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Mr. Hain: I welcome the hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) to the Dispatch Box. I said last week that he was widely liked, but I did not realise that my influence extended so far into the reaches of the Tory party that he would be instantly promoted. However, I would like to know why the shadow Leader of the House, who has only one job, cannot be bothered to turn up today. I understand that he is being wined and dined by journalists in the Press Gallery. The menu is Parma ham and figs, steamed halibut and vegetables, followed by assorted deserts—I mean desserts—although the vacancy he leaves is like a desert. He is being wined and dined instead of attending to the only duty that he has in the House all week.
The hon. Gentleman asked a series of questions, the first of which was about the children at risk Green Paper. We are the only Government ever to bring children's policy as it affects all Departments under one Minister. He should welcome that innovative, new and ground-breaking approach to government in respect of children's rights and protection. [Interruption.] As for the Green Paper, we will publish our strategy not when the hon. Gentleman demands it from a sedentary position but when we are ready. We will not publish according to a timetable set by the Opposition. The Tory party has never had a strategy for children.
Since the commitment was made, we have created a new opportunity to develop policy across Departments, under the control of one Minister for Children. The report will be published in due course, as soon as we are ready to do so. When it is published we will be able to show that it is being followed through in the context of a wider strategy of protecting children and advancing their rights. I have no doubt that the inquiry report, which has been published already, will be followed by local authorities. They will already be considering how to implement the recommendations, and that is the key point.
As I have explained, the report must be set in the context of a sensible, coherent children's policy that protects their rights and advances their opportunities. That is the important point. As I said, the Tory party never had a policy on children at all.
The hon. Gentleman asked when there might be a statement on the humanitarian situation in Iraq. As he knows, there was such a statement last week. If the situation changes, the Government will stand ready to make a new statement. We heard the familiar gramophone record from the Tory party about weapons of mass destruction, dodgy dossiers and so on. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister explained very clearly, we are confident that the evidence for the weapons of mass destruction will be found. Iraq is larger than France, and the evidence could be hidden in any nook or cranny, or any shed, anywhere in Iraq. It will be found.
The hon. Gentleman referred also to the BBC. It is very important that the BBC stops being a player in the story and starts to become a spectator. Its job is to report fairly and accurately, and not to create the news or set the agenda. The BBC should stop spinning. It should listen to its own political editor, who rightly said last night:
- "A very senior source I have spoken to on this was absolutely sure, when British troops went into action in Iraq, they would face chemical and possible biological weapons."
The hon. Gentleman made an important point about the ombudsman's report. We are the first Government to publish the gifts list for Ministers, which we did on 14 March. The list goes back to June 2001. The Cabinet Office apologised for the delay in publication, but we are the only Government ever to have published the list. We are open and accountable in such matters, and will continue to be so.
On the issue of disclosure in respect of conflicts of interest, what is being demanded is that we disclose contacts, correspondence and any communications between Ministers and their permanent secretaries. Permanent secretaries are responsible for upholding the ministerial code, and every Minister has to ensure that that is done. The Government have nothing to apologise for on the matter, and indeed we have every reason to say that we are out in the open and fully accountable in that respect.
The hon. Gentleman repeated another familiar refrain on programme motions and scrutiny. I shall certainly consider his request to publish a list of clauses and schedules that have not been debated, although as he will know, that is a matter of public record anyway. I do not think that it would be a problem to put it all together in the Library, but I shall get back to him on that.
On sneaking out last-minute statements, there is always a balance between keeping the House informed—as Leader of the House I am anxious that the Government should do that—and overloading the House with business. [Laughter.] Hon. Members may laugh, but those on the Conservative Benches complain that too many statements are made and do not want them to be made on their Opposition days. They cannot have it both ways—they cannot have Ministers making
statements at the Dispatch Box and keeping the House fully informed, if they are not prepared to accept that on Opposition days. The hon. Gentleman should bear that in mind.Finally, on taxation, the Conservative party put unfair taxes on the British people year after year, hitting the lowest-paid and affecting everyone in all income brackets. As a Government, we have introduced fair taxes that assist those at the bottom of the pile, are fair to those in the middle, and are seen overall as fair and just.
Mr. Andrew Stunell (Hazel Grove): I remind the Leader of the House that yesterday was the final day for the Government to produce their response to the report of the Joint Committee on House of Lords Reform. When will he or his colleagues produce that response, or is it yet again a case of a timetable that has been set by someone else and is to be disregarded?
When will the Waste and Emissions Trading Bill return to the House? Having been through the Standing Committee, it seems to have become becalmed. We see no sign of its returning to the House for Report and Third Reading.
I welcome the right hon. Gentleman's announcement that there is to be a debate in Westminster Hall on the United Nations on the symbolic date of Thursday 11 September. I remind him that since the commencement of hostilities in Iraq, the House has had a large number of statements from Ministers but we have not had the opportunity to debate the outcome or the future prospects of that country. Will he arrange for a debate on our return to the House? By then it will be urgently needed, given that so far practically none of the objectives of the military action have been achieved. Saddam Hussein has not been found and nor have the weapons of mass destruction, there is no peace or security, there is a shortage of humanitarian and medical aid, there is no oil and there are no plans for reconstruction. The House needs an opportunity to debate those matters.
Finally, I ask the right hon. Gentleman not to listen to the siren voices in the House who are complaining about the siren voices outside in Parliament square. I remind him that in times past he thought that direct action outside Parliament was useful and appropriate, and it still is.
Mr. Hain: On House of Lords reform, it is my understanding that the Government will respond to the second report of the Joint Committee before the House rises for the summer recess.
The Waste and Emissions Trading Bill has completed all its stages in the Lords and is awaiting introduction in this House. I hope that we can proceed with that when the business slot arrives.
I agree with the hon. Gentleman that the debate on the United Nations is timely and important, and I hope that the whole House will have the opportunity to commend the UN for its international role and will seek to strengthen it, as indeed we as a Government have a proud record of doing. He pointed out the obvious fact that Saddam Hussein has not been found—obviously, he had prepared his exit strategy carefully, no doubt taking much Iraqi money with him. We intend to find
him. When we do, that will encourage greater stability. However, the picture that the hon. Gentleman painted was almost as though the Iraqis would have been better off if we had not liberated Iraq. That is unacceptable. If one talks to any Iraqi who was not a Saddam supporter or one of his henchmen, or henchpersons, one finds that they are pleased that he has gone, and we ought to take credit for having achieved that.As for protest outside the House, there is a long and honourable record of protest in Britain. I have taken part in it, as the hon. Gentleman was kind enough to remind me, and we should always uphold it.
Mr. Alan Meale (Mansfield): The Leader of the House is aware that all local authorities in England and Wales have to be compliant with the terms and conditions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 by October 2004, but is he aware that, over the past three or four years, 5,000 of the 10,000 public toilets in England and Wales have been closed? Will he get in touch with his colleagues in the appropriate Department to urge them to hold an emergency debate on this serious matter, before all public toilets are closed?
Mr. Hain: I very much welcome the fact that my hon. Friend raises that issue, which is of concern to all constituency Members, and I shall certainly draw his point to the attention of the Deputy Prime Minister. I commend my hon. Friend for continuing to raise such issues; access to toilets for people with disabilities is extremely important.
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