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Business of the House

May I point out to the Deputy Leader of the House that the Westminster Hall debate to which he referred allowed perhaps six Members to speak about police restructuring? It is no substitute for a debate in this Chamber. Is it possible, following the announcements in the last week, to have a debate on the resumption of building nuclear power stations? Many of us feel that those are not economically viable, that they represent a real danger and that they should not be resumed. It would be right for the House to have the opportunity to debate that matter. Can we have a debate on social services? I do not know whether the Deputy Leader of the House is aware of the inspection by the Commission for Social Care Inspection, which revealed that one in four councils received only nought or one star for social care, which means that those councils are potentially failing vulnerable people, the elderly and children. We do not debate that subject enough in the House, and perhaps we should do so in the near future. Lastly, can we have a debate on local and regional newspapers? I am aware of early-day motion 1158, tabled by the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant), which points out the situation in south Wales. [That this House notes the proposed job cuts at Trinity Mirror in South Wales; further notes that Trinity Mirror in owning Wales on Sunday, the Western Mail, the South Wales Echo, the Rhondda Leader and the Pontypridd Observer, holds a virtual monopoly of the local newspaper market in South Wales; believes that a strong and varied newspaper market is vital to the democratic and journalistic health of South Wales; urges Trinity Mirror to reconsider its policy of combining editorial posts on separate titles; and urges the Competition Commission to consider a review of the South Wales newspaper market.] We have a similar situation in the west country, with the Bristol Evening Post, Western Daily Press and associated newspapers, which have had substantial job losses over recent months, and we now know that the entire group is up for sale. Does he agree that local and regional newspapers are vital to local communities, that they must have proper news-gathering facilities, and that for our democracy we need local newspapers in independent control that are able to serve the communities that we represent?