Business of the House

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster Excerpts

Thursday 3rd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

Order. I am sure that the hon. Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) was not accusing Secretary of State of misleading the House. I suspect she meant unintentionally misleading.

[Mrs Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

I am really pleased to hear that the Leader of the House, like me, thinks that the Government should be held to account regularly and thoroughly. With the done deal of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office having swallowed up the Department for International Development, there will be no scrutiny of DFID funding, because it will go across many different Departments. It is no good expecting the Foreign Affairs Committee to do its current work plus that new work. Will my right hon. Friend bring before the House the possibility of a cross-party Committee to look at the funding normally spent to ensure that we keep legally to the 0.7% across government?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I think that particular jibe was directed at me. I cannot deny that age catches up with me. Seeing my fifth child go to school yesterday made me realise once again how quickly time flies. Fat is a matter of opinion, and some people may think that I am fat. Perhaps Kate Moss thinks I am fat, but other than that, I am not sure that many people would consider me to be particularly plump. The charge of racism is a deeply offensive one and people should not bandy around that type of abuse in politics because it lowers the whole tone of our politics and makes politics unnecessarily fractious when we actually ought to be reasonably polite to each other. I do not mind a little bit of joshing. I do not mind being called old and fat, but calling people racist is wrong.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

We do have a fair number of colleagues still to be called, so I urge colleagues to be fairly brief in their questions and likewise in answers.

[Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab) [V]]

Our cultural institutions are vital in and of themselves, but they are also an important industry employing many people. Is the Leader of the House aware of the strike action being taken by hard-working members of the Public and Commercial Services Union at Tate galleries in protest against hundreds of compulsory redundancies? Will he grant a debate in Government time on the continued jobs crisis across the whole culture sector resulting from the coronavirus pandemic?