House of Commons Hansard Debates for 13 Nov 1997 (pt 5)

Mrs. Shephard: I thank the right hon. Lady for her reply. It helps the House to be given two weeks' business, and to hear the fuller statements that she is giving.

The right hon. Lady will recall that the Prime Minister said yesterday that he would set out the Government's position on the tobacco sponsorship ban with "enthusiasm and relish". As he apparently omitted some information, which has since emerged overnight, will she arrange an early opportunity for him to set out the Government's position with not only enthusiasm and relish, but completeness?

Does the right hon. Lady agree that, if the Secretary of State for Health had bothered to make a statement to the House about Government policy on tobacco sponsorship, as he should have done, instead of announcing it outside, and if the Minister for Public Health had done the House

13 Nov 1997 : Column 1040

the courtesy of informing it of the Government's change of policy on the matter, as she should have done, instead of announcing it on the "Today" programme, the Government not only might have avoided much of the bother that they have created for themselves over the affair, but would have demonstrated that they have, after all, some regard for parliamentary democracy and convention?

As the right hon. Lady may know, the hon. Member for Brent, East (Mr. Livingstone) said yesterday on the Jimmy Young programme that it is the Minister without Portfolio who is running the Labour party. If she agrees with her hon. Friend, perhaps she could arrange for the Minister to appear at the Dispatch Box slightly more frequently than once every six months and for slightly longer than five minutes. She will know that last Monday's occasion was a terrible disappointment to the House. Given the great role ascribed to the Minister by the hon. Member for Brent, East, surely the House should be given more ample opportunity to question him.

Will the right hon. Lady make a statement to the House to confirm, or otherwise, that a substantial amount of office accommodation in the Cloisters, which was formerly used by hon. Members, has now been allocated to something called the parliamentary Labour party resource centre? If that is so, is not the taxpayer subsidising the Labour party's political activities within the House? Is not the centre taking up much needed office space, which should be for the use of elected Members of Parliament, including Labour Members?

Mrs. Taylor: I hope to be able to give two weeks' notice of business quite often. I cannot promise to do it on all occasions, and the second week's business will be provisional, of course, but I undertake to try to give as much notice of business as possible, and I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for her comments.

On the Prime Minister's answers yesterday, I do not think that there was a question asked by a Conservative Member that he did not answer fully, completely and enthusiastically. I am not sure which information the right hon. Lady thinks has come to light overnight. Does the Conservative party want to criticise the Labour party for taking an open donation, for giving back a donation and for refusing a donation? Other hon. Members might like a debate on all political funding in the past few years. For Conservative Members to complain about tobacco advertising is a bit of a cheek, as they never lifted a finger to tackle that problem.

On the right hon. Lady's comments about my hon. Friend the Member for Brent, East (Mr. Livingstone), I do not have time to listen to the Jimmy Young programme, so I missed his comments, but if she accurately reported what he said, on this occasion, he is mistaken. We have ample opportunity to question the person who is running the country--the Prime Minister.

The right hon. Lady is right to say that the resource centre is now in office accommodation in the Cloisters, having vacated its previous room to accommodate the needs of an hon. Member.

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Report No:	Title	HC No.	Publication Date
1	The office of Gas Supply: The Regulation of Gas Tariffs (The Gas Cost Index)	37	14 November
2	Progress in Completing the New British Library	38	20 November
3	The Sale of the Mining Operations of the British Coal Corporation	60	21 November
4	The Construction of Quarry House	69	27 November
5	Highways Agency: The Bridge Programme	83	28 November
6	The Audit of European Community Transactions	84	4 December
7	The Hospital Information Support Systems Initiative	97	5 December
8	Information Technology Services Agency: Outsourcing The Service Delivery Operations	98	11 December
9	Resource Accounting and Proposals for a Resource-based System of Supply	167	15 January
10	Excess Vote NI DHSS		19 February
11	Excess Votes Classes I, IV, VII, XIII, XIV, XVII (7&13)	293	13 February
12	ODA: Turkish Universities Equipment Project	70	27 February
13	H M Treasury: The Second Sale of Shares in National Power and PowerGen	151	6 March
14	Dept for Education & Employment: Financial Control of Payments made under the Training for Work and Youth Training Programmes in England	61	13 March
15	The Award of the First Three Passenger Rail Franchises	39	13 March
16	Office of Electricity Regulation, Office of Gas Supply: The Work of the Directors General of Telecommunications, Gas Supply, Water Services and Electricity Supply	89	19 March
17	Health of the Nation: A Progress Report	85	20 March
18	National Savings: Financial Reporting	214	25 March
19	Former Yorkshire Regional Health Authority	432	26 March
20	Payments to the National Lottery Distribution Fund	99	27 March
21	The Management of Space in Higher Education Institutions in Wales	159	2 April
22	British Rail Maintenance Limited: The Sale of Maintenance Depots	168	3 April
23	Ministry of Defence: The Financial Management of the Military Operation in the Former Yugoslavia	242	4 April
24	Department of Transport: Freight Facilities Grants in England	284	8 April
25	Plymouth Development Corporation: Regularity Propriety and Control of Expenditure	450	8 April
Replies
	Treasury Minute on the First to Eighth Reports from the Committee of Public Accounts 1996-97	CM 3559	12 February 1997
	Treasury Minute on the Ninth Report from the Committee of Public Accounts 1996-97	CM 3577	12 March 1997
	Treasury Minute on the Twelfth to Twenty-Fifth Reports from the Committee of Public Accounts 1996-97	CM 3714	16 July 1997