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Mr. Hain: The Prime Minister has submitted himself to parliamentary scrutiny and been accountable to this House, including to the right hon. Gentleman, more consistently than any Prime Minister on any previous issue of military intervention abroad. That point is simply nonsense. As for the future, the Hutton inquiry is deliberating at the moment and will report in due course. I have also just announced that we will have a statement immediately following its publication and I would have thought that that would be the proper opportunity. In respect of what my predecessor said in his book, the Prime Minister has categorically refuted that version and the right hon. Gentleman should respect that.
Alan Simpson (Nottingham, South): May I press the case for a statement on GM crop trial results that have
been published today and for an opportunity for the House to debate and vote on the question of commercialisation of GM crops? Given that of the three trials two were disadvantageous to the case for GM crops and the other, on maize, was invalidated because of its dependence on a carcinogenic herbicide, and given that the public do not want to eat GM crops, the farmers do not want to grow them and supermarkets do not want to sell them, is not it time that Parliament had the opportunity to take the side of those who are campaigning for safe food supply rather than the corporations who seek to take ownership of the food chain?
Mr. Hain: As I said a moment ago, it is important that the Government and the House have a chance to study the findings of this thorough investigation. I am very sympathetic to the idea of a debate on the matter, about which there is much concern, both inside the House and outside it. A debate at some point in the future will be much more informed as a result of this investigation.
Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham): Will the Leader of the House use his prerogative to arrange a debate on taxation in which he can take part? The Government have been busy plundering the pockets of the people for the past six and a half years, but the input of higher taxation has not been matched by the output of improved public services. Would not such a debate allow us to discover whether the Leader of the House still believes that higher taxes are the answer, or whether he now understands, after six and a half years, that without real reform in the method of delivering public services the Government will continue to betray the patients, parents and passengers of this country, as they have done consistently?
Mr. Hain: I shall respond to the hon. Gentleman's questions about taxation in a moment, but he mentioned patients. His party's policy is to rob the NHS of £2 billion and to allow patients with the ability to top up the cost of operations to steal money from the NHS. Nurses, doctors and consultants would be sacked in the process, and the money would be diverted into private hospitals. That is a very dangerous policy for this country's patients. The Government put an extra 1p on national insurance contributions—the increment applied right up the income scale, and was not cut off at the normal level—to raise £8 billion for investment in the NHS, education and the public services generally. The Opposition are committed to cutting investment by 20 per cent. We have introduced a fair tax system. If there is an opportunity to discuss our tax policies—in an Opposition day debate, or in a debate that we might call for that purpose—we will defend our low, 10p, starting-rate tax for the very lowest taxpayers. We will also defend the way in which we have brought down the basic rate of tax, and the way in which we have introduced an even fairer tax system through tax credits. That compares with the unfair tax system and the continuous rises imposed by the previous Tory Government.
Helen Jones (Warrington, North): Given the continuing concern about obesity and poor diet among young children, and the predominance of fat and sugar in their diets, will my right hon. Friend arrange for a
debate on school meals provision and the role that it plays in promoting good health and healthy eating among young people? Does he accept that serving cheap and poor-quality food to young children may appear to save money, but it has long-term high costs in terms of poor health and educational attainment? Does he agree that the House should have the chance to debate the matter, so that we can have a proper, joined-up policy on this issue?
Mr. Hain: I hope that there will be an opportunity to discuss the matter, and remind my hon. Friend that she can apply for a debate on it. I agree that the matter of school diets and the food that youngsters eat in general is very important. We are what we eat. We are as healthy—or unhealthy—as the food that we take in. It is important to address this matter. My hon. Friend's intervention, and the Government's approach, will help that to happen.
Mr. David Heath (Somerton and Frome): Will the Leader of the House arrange for an urgent debate on the parlous state of the diary farming industry? Many farmers are finding it almost impossible to carry on their businesses because of the unsustainably low price of milk. The only people to benefit are the owners of the large supermarkets. Farmers in my constituency believe that the Government do not care and that Parliament has lost interest: will the right hon. Gentleman prove them wrong?
Mr. Hain: The idea that the Government do not care about farming or rural areas is defied by the facts. We have invested much more support for rural communities than any previous Government. However, in respect of the hon. Gentleman's specific request, I shall certainly draw the matter to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover): Will my right hon. Friend look into the question of the transfer of housing stock by some local authorities? Perhaps he can give me an off-the-cuff answer today. If an authority decides, as a matter of principle, to retain its council houses rather than sell them off, surely it should not be penalised financially?
Mr. Hain: I am with my hon. Friend in spirit on this matter, as I always am. One of the difficult problems inherited by this Government was the relatively small amount of social housing as a result of the policies pursued by the previous Conservative Government. We have endorsed the important right of people to buy their council houses, but my hon. Friend raises an important point, and I shall ensure that my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister is made aware of it.
Mr. Graham Brady (Altrincham and Sale, West): My constituent Mr. Peach faxed me this morning to say that police last night apparently visited the Bull's Head pub in Mobberley. They were not looking for drugs or guns, but wanted to inform patrons that it would in future be illegal to hold traditional music sessions there. Can we have an urgent debate or statement next week on the implementation of the new music licensing regime?
When the new licensing legislation was being considered, Ministers assured the House that there would not be absurd and excessive regulation in its implementation, but there are worrying signs that the absurdities that we feared are taking place. If that is happening, we need a debate to stop it going any further.
Mr. Hain: The Government are not in favour of absurd regulations on this matter. The hon. Gentleman knows that the issue was carefully and thoroughly debated in Standing Committee. However, I shall certainly refer the episode that he describes to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. I have no reason to doubt that the facts are as he described, so it is obviously a matter for concern.
Mr. Harry Barnes (North-East Derbyshire): My hon. Friend and constituency neighbour the hon. Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts) asked about fireworks abuse and said that the Fireworks Act 2003 needs to be implemented. That might take a while, but the Department of Trade and Industry can still stress that the existing law allows the police, environmental health and trading standards officers, and bodies such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to act. Those official organisations should not argue that they must wait for the new legislation to be implemented before they can do anything. They should be proactive and co-ordinate their activities. We are waiting for a statement on the matter from the Department, but does my right hon. Friend agree that it would be useful if it were to make an earlier statement to the effect that that is how those bodies ought to act?
Mr. Hain: My hon. Friend makes a powerful and convincing point, which I shall draw to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. I know that she is as concerned as any hon. Member about how the problem has escalated.
Mr. Paul Goodman (Wycombe): May we have an urgent debate on the euro to clear up confusion about an incident reported by the right hon. Member for Livingston (Mr. Cook), the former Leader of the House, in his memoirs? An extract from those memoirs carried by The Sunday Times stated that the Prime Minister laughed and said:
- "'Even the Treasury officials can't find out what's going on over the economic assessment, never mind us here at No. 10'".
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