Women in the House of Commons

Debate between Maria Miller and David Nuttall

Thursday 12th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Miller]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that the work needs to go in early. I applaud 50:50 Parliament’s work and its current campaign #AskHerToStand. Many hon. Ladies here today will know that it often takes asking women to stand for Parliament before they do so. Such early work, particularly standing for local government, can be an effective way of building people’s confidence to take this on as a career choice.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend have any concerns that a man from a working-class background could be discriminated against if all the proposals and recommendations contained in her report are accepted?

[Mrs Miller]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Speaking as someone who was born in a council house and went to a comprehensive school, I do not want to see this place becoming populated by an unrepresentative group of people, but it is unrepresentative at the moment. We have to take some tough decisions, rather than failing to take action because of the threat that some groups might feel discriminated against, to put right what is a real injustice in terms of female representation.

Equal Marriage Consultation

Debate between Maria Miller and David Nuttall

Tuesday 11th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

My hon. Friend is right to say that what we are trying to establish today is a balanced approach. I can tell him that the various mechanisms that I have outlined today will provide protections that both the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelical Church have identified to me at both national and local level.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Will the Minister please tell the House how many respondents to the consultation were resident outside the United Kingdom?

[Maria Miller]

The hon. Gentleman will know that there were more than 200,000 responses to the consultation, and that people outside the United Kingdom were given an opportunity to participate. We collected all the information and examined it in detail, and it helped us to think about how, not whether, we should implement the proposals. That is what I ask my hon. Friend to focus on.

Same-sex Marriage in Churches

Debate between Maria Miller and David Nuttall

Monday 10th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

I could not have put it better myself; the hon. Lady makes an extremely strong point.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

With Christmas just around the corner, lots of people might be thinking of giving a dictionary as a present. Before they do so, and for the benefit of dictionary publishers, will the Minister say whether the Government have any plans to change the definition of any other words?

BBC

Debate between Maria Miller and David Nuttall

Monday 12th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

As the hon. Gentleman will know, the structure of the BBC is a matter for the executive. However, he is right that a review is looking at that structure to ensure that it works effectively in terms of both management and editorial content.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that this latest debacle will bring forward the day when the British public will have the freedom to decide whether to pay to watch the BBC, rather than being forced to pay for it by the criminal law?

[Maria Miller]

Every Member in the Chamber attaches enormous value to the role of the BBC. All those things are regularly under review as part of the charter renewal process. I am sure my hon. Friend will want to give his thoughts as we move forward to that.