Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Leader of the House

Oral Answers to Questions

Lord Mann Excerpts
Thursday 14th June 2012

(12 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lord Vaizey of Didcot Portrait Mr Vaizey
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I am not aware that we have had discussions with News Corporation, but I will certainly look at the Department’s records. Local television is certainly an opportunity for local media, and—[Interruption.] I will write to the hon. Lady about this; I thank the right hon. and learned Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman) for that lesson in etiquette, which I shall take on board. Many local newspaper groups are interested in local television, and I think this is a potential opportunity for local newspapers.

Lord Mann Portrait John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab)
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5. What arrangements he has put in place to recruit a new special adviser.

Jeremy Hunt Portrait The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Jeremy Hunt)
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I recently appointed Guy Levin as my new special adviser, and he started this week.

Lord Mann Portrait John Mann
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I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. Government special advisers are meeting as a group on a fairly regular basis, doubtless to get their instructions from 10 Downing street. Will the Secretary of State ensure that he receives a written report on those meetings, and that such reports are made public so that we can all see precisely what instructions 10 Downing street is giving to his and other special advisers?

Jeremy Hunt Portrait Mr Hunt
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We will be at least as transparent as the last Government on these matters, if not more so.

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David Heath Portrait Mr Heath
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The hon. Gentleman has raised an important point. This was never intended to be simply a cut-out-and-send-back element in a tabloid newspaper’s campaign, but there is no evidence that all e-petitions are of that type: in many cases, they constitute a genuine expression of public sentiment on a subject. Besides, we have the filter of the Backbench Business Committee, which considers whether the House has already debated the issue in question, or will have an opportunity to do so in the near future. When the Committee considers it right for a debate to take place, it will stage one, and I think that it is doing a very good job in that regard. However, we are constantly evaluating what has happened, and we are keen to learn from the experience in order to make the arrangement even better.

Lord Mann Portrait John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab)
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4. What recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on scheduling of business to achieve the Government's legislative programme.

David Heath Portrait The Parliamentary Secretary, Office of the Leader of the House of Commons (Mr David Heath)
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My right hon. Friend the Leader of the House regularly meets colleagues in Government to discuss the legislative programme in order to ensure that Parliament has an opportunity to debate Government legislation fully.

Lord Mann Portrait John Mann
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There is no problem with debating Government legislation fully, because the Government have hardly any legislation to introduce in this increasingly part-time Parliament. Given that they have no ideas to present, will the Leader of the House make better provision for Back Benchers, including me, who have a whole raft of Bills to introduce which the public would like to see implemented? Will he give us time in which to introduce them, or not?

David Heath Portrait Mr Heath
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We are seeing an interesting juxtaposition. Our Department is so often criticised for providing insufficient time for Members to consider legislation properly, and now the hon. Gentleman is saying that there is too much time for them to do so. I remind him that, only a few weeks after the Queen’s Speech, 11 Bills are already before Parliament. I entirely reject his criticism that there is any deficit in terms of the legislation that is before the House.