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Mr. Newton: My hon. Friend makes some important points. Although, again, the matter would be for you, Madam Speaker, I find it hard to believe that raising such matters would not be in order in the debate that I have scheduled for later today.
Mr. D. N. Campbell-Savours (Workington): May I suggest to the Leader of the House that if we are to debate the matters raised by the hon. Member for South Dorset (Mr. Bruce), the hon. Gentleman would do well to contact the Chairman of the Select Committee on Agriculture? Perhaps he could ask officials, when the Committee next takes evidence from them, about the draft document to which the hon. Gentleman referred. I think that he will find that it exists.
Mr. Ian Bruce: I have not been able to get a copy.
Mr. Campbell-Savours: The hon. Gentleman should ask the Committee Chairman to secure access to it.
Mr. Newton: I could not detect a remark directed to me at all lurking in that. I shall not intervene further in the exchanges between my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Mr. Bruce) and the hon. Member for Workington (Mr. Campbell-Savours).
Madam Speaker: The Lord President is not on his own.
Mr. Roy Thomason (Bromsgrove): In view of my right hon. Friend's earlier reply, he has clearly noted the success of the Jaguar X200 project, which will create and protect many thousands of jobs in the west midlands. Does he agree that an early debate on the car manufacturing industry generally would be appropriate, especially as it is leading British industry's export drive so successfully?
Mr. Newton: I certainly wish to join my hon. Friend in congratulating the industry and welcoming that project, as I have already done. I shall bear in mind his request for a debate.
Points of Order
4.3 pm
Mrs. Ann Taylor (Dewsbury): On a point of order, Madam Speaker. I am glad that the Leader of the House is still in his place. May I raise the fact that the Intelligence and Security Committee report, which, as hon. Friend the Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) pointed out, was due to be in the Vote Office at 3.30 pm, is apparently still not available, although we were told that it would be delayed only until 4 o'clock? That raises suspicion and causes difficulties.
Madam Speaker: I understand that it is now available; hon. Members seem already to have copies.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes (Harrow, West): On a point of order, Madam Speaker. I have been sent a mass-produced letter from the hon. Member for Sherwood (Mr. Tipping), which is printed on House of Commons notepaper. I gave him notice that I intended to raise this point of order. The letter has been sent to his constituents in House of Commons envelopes and he has even put his political office address on the back. The cost of postage alone could be as much as £10,000 if the letter has been sent to every constituent. That is a flagrant abuse, and the hon. Gentleman has not even bothered to come into the Chamber. What can we do to stop this abuse by Members?
Madam Speaker: We stop it individually by insisting that, if an offence has been committed, the Member concerned has to pay. That happens in every case. If the hon. Gentleman, who obviously has the evidence, will let the Serjeant at Arms have it, he will interview the Member concerned and will find out precisely how much notepaper, postage and so on were used. If that usage is improper, the Member will be charged, as happens in every case that is raised.
Mr. Ian Bruce (South Dorset): On a point of order, Madam Speaker. I refer to the matter that I raised during questions. I know that it is your duty--a duty that you discharge well--to look after the reputation of hon. Members and of the House. You will recall that, during the emotionally charged statement on BSE, the Government were accused of being a deregulatory Government who had done away with a draft order that the Labour party had placed before the House in 1978.
I understand that the draft order had nothing to do with the inclusion of animal parts in cattle food or their exclusion from it, and I believe that that is why it is not
being made available to me. Is there anything that you can do to enable me to do my job, as a Member of Parliament, of bringing up those matters and to protect the reputation of the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman), who is clearly under a great deal of pressure from both sides of the House to come clean on the matter?
Madam Speaker:
We are to have a debate on the matter and the hon. Gentleman may seek to catch my eye during it. Alternatively, when the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman) is making her points, he may like to attempt to intervene--he has already given obvious notice of that intention--so that she can explain where the document originated and where he may obtain a copy of it. That may be the best way in which to proceed.
Mr. D. N. Campbell-Savours (Workington):
Further to that point of order, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker:
I will take no further points of order on the matter.
Madam Speaker:
Order. We have had exchanges on the matter both during questions on next week's business, which were totally irrelevant, and we have had points of order that were not quite as irrelevant and with which I have dealt. I hope that the next point of order is relevant.
Mr. Chris Mullin (Sunderland, South):
I hope so, Madam Speaker. Further to the point of order raised by my hon. Friend the shadow Leader of the House, the Intelligence and Security Committee report has now become available. Glancing through it, it is clear that paragraphs 10, 32, 33 and 35 are the ones that the Government are anxious we should not be able to discuss. Will you, Madam Speaker, make it clear to the Leader of the House that we deprecate the way in which the report has been withheld? Will you express to him the hope that we shall eventually be able to discuss the report and those paragraphs in particular?
Madam Speaker:
The document has little to do with the Speaker of the House; it is made available in the Vote Office for Members. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman has made his point, which is hardly a point of order and is hardly a point for the Leader of the House, who happens to be on the Treasury Bench and who has no doubt heard it for all that.
Orders of the Day
Finance Bill
As amended (in the Committee and in the Standing Committee), further considered.
Madam Speaker:
With this it will be convenient to discuss Government amendments Nos. 15 to 18.
Amendment made: No. 12, in page 38, line 15, leave out from beginning to end of line 29.--[Mr. Waldegrave.]
Amendment proposed: No. 14, in page 40, line 36, leave out
'granted under section 35 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (waste management licences)'
and insert
'which is a site licence for the purposes of Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (waste on land)'.--[Mr. Waldegrave.]
4.8 pm
Ms Dawn Primarolo (Bristol, South): In their amendments, the Government have made minor changes to the definition of, first, landfill sites and, secondly, the landfill site operator. That was not raised in Committee, so I would be grateful if the Paymaster General will explain why it was necessary to change the definitions, and what the substantive difference is.
The Paymaster General (Mr. David Heathcoat-Amory): The group of amendments is designed to ensure that there is no room for doubt as to what is and what is not a site for the purpose of the tax. They were tabled following further legal advice on the provision in the Bill as published.
Amendment No. 14 relates to licences issued for sites in Great Britain before the Environmental Protection Act 1990 was enacted. We wish to bring in all licensed sites; hence the amendment. That is clearly in line with the purpose of the Bill, and I venture to say that it is therefore uncontroversial.
Amendment No. 15 is designed to deal with a similar problem relating to Scottish local authority sites that operate under a resolution passed before the Environmental Protection Act was enacted. Although all Scottish local authority sites will shortly be licensed, we do not wish to create a loophole and resulting distortion for such a key area of the landfill tax provision. Our purpose in the amendment was to put that beyond doubt.
Amendment agreed to.
Amendments made: No. 15, in page 40, line 39, leave out 'passed'.
No. 16, in page 41, line 4, leave out 'or'.
No. 17, in page 41, line 7, at end insert
Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Geoffrey Lofthouse):
With this we may take Government amendment No. 20.
'or
(e) a licence under any provision for the time being having effect in Northern Ireland and corresponding to section 35 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (waste management licences) is in force in relation to the land and authorises disposals in or on the land.'.--[Dr. Liam Fox.]
Amendment made: No. 18, in page 41, line 16, at end insert--
'(e) the person who is at the time concerned the holder of the licence, where section 60(e) above applies.'.--[Dr. Liam Fox.]
Amendment made: No. 13, in page 43, line 32, at end insert--
'(aa) an order under section (Exemptions: power to vary) above which produces the result that a disposal which would otherwise not be a taxable disposal is a taxable disposal;'.--[Dr. Liam Fox.]
Amendment proposed: No. 19, in page 178, line 27, leave out
'any records made in pursuance of the regulations to be preserved'
and insert
'registrable persons to preserve records of a prescribed description (whether or not the records are required to be made in pursuance of regulations)'.--[Mr. Heathcoat-Amory.]
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