Gerry Sutcliffe: The hon. Gentleman makes his point, but the gambling industry would say that it already makes a contribution. My Member of Parliament, the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies), is an advocate of what the gambling industry has said about the rights it pays already-television rights, sponsorship and so on. There has to be an adult relationship and a commercial coming-together. The Tote can...
Gerry Sutcliffe: I do not think it had a detrimental effect. The hon. Gentleman will know the history. We were trying to relieve ourselves of the Tote while ensuring that 50% of the profits went to racing. The issue then was about the definition of racing and whom it should go to. However, we held active discussions with the racing sector on how that could happen, and I hope that it is still on the table and...
Gerry Sutcliffe: On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Further to the question that my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) asked about the urgent question this morning, I point out that I have been in the House for 16 years and have never seen a situation in which the Opposition have had to raise a question in order for the Government to make a statement and an announcement. The Minister for...
Gerry Sutcliffe: On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. The House was due to have the opportunity to discuss the Lords amendment to the Identity Documents Bill, but I understand that Mr Speaker will not allow that to happen because of the lack of a money resolution. Will we have any opportunity to debate what the Lords have said about the fairness of ensuring that those people who bought identity cards can...
Gerry Sutcliffe: On school sport, the Prime Minister said in answer to a question I asked last week that there would be a change of heart and that he would examine the matter. We had a debate in which there was wholehearted support from all parties for a change of mind. The redundancy notices are starting to go out to school sports co-ordinators. May we have a decision on what will happen?
Gerry Sutcliffe: Is the Minister not being complacent when he talks about the border and immigration service, which will face 5,260 job losses over the next five years? How can he talk tough on immigration when the reality is that he will not be able to deliver because there will be a reduced number of staff?
Gerry Sutcliffe: May we have a debate on where Ministers make statements, to whom, and at what time? We were promised a statement by the Deputy Prime Minister on the progress relating to immigration centres, Yarl's Wood in particular, and that statement should have been made this week. Today, we are told by the press that he is going to make the statement via a video link from Kazakhstan to a charitable...
Gerry Sutcliffe: I wish the Prime Minister well in his efforts in Zurich and hope that we will get the right result tomorrow. There was a great debate in the House yesterday on school sport partnerships and there was consensus that something needed to be done. There was an offer from the shadow Front-Bench team to try to come to an arrangement on the issue. Will he look at it urgently with the Secretary of...
Gerry Sutcliffe: It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Bath (Mr Foster) who, at the fifty-ninth minute of the eleventh hour has come up with a solution. If we do not do something as a result of today's debate, people will be made redundant, so they will be gone and the infrastructure that is so important to school sport will be lost. I heard what the Secretary of State said and, as an incoming...
Gerry Sutcliffe: I agree, and that is the way forward-surely it is the big society that the Prime Minister keeps talking about. It is an opportunity to develop people's leadership skills. The structure is important. We tend to view bureaucracy and infrastructure as all bad and to be disposed of, but the structure in this case is important. We were careful to ensure that the sports infrastructure met the...
Gerry Sutcliffe: I agree, and it has been great to see smaller sports being experienced in schools, which has been achieved through the network, through the school sports co-ordinators and through the opportunity to get involved in coaching. The Secretary of State said that we need to look at how we use sports throughout the school day, but the link between school sports and clubs was the opportunity to bring...
Gerry Sutcliffe: rose -
Gerry Sutcliffe: The Secretary of State talked about the national governing bodies. The infrastructure is the school sport partnerships working with the national governing bodies to deliver their whole sport plans. If he is serious about finding a way through, has he had any discussion with his hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Mr Foster) about why that infrastructure is so important? Has he had any...
Gerry Sutcliffe: indicated assent .
Gerry Sutcliffe: indicated assent .
Gerry Sutcliffe: I welcome this debate. As right hon. and hon. Members have said, this is the first time in this House that we have had the opportunity to look in detail at many of the questions that our constituents have put to us. I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead (Mr Field) and his co-chair of the all-party group on balanced migration, the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Nicholas...
Gerry Sutcliffe: I will, and I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for acknowledging that there has been progress even though there is some way to go. That brings me to the points that my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham East (Heidi Alexander) made about the sensitive nature of these matters and how we should deal with people. The Government have come forward with cuts in the spending review of 20% for the...
Gerry Sutcliffe: That is a laudable aspiration but it has not happened yet.
Gerry Sutcliffe: If that is the case, I am happy to acknowledge the work that has been done. I have been in the House for 16 years, including three years in opposition, so I know that it is easy for the Opposition to ask why this or that has not been done and that things are not so easy when one becomes a Minister. One has to consider the expectations of a wider range of people. I hope, then, that the...
Gerry Sutcliffe: In this spirit of consensus and the coalition agreement on what to do in the future and now, what is the coalition's position on an amnesty for people already here who have no prospect of being sent back?