Leveson Inquiry

Baroness Berger Excerpts

Thursday 29th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman and I have had this exchange countless times. He still struggles to get coalition. His party did not win the election, and my party did not win the election, so we have a Government of two parties that must compromise. That is different from previous one-party Governments. It might lead to anomalies, glitches and innovations in this venerable place that he finds unwelcome, but that is the reality of coalition government. I suspect it will be repeated quite a lot in future.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

What actions will the Deputy Prime Minister and his Government take if newspapers do not establish the new system?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

It is incredibly important that the newspaper industry heeds what hon. Members have said and what the Prime Minister has said forcefully—that the ball is now in its court to make the first move of showing that it can propose a self-regulatory institution, which would be independently verified in one way or another as soon as possible. It would be an extraordinary failure if the press did not take up that opportunity and respond to Lord Justice Leveson’s invitation for its own good. Everybody who cares about our great British press knows that the public need to be reassured that it will abide by higher standards in future.

Leveson Inquiry

Baroness Berger Excerpts

Thursday 29th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Let me begin by responding to what my hon. Friend said first. In paragraph 19 of the summary, Lord Leveson makes a special point about Britain’s regional newspapers. He says that

“their contribution to local life is truly without parallel.”

He praises their role, and says how little they have been involved in the sort of damaging culture and practices to which the rest of the report refers.

As for my hon. Friend’s second point, we must look very carefully at the recommendations for increased transparency. I think, frankly, that transparency is important. The public want to know what is the relationship between politicians on the one hand and the press on the other. If they can see how often you are meeting and whom you meet, they can see whether you have a balanced, proper, sensible relationship with the press or not. We have put transparency in place. I hear murmurings from Labour Members, but in 13 years they did not do a single thing about it.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

Lord Justice Leveson is very clear about the importance of maintaining a plural media. Specifically, in paragraph 140 of the summary, he says:

“There is no current option for the Government or regulators to step in to protect plurality if it is threatened by organic change in the market.”

What plans has the Prime Minister to protect media plurality?

[The Prime Minister]

That is an excellent point, which was brought out in the debates when my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt) was Culture Secretary. We need to look at this very carefully, because there is a gap in the law: Ofcom can only consider problems of plurality at the time of a merger or takeover. I think that the recommendations make a lot of sense, and that we should study them carefully.

Hillsborough

Baroness Berger Excerpts

Wednesday 12th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Obviously, in terms of safety at football grounds, huge steps have been taken with all-seater stadiums, much better rules, far better knowledge about how to police football matches, and all the issues with crowd safety and the rest of it. There are no longer a lot of those terrible cages and things that were there in the past, and I think that we live in a different world. In learning from these inquiries, when a disaster such as this takes place it is important that we look at its causes and at what happened, rather than muddle it up with a whole lot of other issues, which I think is what far too many people did in this case.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

I associate myself with the many tributes made this afternoon to the families and survivors of Hillsborough, whose tireless search for the truth has led to the publication of the report today. I also welcome the apologies from the Prime Minister and my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition. The documents released confirm what has long been suspected by many: for 23 years a concerted cover-up based on smears and lies was conducted by the police, and others, against the victims and survivors of a terrible, terrible tragedy.

We know that the Prime Minister has had little time this morning to go through the report, but will he please commit to going through it after this debate, so that the families of the 96 know that the pursuit of justice is taking place at the highest level?

[The Prime Minister]

I can certainly give the hon. Lady that assurance. I received the report at 9.30 am. I had a briefing from the Bishop of Liverpool yesterday afternoon, which was very helpful, but I was not able to read the report until this morning before Prime Minister’s questions. I have read the summary, which I recommend to all Members of Parliament. It is a very good summary of what individual chapters find, and it links to the information that has been revealed. I am sure, however, that certain bits will require much closer study. Mention has been made of the alteration of the police reports and the importance of the media narrative, and we must also understand how so many of those things were left to lie for so long.

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Berger Excerpts

Wednesday 5th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hurd]

Yes, I do. I congratulate the Challenge Network and others who are helping to deliver what is an outstanding programme. I continue to be amazed that so much can be done in just three weeks in building young people’s confidence and skills, and in giving them a chance to make a positive difference in their communities.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

Does the Minister share my concern at the report by the Education Committee which found that, based on the cost per head of the 2011 pilot, it will cost a total of £355 million each year to provide a universal offer for the NCS, and that, even allowing for economies of scale, that cost may well outstrip the entire annual spending by local authorities on youth services, which totalled £350 million in 2009-10?

[Mr Hurd]

I simply encourage the hon. Lady to visit an NCS project. I think she will see that the projects are outstandingly popular with the young people who are taking part, and that although people in the youth sector are understandably frustrated at cuts elsewhere, they are beginning to recognise that the NCS is an enormously positive asset in terms of developing the young people of this country.

House of Lords Reform Bill

Baroness Berger Excerpts

Monday 3rd September 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

It is always reassuring to get the hon. Gentleman’s traditional welcome at the beginning of the parliamentary term. I thank him for his supportive remarks about all that my colleagues and I are doing in government to rescue, reform and repair the British economy, which was left in such a state of disrepair by the Labour party.

We are two and a half years into a five-year Government. The Prime Minister and I will make some announcements shortly—for instance, on the all-important issue of increasing the number of homes built in this country, to improve provision of affordable and social housing for people who desperately want to get on the housing ladder. If the hon. Gentleman does not mind, that is the kind of work that I am going to concentrate on.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

What estimate has the Deputy Prime Minister made of the cost to our civil service in time and effort of drawing up his now defunct House of Lords Reform Bill?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

As the hon. Lady knows, a lot of ink, paper and official time has been consumed, not just by this Parliament and Government but by previous Governments and Ministers who have sought finally to crack the conundrum of how we introduce more democracy to the House of Lords. The hon. Lady is right: if she and her colleagues had decided to back us on the timetable motion, all that ink and paper would not have gone to waste.

G20 Summit

Baroness Berger Excerpts

Monday 25th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

That was an excellent link, if I may say so. What is so important about the Falkland Islands referendum, which is very much an initiative that has come from the Falkland islanders themselves, is that it will give the opportunity for the rest of the world to see what the people who live there actually want—lots of countries that are not particularly focused on this issue may, in the past, have gone along with proposals from Argentina without really considering that. When they see it in glorious technicolour, I hope that will make a difference.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Prime Minister will be aware that last week the Rio+20 conference also took place. As the leader of what he calls the “greenest Government ever”, can he share with us what representations he made in Mexico about that other crucial conference?

[The Prime Minister]

Obviously it is difficult to be in two places at once, so I did the G20 and the Deputy Prime Minister was at the Rio+20 summit. We discussed it a great deal in advance, and I think it did make some useful progress in terms of sustainable goals. I am also going to be working, through this high-level panel to which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed me, to make sure that we put in place the right replacements for the millennium development goals and that they take into account sustainable concerns as well.

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Berger Excerpts

Wednesday 13th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hurd]

Independent research has shown that more than 8,000 teenagers committed almost 250,000 hours of service to their communities last year, that the customer satisfaction rating among the teenagers who took part was 93%, and that the benefit-cost ratio was 2:1. That was a good start and I encourage all colleagues of all parties to get involved with the NCS in their constituencies this summer. It is a fantastic opportunity for their young constituents.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

T3. The Government came to power promising a bonfire of the quangos. Will the Minister confirm, however, that the Health and Social Care Act 2012 creates more quangos than the Public Bodies Act 2011 abolished?

[Mr Maude]

No, Sir.

Party Funding

Baroness Berger Excerpts

Monday 26th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Maude]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. For the avoidance of doubt, explicit instructions of that nature had been given.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

Can the Minister explain how Mr Cruddas knew about the change to the 50p rate of tax before this House did?

[Mr Maude]

I imagine he knew no more than everybody else who bought a daily newspaper.

European Council

Baroness Berger Excerpts

Monday 5th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. We have a blocking minority on extending the working time directive and we need to ensure that we keep that together. In my view, however, this is the sort of area that the European Union should not have got into in the first place.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Prime Minister confirm that the UK will not be represented at meetings of the 25 countries?

[The Prime Minister]

We are not signatories to the agreement, so we will not be represented at the meetings. What was interesting about Friday was that, although they signed an agreement, there was only one meeting, which was a meeting of the 27 that discussed, funnily enough—[Interruption.] I was in the room at the time—[Hon. Members: “Ooh!”] We discussed not only the single market but single currency issues.

Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Berger Excerpts

Wednesday 8th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

8. What assessment he has made of the effects of changes to public procurement on the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises to secure contracts.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)]

9. What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of new suppliers to Government working groups in making it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to bid for Government contracts.

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Mr Francis Maude)]

We want 25% of the value of Government contracts to be awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises, and we have made significant progress towards that. This has so far led to a more than doubling in the amount of direct spend awarded to SMEs in the first half of the current year.

[Mr Maude]

I fully accept that it will take a little time to get things fully sorted out following the mess left after 13 years of the hon. Lady’s Government, so rather than chiding us for the progress that we are making why does she not congratulate us on our progress and start apologising for the mess her Government left behind?

[Luciana Berger]

Further to the Minister’s answer, the leader of one of the Government’s own working groups, Mark Taylor, who is the chief executive officer of Sirius, has said:

“There are SMEs being taken out of procurement, not put into it.”

He said that that is “simply not acceptable.” Are not Government policies, as Mr Taylor points out, making it more difficult for SMEs to take part in Government procurement projects, rather than easier?

[Mr Maude]

No, that is the reverse of the truth. The arrangements we inherited made it incredibly difficult for SMEs to bid, because the procurement processes were so bureaucratic, so clunky and so expensive, both for the taxpayer and for bidders, that many SMEs and voluntary and community sector organisations were, in effect, excluded. We are addressing that. There is more to do, but I would be grateful for some support from the hon. Lady’s side, particularly in encouraging Labour-led local authorities.