Business of the House

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:31 pm on 8 January 2004.

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Photo of Peter Hain Peter Hain Chair, Modernisation of the House of Commons Committee, The Secretary of State for Wales, Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal 12:31, 8 January 2004

I welcome the hon. Gentleman's definition of my role as the primary champion of the rights of the House. That is the way that I see my role and that is how I try to carry it out.

The hon. Gentleman made important points about the Hutton report. As he implied, those matters are for Lord Hutton. Neither my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister nor I, in my role as Leader of the House, have been informed when the Hutton report will be published. We do not yet know that. I shall draw to Lord Hutton's attention the points that the hon. Gentleman made. The decision on who receives what first, in respect of the media and the House, is not in the hands of the Government, but I am sure that Lord Hutton will want to take careful note of the points that he made. I am equally sure that the hon. Gentleman is not accusing Lord Hutton of spin; the matter is not for the Government, but for Lord Hutton and his secretariat.

I very much agree with the hon. Gentleman's last point: electors matter. They send us here and hold us accountable at general elections. It is imperative that we address how electors feel about what we do in the House, the way that we do it and the access that we give them, including better online access. We should not simply be preoccupied with contemplating our own navels and our own internal procedures. We should also think about how we have a better direct link to the views of the people in the ways that we conduct business and reflect their views in our proceedings.