Digital Britain
Mr. John Whittingdale (Maldon and East Chelmsford) (Con): Although I share some of the reservations expressed by my hon. Friend the Member for South-West Surrey (Mr. Hunt), I welcome a number of measures proposed in the report, in particular support for regional news programming, for tackling illegal file sharing, for assisting commercial radio and for […]
CRB checks (teachers)
23. Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent representations he has received on the retention of information on the outcomes of Criminal Records Bureau checks on teachers. [279182] Mr. Coaker: I am aware of representations made to the CRB in January 2009 by Southend-on-Sea borough council. The […]
Intelectual Property
8. Mr. John Whittingdale (Maldon and East Chelmsford) (Con): What steps he is taking to tackle illegal distribution of intellectual property. [279008] The Minister for Higher Education and Intellectual Property (Mr. David Lammy): The Government work to tackle IP crime in three main areas. First, we have to get the legal framework right, so I […]
Standards
Mr. John Whittingdale (Maldon and East Chelmsford) (Con): I, too, express sympathy with the comments of the hon. Member for Thurrock (Andrew Mackinlay) about the need to strengthen the Select Committee system. However, I want to concentrate specifically on the events that occurred in the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport, which I chair. […]
Nuclear waste export
10. Mr. John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he next plans to review the effectiveness of the law on the export of nuclear waste; and if he will make a statement. [277928] Mr. Mike O’Brien: Current legislation, some put in place as recently as December, effectively controls […]
Agricultural Labour
1. Mr. John Whittingdale (Maldon and East Chelmsford) (Con): What recent discussions he has had on the availability of agricultural labour; and if he will make a statement. [276574] The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Jane Kennedy): May I say on behalf of those who come to Prayers that it […]
Electronic Communications
Mr. John Whittingdale (Maldon and East Chelmsford) (Con): I warmly congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for South-West Surrey (Mr. Hunt) on initiating this debate on the licence fee. If ever there was a time when it was right to ask again whether the licence fee should continue to increase, it is now. My hon. […]
Dissident republican groups
1. Mr. John Whittingdale (Maldon and East Chelmsford) (Con): What steps the Government are taking to prevent the recruitment of young people to dissident republican groups. [269403] The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Shaun Woodward): Dissident republican groups have nothing to offer but violence and suffering and are funded by criminal activity. Resources […]
Newspaper redundancies
Mr. John Whittingdale (Maldon and East Chelmsford) (Con): Does the Secretary of State accept that in many communities the local newspaper is as important as the local post office, the local shop or the local pub? Given the number of closures, which he has already referred to, and the fact that journalists are being laid […]
Budget
In the week since the Budget, there has been plenty of time to look at the small print. As in all Gordon Brown’s budgets, his speech only tells half the story. The good news was largely leaked in advance. The bad news was not even contained in the speech at all. As ever, it is […]