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Christmas Adjournment

Well, I think she used to get rather worried about the knobs at the end of her bed. We started off with my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Meg Munn), a close friend of mine ever since we were elected in 2001. She made an important speech about child protection—an issue that has exercised the whole of the country in the past few weeks and months, with specific cases that we all know about. She spoke from her personal experience very effectively. We then moved on to the speech of the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow). It was a bit of a PR puff for his council, which of course he used to sit on. Before that, I think he used to work for Kall Kwik, which doubtless has been useful in the production of constant ““Focus”” leaflets. His speech had a little bit of the ring of the ““Focus”” leaflet to it, but I would not want to doubt his word as I do every ““Focus”” leaflet I have ever seen in my life. My hon. Friend the Member for Weaver Vale (Mr. Hall) asserted that Gwyneth Dunwoody was always right. This was difficult to disagree with when she was physically here, but now that she is not, I have to say that I did not always agree with her. But my hon. Friend made some important points, notably about water charges for charities. I am prepared to make sure that the meeting to which he referred takes place. My hon. Friend also referred to the measles outbreak. There are important lessons to learn about the rise in the number of measles outbreaks. Much of the scaremongering of a few years ago about the MMR vaccine has receded. Measles is a serious illness that can cause complications such as meningitis and encephalitis, and on rare occasions it can kill. So it is important that all parents take the opportunity that is offered to them by the health service. General von Klinkerhoffen then made his speech: the right hon. Member for West Derbyshire referred at some length to rural issues, but I recognise many of the issues that he said were rural issues from my constituency of Rhondda, where the population is highly concentrated. Many of the same issues arise, such as what is happening with post offices, the local economy and pubs and the provision of broadband. The right hon. Gentleman, like many hon. Members, asked why we had not yet had a statement on Equitable Life. I know from my own constituency that the issue exercises a large number of people. As it happens, I took a loss myself. It is important that the Government get this right and do not rush into action. I know that the Prime Minister said he wanted there to be a statement by Christmas, and I believe that he believed it was going to be possible at that time. I do not think hon. Members need to imagine that some nefarious plotting is going on; it is simply that we want to make sure that we get this right—and the right hon. Gentleman can take that face off. The right hon. Gentleman also referred to the takeover of Derbyshire building society by the Nationwide and the issues related to the Isle of Man. I have constituents who have lost money in the Isle of Man. There are difficulties here because the arrangements for depositors in banks in the Isle of Man and Guernsey are a matter for the Governments of those islands. We do not have plans to issue a statement, but deposits with Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander of the Isle of Man will be subject to the Isle of Man deposit compensation scheme. The right hon. Gentleman also talked about people who did the right thing and saved up throughout their life yet find themselves penalised at the end. This is one of the toughest issues for any Government who want to treat people fairly. How do we make sure that those people who have set a bit aside do not get penalised? I believe that what we have done in the past few years, by making sure that the increased prosperity of this country has been shared out among all pensioners, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, through the winter fuel payment and the pension credit, has gone some way towards that, but there is further that we could go. My hon. Friend the Member for Selby (Mr. Grogan) revealed that he thinks 58 hours spent with his family over Christmas is far too long, and that the trains should be got going a little earlier so that he can escape them. I think that was the gist of his speech. He made an important point about the role of ITV. When it comes to Ofcom's final report in the new year, many hon. Members will want an opportunity to raise related issues. To have a single, monopoly broadcaster as the voice of our country, especially in news broadcasting and current affairs, would be highly detrimental to the democratic and social welfare of the country. My hon. Friend also referred to racing. As he knows, it is for the racing fraternity to decide how to allocate rights and for the broadcasters to decide what they show over Christmas. The hon. Member for Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner) raised a series of issues, including one about planning. I have learned one thing in life, which is to try never to get involved in a planning or a parking issue, but the hon. Gentleman raised two issues on which I hope I shall be able to help him. The first was about the bailiff service for the Isle of Wight—he may have said ““baillie””, but I think the word is ““bailiff””. He asked questions about funding from the Ministry of Defence, and I shall follow them up and make sure he gets a proper answer as soon as possible. The hon. Gentleman also spoke about the fallen stock collection service on the Isle of Wight and made various suggestions about how it might be addressed. I shall take up those issues with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on his behalf. My right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz) made an important point about preventive medicine and referred to his type 2 diabetes and to the sweet nature of Christmas. He does not want the health service to deal with people only after they have contracted an illness, but to try to prevent them from contracting illnesses. He urged Members to take the type 2 diabetes test. I ran the London marathon this year for something that affects many men—the men's cancers, from which many still die, in particular prostate cancer. It is important that all men aged over 50 take the proper tests. My right hon. Friend also spoke about mobile phone masts. When I worked at the BBC, we found that that issue was nothing by comparison with those related to television masts, yet we rarely hear complaints about them. The right hon. Member for Bracknell is no longer in the Chamber, but he made his apologies earlier. He spoke about the hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green), and raised the issue of whether there should be a reference to the Standards and Privileges Committee. As I am sure he knows, that is a matter solely for the Speaker so I do not want to intrude. My hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes (Shona McIsaac) said that trawler men would be getting compensation. We are tidying up that issue for the relatively small number of people who have received no compensation and I am glad that Ministers in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform have been able to make progress on that. Then my hon. Friend started talking rubbish—the confusion over rubbish collection in the constituency next door to hers. The hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton—or Dame Edith, as we now know her—spoke about the spatial plan. She was most distrustful of regional development bodies—[Hon. Members: ““Hear, hear.””] All right. All I can say to the hon. Lady and to all Members who just said, ““Hear, hear”” is that I look forward to their applications to sit on regional Select Committees. Even if they voted against them, we should be absolutely delighted to see them on those Committees so that they can bring a degree of accountability to regional development bodies. I heard what the hon. Lady said about the Gas Act 1986 and I shall make sure that she has an answer. There was another issue, which I have forgotten, but I shall seek an answer for her about that too. My hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, North (Dr. Gibson) made an important speech, I think—although obviously I disagreed with him somewhat about renationalising the railways. He made an important point about social and human investment—[Interruption.] Oh, he is not in the Chamber—I shall not talk about that point at length then. I am afraid that the hon. Member for East Dunbartonshire (Jo Swinson) talked a whole load of rubbish about tax credits. My experience is that one of the things that has rescued more people from poverty in some of the poorest families in the poorest communities in my constituency is the system of tax credits, which has also made it possible for many families to get into work. Yes, there have been difficult moments, when sometimes the scheme has not been as generous as it might be, but the hon. Lady talked down the scheme in an unfortunate way. The hon. Lady said something sensible about ““Free our Bills””, however. We want to ensure that the changes happen so that our presentation of legislation in the House is easier for Members to understand, in particular online so that they can research properly before they go into Committee. The changes will ensure, too, that all members of the public have a clearer insight into what we do in this place. That is why I am working very closely with the House authorities to ensure that we publish online in a way that is easier for the public. My hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) made a very important speech about the abuse of the elderly. In particular, he told us some horrific tales of problems with Southern Cross in his constituency. I will ensure that the meeting that he was seeking happens and that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health replies. The hon. Member for Uxbridge, from the shop workers' union, USDAW—actually, I do not know whether he is unionised—paid a tribute to shop workers. He was right to point out that we often talk about the armed forces, the police, the security services and people in the health service and so on working through Christmas, but my first job was in a rather ““Are You Being Served?”” store in Cheltenham—[Interruption.] I know where hon. Members are going with that, so I shall say no more about it. He also said that he was quite prepared, in support of my hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington, to stand in front of a bulldozer, and I suspect that he would win. We all pass on our regards to his mother and hope that she is getting better. My hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, East (Kerry McCarthy) made a very important speech about welfare reform and pointed out that Karen Matthews is not typical. Labour Members believe it is absolutely vital in the poorest communities in this country that we have a welfare system that does not keep people in poverty, but gives them opportunities in life, and that does not keep them on benefits, but gives them an opportunity to work. That is why, particularly in single-parent families, the opportunity to work is a really important thing that we need to advance as a socialist cause. The hon. Member for Cotswold (Mr. Clifton-Brown) spoke of pensioners and how many of them do not claim all their benefits—he has moved seats, which is unfair—and he makes a very good point. It is incumbent on us to ensure that we do better at that. However, he also urged the House to drink Burgundy, which seemed a rather unpatriotic thing for us all to do at Christmas. There are perfectly good English wines and, indeed, some wonderful Welsh wines—such as Cariad—so I hope that he will desist from doing so. The hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) said that he did not want me to reply to any of the issues that he raised, so I am not going to. The hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mark Williams) raised the issue of HMRC jobs in Wales. He makes a fair point, which I will pass on to Ministers, and I hope that they will have an opportunity to reply to him. The hon. Member for Croydon, Central (Mr. Pelling)—who has moved as well, and with whom I was at university, incidentally—called for another platform. I suspect that that is unlikely to happen in Croydon, but I will pass on his message to the Secretary of State for Transport. The hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) referred tellingly to the middle east, and I wholeheartedly agree with the points that he made. It is interesting that this year, for the first time, many more pilgrims or tourists will be able to go to Bethlehem. It would be nice to see a Holy Land that could be genuinely visited by anyone. The hon. Member for South Norfolk (Mr. Bacon) made a speech at a phenomenal pace—it sounded a little as though it was being read into the record—but he did so very ably, and I am not entirely sure what it was about. The hon. Member for Glasgow, East (John Mason) talked about proportional representation, and Herr Flick—my right hon. Friend the Member for Warley—has told me that I am not to agree with him. The hon. Member for Chesterfield (Paul Holmes) referred in similar tones to what his leader said earlier today on Iraq. I disagree with him, and I hope he will understand that hon. Members can honourably disagree with one another. My hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Mr. Joyce) made a very important speech about the Congo. Lord Malloch-Brown has been engaged very vigorously in that issue from the moment that we could act on it. I should like to pay some tributes: first, to the staff of the House—the Clerks, the Doorkeepers and, in particular, to Gladys in the Tea Room and to all the cleaners. I thank my private office and constituency office—this always sounds a little like the Oscar awards—but, probably on behalf of all hon. Members, I thank our spouses and partners, because they often have to put up with an awful lot of rubbish from us. I think that what we have learned today is:"““No man is an Island, entire of itself…any man's death diminishes me””." That is why the House today rightly expressed its concern for the vulnerable, the elderly, children, the homeless, the lonely, people in Zimbabwe, the people of the Congo, the unemployed and people in the middle east. We should always go further, and we should seek to abolish child poverty so that every child has an opportunity in life—the opportunities that we have. Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 9(3)).