Business of the House

I thank the Leader of the House for giving us the forthcoming business. Today the House finally sees the motions for Monday's debate on procedure relating to the European Union (Amendment) Bill and debates on the Lisbon treaty. Labour Back Benchers, however, have had this knowledge for days, courtesy of a document circulated by the Government Chief Whip. The Leader of the House has given us two weeks' business, but according to the list that I have, Labour Back Benchers know the dates of business until the end of February. If they know, why does the Leader of the House not have the courtesy to tell the whole House? This morning the Home Secretary appeared on the ““Today”” programme giving details of the Counter-Terrorism Bill before it was published for Members of the House. Yet again, the Government have put the media before Parliament. Every week the Leader of the House tells us that she puts Parliament first, and every week her colleagues treat Parliament with disdain. Last week I asked the Leader of the House about issues of vital importance to Members and the public. Instead of responding properly, she said,"““if there is a bandwagon, she will jump on it and if there is a myth, she will peddle it.””—[Official Report, 17 January 2008; Vol. 470, c. 1079.]" I had raised Northern Rock, organ donation and the security of personal data. Which of those issues does the Leader of the House consider to be a bandwagon or a myth? In view of the recent downturn in international financial markets, may I suggest the state of the British economy as a subject for a future topical debate? On Monday the Secretary of State for Defence announced that the Ministry of Defence had lost a laptop containing the bank details of 3,700 army applicants. It lost a further two laptops containing personal data on Tuesday, and yesterday the Ministry of Justice announced that it had lost four CDs containing the restricted data of court defendants, witnesses and victims. When will we have a debate on the Government's systemic failure to protect our personal information? Given this record on data management—or mismanagement—it is no surprise that within two weeks, the Prime Minister has changed his mind and delayed the introduction of the identity card scheme; and we have learned today that two companies have pulled out of the procurement process for the scheme, including Accenture, the very company the Minister for Borders and Immigration used to work for. This is a shambles. The scheme is clearly in administration and should be liquidated. When will the Home Secretary come to the House and make a statement on the ID card scheme? As a London MP, the right hon. and learned Lady will be aware of the concern being raised about the Mayor of London. Does she not find it extraordinary that the Mayor has defended his senior staff using their paid time to run a smear campaign against Trevor Phillips? May we have a debate on the abuse of power by Mayor Livingstone? The Prime Minister has written a book about courage: it was clearly not an autobiography. He did not have the courage to sign up to the EU reform treaty alongside other leaders, he did not have the courage to vote for the Bill on the treaty on Second Reading, and he has not had the courage to give the British people a referendum. So can we have a debate on courage and leadership? We have a Prime Minister who dithers, delays and dodges on matters of crucial importance to our country. When will he finally get a grip and start running the country, instead of running away from difficult decisions?... Not the whole House. Not the dates.