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agenda pollwatch/bill briefing October 19-23, key events Monday: Work and pensions questions (Commons) Tuesday: Treasury select committee session on women in the City. Harriet Harman among the witnesses Wednesday: Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Statutory Storage Period for Embryos and Gametes) Regulations 2009: motion to annul Baroness Butler-Sloss Thursday: Transport questions (Commons) Friday: Debates on EU committee reports (Lords) Pollwatch by Prof Paul Whiteley of the University of Essex Bill briefing Coroners and Justice Bill Once described as being the first major reform of the coroners service in more than 100 years, the contentious Coroners and Justice Bill reaches its first report stage in the Lords this week. Introduced in January 2009, the bill aims to deliver more effective, transparent and responsive justice and coroner services for victims, witnesses, bereaved families and the wider public. Despite government intentions to implement long-awaited reform, some practitioners and pressure groups are concerned that the bill doesnt go far enough. With two pivotal clauses already having been withdrawn, there is a real risk, some say, that the bill will be seen as a missed opportunity. Following its committee stage Jack Straw was forced to abandon clause 152, aimed at allowing widespread sharing of personal data across Whitehall departments and throughout the public sector. And in the same session, the justice secretary announced that in response to concerns raised by MPs and civil liberties campaigners, he was fundamentally recasting proposals to allow secret inquests. Last May, in a Commons written statement, Straw said the move did not command the necessary cross-party support, despite earlier government concessions. But concerns from MPs and human rights organisations remain, with fears that cases such as friendly fire military deaths could be heard in private, instead of being subject to public scrutiny. Other areas of controversy included an attempt to insert a defence of free speech to criminalise incitement to hatred over sexual orientation last March, which failed by 328 votes to 174 in the Commons. The bill will have its second report stage in the Lords on October 26. Who do you trust to run the economy? 45 40 35 Percentages 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Jun-05 Oct-05 Feb-06 Jun-06 Oct-06 Feb-07 Jun-07 Oct-07 Feb-08 Jun-08 Oct-08 Feb-09 Jun-09 Conservatives Labour Neither Labour battles turning of the tide of trust In the monthly surveys for the British Election Study, we ask the following question: With Britain in economic difficulties, which party do you think could handle the problem best the Conservative Party or the Labour Party? The chart shows the trends in the replies to this question since the general election of 2005. Immediately following the election, Labour led the Conservatives by fully 15 points, and this large lead played a very important role in explaining why the party won a third term. Since then the two parties have alternated with each other for first place. When the financial crisis was brewing in 2007 Labour had a large lead, with Gordon Brown thought to be a safe pair of hands on the economy, but as the recession started to bite and economic pessimism grew, the Conservatives took over the lead and were well ahead by the middle of 2008. There was a Labour rally towards the end of that year, around the time of the party conferences, when Gordon Brown claimed that this was no time for novices. However, since the start of 2009 public opinion has decisively moved in favour of the Conservatives. The gap between the Conservatives and Labour is now close to being the same as it was after the general election but in reverse. This is in the context of growing economic optimism, as last weeks column pointed out. It is hard to see how Labour is going to come back from this before May 2010. . Philippa Silverman, DODS monitoring For full details of legislation at Westminster, visit ePolitix.com/legislatio Forthcoming DODS events: Sustainable Living Reception in association with VELUX Date: Tuesday 27 October; Venue: House of Commons MPs, peers and colleagues are invited to come together at this drinks reception to discuss the issues tied to low-energy design and sustainable building. Nuclear Dialogue Group Reception Date: Tuesday 17 November; Venue: House of Commons Parliamentarians are invited to this reception with the nuclear industry to discuss the future of nuclear energy in the UK. For more information on DODS events please contact: beatrice.orcharddods.c . 19 october 2009 The House Magazine 15 The parliamentary weekly No 1318 Vol 34 October 19, 2009 Branching out Profile: Forest of dean MP Mark Harper my week Wales Office minister Wayne David policy focus Environment, food and rural affairs win tickets to David Hares new play Electronic Training Collars the welfare implications Defra is researching the welfare implications of e-collars and is due to report its findings in 2010 or 2011. This is what we found from a survey of collar owners: of those questioned said their pet was either happy with, or neutral about, the col No 1318 Vol 34 19 October 2009 The House Magazine offers an online political news and information service at ePolitix.com Publisher Gerry Murray Managing Editor Richard Hall Features Editor Sam Macrory Chief Sub-editor Andrew Schofield Head of Production Jearelle Wolhuter Special Projects Editor S people people commons diary 6 Commons Diary Wayne David Arriving at the House, I immediately sense the feeling of anticipation in the air 8 Lords Diary Lord Tyler I am sure that, had he remained leader of the Commons, Robin Cook would have achieved a real clean-up 10 Profile Mark Harper I think it i people commons diary Sunday 11 October In traditional, non-conformist Wales, this is supposed to be the day of rest. Not for government ministers. Much of the day is spent going through the ubiquitous red box, trying to work out which are the more important papers as I go along. In the afternoon, I people lords diary hail fellow not so well met Saturday 10 October My wife and I are trying to cut down on our carbon footprint, so we have chosen to travel by Eurostar and TGV in both directions: Perpignan to St Pancras via Lille in about 10 hours; rather more expensive than Ryanair, but so much mo Were the UKs biggest manufacturing sector You may be surprised to hear that the food and drink sector is the UKs biggest manufacturing industry, offering world class capabilities in areas of production, logistics, sales, marketing and innovation. Here some other facts you should know: We directly em people profile forest lodge for a fast learner My story Forest of Dean MP Mark Harper was quick to get front bench recognition in David Camerons Conservatives and now hopes to convert opposition expertise into ministerial action The Forest of Dean is an area which I absolutely love, and once I got people profile Being an MP is not a job or a career, and anybody who thinks that it is shouldnt really be doing it 19 12 october 2009 The House Magazine 11 people profile similarity on welfare reform policy. Labour has had 12 years and hasnt done very much, and there is a big opportunity for us, if were fortunate enough to come into government, to really do that job properly. Iain Duncan Smiths proposals on welfare are very interesting and detailed, an YOUR SUPER-FIT CAN Its no accident that metal cans are the sustainability force they are today. Over the past two decades, some 500 million has been invested in metals environmental credentials probably more than any other packaging material, and with stunning results. Todays can is 35 lighter, but agenda agenda pollwatch/bill briefing 14 Week in Westminster MPs expenses 15 Pollwatch The economy 15 Bill briefing Coroners and Justice Bill 16 Commons Gallery 18 Lords Gallery 20 Feature story Shadow cabinet with auditing MPs accounting skills, has infuriated many with his decision to impose a ret agenda pollwatch/bill briefing October 19-23, key events Monday: Work and pensions questions (Commons) Tuesday: Treasury select committee session on women in the City. Harriet Harman among the witnesses Wednesday: Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Statutory Storage Period for Embryos and Gametes agenda commons gallery Sam Macrory reports on proceedings in the Commons chamber and committee corridor Asset sales Cable comes unstuck spending. The point was rather lost when Hammond accidentally accused the government of attempting to sell off the Tate an error seized on by excitable Labour MPs agenda commons gallery PMQs No careless talk: theres a war on In brief Tobacco A Conservative attempt to block government plans to ban the display of tobacco products and advertising in shops across England was defeated by 288 votes to 180 last Tuesday. Shadow health minister Mike Penning said the agenda lords gallery Andrew Evans rounds-up the latest news from the upper chamber Lords ministers Gaps in the ministerial ranks Crossbenchers Judges and unionists quit cross benches T B aroness Kinnock of Holyhead (above, with Eddie Izzard and husband Lord Kinnock), who joined the government in Jun agenda lords gallery Investigation Lord Pauls expenses probe In brief Appointment Colonel Ted Lloyd-Jukes, formerly the Lords administration officer, is the new Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod, following the retirement of Brigadier Hedley Duncan. Ports Ministers were defeated on Wednesday when pee agenda conservatives camerons kremlinology Feature story The Conservative leadership is adamant that the election is not in the bag but preparations are being made for the first Cameron cabinet, reports Sam Macrory In Manchester, Cameron felt confident enough to anoint some of his team: William Hag agenda conservatives Clarke wants a role, and if the business brief is deemed too sprawling, then perhaps the role of lord chancellor might be more likely. Other shadow cabinet members failed to appear in the speech, with Caroline Spelman, Cheryl Gillan, Theresa Villiers, Andrew Mitchell and Jeremy policy currently food-secure our food supply is diverse, we produce a significant proportion of it here in the UK, and we have a strong distribution system. However, we live in an interconnected world, where the price of soya in Brazil affects the price of steak at our local supermarket. We need to policy defra Sustenance and sustainability commodities to feed livestock. The backdrop against which this demand must be met is one of rising global temperatures, dwindling water resources, and more severe and frequent weather events. While climate change could offer northern Europe more favourable policy defra food security begins at home question, that the UK was in a secure position in terms of food. Yet a subsequent question showed that only 60 per cent of all food consumed in the UK was domestically produced and, even when discounting products that are not indigenous, the figure was still policy defra no stability on an empty belly World Food Day Farming expertise is key to reducing hunger in sub-Saharan Africa and Britain has a role to play, say David Curry and Ronan Keating also being eroded by the global recession, as the declining incomes of the poorest cannot compete with escala NESTLÉ MAKES CHRISTMAS SELECTION BOXES MORE RECYCLABLE AND APPEALING T The boxes are available in three innovative, eye-catching and targeted formats; a Santa themed selectionandpolar bear themed selectionfor mums buying for younger children, and a larger box designed for a broader demographic. Each policy defra when cocooning isnt caring Wasted resources here in the UK are either left to fester in landfill sites, or burned in incinerators that pollute the air and produce damaging emissions. Neither of these solutions is remotely sustainable. Friends of the Earth recently published research whi policy defra more than a change of topsoil be there to take care of any domestic glitches in food supply. Responding to these events, the UN convened a World Food Security conference at which secretary-general Ban Ki-moon predicted food production would need to increase by 50 per cent by 2030 to mee SCOTTISH SALMON FARMING: A SUCCESS STORY 500 MILLION INJECTED INTO THE ECONOMY 84 MILLION OVER THE LAST IN CAPITAL PROJECTS DURING 2008 THREE YEARS 500 INCREASE LAST 20 YEARS IN EXPORTS IN THE 304 MILLION EXPENDITURE SERVICES IN 2008 ON SUPPLIERS AND Salmon farming is a vital contributor to the Sco meeting the food security challenge Protecting UK farming from exotic diseases Exotic animal diseases increasingly threaten UK livestock farming. In 2007 bluetongue reached East Anglia. Research by the Institute for Animal Health informed the Government response and mitigated the diseases impact. Sc policy defra Housing needs going west nowhere is this failure more obvious than in Cornwall. For decades, Cornish people have had to contend with the twin problems of some of the UKs lowest wages and high local house prices. It has one of the largest affordability problems in the country. This has c 104 elephants are killed every day. Help stop the ivory trade. 38,000 elephants are slaughtered every year to supply the worlds illegal ivory trade. After a steep decline in poaching following the 1989 ban on all ivory sales, poaching is skyrocketing again after a handful of southern African countri policy defra no amnesty for butchery the two defeated the authorities. Only a complete ban would do. And so it is with the trade in ivory. In July 2008 I wrote to Joan Ruddock, then the Defra minister with a seat at the relevant EU table, to seek an assurance that the British government would use it 2009 is the Year of Food Food and food security are right back on the political agenda. Dr Brian Iddon MP and Mr Mark Lancaster TD MP invite you to attend a reception to mark Along with energy, water, and climate change food Royal Society of Chemistrys the chemical sciences is how to create and the policy defra compassion at the checkout 2007 and also European legislation in place. The Treaty of Amsterdam contains a legally binding protocol recognising that animals are sentient beings, and requires that full regard be paid to their welfare when policies relating to agriculture are formulated o policy defra inundation action stations through the night to build a mile- long wall of sandbags to protect the 1,000 homes in the Leeman Road area of the city, where water threatened the flood defences. A 24-hour information helpline was set up, and two community centres were opened up to provide t comment 37 Waddington amendment Lord Dear 38 Medical research Lord McColl of Dulwich 39 Cobbetts Corner Chris Moncrieff Waddington amendment Removing free speech protection from a new incitement law will put the police in a virtual straitjacket, says Lord Dear T he government will soon decide whethe comment heal th Testing conditions T Medical research Human tissues are invaluable for medical research, and we should work to make them more available, says Lord McColl of Dulwich he pressing need for human tissues and organs for transplant has, quite rightly, received much attention. A related iss comment cobbetts corner Chris Moncrieff offers his take on the world of Westminster Never mind the meat, give us the ham The prime minister delivered a make or break speech at the Labour Party conference. And David Camerons speech was hailed, even before it was uttered at his conference, as a key fa adjournment 40 Westminster art Derek Wyatt 43 PPC interview Anas Sarwar 44 Book review Simon Burns 47 Competitions Speech Bubble and Guess the Year quiz art in a gladstone bag Westminster art Already a political hero of Derek Wyatt, William Ewart Gladstone was immortalised in many paintings and stat adjournment westminster art Exchequer. In fact it is made from Parian ware, an unglazed porcelain which was popular because of its resemblance to marble. The artist was Edward William Wyon (1811-1885) a celebrated sculptor whose other sculpted busts include Disraeli and the Duke of Wellington. The b Gender Identity Research and Education Society www.gires.org.uk GIRES supports all those whose gender identity and/or gender expression is not conventional. 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