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Honours System (Reform)

I am pleased to be able to contribute to this debate. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Dr. Wright) and the Public Administration Committee on the report. During the time that it was being put together, I was successful, after three attempts, in securing a debate on the honours system in January 2004. When I first applied before the Christmas recess in 2003, I was told by the Table Office that questions on the honours system were answered by the Prime Minister and, because my right hon. Friend does not respond to Adjournment debates, that it was not possible to have such a debate. Thankfully, that difficulty was overcome, and I am delighted that we have a fully competent Minister here today who can respond to this debate. I share the anxiety about an apparent lack of clarity and openness in the honours system, and, like many other Members of the House and the wider public, I have some concern about those living in our communities who richly deserve the wider recognition that the honours system could bring, but who have never been honoured. I pointed out in my previous debate that in December 2003 The Sunday Times ran an article on a secret document leaked by a Whitehall whistleblower. Apparently, the minutes of the main honours committee revealed"““the government's obsession with spin and rewarding Labour sympathisers””." I asked at the time, and I believe that The Sunday Times should also have asked, whether the system had ever been different under successive Governments. The hon. Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner) mentioned 1966, or 1967, and the fact that an award was given to the Beatles. I wish to remind hon. Members that awards for purely party political services were discontinued in 1966, but the policy was reversed in the premierships of Edward Heath and Margaret Thatcher, and Sir John Major continued the policy of awarding political honours. It would be wrong for me to say that no attempts have been made to address the problems in the system. My hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase went as far back as Lloyd George, and this afternoon we heard all the sorry tales about the honours system. History is marked with such situations. If anything has remained the same, it must surely be the anxiety and uncertainty about the system. The 2001 review by Sir Richard Wilson considered how the nomination system had developed during the 1990s. A dedicated nominations unit was established and a standard nomination form produced. Perhaps one issue on which Sir John Major and I will agree is that the system needs to involve more ordinary members of the public, which would thereby"““help increase the recognition of merit of all kinds.””" In fact, if there is a common theme on which the majority of people would agree, it must surely be the need to bring the honours system far closer to the people. In recent years, there has been a fairly significant shift in the percentage of awards to those who dedicate so much time to voluntary work. In the 1994 birthday honours, only one in three awards was given for voluntary service. Thankfully, the figure rose to much nearer the 50 per cent. mark during the next 10 to 12 years, but, if I am absolutely honest, I would much prefer it to increase even more. I would like awards to those dedicated, local people who work in their communities to move closer to the 75 or 80 per cent. mark. If we were honest about having a reputable honours system in this country, that would happen.