Gerry Sutcliffe: This comes to the essence of the Bill’s whole purpose, which is consumer protection. Requiring a kitemark would separate the approved sites from the non-approved sites.
Gerry Sutcliffe: It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Bone. I declare an interest, although it is not declarable in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests: I am a trustee of the Responsible Gambling Trust, an organisation set up to help with research, education and treatment for people with problem gambling. The good news is that the last prevalence study showed that only 0.7%...
Gerry Sutcliffe: What will the Secretary of State do about Kings Science Academy in Bradford and the disaster that is that school? There are fines for admission policies, and it looks like criminality as well.
Gerry Sutcliffe: The hon. Gentleman will recognise that Governments can sometimes apply pressure, which is what we did with the responsibility in gambling levy. That voluntary levy—voluntary donations from the gambling industry—is now worth more than £5 million, which shows that the industry does consider the problems that problem gamblers face.
Gerry Sutcliffe: That is why it is important to consider issues that have been wrong for some time and put them right in the Bill—I hope the Minister will win that battle The temptation is to get the Bill through with its core values, but not to look at the wider issues. Perhaps this will be the only time we have to get it right.
Gerry Sutcliffe: It is a great pleasure to follow the Chair of the Select Committee. I refer Members to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. I am a trustee of the Responsible Gambling Trust, a great organisation that promotes research, education and treatment for problem gamblers. The entire gambling industry contributes to the fund on a voluntary basis. As the former Minister, I...
Gerry Sutcliffe: Would not having sports betting rights be a good idea, so that we could sort out the definition of financial transactions related to the market? If sports had their own betting rights and the ability to sell their sports to the betting operators, that would clarify any problems with the definition.
Gerry Sutcliffe: The 2005 Act was the first parliamentary legislation on gambling since the 1960s. Betting changed dramatically between that period and the Budd report of 2000. This Bill represents the first time the present Government have allowed us to discuss gambling as an issue, and it may be the last time before the next election that we have an opportunity to look at the many issues affecting the...
Gerry Sutcliffe: Just to help the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies), may I point out that this is an important part of the licensing objectives of the Gambling Act, and that the Bill is consistent with those objectives?
Gerry Sutcliffe: The new agreement between the big four bookmakers and many of the race courses is an important breakthrough and it is important that the momentum is maintained, but, worryingly, some of the smaller courses and independent bookmakers may lose out, so may I encourage the Minister to have an early meeting with the all-party group on the racing and bloodstock industries to talk about these issues...
Gerry Sutcliffe: I was a Minister in that Department, and the Lord Chancellor is wrong to say that nothing was done in our 13 years. We created the probation trusts, in the face of great resistance from his party, which voted against the Bill. In the Government’s plans, the multi-agency protection agreements between the police, the probation service and the criminal justice system will be kept in the public...
Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what safeguards he plans to put in place to (a) avoid any possible conflicts of interest or the perception of such a conflict which might arise from Lord Livingston's BT shareholding and policy responsibilities at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and (b) ensure that Lord Livingston is not involved in decisions...
Gerry Sutcliffe: The point is India’s reputation in the sporting world. As a former Sports Minister, I recognise that sport is high-profile. It covers the back pages and sometimes the front pages of our newspapers. India has a role to play because of the magnificence of Indian sport. None the less, this matter will damage the reputation of Indian sport if it does not get resolved.
Gerry Sutcliffe: It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gray. I thank you, and the Speaker, for allowing me to call this debate on an issue which, although having been mentioned in the House before, has never been the subject of a debate. Recent events, however, mean that it deserves to be aired, and I look forward to the Minister’s reply to the points that the debate will raise. I...
Gerry Sutcliffe: I am grateful to the hon. Lady for intervening because this is not about partisan party politics but about a company that did great work for the UK in its ambassadorial role to the Commonwealth games. We are all pleased with the successes of the Olympics and the Paralympics and what they mean to our great nation. The Government, through the Minister and his colleagues in the Department for...
Gerry Sutcliffe: I am grateful for the intervention of the hon. Gentleman, whom I will call my hon. Friend: he and I have been involved in many issues concerning great sports in the world. I would go back to the Olympics and Paralympics in London, which were the pride of our country, and India should have pride in the fact that it staged the Commonwealth games, but Governments should and must look at the...
Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what his policy is on providing assistance to relatives and friends of deceased persons in the preparation of their submissions to the Liverpool Care Pathway review; (2) if he will take steps to ensure that families wishing to make a submission to the Liverpool Care Pathway review are able to access medical records within a timescale that...
Gerry Sutcliffe: The Minister will know that there was a radio station supported by the BBC in the National Media museum. That station left in March of this year without any fight from the museum. That is why we all smelt a rat. My hon. Friend might want to comment on that. That surely had an impact on visitor numbers to the museum.
Gerry Sutcliffe: It is a great honour to be involved in this debate and to follow the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington (Mr Leech). I am a bit dubious about the football team he supports, but that was the first time I have heard him congratulate the previous Labour Government. Will he put that in writing so that we have it for future reference? This is an important debate, for the reasons that have been...