Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Bill

I must begin by referring to the remarks of the hon. Member for Wantage (Mr. Vaizey) about my avuncular role in his development in the House, particularly during the passage of this Bill. It will not be known publicly until now—perhaps I am breaching a confidence too far—that I helped to draft his first major political speech, which I am delighted to report contained a number of extremely fine jokes. I would be grateful to have it back, because I have forgotten many of them. Such is the passage of time. I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s remarks and I have enjoyed very much working with him. He has listened intently and he has learned. He has been somewhat rebellious, particularly by continually tabling a regional sunset clause, but I have enjoyed working with him. Equally, I have enjoyed working with the Minister, because in Committee and this evening hon. Members on both sides of the House have accepted that the Bill, although limited, is extremely important. We all agree that the most vulnerable people in our society need extra assistance in the switch to digital, so that they can reap the rich benefits that all of us will get as the nation moves to become fully digital. Teasing out from the Minister additional assurances has been an important function that we have performed. Amending the Bill to provide for additional data that will help those who are registered blind or partially sighted, and who might not have received assistance otherwise, has also been valuable. Our deliberations today have ranged widely, just as they did in Committee, despite the narrowness of the scope of the Bill. You will not be aware, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that in Committee we were, for instance, able to get into discussions ranging from the democratic or undemocratic rule of Julius Caesar to European legislation on human rights, on which we had lengthy debates. We have therefore had a wide-ranging debate and I am grateful for the opportunity that that has given us to obtain various additional assurances from the Minister. Like the hon. Member for Wantage, I am saddened that we did not have the opportunity to discuss in more detail the help scheme, to which the data that we have discussed relate. Nevertheless, we have received a crucial assurance from the Minister, which is that the help scheme will not be set in stone. The Minister has said again today that if there are lessons to be learned from the early experiences, whether they be in Whitehaven or in other areas that move to digital before others, those lessons will be learned to ensure that the most vulnerable in our society receive the help that they need. I am saddened, however, that the raising today of an issue that was discussed at some length in Committee has not led to any conclusion or further knowledge. We understood at the end of our deliberations in Committee that the hon. Member for Wantage was to go and discuss the issue at great length with the good burghers of Hammersmith, but we have not heard how that discussion went.