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Ticket Touting

I welcome you to the Chair this afternoon, Mr. Weir, and add my congratulations to the hon. Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford (Mr. Whittingdale) on his work and chairmanship of the Committee, and on producing the report. It is obvious from today's debate that bringing together the disparate views of members of the Committee was a Herculean task, as the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Ellwood) said. I was interested to learn that there was supposed to be a quick, one-day hearing to discuss the issues that we face. However, in the light of the contributions of the witnesses that came before the Committee, it unearthed an issue that we must look at. That is why the Government are interested in the Committee's recommendations, and why we are having today's debate. As the hon. Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford said, this debate is not the end of the process. Indeed, we need further clarity and further discussion of how we take matters forward. As was mentioned, I formerly had ministerial responsibility for consumer affairs and competition. Putting the consumer's interests at the heart of the matter is paramount, whether that consumer wants to go to a pop music concert or is a sports fan. The consumer's interests must be looked at directly. All hon. Members, including my hon. Friends the Members for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Paul Farrelly), for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Joan Walley), and for Glasgow, North-West (John Robertson), put clearly their views and thoughts on how things should develop. The hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies), who has a view contrary to most members of the Committee, gave his honest view of the position. That established the problem and set the tone for the rest of the debate, in that there are diverse viewpoints. The point that I made earlier about the Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Barking (Margaret Hodge), was that different Departments have different views on how things should progress.