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Madam Speaker's Statement
3.30 pm
Madam Speaker: I have a short statement to make, which will be of interest to the House and needs to be put on record. It concerns the Order Paper, followingthe special report from the Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons, which was published on Tuesday.
Mr. Jonathan Sayeed (Mid-Bedfordshire): On a point of order, Madam Speaker. My point of order, of which I have given you notice, concerns the Prime Minister's answer to the questions of my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition yesterday. In reference to the shareholding in BP by the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe, Lord Simon, the Prime Minister said:
- "The Minister has retained the BP shares because he is obliged to do so. Having been the chairman of BP, if he got rid of them he would fall foul of the rules on insider trading."--[Official Report, 30 July 1997; Vol. 299, c. 331.]
- "This would suggest a possible selling window between the ending of the close period on 6 May 1997 and at the latest the start of the next close period on 5 July 1997."
Should that be the case, I feel that the Prime Minister will wish to come before the House at the first available opportunity to put the record straight. As today is Parliament's last sitting day before the recess, do you agree that it would be proper for him to come to the House today to make sure that there is no more confusion?
Madam Speaker:
We have had many robust exchanges on this issue in recent times. Those on the Front Bench will have heard what the hon. Gentleman said, which is not a point of order for me to deal with.
Mr. Paul Flynn (Newport, West):
On a point of order, Madam Speaker. I should like to draw attention to what happened yesterday in the House. I fear that the Government might be tempted to fall into some of the very bad practices of the previous Government, particularly that of routinely issuing policy changes and various announcements on the final day before a recess, which cannot be discussed by Parliament.
Yesterday, the Home Secretary was at the Dispatch Box for a whole hour, yet, remarkably, he did not once mention the drugs tsar or tsarina. We heard this morning that the Government are going ahead with that policy. It is well known that in America, the drugs tsar has been a disaster and has been described as a drugs nanny. Drugs tsars have not worked in any part of the world. All of us in the House who want to reduce the harm caused by the use of illegal drugs believe that the drugs tsar policy
cannot work and is another excuse for not thinking and not having genuine reform, such as would result from the institution of a royal commission on the subject.
Madam Speaker:
The hon. Gentleman is expressing an opinion, not a point of order. He must pursue the matter through questions.
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York):
On a point of order, Madam Speaker. It will not have escaped your attention that the President of the Board of Trade, in reply to a supplementary asked by my right hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Mr. Forth) to Question 12, said that the Government were bound by the criteria on European aid set down by the Commission. In reply to my supplementary to Question 13, however, the right hon. Lady said that the Government were not bound by the criteria. Could the House be given clarification? I believe that we are not bound by the criteria and that the right hon. Lady can negotiate.
Madam Speaker:
I fear that the hon. Lady is seeking to prolong Question Time, which was over at 3.30 pm.
Mr. Tony Baldry (Banbury):
On a point of order, Madam Speaker. In the most recent Question Time, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food kindly undertook, in the interests of openness and transparency, to ensure that all the responses that the Government had received to the consultation on Professor James's report on the food standards agency would be put in the Library of the House before the summer recess.
To date, all that has been put in the Library is a list of those who responded. Those of us who are keen to do some good summer reading would like the opportunity to read the whole lot during the recess. Can you, bring your influence to bear on the private office of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, to ensure that all the responses are put in the Library before we rise for the summer recess?
Madam Speaker:
I shall look at the response that was given and see what I can do about it. I am delighted that hon. Members want so much bedside reading.
Mrs. Ray Michie (Argyll and Bute):
I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 24, to debate an important matter that requires specific and urgent consideration, namely,
On top of all that, the tourist trade on Bute and in Dunoon will be badly hit. The first two weeks of August are the busiest in the year and if the tourist trade slumps, there will be a dire effect on the already fragile economies of the area. The hon. Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson) must also be seriously concerned about Arran and the Cumbraes in his constituency, which will be cut off.
There is now a threat that the strike will spread north. If that happens, almost all the islands in my constituency could be affected. Only two have airports so Mull, Coll, Colonsay and Tiree, to name but a few, will be completely isolated, to say nothing of the Outer Hebrides.
I know that Scottish Office Ministers will insist that the dispute is a matter for the company and its employees to sort out and that they cannot interfere, but I say that they can and must. Caledonian MacBrayne is a public company and the Scottish Office holds the purse strings. If it will not allow Caledonian MacBrayne to offer better terms and conditions, Ministers should meet the union, explain the situation and make every effort to resolve the dispute. I hope, Madam Speaker, that you will allow a debate to consider the matter.
Madam Speaker:
I have listened carefully to what the hon. Lady said. As she knows, I have to give my decision without stating any reasons. I am afraid that I do not consider the matter that she has raised to be appropriate for discussion under Standing Order No. 24, so I cannot submit her application to the House at this time.
Mr. Eric Forth (Bromley and Chislehurst):
On a point of order, Madam Speaker. I wonder whether you could ask the authorities of the House to check the annunciator screen. It would appear that many hon. Members are unaware that the Scottish debate is about to start, as I can count only seven or eight Government Back Benchers from Scotland in the Chamber for the start of an important debate on Scotland. Surely the reason must be that the annunciator screen has failed to work throughout the building, and Scottish Members will not be able to come
Madam Speaker:
It was a good try, but I have no intention of suspending the House. There are four Scottish Members immediately behind the right hon. Gentleman.
3.36 pm
the serious matter of the strike by Caledonian MacBrayne ferry crews on the Firth of Clyde which is due to begin on Monday.
I cannot stress too strongly the need for the dispute to be resolved immediately. If it is not, the consequences for the island communities and the Cowal peninsula will be severe. The ferries are lifeline links, and life on the island of Bute will be severely disrupted if the service between Rothesay and Wemyss bay ceases to operate. The strike will affect the transport of freight, including all the goods required for the island and animal foodstuffs, and the movement of livestock. It will affect out-patient clinics and the carriage of medical supplies, such as blood and pharmaceuticals. It will affect the ability of patients and relatives to reach hospitals on the mainland and the ability of commuters to travel to work.
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