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Equitable Life

My right hon. Friend makes an interesting proposal. The Government are seeking to renew the House to make it the centre for decision making, and to increase interest in Parliament. Using a long-running issue such as Equitable Life would be the ideal way for the Government to demonstrate their commitment to democratic renewal. I hope that Labour Back Benchers would encourage the Prime Minister, the Chief Whip and the Leader of the House to have the debate in Government time, to make the point that they want to see Parliament making such decisions. The problem reflects on Parliament more broadly. As a number of right hon. and hon. Members have said, the ombudsman is an officer of Parliament. She is not a government ombudsman but a parliamentary ombudsman. In undermining her report by cherry-picking the conclusions that she made nearly a year ago, the Government are undermining Parliament and the way in which we should resolve such matters.