialty. However, on his broader point, I agree: when someone is paid a high salary, that comes with the responsibilities of a profession. That is why, however much people disagree with the new contract, and however much they may not agree with the Government’s plans for a seven-day NHS, it is totally inappropriate to withdraw emergency care in the way that will happen tomorrow and the next day. That is why doctors should be very careful about the impact this will have on their status in the country.

Junior Doctors Contracts

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 18th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

On the contrary, I take full responsibility for delivering a safer NHS for patients. That is my job. If the hon. Lady wants to talk about patients, perhaps she might listen to the comments of one of the most famous patient safety campaigners in the country, James Titcombe, who tragically lost his son because of mistakes made at Morecambe Bay. He said that there has been

“much progress towards a safer NHS in recent years”,

but that there is

“much more to do to reverse the cover-up culture that flourished under Labour.”

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Can my right hon. Friend confirm that on the last occasion that the BMA called on junior doctors to take strike action, that call was rejected by 47% of junior doctors? Now the BMA wants junior doctors to remove emergency cover. What does he think it will say about the BMA’s mandate for future action if fewer than half of junior doctors support its call for further strikes?

[Mr Hunt]

That is a very important point to make. On the BMA’s mandate for the current strike action, many hon. Members have said today that we should get round the negotiating table. They may not be aware that the BMA decided to ballot for strike action before even sitting down to talk to the Government about our plans. It decided to go straight to a ballot for industrial action on a false prospectus of the Government’s planned changes. That sowed many of the misunderstandings in the current dispute.

UK Ebola Preparedness

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 5th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

Perhaps I can reassure the right hon. Gentleman on that point. Health care workers are kept away from direct patient work for that incubation period, so that protocol has been put in place. The BMJ article to which he refers is based, I think, on the misunderstanding that screening is the same as testing. The reality is that the tests for Ebola show up only when the virus has reached a certain level, at which point the patient will have become feverish and started displaying symptoms, so testing before that point is a waste of time. The purpose of the screening process is to identify those at highest risk so that we can make sure that they are actively monitored when they go home and that they know exactly what to do if they do develop symptoms. That is exactly what happened with Pauline Cafferkey.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

There is a saying that when it rains everyone’s roof gets wet. That is apt in the case of Ebola which, as we have heard, poses a global threat. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the best way to protect the British people from the Ebola outbreak is to continue to actively support international efforts to eradicate it in west Africa itself?

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend is right. The most important thing we can do is to eliminate this disease at source, and that is why we can be extremely proud of the efforts of DFID and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. As I have said, we are the country that is doing the second most in the entire world to combat the disease in west Africa. There is no better example of the link between proper development policy abroad and security at home.

NHS (Five Year Forward View)

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 1st December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

With the greatest respect to the hon. Lady, I will very happily look into the concerns she raises, but what we are talking about today is more money going into the NHS because the Government got a grip of public finances and got the economy growing. That means more money for people with long-term conditions, including people with motor neurone disease. The hon. Lady should therefore welcome today’s announcement.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

According to clinicians in charge of health care and budgets, this Government have done much to take the politics out of running the NHS. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that average productivity in the NHS has improved under this Government, and does he agree that, given the outrageous comments of the Labour leader, it is clear that Labour is happy to see the NHS used as a political football?

[Mr Hunt]

I think what the public find very perplexing about this is that the Labour party opposed reforms that mean we have 10,000 more doctors and nurses on the front line. Labour is now not welcoming additional financial investment in the NHS that means we will have even more doctors and nurses, and it does not recognise the fundamental point that affects the whole NHS, which is that, in employing those extra doctors and nurses, we have to back them with a culture of safety and compassionate care that we never saw under Labour.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 21st October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

First, I caution the hon. Gentleman on his use of statistics, because he is referring to a subset of A and Es, not all of them. Last year we hit our A and E target. I say gently to Labour Members that they need to be careful if they try to politicise operational issues, because people will note that in every year of this Parliament we have hit our A and E targets in England and Labour has missed its targets in Wales.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that the figures show that the average wait before assessment in A and Es in England is now down to 30 minutes, as opposed to 77 minutes under the previous Labour Government?

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I just say to the Labour party that the time people wait to be seen at A and Es has reduced while the number of people going to A and Es has increased, but in the end it will not be sustainable unless we invest in out-of-hospital care, which is why we need more personal care by GPs. That is why we have brought back named GPs and why we have 1,000 more GPs than we did four years ago.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 25th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Last year I spent a busy and informative day with the East Midlands ambulance service on the road. It was clear speaking to those professionals that a large proportion of individuals taken to A and E would be better served by going to their GP or by accessing other services. However, the ambulance service felt completely disempowered to advise or even to refuse to take anyone to A and E who requested it.

[Mr Jeremy Hunt]

That is one of the things we need to be much better at—linking up the services offered by ambulance services. I would add that pharmacies have a big role to play in this, as one in 11 or 12 A and E appointments could be dealt with at a pharmacy. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that this is something we need to do better.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 19th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I met the College of Emergency Medicine yesterday to discuss those issues, among others. We have 300 more doctors working in our A and E departments than we did three years ago, but the hon. Lady is absolutely right that we need more, because 1 million more people a year are going through A and E than there were in 2010. Part of the challenge is to make A and E a more attractive profession for doctors. They might work long shifts and antisocial hours, which can make it unattractive. We need to find a way of dealing with that.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Frank and Janet Robinson’s son John died in 2006 as a result of failings at Stafford hospital. They are my constituents. The inquest into his death lasted only 90 minutes and called only two witnesses. After much campaigning and lobbying by his parents, a second inquest has been granted. It will call 12 witnesses, many of whom were available to the original coroner, and is scheduled to last four days. Does my right hon. Friend agree that had the original coroner’s report into John’s death been more thorough, many avoidable deaths at Stafford and across the NHS could have been prevented?

[Mr Hunt]

I agree with my hon. Friend. I hope that he will be encouraged by today’s announcement, because if in such a situation, which was an appalling tragedy, a trust is found not to have been open and transparent about something serious that has gone wrong, the fact that it risks becoming financially liable for any award made will be a major disincentive to trying to cover things up. That is a profound change, so I hope that it will comfort John’s parents to know that the kind of culture they had to fight so hard against will not be allowed to continue.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 22nd October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I think good progress is being made and I commend my hon. Friend for his campaigning on the issue. The trust concerned has introduced better privacy for patients, hired 154 nurses since the Keogh report and introduced electronic vital signs reporting at the bedside—all because we are being transparent and open about problems in the NHS and not sweeping them under the carpet.

[Andrew Bridgen]

Burton hospital, which serves part of my constituency, was one of the 11 hospitals placed in special measures following the Keogh report. Will my right hon. Friend assure my constituents that the improvements needed in those hospitals will be carried out in a culture of openness and transparency rather than one of opaqueness and cover-up, which so unfortunately typified the way in which the previous Government ran the NHS?

[Mr Hunt]

I know that my hon. Friend takes a very close interest in what happens at his hospital and I think that progress is being made in turning it around. What will be of concern to my hon. Friend is that, as far back as 2005-6, Burton’s mortality rate was 30% higher than the national average—it was even higher than that at Mid Staffs—and yet the problem was not sorted out. We are sorting it out.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 10th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I will of course look at that closely. I have been to Kettering hospital and recognise that it is very busy and that people there are working very hard, but I think that the staff are doing a fantastic job.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend pledge to do everything in his power to undo the mess created by Labour’s 2004 GP contract give-away in order to help restore the essential link between patients and family doctors, which will lead to better patient outcomes and reduce pressure on our A and E departments?

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I am astonished that the Labour party seeks to defend those changes to the GP contract, which got rid of named GPs, removed responsibility for out-of-hours services from them and broke the personal responsibility that the best GPs always wanted to feel for the people on their list. In fact, many brave practices refused to go along with those contract changes and continue to have named GPs. There is clear evidence that people who have named GPs use hospital services less. If we are going to give older people the right care, we need to undo those damaging changes.

Hospital Mortality Rates

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 16th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

As I have said many times, where there is not safe staffing we need to put that right. As I have also said, there are 8,000 more front-line staff under this Government than there were when the hon. Lady’s Government were in power. But those are not the only issues; we also need to address issues of leadership, of systems, which we talked about, and of clinical effectiveness. We need to sort out all those. On staffing numbers, I would just point out that plenty of hospitals under equivalent financial pressures are managing to deliver outstanding care, so a lot of this is about getting the right leadership in place at a board level.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

On 1 July, just over two weeks ago, my aunt died unexpectedly and alone at Queen’s hospital, Burton. The Keogh review has now shown that hospital to have had a higher mortality rate than Stafford since at least 2005. Will my right hon. Friend pledge to work tirelessly to heal our NHS, so that my constituents, my friends and my relatives do not continue to die unnecessarily because of the failed policies of the previous Labour Government? [Interruption.]

[Mr Hunt]

This is the problem. [Interruption.] This is the denial we are getting from the Labour party; it is denying any responsibility for these deep-seated problems in some of our hospitals. As Health Secretary, I intend to do exactly as my hon. Friend describes. In order to try to measure the progress we are making, we will this year for the first time be asking every NHS in-patient whether they would recommend the quality of care that they received to a friend or a member of their family, because in the end that is what this is all about.

Children’s Heart Surgery

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Wednesday 12th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

The right hon. Gentleman makes an important point. Site selection needs to be done by people who are completely independent of any local interest in where the surgery should happen. That is the crucial point we need to learn, but the point about skills is also important.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

May I praise my right hon. Friend for his brave and eminently sensible statement today on this most emotive of topics? However, will he assure the House that any future plans to remove children’s cardiac services from the Glenfield hospital in Leicester will take full account of the world-leading extra corporeal membrane oxygenation services which will also have to be moved? The Secretary of State is completely right on this issue and many others: we do not need a quick solution; we need the right solution.

[Mr Hunt]

I agree with my hon. Friend, but I would actually like a solution that happens as quickly as possible, provided the process is done properly. He will be pleased to know that the IRP report does say that the impact of suspending the review and thinking again should be borne in mind in respect of decisions that have already been made as to the siting of ECMO services, and I know that NHS England will be reflecting on that.

Immigrants (NHS Treatment)

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 25th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

We will work closely with the devolved authorities to ensure we have a co-ordinated response to the problem, but I agree that today’s announcement will be welcomed by the vast majority of people in the country, who will be astonished that the Labour party, even now, seeks to minimise the problem.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Given that the UK has one of very few genuine free-at-the-point-of-need health care systems, does my right hon. Friend agree that, without his sensible reforms, the UK will continue to be seen as the destination of choice for anyone around the world seeking high-quality, free medical treatment paid for by the UK taxpayer?

[Mr Hunt]

I agree with my hon. Friend. It is because I support the principle of free-at-the-point-of-use health care that I do not want anything to undermine it, and abuse of the system by people who are not entitled to free NHS care is the single thing that would most shake the public’s trust in an important part of what the NHS has to offer. That is why we must tackle this problem.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 27th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

With respect to the hon. Gentleman, a 39% fall in consultancy expenditure compared to the last year of the previous Administration is something that we are rather proud of. If he wants to know what the Health Secretary is directly responsible for, direct Department of Health expenditure on consultancy in the past year was £3 million. In the last year of the previous Government it was £108 million.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Has my right hon. Friend made any recent assessment of the total efficiency savings achieved in the NHS over the past two years under the Nicholson challenge?

[Mr Hunt]

We are making good progress on the Nicholson challenge. This year we expect to save £5.8 billion under that important programme to improve efficiency in the NHS so that we can treat more people.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Tuesday 23rd October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I am extremely concerned about what happened on 27 September. I can confirm to the hon. Gentleman that all the red 1 calls on that day were met within the target time of eight minutes, but the delays were completely unacceptable. I know that the trust is taking measures to ensure that the problems are not repeated, particularly looking forward to the winter time when there is likely to be extra pressure on ambulance services. I will follow the matter very closely, and I expect the trust to come up with measures to ensure that his constituents are properly safeguarded.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

In the summer, I spent an interesting and thought-provoking day observing the work of a crew of the East Midlands ambulance service. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that ambulance trusts across the country, including the East Midlands ambulance service, are performing well in meeting their response time targets?

[Mr Hunt]

I can absolutely confirm that. In fact, I was extremely pleased to see last week that all the standards are being met for both eight-minute category A calls— red 1 and red 2 calls—and 19-minute calls. That is as it should be, but it is no grounds for complacency. Although that is a country-wide picture, there are parts of the country where those standards are not being met in the way that we would like. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Leveson Inquiry

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Wednesday 25th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

If I used Adam Smith as my invisible hand, why did I take four decisions that went completely against what News Corporation wanted? This was a quasi-judicial process, which I took enormous trouble to ensure was performed objectively and fairly. I have explained to the hon. Gentleman and to the House many times the steps that I took to do that.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that Fred Michel’s view that the Business Secretary “saw no problem with the bid” demonstrates the fantasy world that that man appears to be living in?

[Mr Hunt]

The evidence would certainly suggest that that was also an exaggeration. That is why we must hear all the evidence submitted to the Leveson inquiry from all sides and allow Lord Justice Leveson, who is truly independent in this process and has no political bandwagon to jump on, to come to his considered conclusions.

BSkyB

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Thursday 3rd March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I recognise the hon. Lady’s concerns. When she has a chance to look in detail at the undertakings, she will find that many of them have to be delivered before the purchase of the Sky shares is allowed to go ahead. We have been very strict on the timelines and want to ensure that as much of it as possible is delivered as quickly as possible. As for who should be the final decision maker, all I will say is that because I have been so conscious of the public’s worries about the motivations of politicians in these kinds of decisions, I have sought independent advice at every stage before taking the decisions in this process, and if I am required to make any similar decisions I will continue to seek independent advice in the future.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Will the Secretary of State explain what will happen if, at some time in the future, News Corporation wants to cancel the carriage arrangements for the licensing deal after the transaction has taken place?

[Mr Hunt]

If News Corporation were to do anything like that, a dispute resolution procedure is specified in the undertakings, which it would be obliged to follow. In the end, if it is followed through, it leads to independent arbitration, so I am satisfied that it will have to be good for its money and honour the spirit of the carriage and brand licensing agreements as laid out in those undertakings.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Bridgen and Jeremy Hunt

Monday 25th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

We are making excellent progress in broadband roll-out. Last week, the Chancellor announced four superfast broadband pilots in rural locations in the Highlands and Islands, Cumbria, Yorkshire and Herefordshire. There will be further announcements before the end of the year on how we will roll this out to the whole country.

[Andrew Bridgen]

I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. In view of the potential cuts to rural bus services on top of the disastrous cuts in rural post offices under the last Labour Government, does he agree that the roll-out of broadband to our rural communities is absolutely vital in the fight to prevent rural isolation?

[Mr Hunt]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Superfast broadband in rural areas offers huge opportunities for things such as telemedicine, home education and working from home. The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts estimates that when this is done, it will have created about 600,000 jobs. The difference between Government and Opposition Members is that when Labour were in government they had secured £200 million for broadband roll-out, whereas we have secured £830 million. I think the public know who is doing better.