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Housing and Health
7. Sir Robert Smith: What representations the Scottish Health Department has received since October about the links between poor housing conditions and public health. [17096]
Mr. Galbraith: Since October, 127 representations have been addressed to the Department, almost all in response to a campaign by Shelter. The links between housing and health are clear, as our forthcoming Green Paper on the subject will mention.
Sir Robert Smith: I thank the Minister for that answer. In the light of the representations and the fact
that 93 per cent. of Scottish housing is below minimum energy efficiency standards, does he accept that, in the long run, investing in improving the housing stock will benefit the health service by reducing the winter health crisis?
Mr. Galbraith: I have absolutely no problem with that. Poor housing is undoubtedly one of the links to ill health. We recognise that. It will be re-emphasised in our Green Paper. Recently, however, we have taken measures to deal with the problem. We have reduced value added tax on materials for insulating houses from 17.5 to 5 per cent. and the welfare-to-work programme contains a special option to insulate houses. We are taking action that will benefit the health of the whole nation.
Mr. McAllion: My hon. Friend will accept that the statistics on the relationship between poor housing and poor health in Scotland are appalling. Ninety-seven per cent. of our stock failed a national energy efficiency rating, one in four houses suffer from damp and condensation and, every winter, there are 2,000 excess deaths as a result of poor housing in Scotland. Does my hon. Friend therefore accept that the link between bad housing and bad health in Scotland will never be finally broken until the Labour Government have the courage to recognise that we require a major programme of public investment in housing stock and in tackling the reasons for poverty, which cause so much ill health in our country?
Mr. Galbraith: I like to think that one of the differences that I have made to the health agenda is the recognition of the link between poverty and ill health, something that was always denied before. The problem relates not only to housing but to jobs, education, transport, leisure and recreation. Only when we have got these things right can people genuinely make choices, so we have not only to present them with information about the choices but to give them the economic wherewithal to improve their health.
University Students
8. Mr. Chope: What assessment he has made of the impact on Scottish universities of the number of students from England wishing to study at such institutions. [17097]
Mr. Dewar: Cross-border flows of students in both directions can contribute to a healthy diversity of backgrounds in our universities. The proportion of students from England attending Scottish universities varies greatly. In financial terms, English-domiciled students bring with them tuition fees paid for by local education authorities in England, and the remainder of the cost of teaching is met by grant funding from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council.
Mr. Chope: I agree with much of what the right hon. Gentleman said, but my commitment to the Union comes from my four years' experience as an undergraduate at a Scottish university. How much would it cost the Department for Education and Employment in England to pay the tuition costs of English students at Scottish universities during their fourth year, thereby enabling them to benefit from the four-year Scottish education as
I did and as I know the hon. and learned Member for Edinburgh, Pentlands (Dr. Clark) did at the same time, in the same faculty and at the same university?
Mr. Dewar: I am absolutely delighted that the hon. Gentleman enjoyed his years at Dundee so much. I am sure that he benefited from them, although I would have liked to see further improvement.
As for the hon. Gentleman's question, the cost is variable. As has been explained, the tuition fees apply only to certain students, and getting on for 40 per cent. of them may be exempt. There are, of course, other misunderstandings about that, but, at the end of the day, English students, and, indeed, students from Northern Ireland and Wales, come to Scottish universities because they see advantage in doing so. I hope that they will continue to do so, as they are a very valuable addition to our educational kingdom.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
The President of the Council was asked--
Statements
29. Mr. Rendel: What assessment she has made of the advantages of introducing time limits on Front-Bench responses to statements. [17120]
The President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mrs. Ann Taylor): I have not considered any changes to the House's rules on this, but I know that you, Madam Speaker, have often called for shorter questions and shorter answers, both on statements and at Question Time.
Mr. Rendel: Has the right hon. Lady noticed that the main spokesperson for the official Opposition seems to be taking longer and longer to reply to statements and that that not only makes it difficult for the Minister, who has to try to remember all the questions to answer, but tends to leave less time for spokespersons from other parties and for all Back Benchers? Will the right hon. Lady consider what to do about this in the Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons?
Mrs. Taylor: I have some sympathy with the hon. Gentleman. There have been occasions when the official Opposition have taken a very long time, but there are of course times when a statement is complex and detailed questions have to be answered. However, I think that we could probably improve the situation.
Mr. Dalyell: Is this not actually a matter for the Speaker? Is there not a precedent in the fact that Mr. Speaker Selwyn-Lloyd on one famous occasion simply told the official Opposition that enough was enough?
Mrs. Taylor: Madam Speaker, it might be better if I left that to you.
Members' Allowances
31. Mr. Steen: If she will make a statement on the arrangements for the payment of Members' allowances. [17122]
Mrs. Ann Taylor: Allowances for hon. Members are provided by resolution of the House. Claims and payments are handled by the Fees Office, whose systems are designed to ensure accountability for the taxpayers' money involved.
Mr. Steen: Because of the misdemeanours of one or two Members of Parliament, there has been an understandable push for greater transparency when allowances are claimed from the Fees Office. However, is the Leader of the House aware that this has resulted in a plethora of forms such as C1s, which are the reimbursement claim forms, C2s, C3s, Members' car allowance scheme forms and Members' constituency mileage continuation sheets? There is also a 43-page document called "Parliamentary Salaries, Allowances and Pensions" which includes details of where to get help. It takes many hours every week to fill in these forms, but would not that time be far better spent looking after one's constituents? Surely, accountability and transparency do not have to mean excessive form filling. We are not all crooks.
Mrs. Taylor: I think that hon. Members have a duty to ensure that our own systems are transparent and that we are as accountable as people in other spheres of public service. I realise that there has been additional paperwork for hon. Members, but I think that the vast majority of them are not finding it difficult to comply with the regulations.
Prime Minister's Question Time
32. Mr. Robathan: What plans she has to review the arrangements for Prime Minister's questions. [17123]
Mrs. Ann Taylor: The new arrangements have been in use for barely six months, and I have no plans to review them.
Mr. Robathan: Does the right hon. Lady agree that, in a parliamentary democracy, the Prime Minister is accountable to Parliament? Did she see yesterday's report in The Times revealing that the Prime Minister had not voted since the summer recess--which may have prompted him to vote once, yesterday? Is she aware that the Prime Minister failed to declare a registrable interest by going to Silverstone, in 1996, and not putting the visit in the Register of Members' Interests? Does she agree that that shows that the Prime Minister does not consider himself to be accountable to Parliament? Furthermore, does she agree that he is treating the voters--all those, of whatever party, who elected us to this place--with contempt and treating parliamentary democracy and the House with disdain and contempt?
Mrs. Taylor: The hon. Gentleman was, I think, asking about Prime Minister's Question Time and accountability. Before I came into the Chamber, I checked the number of questions asked of the Prime Minister in the last week
of the previous Parliament, before the system changed--when a total of 16 questions were asked--and last week, when he was asked 25 questions. The figures mean that more hon. Members had an opportunity to ask a question of the Prime Minister and that, perhaps most important, more Back Benchers had an opportunity to ask him a question.
Sir Patrick Cormack: What attempt has the Leader of the House made to discover hon. Members' reaction to the change? Is she aware that many hon. Members who sat in the previous Parliament do not believe that an improvement has been made? Will she also give the House a total assurance that there will be no more arbitrary changes to our procedures without consultation?
Mrs. Taylor: Yes, I can give an assurance that, when we are considering changes to the rota--which may occasionally happen, depending on the pressures and the wishes of the House for more time for certain Departments--there will be consultations through the usual channels. We have had very few representations criticising the current format of Prime Minister's Question Time. As I said, many Back Benchers seem to approve of the fact that more Back Benchers now have an opportunity to question the Prime Minister.
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