Joan Ruddock: Will the Minister congratulate Lewisham council on its highly successful NEETs programme and, in particular, the 150 successful apprenticeships, which stand in stark contrast to those exposed by the “Panorama” programme in “The Great Apprentice Scandal”? What will he do to root out the very poor providers that still exist in this country?
Joan Ruddock: The hon. Gentleman said that he would support the motion and amendment (b), on palliative care, as I will. He did not mention my amendment (a), but I think it may be of use to the House if I say that I and the other Members who have spoken in favour of it have come to the conclusion that it might be in the best interests of the House if it were not pressed. Some will undoubtedly regret that,...
Joan Ruddock: I hate to repeat myself, but the amendment is absolutely clear. It suggests only that the Government should consult on the matter. There is no certainty in that; the consultation may go completely the other way. The situation is unique, as I said. The framework of the law on suicide and assisted suicide is quite different from that on other matters.
Joan Ruddock: rose—
Joan Ruddock: I must make it absolutely clear to my right hon. Friend and the House that the amendment only asks the Government to consult on putting the guidance into statute. If it was in statute, the DPP would still have discretion, and assisting suicide would still be a crime.
Joan Ruddock: I am grateful to the Minister. I want to take him up on that point, because he has made the seminal point that this is a very unusual—perhaps unique—circumstance, in which assisting is a criminal offence, but suicide is not an offence. Because it is such an unusual case, it may be reasonable for the Government to consult on whether the guidelines should go into statute.
Joan Ruddock: I am really grateful to the Solicitor-General for giving way. Will he just acknowledge that a future DPP could overturn the guidelines, and does he think that that would acceptable?
Joan Ruddock: I beg to move amendment (a), at the end of the Question to add, ‘and invites the Government to consult as to whether to put the guidance on a statutory basis.’. I very much welcome this debate and the fact that the Backbench Business Committee has found time for it. I congratulate the hon. Member for Croydon South (Richard Ottaway) on the very considered way in which he presented the...
Joan Ruddock: Clearly, if the existing guidelines were put into statute they would lie alongside existing statute. I will go on to explain why I think it is very important that they should be in statute.
Joan Ruddock: I completely disagree. First, the amendment invites the Government to consult, which could not possibly contravene an Act in itself. Furthermore, the Act that gives the discretion is not overturned by putting the guidelines into statute. What the statute would then say is, “These are the circumstances…” but it would not remove from the DPP the discretion he has in existing statute.
Joan Ruddock: I am not going to give way again because I have used up my time for interventions. I am sorry but I will run out of time completely if I give way. There is also a question of accountability to consider. The DPP is, of course, answerable to the Attorney-General and in this way is accountable to Parliament, but we as Members of Parliament are accountable to our constituents. Public interest in...
Joan Ruddock: There are currently severe constraints on the availability of incontinence pads and on the bed linen laundry service, which is causing immense distress to the many poor families in my constituency. Will the Minister look into the problem? Will he recognise that it is simply impossible for people who are already in difficulties, and who are poor, to find the money for those extra things?
Joan Ruddock: What information the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games has provided to his Department on ticketing arrangements for the London 2012 Olympics.
Joan Ruddock: Rachel, my constituent, purchased her family’s Olympic tickets last year. Subsequently, she found herself pregnant, and expects to have a few-week-old baby at the time of her events. When she contacted LOCOG, she was told to purchase an extra seat for the baby, but that the seat could not be guaranteed to be next to the parents. Given that airlines allow babes in arms at 35,000 ft, surely...
Joan Ruddock: The hon. Gentleman is part of a Government who have voted to reduce the income of the average family with children by £530 from the beginning of next month. There is no measure in the Budget that will make up for that, and frankly, people in my constituency will see it as an insult to their intelligence.
Joan Ruddock: Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
Joan Ruddock: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Joan Ruddock: I am most grateful. I hope that when the Committee does its review, it will consider the fact that for an ordinary family with two children, the losses coming this April will amount to £530 and the compensation that the Chancellor boasted of giving will amount to only £220.
Joan Ruddock: Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
Joan Ruddock: rose —