Oral Questions to the Secretary of State for Scotland |
*1 |
Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury) What are his priorities for the Scottish criminal justice system; and if he will make a statement. |
| (12038) |
*2 |
Rosemary McKenna (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) What arrangements are in place to ensure high quality training for young people in the welfare to work scheme. |
| (12039) |
*3 |
Mr William Cash (Stone) If he will make a statement on his functions within the Council of Ministers. |
| (12040) |
*4 |
Mr Donald Gorrie (Edinburgh West) What representations he has received about the resources required by councils to provide their statutory services. |
| (12041) |
*5 |
Mrs Ann Winterton (Congleton) What estimate he has made of the number of extra prison places he expects to create in the next five years. |
| (12042) |
*6 |
Mr Edward Garnier (Harborough) What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health about the use of the Private Finance Initiative to finance new capital projects in the Scottish Health Service. |
| (12043) |
*7 |
Mr Charles Kennedy (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) If he will make a statement on progress in reducing the Skye Bridge tolls. |
| (12044) |
*8 |
Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) What recent discussions he has held with COSLA relating to the financing of Scottish local government. |
| (12045) |
*9 |
Mr Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow) What consultations he has had with (a) the Home Office, (b) the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and (c) the Department of Health on representation of the United Kingdom in the European Council by a Minister responsible to a Scottish Parliament. |
| (12046) |
*10 |
Mr Brian H. Donohoe (Cunninghame South) What progress he has made in respect of the proposals to reduce the number of health trusts in Scotland. |
| (12047) |
*11 |
Mr Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) If he will make a statement about progress of the Government's plans for a Scottish Parliament. |
| (12048) |
*12 |
Mr David Marshall (Glasgow, Shettleston) What discussions he has had with the Greater Glasgow Health Board and other bodies in Glasgow on healthy living initiatives. |
| (12049) |
*13 |
Mr Chris Mullin (Sunderland South) When he expects to establish a Criminal Cases Review Authority; and if he will make a statement. |
| (12051) |
*14 |
Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) When he last met European Fisheries Ministers to discuss the problem of quota hopping in Scottish waters. |
| (12052) |
*15 |
Sir Teddy Taylor (Rochford and Southend East) What estimate he has made of the additional costs to public funds which would stem from the devolution proposals. |
| (12053) |
*16 |
Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) How many submissions he received in response to his Department's consultation on the Dearing and Garrick reports. |
| (12054) |
*17 |
Mr Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) When he last met the Scotch Whisky Association to discuss the future development of the industry in Scotland. |
| (12055) |
*18 |
Miss Anne Begg (Aberdeen South) When he next plans to meet the Chairman of the Health Boards in Scotland to discuss the reduction of bureaucracy. |
| (12056) |
*19 |
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold) What discussions he has had with the Home Secretary about the use of PFI to finance new prisons. |
| (12057) |
*20 |
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot) If he will make a statement on the proposed powers of the Scottish Parliament in relation to European Union matters. |
| (12058) |
*21 |
Maria Fyfe (Glasgow, Maryhill) What assessment he has made of the future availability of nursery education combined with daycare. |
| (12059) |
*22 |
Mr James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire) When he next plans to discuss Scottish agriculture with his European Union counterparts. |
| (12060) |
*23 |
Mr Howard Flight (Arundel and South Downs) What representations he has received from Scots not currently resident in Scotland who were excluded from voting in the recent referendum. |
| (12061) |
*24 |
Mr Simon Burns (West Chelmsford) When he expects to meet his target for class sizes of 30 pupils. |
| (12062) |
*25 |
Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead) What discussions he has had with Her Majesty's Treasury regarding the size of the Scottish block. |
| (12063) |
*26 |
Mr Ian Bruce (South Dorset) What are his plans for the Forestry Commission after Scottish devolution with particular reference to its responsibilities outside Scotland. |
| (12064) |
*27 |
Mrs Ray Michie (Argyll and Bute) What plans he has to meet the managing director of Caledonian MacBrayne to discuss their ferry services. |
| (12065) |
*28 |
Mr Michael Jack (Fylde) If he will make a statement on his planned increase in health expenditure in Scotland for 1998--99. |
| (12066) |
*29 |
Mr Norman A. Godman (Greenock and Inverclyde) What plans he has to modify the regulations governing the registration and inspection of residential and nursing homes for the elderly. |
| (12067) |
*30 |
Dr Tony Wright (Cannock Chase): To ask the President of the Council, if she will make a statement on the future work in modernising the House. |
| (12023) |
*31 |
Mr Colin Pickthall (West Lancashire): To ask the President of the Council, what consideration she has given to time-limiting all contributions to debates in the Chamber. |
| (12024) |
*32 |
Sir Sydney Chapman (Chipping Barnet): To ask the President of the Council, what plans she has to implement the recommendations contained in the First Report of the Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons (HC 190, Session 1997--98). |
| (12027) |
*33 |
Mr Andrew F. Bennett (Denton and Reddish): To ask the President of the Council, if she will introduce proposals to start sittings at 2 pm on Thursdays. |
| (12028) |
*34 |
Mr Bill O'Brien (Normanton): To ask the President of the Council, if she will move to provide for an additional sub-committee of the Environmental, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee to consider regional affairs; and if she will make a statement. |
| (12029) |
*35 |
Mr Mike Gapes (Ilford South): To ask the President of the Council, what plans she has to arrange Parliamentary business so that recesses coincide with school holidays. |
| (12030) |
*36 |
Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley): To ask the President of the Council, what discussions she has had to encourage greater transparency in the answers to parliamentary questions. |
| (12031) |
*37 |
Mr Hugh Bayley (City of York): To ask the President of the Council, if she will make a statement about the Government's policy to curb the misuse of drugs. |
| (12033) |
*38 |
Mr Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow): To ask the President of the Council, if she will set up a Select Committee on the re-analysis by the Metropolitan Police of the circumstances surrounding the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher. |
| (12034) |
*39 |
Mr Simon Hughes (North Southwark and Bermondsey) : To ask the President of the Council, what progress she has made on assessing the advantages of a semicircular seating arrangement for the House. |
| (12035) |
*40 |
Mr David Winnick (Walsall North): To ask the President of the Council, if she will make a statement on the progress made in respect of the proposals from the Modernisation of the House Committee. |
| (12036) |
*41 |
Paul Flynn (Newport West): To ask the President of the Council, what assessment she has made of the result of the Government's strategy on the reduction in the use of illegal drugs. |
| (12037) |
| | Line 1, leave out from 'House' to end and add 'joins the Government in condemning the last Government for its failure to invest in higher education; congratulates the Government on the commendable target of 500,000 extra higher education and further education students by 2002; condemns however the Government's proposals to introduce student tuition fees, a poll tax on those in higher education; believes that the Government's plans will do nothing to bring in extra funds to meet the immediate crisis in higher education; warns the Government that the introduction of fees will seriously affect the number of students choosing to continue in education; further warns the Government that the number of students dropping out of university mainly due to problems of poverty, already one in eight students, will increase; believes that the Government's proposals fail to avoid further problems and inequities; and, whilst retaining absolute opposition to the introduction of tuition fees, calls on the Government not to continue with its proposals until it has resolved the issue of redefinition of the accounting rules that treat lending as spending, which would enable significant sums to be invested in higher education, to seek additional sources of finance from both the state and employers, to increase the size of students' maintenance loans to help avoid the issue of student poverty, to increase access to university by boosting stay-on rates post-16, and to treat all students over the age of 18 as independent adults.'.
THREATS TO RURAL LIFE AND THE RURAL ECONOMY |
| |
Mr William Hague
Mr Peter Lilley
Mr Michael Howard
Mr Michael Jack
Mr Tim Yeo
Mr James Arbuthnot
That this House expresses its concern about the economic and environmental pressures currently affecting the rural economy and rural life; calls upon Her Majesty's Government to respond to this situation by protecting farmers from the effects of the appreciation of sterling, withdrawing the Government-imposed ceiling on the weight of cattle entering the BSE over thirty months scheme and undertaking without precondition discussions with farmers and their representatives about the level of payments to be made through the 1997--98 Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowances scheme; and condemns the proposals to extend access to the countryside by means of a legal right to roam rather than voluntary agreement, not to introduce policies to protect small village shops and rural post offices, to create urban-based regional development agencies, to weaken planning controls designed to protect the Green Belt and the countryside, and to threaten the pursuit of traditional country sports.
As Amendments to Mr William Hague's proposed Motion (Threats to Rural Life and the Rural Economy): |
| |
The Prime Minister
Mr Secretary Prescott
Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer
Mr Secretary Cook
Mr Secretary Straw
Dr John Cunningham
Line 1, leave out from 'House' to end and add, 'deplores the neglect of the countryside and rural areas over the past eighteen years by the previous administration; congratulates the Government on its commitment to the countryside; welcomes the Government's intention to create the conditions necessary to let the rural economy flourish, to protect and enhance the rural environment and to enable everyone to enjoy the countryside; and further welcomes the start already made, notably on the reform of the CAP, the review of the Organic Aid Scheme, introducing Arable Stewardship, and reviewing the legislation for the protection of hedges and SSSIs.'. |
| |
Mr Paddy Ashdown
Mr A. J. Beith
Mr James Wallace
Mr Richard Livsey
Mr Charles Kennedy
Mr Paul Tyler
Line 2, leave out from 'life' to end and add 'notes that many such concerns were much in evidence under the previous administration; and calls upon Her Majesty's Government to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation by abandoning its stated proposal to freeze Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowances and instead restore them to earlier levels, to alleviate the income losses suffered as a result of the strength of sterling through accessing relevant EU funds, to reverse the cuts imposed in the Over Thirty Months Scheme payments, to protect the future role of the Rural Development Commission within the context of the proposed Rural Development Agencies, to strive for CAP reform which takes account of the potential impact of modulation upon UK agriculture, and to pursue policies which encourage employment in the rural areas through enhanced emphasis on the environment and the maintenance of the family farm.'.
|
| | The selection of the matter to be debated this day has been made by the Leader of the Opposition, pursuant to Standing Order No. 14(2). |
Debate may continue until 10.00 p.m. |
COMMITTEE MEETINGS |
STANDING COMMITTEE |
1 |
Standing Committee B |
10.30 a.m. |
Room 11 (public) |
|
|
4.30 p.m. |
(public) |
|
Further to consider the Social Security Bill |
SELECT COMMITTEES |
2 |
Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs:
Environment Sub-Committee |
9.00 a.m. |
Room 17 (private) |
|
|
9.15 a.m. |
(public) |
|
Subject: Sewage Treatment and Disposal
Witnesses: Marine Conservation Society and Surfers Against Sewage; National Environment Research Council and the Soil Survey, Land Research Centre, Cranfield University (at 10.15 a.m.) |
3 |
Agriculture |
10.00 a.m. |
Room 8 (private) |
|
|
10.30 a.m. |
(public) |
|
Subject: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food/Intervention Board Departmental Report 1997
Witnesses: Rt Hon Dr John Cunningham, MP, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; Mr Richard Packer, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and Mr George Trevelyan, Chief Executive, Intervention Board |
4 |
Foreign Affairs |
10.00 a.m. |
Room 15 (private) |
|
|
10.30 a.m. |
(public) |
|
Subject: The Treaty of Amsterdam
Witnesses: Rt Hon Robin Cook, MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs; Mr Simon Gass, Head of European Union Department (Internal); Mr Ian Hendry, Legal Counsellor, Foreign and Commonwealth Office |
5 |
Trade and Industry |
10.00 a.m. |
Room 6 (private) |
|
|
10.30 a.m. |
(public) |
|
Subject: The work of the Department of Trade and Industry
Witnesses: The Rt Hon Margaret Beckett, MP, President of the Board of Trade and Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, and Mr Michael Scholar, CB, Permanent Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry |
6 |
Home Affairs |
10.15 a.m. |
Room 21 (private) |
|
|
10.30 a.m. |
(public) |
|
Subject: Police Disciplinary and Complaints Procedures
Witnesses: Police Federation |
7 |
Public Administration |
10.30 a.m. |
Room 20 (private) |
8 |
Standards and Privileges |
10.30 a.m. |
Room 16 (private) |
9 |
Welsh Affairs |
10.30 a.m. |
Room 18 (private) |
10 |
European Legislation |
11.30 a.m. |
Room 19 (private) |
11 |
Culture, Media and Sport |
2.30 p.m. |
Room 15 (public) |
|
Subject: The Royal Opera House
Witnesses: Rt Hon Chris Smith, MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport; Arts Council of England (at 3.45 pm approximately); Royal Opera House (at 4.15pm approximately) |
12 |
Education and Employment:
Employment Sub-Committee |
3.45 p.m.
4.00 p.m. |
Room 19 (private)
(public) |
|
Subject: The New Deal
Witnesses: Federation of Small Businesses |
13 |
Agriculture |
4.00 p.m. |
Room 8 (private) |
|
|
4.15 p.m. |
(public) |
|
Subject: CAP Reform: Agenda 2000
Witnesses: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food officials |
14 |
Administration |
5.00 p.m. |
Room 13 (private) |
15 |
Statutory Instruments |
Immediately after the meeting of the Joint
Committee |
Room 7 (private) |
JOINT COMMITTEE |
16 |
Statutory Instruments |
4.15 p.m. |
Room 7 (private) |