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Mr. Speaker: The Leader of the House gives me an opportunity to say that I want the matter dealt with as quickly as possible.
Jim Sheridan (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): My right hon. Friend will be aware of successful police raids this morning on unscrupulous gangmasters of the sort who operate throughout the United Kingdom. Will he congratulate the police on those successful raids? Does he agree that the police need the tools to do their job if they are to deal with the problem throughout the UK? For that, they need effective legislation. My right hon. Friend knows that a private Member's Bill is going through the House dealing with the licensing of gangmasters. Will he give the Bill not just a fair wind, but his full support by giving appropriate parliamentary time and resources so that it can become effective legislation, giving the police the tools to deal with unscrupulous gangmasters?
Mr. Hain: My hon. Friend has done the country a service by introducing his Bill. The Government are
fully supportive of it. I understand that the Committee stage is lined up for next week, and my hon. Friend should then be in pole position for Report and Third Reading on one of the remaining Fridays—14 May, 21 May, 18 June or 16 July. He can be assured that we will give the Bill what support we can. I welcome the fact that there have been some 40 arrests this morning, including some senior figures in the gangmasters operation. I know that the House will also welcome that.
Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore) (Lab): May I first add my congratulations to the England cricket team, not least to Jones the bowler—a good Welshman?
A week last Monday, I attended a celebration of the new deal in Pontypridd at one of the foremost schemes in the country, combining Jobcentre Plus activities with manpower services. Will my right hon. Friend find time for a debate on the new deal so that we can celebrate the successes of the staff and individuals involved and consider ways in which we can continue to improve it, to reach those parts and those people that other programmes have failed to reach?
Mr. Hain: I join my hon. Friend in congratulating Simon Jones, or Jones the bowler, as he called him. That reminds the House that it is, in fact, an England and Wales cricket team and that there have been many brilliant Welsh bowlers and cricketers over the generations. We want that to continue. Simon Jones was the spearhead of the attack that destroyed the West Indies' defences. That shows what talent is coming out of Wales.
On the new deal, my hon. Friend is right. It has done fantastic work in former coalmining communities such as those that he and I represent. In trial pilots that are going on in his area, it is tackling the problem of people who have been in a state of long-term economic inactivity and on incapacity benefit. That is one of the many reasons why it is imperative that the new deal stay in place. I see that the Liberal Democrats are joining the Tories in an extreme right-wing measure that would abolish the new deal, thereby barring many thousands of people across Britain, including those with disabilities, from getting the support and the personal advice that would enable them to get into the jobs market, which everyone should welcome.
Mr. Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley) (Con): Is it possible to arrange for the Secretary of State for Health to make a statement to the House next week about the guidelines that his Department gives to national health service trusts about the suspension of members of staff? About 1,000 members of NHS staff are currently suspended, costing millions of pounds and no doubt resulting in operations being delayed. The issue was highlighted clearly and starkly by the absurd suspension of Dr. Hope, who, I understand, has now got his job back, but who is a neurosurgeon whose suspension delayed operations simply because he wanted more croutons in
his soup. That is ridiculous. There must be sufficiently sane guidelines in place to ensure that such insanity does not happen in the future.
Mr. Hain: If those reports were true, I agree that that was pretty insane. I know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his Ministers will have taken careful note of the hon. Gentleman's points.
Tony Lloyd (Manchester, Central) (Lab): Will my right hon. Friend reflect on the fact that one of the strengths of the ITV network in the past has been the regional system of broadcasting so that the English regions, Scotland and Wales have had proper reporting of events in their local areas. That has come under threat with the Carlton-Granada merger. There was a lobby of Parliament this week by the National Union of Journalists and BECTU, and concerns have been expressed that rationalisation taking place in the midlands presages future centralisation among the ITV companies. Will my right hon. Friend take on board the fact that when the Government passed the Communications Act 2003 they placed on Ofcom a duty to examine the regional distribution of broadcasting? Will he draw that to Ofcom's attention and call for more action from it?
Mr. Hain: Ministers in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will note my hon. Friend's comments and take careful steps to ensure that the points he has made are looked into. I agree that it is imperative that regional and—in the case of Scotland and Wales—national broadcasting through the ITV network retains its distinctive flavour and makes sure that news, especially, and culture are reflected in its content and programming, and that the necessary resources are available. After the chaotic near-destruction of the ITV network under the Government of Margaret Thatcher, I hope we will see an ITV that is effectively a unified service providing quality national programming and allowing regional and national broadcasts to take place in the way that I described. But BECTU's concerns must be addressed as they are clearly important.
Dr. Jenny Tonge (Richmond Park) (LD): Does the Leader of the House agree that events during the past week in the middle east have made it more important for us to consider the subject, and that an hour-and-a-half debate in Westminster Hall—even if I managed to catch the Speaker's eye, or whatever the term is for gaining debates in Westminster Hall—would not be adequate to cover it? Will the right hon. Gentleman consider holding a full debate in the Chamber on the situation in the middle east as soon as possible, or do the Government just have nothing to say on the matter?
Mr. Hain: The hon. Lady spoiled an important and effective point by that last comment, and I ask her to withdraw it or reflect on it. She, I, the Government and, I expect, the entire House take the same position on the matter and deplore the assassination of Sheikh Yassin. The Government work tirelessly to try to secure peace in the middle east, including on an independent Palestinian state, security for the state of Israel and recognition by surrounding Arab states that Israel's future must be secure. That is what we should work towards. If the hon.
Lady is successful in securing an hour-and-a-half debate on the subject, it would enable everybody to say pretty much the same thing—that we share in the condemnation of such attacks, and of suicide bombings, and that we want to work together to find the best way to solve an intractable problem.
Lawrie Quinn (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab): Does my right hon. Friend agree that the report by the Prime Minister's strategy unit about the future of the sea-fishing industry, published this morning, is deeply significant for coastal communities across the United Kingdom? The industry is vital for some of the most remote communities in the country. Will my right hon. Friend find time for a debate as soon as possible after Easter so that all right hon. and hon. Members who have an interest in the issue, which is a matter of life and death for those communities, can discuss it and the prospects for a sustainable future for many of our constituents?
Mr. Hain: I shall certainly consider that request, because, as the Fisheries Minister has made clear, the Government share my hon. Friend's concerns and his support for the report, which points the way towards sustainable fishing. Sustainable fishing is at the heart of the issue because our seas have been depleted and fish stocks are being eradicated at an alarming rate. We must work towards a more sustainable future for fishing, because there will be no jobs if fish stocks are exhausted, and the report points the way towards achieving that future.
Mr. Andrew Robathan (Blaby) (Con): Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on ethical foreign policy, which we do not hear much about these days? Such a debate would give us an opportunity to discuss Gaddafi's support for terrorism, and human rights, democracy and good governance—or otherwise—in Libya, and, in particular, overall responsibility for the murder of Yvonne Fletcher and for the mass murder of people at Lockerbie. Some of us fear that ethical foreign policy is being replaced by a culture of impunity for a dictator who may or may not bear overall responsibility for mass murder.
Mr. Hain: It is not clear from the hon. Gentleman's question whether he supports the Government's initiative.
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