(Cardiff West) (Lab): Tonight
is the annual awards of the Music Producers Guild. The awards
would have been largely a male preserve for a lot of the 23 years
that I have been in the House, but tonight, for the first time,
over half the nominees are women, thanks to pioneering work by
women producers and engineers such as Olga Fitzroy, Catherine
Anne Davies and Hannah Peel, which is why we should have a debate
on the Government's decision to reject the recommendations in the
Women and Equalities Committee's “Misogyny in music” report.
Naomi Pohl, the general secretary of the Musicians'
Union, has described being shocked at the fact that the
Government have rejected the recommendations, and the Chair of
the Select Committee, the right hon. Member for Romsey and
Southampton North (), said:
“We have had platitudes and reassurance, but still no
action”.
Is the Leader of the House comfortable with what the Government
have done? If she is not, will she facilitate a debate to explore
it further?
: I think the improvements in
the statistics that the hon. Gentleman gave at the start of his
question are something to be proud of and show that improvements
are being made. I will certainly ensure that the relevant
Department has heard what he has said. Given that I am a member
of the Government, I stand on the Government's position.
