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Mr. Harry Barnes (North-East Derbyshire): May we have a debate on the backdating of social security benefits? Some harsh limitations have been placed on backdating, in previous legislation by the previous Government and in the Social Security Bill that is passing through another place. The process by which social security claimants must make applications is complex. Sometimes they find themselves going down one road and then having to apply down another road later, perhaps missing out on considerable benefits in the process.
Mrs. Taylor: I believe that we would all sympathise with the point that my hon. Friend makes about the complexities of the system, which is among the issues that we shall always take into account during the review. I cannot, however, guarantee to find time to reopen issues on which the House has taken a decision.
Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham): Notwithstanding the rambling reminiscences of the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner), will the Leader of the House consider seriously the express wish of Her Majesty's Opposition for a debate on the role of the Prime Minister's press spokesman? Does she agree that the analogy with Mr. Bernard Ingham is supremely inappropriate? Are we not considering a press spokesman who is supposed to offer advice but wishes to take executive decisions, and instructs Ministers what they should and should not do? Does the right hon. Lady agree that, if that is his preferred course, he should cut his salary in half, abandon his job and stand for election to the House?
Mr. Skinner: He is only a baby.
Mrs. Taylor: As my hon. Friend said, the hon. Gentleman is not terribly experienced in the House. He may like to suggest to Conservative Front-Bench spokesmen that, next time they have an Opposition day, they should choose a topic of that kind.
Mr. Brian White (Milton Keynes, North-East): Given that the Government's policy of promoting 60 per cent. of development on brown-field sites will require high-quality construction, given the concerns that have been expressed to Ministers about the warranty system and about the inspection system, and following the reply that she gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Heywood and
Middleton (Mr. Dobbin) last week, can the Leader of the House find time for a debate about housing standards and the construction of houses in the near future?
Mrs. Taylor: I recall the point being raised last week, and I know that some of my hon. Friends have concerns on that matter. It is impossible to provide Government time for such a debate. Last week, I suggested that it might be possible for my hon. Friend the Member for Heywood and Middleton (Mr. Dobbin) and others to apply for an Adjournment debate. Perhaps I should mention at this point that the Wednesday morning debates are a useful opportunity for many Back Benchers to raise issues of that kind that affect their constituents; my hon. Friend might like to consider trying to catch your eye then, Madam Speaker.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield): The right hon. Lady will be aware that I serve on the Modernisation Select Committee under her distinguished chairmanship. She will also be aware that, from time to time, I am inclined to display an independent tendency. I was most interested to learn earlier this week of the Labour party's extraordinary structure that allows Whips to vote one way on a single-line whip while the rest of the party is on a three-line whip. As I believe in independence in this place, will the right hon. Lady confirm whether the precedent that her Government set on that occasion during the passage of the Scotland Bill could be referred to the Modernisation Select Committee?
Mrs. Taylor: Opposition Whips will always be very interested in what the hon. Gentleman has to say about whipping and the rules that should apply. The hon. Gentleman raises the issue of the vote the other night concerning abortion. Abortion has always been a matter of conscience in the Labour party, and there has always been a free vote on that issue. The vote earlier this week was not about abortion, but about devolution and whether abortion should be devolved. Hon. Members who had a problem with their conscience were allowed, with the permission of the Chief Whip, to seek to exercise their principles.
Mr. John Cryer (Hornchurch): Could we have a debate in the near future about British sport? It has declined markedly in the past 20 years, partly because of the previous Government's destruction of local authority facilities and partly due to their destruction of industrial areas. Those areas provided room to play cricket and for, boxing, rugby and other sports. The problem of de-listing has also resurfaced, with Rupert Murdoch trying to get his grubby little fingers on every sporting event from the five nations rugby tournament to the national tiddlywinks championships.
If the Tories are so keen to debate the national health service, perhaps my right hon. Friend will consider holding that debate during Easter week. Plenty of Labour Members would attend, but I do not think that many of the gutless Opposition Members would be here.
Mrs. Taylor:
My hon. Friend did not cover everything, but he had a good go. I understand why many people are concerned about the future of sport in this country, given some of the things that have happened in the past couple of decades. I am sure that my hon. Friend
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport is considering the recommendations regarding listed sports events. I think that my hon. Friend knows that, under the Broadcasting Act 1996, the Secretary of State is solely responsible for the list of protected events. He is taking significant steps to consult hon. Members--some of whom have been to see my right hon. Friend about the matter--and he intends to listen carefully to their advice. I am sure that all hon. Members have their own views about this issue, and my right hon. Friend is willing to listen to them. On that basis, I hope that he will reach the right decisions.
My hon. Friend suggests having a debate on the national health service during Easter week instead of the recess. I understand the pressure for extra parliamentary time, and the difficulties involved in fitting everything into the parliamentary programme. However, I believe that hon. Members are entitled to a recess--not least because some of them wish to work in their constituencies.
Mr. Andrew Robathan (Blaby):
Will the right hon. Lady find time in the near future for a debate on the wider issue of civil service independence? That independence is highly respected and valued, not only by civil servants but by the British people whom they serve. That debate is necessitated not just by the Prime Minister's extraordinary statement yesterday that Alastair Campbell is a creature of new Labour, but by the recent sacking of several public information officers who were unwilling to embrace enthusiastically the new Labour manifesto. It is a serious point that should be discussed on the Floor of the House.
Mrs. Taylor:
The independence of the civil service is an important principle. Some Opposition Members find it difficult to understand that civil servants do not represent their viewpoint. There was an attempt under the previous Government to make sure that the Government viewpoint was put, and some Opposition Members think that that viewpoint should continue, regardless of which Government are in power. Independence means exactly that: the civil service serves the Government of the day. In case the hon. Gentleman had not noticed, his party lost the last election.
Mr. David Taylor (North-West Leicestershire):
Is my right hon. Friend aware of the death by explosion a few days ago at the age of about 200 of the Leicestershire deep mining industry, when the ventilation shaft at the Asfordby colliery was blown up by RJB Mining? Will she find time in an already crowded timetable to investigate the corrupt privatisation of the British coal industry? That has led to the loss of collieries like Asfordby, which has one third of Britain's clean coal reserves--1,000 million tonnes. Those have been for ever sterilised by that explosion.
Eight hundred million pounds of taxpayers' money has been invested in a project that could have secured the role of coal in power generation. Could my right hon. Friend find time to investigate why that pit was lost, in a carnival atmosphere generated by Richard Budge?
Mrs. Taylor:
I can well understand the concerns expressed by my hon. Friend, in view of the impact of
Mr. Nick Hawkins (Surrey Heath):
First, may I support what the hon. Member for Hornchurch (Mr. Cryer) said about the importance of listed sports events? In the light of the confirmation given by the Leader of the House that the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport is listening on the issue, can we have an early debate after the Easter recess in Government time? The matter concerns many hon. Members of all parties, and many of us have already written to the Secretary of State about it.
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