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Mr. Ted Rowlands (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney): I welcome the fact that the Government of Wales Bill is to have a Second Reading. If the Government intend to split the Bill between the Floor of the House and Standing Committee, will hon. Members who represent Welsh constituencies be fully consulted about such a split? Will my right hon. Friend give considerable thought to how the Committee stage will be dealt with? She may remember that there were many protests about the handling of Welsh legislation in the last Parliament. Will she ensure that all Welsh Members who are interested in serving on such a Committee will be able to do so?
Mrs. Taylor: I know that my hon. Friend has very strong views on this matter, as do other hon. Members on both sides of the House. There is no simple party divide as to how we should handle legislation of that kind.
As I said in my statement, I have announced the business for the second week on a provisional basis. Discussions have begun through the usual channels about the handling of the Government of Wales Bill--and, later, of the Scotland Bill. We want to try to agree a way forward with all parties in the House. I hope that hon. Members will make their views known and will feel able to make representations in the way that my hon. Friend has done. When we have had further discussions, I hope to be in a position to make a more definitive statement about how the Bills will be dealt with.
Mr. Paul Tyler (North Cornwall):
I reiterate the concern felt by many hon. Members about the delays in ministerial correspondence. There is equal concern about the apparent increase in the number of delayed replies to written questions.
I reinforce the concern that I think will be expressed by hon. Members and members of staff about the business on Monday 22 December. Perhaps the Leader of the House can examine carefully the business for that day to see whether she may ease the strain and stress.
I thank the Leader of the House for listening to representations about the timing of the debate on welfare to work. Many hon. Members--particularly those who serve on the Social Security Select Committee--would have been at a considerable disadvantage and would have been unable to participate in the debate as they will be on a special study tour on the day specified. Will the Leader of the House announce an exact date for the usual
statement on social security benefits upgrading, which we expect at this time of year and which is of considerable importance to our constituents?
We were anticipating the arrival of several measures--both Bills and White Papers--from the Department of Health, perhaps in conjunction with other Departments. However, they seem to have been pushed into a backwater or up a branch line in Downing street--to either No. 10 or the Cabinet Office--with the intervention of yet more Ministers and consequent delays. We expected to see three Bills in the next few days, as well as a White Paper on food safety, and we now do not know when they will arrive. Will the Leader of the House assure us that that is not a sign that the position of the Secretary of State for Health is now unassailable?
Mrs. Taylor:
I take the point that the hon. Gentleman made about delays in letters and written answers. If he has specific information on such delays, I should be happy to deal with any queries that he may wish to raise with me.
I appreciate the problems that the 22 December sitting will cause for some hon. Members, but we have a very packed legislative programme, and there are some Second Readings that we wish to progress.
In his last point, the hon. Gentleman complained that the House is not making enough progress, yet he complains that we will sit on 22 December. These are difficult judgments, but we want to go ahead with as much of the programme as possible.
I appreciate the hon. Gentleman's comments on changing the date of the welfare-to-work debate, which is provisionally scheduled for 19 December. I hope that that date will be for the convenience of hon. Members who, for very good reasons, requested a change of date. We will try to accommodate such changes if they are necessary. That is one reason why I say that business for the second week is provisional.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health is happy with progress on the various very large issues that are facing his Department. We will have a White Paper on health in the very near future, and it is important that such a White Paper is launched by a statement in the House. We need to make statements to the House on a series of issues. Therefore, it will be better if we try to pace them, and ensure that each gets proper consideration.
Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe and Nantwich):
Will my right hon. Friend try to find time for an urgent debate on maintaining jobs in manufacturing industry? My constituency might serve as an example. We are facing pressure on jobs in train repairing, in Rolls-Royce motor cars, and even in a tea factory. Will she also seriously examine the business of retaining the absurd system of having Fridays off--which effectively means that Thursdays, too, are a dead day? Ministers and hon. Members would really much prefer to work solidly through the week, right up to Christmas, rather than to have extra days, such as 22 December.
Mrs. Taylor:
The House will be sitting every Friday this month. Two of the Fridays will be used for debates on the Adjournment, in Government time, and two of them will be used as private Members' days. We currently have a good mix in the use of Fridays. I think that most
I appreciate and understand my hon. Friend's long-term concern about jobs in the manufacturing sector. I hope that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer's statement on Tuesday and the Government's welfare to work programme will help to improve skills in this country, with a consequential beneficial impact on jobs in manufacturing. Perhaps that matter could be raised in the debate that I said should be held on 19 December.
Sir David Madel (South-West Bedfordshire):
Will the right hon. Lady look again at the business on Friday, 5 December? Yesterday, the Prime Minister said that he could not answer questions about disability benefits, because a consultation process was going on. There is, of course, also a consultation process going on about special educational needs in schools, and it is not due to finish until 9 January 1998.
Therefore, it would be much better to hold the debate scheduled for Friday, 5 December after the consultation process has ended--in the middle of January. If that were done, she could move the programme for Monday, 22 December to Friday, 5 December, perfectly dealing with the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for South Staffordshire (Sir P. Cormack) on the organisation of business in the House.
Mrs. Taylor:
It is very easy to shuffle all those cards around. Ultimately, however, we have to provide, for example, for two weekends after Second Readings. If we did not, Conservative Members, including the hon. Gentleman, might well complain. The matter is therefore not quite as simple as shuffling the cards, as he suggests.
It is a very good idea to have a debate on special educational needs. Many hon. Members feel that it would be beneficial if the Green Paper itself were discussed. It would be a good opportunity for hon. Members to report on the consultations that have already taken place, and for Ministers in that Department to open the debate and to give the paper further publicity, so that more people can participate in the consultation exercise.
Mr. David Winnick (Walsall, North):
If, as we hope, tomorrow's private Member's Bill will be passed by a large majority, will my right hon. Friend tell us whether, next week, there will be a statement of the Government's intention? Has she seen the latest opinion poll, in today's edition of The Times, which shows that more than two thirds of the public support the measure? It seems to me that the Government should give either time or a definite commitment that such a measure will be added later--for example, to a Criminal Justice Bill. The House should be told. The public want such a measure, and they have a right to expect progress towards proper legislation.
Mrs. Taylor:
There is a great deal of interest, both inside and outside the House, about tomorrow's debate on the Wild Mammals (Hunting with Dogs) Bill. I myself will be voting for it. If the House supports the Bill tomorrow, I hope that the Bill's opponents will respect that support, and not attempt to frustrate its passage.
Dr. Liam Fox (Woodspring):
Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on Members' privilege? She will be aware that, last week, I raised the issue of the M5 contract irregularities. I am restricted in making the case on that matter directly to the Secretary of State, because an hon. Member is not covered by the same privilege when making a case to the Secretary of State as he or she is when speaking in the House.
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