Jonathan Davies

It is the greatest pleasure of my professional life to be the MP for Mid Derbyshire. That is particularly true today, when we have been taken on a magical mystery tour of the best places across the UK and further afield. I thank colleagues for bringing their insight, knowledge, experience and passion for their communities to the debate. It is through those sites and the values of UNESCO that we understand what it means to be a human being. That has sat very much front and centre of the debate today. I am sure the Minister has heard that passion and I hope she has seen that the opportunities that these sites offer and UNESCO’s values cut across the Government’s five missions. By joining up our understanding of what these sites offer across Government Departments gives an opportunity to maximise their role in driving the national renewal that our country desperately needs. I thank World Heritage UK, which represents all the sites in the UK, for its services, and particularly its president Chris Blandford OBE, who is in the Public Gallery today. My final comment is that we have a very active all-party parliamentary group for UNESCO world heritage sites in the UK, and I hope to see colleagues at one of its meetings in future. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered the 80th anniversary of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).