BBC
Debate between David Morris and Maria MillerUrgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
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Maria Miller
I am sure these are things for the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) to think about himself, but I fully understand the point my hon. Friend makes.
David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)
A lot has been said in recent weeks about pay at the BBC, but anybody who has ever tried to ask a question about the BBC at the Table Office will know that it is near enough impossible. In the collegiate spirit of the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Sir Gerald Kaufman), does the Secretary of State not think it time to reform some of the BBC’s archaic ways and allow Members of this House to find out exactly what is going on there, so that perhaps a lot of the debacles we have seen over the past few weeks will not happen again?
Maria Miller
The ability to scrutinise the BBC has been strengthened under this Government; my hon. Friend asks whether we should go further. Clearly all of us in public office—indeed, all public institutions—have transparency and scrutiny as our everyday business, and I think that goes for every single public organisation.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between David Morris and Maria Miller(13 years ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)
3. What steps he is taking to encourage people with multiple sclerosis to return to work.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Maria Miller)
The Government are committed to ensuring that individuals with conditions such as multiple sclerosis have the support that they need to find, and remain in, work. A comprehensive range of work support for individuals with serious fluctuating conditions is provided through the Work programme, Work Choice and Access to Work.
David Morris
I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. May I convey the wishes of my constituents in the local MS society for there to be better ways forward than those provided under the previous Government?
Maria Miller
I agree that the work of the Multiple Sclerosis Society is to be applauded, and I am sure that the Lancaster, Morecambe and district branch will join many other organisations in welcoming the measures in the Welfare Reform Bill, which is currently in the other place, including universal credit. Those measures will address the unacceptable imbalances inherent in the current welfare system, to ensure that people suffering from fluctuating conditions such as MS cannot be written off to a lifetime of dependency in future.