![]() House of Commons |
Session 1997-1998 |
Commons Journal 254
Chronological Index
Page 509 1997-1998 Volume 254 [No. 153.] Monday 6th April 1998. The House met at half-past Two oclock. PRAYERS.
Business Improvement Districts Bill [Lords],The Lords have passed a Bill, intituled, An Act to provide for the establishment and administration of business improvement districts; to which the Lords desire the concurrence of this House. Electricity Generation Bill [Lords],The Lords have passed a Bill, intituled, An Act to extend the obligation to generate electricity from certain fuel sources; to which the Lords desire the concurrence of this House.
Trade Union Recognition,A Motion was made, and the Question being proposed, That this House urges the Government to define its policy on trade union recognition; and urges it to require the support of 50 per cent. of the total workforce, rather than 50 per cent. of those voting in ballots, to determine whether union recognition should be compulsory, given the Government's rejection of the Official Opposition's policy of leaving the law unchanged(Mr Stephen Dorrell); An Amendment was proposed to the Question, in line 2, to leave out from the word House' to the end of the Question and add the words congratulates the Government for acting quickly and effectively to redress the damaging culture of low pay, job insecurity and the sweatshop economy inherited from the previous Government by adopting a partnership approach to set decent minimum standards for all workers; notes that good standards at work are essential for competitiveness and business success and that the Government has, as part of its strategy for ensuring decent minimum standards and labour market flexibility, involved employers' and workers' representives on the Low Pay Commission and in discussions on trade union recognition, and in addition has restored union rights at GCHQ, signed the European Social Chapter and made rapid progress on the National Minimum Wage Bill; and further notes that the Government is also committed, as part of that strategy, which enjoys wide support, to implementing the Directives on Working Time, Young Workers, European Works Councils and Part-Time Work, and to fulfilling the Government's commitment to enable workers to enjoy union recognition where a majority of the relevant workforce vote in a ballot for the union to represent them', instead thereof.(Mr Ian McCartney.) And the Question being put, That the original words stand part of the Question; The House divided. Tellers for the Ayes, Mr John M. Taylor, Sir David Madel: 129. Tellers for the Noes, Mr David Clelland, Mr Jon Owen Jones: 316. So the Question was negatived. And the Question, That the proposed words be there added, being put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 31 (Questions on amendments):It was agreed to. The Deputy Speaker forthwith declared the Main Question, as amended, to be agreed to. Resolved, That this House congratulates the Government for acting quickly and effectively to redress the damaging culture of low pay, job insecurity and the sweatshop economy inherited from the previous Government by adopting a partnership approach to set decent minimum standards for all workers; notes that good standards at work are essential for competitiveness and business success and that the Government has, as part of its strategy for ensuring decent minimum standards and labour market flexibility, involved employers' and workers' representives on the Low Pay Commission and in discussions on trade union recognition, and in addition has restored union rights at GCHQ, signed the European Social Chapter and made rapid progress on the National Minimum Wage Bill; and further notes that the Government is also committed, as part of that strategy, which enjoys wide support, to implementing the Directives on Working Time, Young Workers, European Works Councils and Part-Time Work, and to fulfilling the Government's commitment to enable workers to enjoy union recognition where a majority of the relevant workforce vote in a ballot for the union to represent them. Page 510 Monday 6th April 1998 1997-1998 Volume 254 Back to top Manufacturing Industry,A Motion was made, and the Question being proposed, This this House notes the TUC forecast of 200,000 job losses in manufacturing resulting from this Government's economic policies, the fact that so many manufacturers have to make representations about export and trading problems, the absence of a stable and competitive exchange rate, the damage done by tax increases imposed on business and the forthcoming wage and labour relations problems coming from the Government's social and labour law agenda; and urges the Government to put the interests of manufacturing business higher up its agenda, changing policies before factories close and jobs are lost(Mr John Redwood); An Amendment was proposed to the Question, in line 2, to leave out from the word House' to the end of the Question and add the words deplores the Opposition's attempt to criticise the economic management of the Government as a feeble attempt to cover up their own appalling record of economic mis-management; notes that under the Conservatives Britain slumped in the world prosperity league, saw the slowest period of growth since World War II, saw higher average inflation than in any other major industrialised country bar Italy, and had the lowest level of investment of the 24 OECD countries; also notes that the Conservatives left office with manufacturing investment lower than it was when they came to power, left Britain's share of world trade at its lowest ever, gave Britain a deficit on manufacturing trade for the first time ever, saw thousands of manufacturing firms go under due to their boom and bust policies, more than doubled the level of unemployment in their period in office, and left behind not a golden economic legacy, but an economy and public finances facing real difficulties; congratulates the Government on its prompt actions such as promoting the competitiveness agenda and fostering investment in R & D and innovation, and creating an open and transparent framework for monetary and fiscal policy to secure a platform of stability for growth and employment; and notes that the Government is addressing the problems which the Conservative Government left behind with positive practical proposals to take the nation into the 21st century', instead thereof.(Secretary Margaret Beckett.) And the Question being put, That the original words stand part of the Question; The House divided. Tellers for the Ayes, Mr John M. Taylor, Mr Oliver Heald: 135. Tellers for the Noes, Mr Clive Betts, Mr Robert Ainsworth: 333. So the Question was negatived. And the Question, That the proposed words be there added, being put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 31 (Questions on amendments):It was agreed to. The Speaker forthwith declared the Main Question, as amended, to be agreed to. Resolved, That this House deplores the Opposition's attempt to criticise the economic management of the Government as a feeble attempt to cover up their own appalling record of economic mis-management; notes that under the Conservatives Britain slumped in the world prosperity league, saw the slowest period of growth since World War II, saw higher average inflation than in any other major industrialised country bar Italy, and had the lowest level of investment of any of the 24 OECD countries; also notes that the Conservatives left office with manufacturing investment lower than it was when they came to power, left Britain's share of world trade at its lowest ever, gave Britain a deficit on manufacturing trade for the first time ever, saw thousands of manufacturing firms go under due to their boom and bust policies, more than doubled the level of unemployment in their period in office, and left behind not a golden economic legacy, but an economy and public finances facing real difficulties; congratulates the Government on its prompt actions such as promoting the competitiveness agenda and fostering investment in R & D and innovation, and creating an open and transparent framework for monetary and fiscal policy to secure a platform of stability for growth and employment; and notes that the Government is addressing the problems which the Conservative Government left behind with positive practical proposals to take the nation into the 21st century.
Page 511 Monday 6th April 1998 1997-1998 Volume 254 Back to top
And accordingly the House, having continued to sit till twenty-five minutes to Eleven o'clock, adjourned till to-morrow. [Adjourned at 10.35 p.m. APPENDIX I Papers presented by Her Majesty's Command and delivered to the Votes and Proceedings Office on Friday 3rd April 1998 (Non-sitting Friday, S.O. No. 12) pursuant to Standing Order No. 158 (Presentation of command papers):
(1) Chancellor of the Exchequer's Departments (including Net Payments to European Community Institutions) [Cm. 3917] [Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer]; (2) Department for Culture, Media and Sport [Cm. 3911] [Mr Secretary Smith]; (3) Department for Education and Employment and Office for Standards in Education [Cm. 3910] [Mr Secretary Blunkett]; and (4) Department of Health: The Health and Personal Social Services Programmes [Cm. 3912] [Mr Secretary Dobson].
Papers delivered to the Votes and Proceedings Office on Friday 3rd April 1998 (Non-sitting Friday, S.O. No. 12) pursuant to Standing Order No. 159 (Presentation of statutory instruments): Papers subject to Negative Resolution:
(2) Fertilisers (Mammalian Meat and Bone Meal) (Conditions of Manufacture) Regulations 1998 (S.I., 1998, No. 955), dated 2nd April 1998 [Dr John Cunningham].
Page 512 Monday 6th April 1998 1997-1998 Volume 254 Back to top Papers presented or laid upon the Table on Monday 6th April 1998: Papers subject to Affirmative Resolution:
Papers subject to Negative Resolution:
Other Papers:
(1) HM Customs and Excise [by Command] [Cm. 3918] [Dawn Primarolo]; (2) Home Office [by Command] [Cm. 3908] [Mr Secretary Straw]; (3) Inland Revenue [by Command] [Cm. 3919] [Dawn Primarolo]; and (4) Department of Trade and Industry [by Command] [Cm. 3905] [Secretary Margaret Beckett].
(1) on 1st April 1998 on loans proposed to be raised by Fosse Health National Health Service Trust; and (2) on 3rd April 1998 on loans proposed to be raised by the following National Health Service Trusts: (i) Bath Mental Health Care, (ii) Lifecare, (iii) Merton & Sutton Community, and (iv) Weston Area Health [by Act] [Mr Secretary Dobson].
APPENDIX II Standing Committees
Page 513 Monday 6th April 1998 1997-1998 Volume 254 Back to top
APPENDIX III Reports from Select Committees
[No. 154.] Tuesday 7th April 1998. The House met at half-past Two o'clock. PRAYERS.
Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee to lie upon the Table.
Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee to lie upon the Table.
Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee to lie upon the Table.
The Lords have agreed to the Criminal Procedure (Intermediate Diets) (Scotland) Bill, without Amendment.
And a Motion being made, and the Question being put, That the Bill be now read a second time; The House divided. Tellers for the Ayes, Mr John McFall, Mr Jim Dowd: 309. Tellers for the Noes, Mr Stephen Day, Mr Nigel Waterson: 135. So the Question was agreed to. Page 514 Tuesday 7th April 1998 1997-1998 Volume 254 Back to top The Bill was accordingly read a second time and stood committed to a Standing Committee.
A Motion was made, and the Question being put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 52 (Money resolutions and ways and means resolutions in connection with bills), That, for the purposes of any Act resulting from the National Lottery Bill [Lords], it is expedient to authorise (1) the payment out of money provided by Parliament of (a) any expenditure of the Director General of the National Lottery which is attributable to the Act; (b) any expenditure of the National Lottery Commission established by the Act; and (c) any increase attributable to the Act in the sums so payable under any other enactment; and (2) the making of payments into the Consolidated Fund(Mr Robert Ainsworth); The House divided. Tellers for the Ayes, Mr John McFall, Mr Jim Dowd: 300. Tellers for the Noes, Mr Owen Paterson, Mr Dominic Grieve: 14. So the Question was agreed to. Resolved, That, for the purpose of any Act resulting from the National Lottery Bill [Lords], it is expedient to authorise (1) the payment out of money provided by Parliament of (a) any expenditure of the Director General of the National Lottery which is attributable to the Act; (b) any expenditure of the National Lottery Commission established by the Act; and (c) any increase attributable to the Act in the sums so payable under any other enactment; and (2) the making of payments into the Consolidated Fund.
And accordingly the House, having continued to sit till ten minutes to Eleven o'clock, adjourned till to-morrow. [Adjourned at 10.50 p.m. APPENDIX I Papers presented or laid upon the Table: Papers subject to Affirmative Resolution:
Papers subject to Negative Resolution:
(2) Fishing Vessels (Safety Provisions) (Amendment) Rules 1998 (S.I., 1998, No. 928), and Page 515 Tuesday 7th April 1998 1997-1998 Volume 254 Back to top (3) Merchant Shipping (Crew Accommodation) (Fishing Vessels) (Amendment) Regulations 1998 (S.I., 1998, No. 929), dated 30th March 1998 [by Act] [Mr Secretary Prescott].
Other Papers
(1) Cabinet Office, Privy Council Office and Parliament [by Command] [Cm. 3920] [Dr David Clark]; (2) Department for International Development [by Command] [Cm. 3907] [Secretary Clare Short]; (3) Department of Social Security [by Command] [Cm. 3913] [Secretary Harriet Harman]; (4) Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Ordnance Survey, Officer of Passenger Rail Franchising, Office of the Rail Regulator and Office of Water Services [by Command] [Cm. 3906] [Mr Secretary Prescott]; (5) Foreign & Commonwealth Office [by Command] (Cm. 3903] [Mr Secretary Cook]; (6) Lord Chancellor's & Law Officers' Departments [by Command] [Cm. 3909] [Mr Geoffrey Hoon]; (7) Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Invervention Board [by Command] [Cm. 3904] [Dr John Cunningham]; (8) Ministry of Defence [by Command] [Cm. 3902] [Mr Secretary Robertson]; (9) Northern Ireland [by Command] [Cm. 3916] [Secretary Marjorie Mowlam]; and (10) Welsh Office and the Office of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in Wales [by Command] [Cm. 3915] [Mr Secretary Davies].
(2) Estimates (Class XVIII, A, House of Commons) for 199899 [by Command]; to be printed [No. 636] [The Speaker]; and (3) Estimates (Class XVIII, B, Vote 1: National Audit Office) [by Command]; to be printed [No. 637] [Mr Robert Sheldon]. APPENDIX II European Standing Committees
APPENDIX III Reports from Select Committees
Page 516 Tuesday 7th April 1998 1997-1998 Volume 254 Back to top
[No. 155.] Wednesday 8th April 1998. The House met at half-past Nine o'clock. PRAYERS.
And it being Two o'clock, the Motion for the adjournment of the House lapsed, without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order.
Employment Rights (Dispute Resolution) Act 1998 Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1998 Criminal Procedure (Intermediate Diets) (Scotland) Act 1998 Tyne Tunnels Act 1998.
That the Committee takes note of European Community Document No. 13289/97, a Commission Green Paper on the convergence of the telecommunications, media and information technology sectors, and the implications for regulation: Towards an Information Society Approach; shares the Commission's assessment of the importance of convergence to support the development of the information society; welcomes the Commission's recognition that the development of convergence provides substantial opportunities for job creation and growth; and notes that the Government intends shortly to launch a consultation on the future regulation of broadcasting and telecommunications in the United Kingdom. Report, together with Resolution, to lie upon the Table.
Page 517 Wednesday 8th April 1998 1997-1998 Volume 254 Back to top Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee to lie upon the Table.
And the Question being opposed, after a brief explanatory statement from the Member who made the Motion and from a Member who opposed it, the Speaker put the Question, pursuant to Standing Order No. 23 (Motions for leave to bring in bills and nomination of select committees at commencement of public business):It was agreed to. Ordered, That Mr Fraser Kemp, Mr Stephen Hepburn, Mr Peter Atkinson, Mr Ronnie Campbell, Mr Denis Murphy and Mr Jim Dobbin do prepare and bring in the Bill.
A Motion was made, and the Question being put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 52 (Money resolutions and ways and means resolutions in connection with bills), That, for the purposes of any Act resulting from the Crime and Disorder Bill [Lords], it is expedient to authorise (1) the payment out of money provided by Parliament of (a) any expenditure of a Minister of the Crown incurred under or by virtue of the Act; and (b) any increase attributable to the Act in the sums payable under any other Act out of money so provided; and (2) the payment into the Consolidated Fund of any sums received by a Minister of the Crown under or by virtue of the Act(Jane Kennedy):It was agreed to.
And accordingly the House, having continued to sit till twenty-eight minutes past Ten o'clock, adjourned till Monday 20th April, pursuant to Resolution [20th March]. [Adjourned at 10.28 p.m. APPENDIX I Papers presented or laid upon the Table: Papers subject to Negative Resolution:
Page 518 Wednesday 8th April 1998 1997-1998 Volume 254 Back to top (2) Consumer Credit (Realisation of Pawn) (Amendment) Regulations 1998 (S.I., 1998, No. 998), dated 1st April 1998 [by Act] [Secretary Margaret Beckett].
(2) National Crime Squad Service Authority (Standing Orders) Regulations 1998 (S.I., 1998, No. 1002), dated 7th April 1998 [by Act] [Mr Secretary Straw].
(2) Motor Vehicles (Type Approval) (Great Britain) (Amendment) Regulations 1998 (S.I. , 1998, No. 1005), (3) Motor Vehicles (Type Approval for Goods Vehicles) (Great Britain) (Amendment) Regulations 1998 (S.I., 1998, No. 1006), (4) Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 1998 (S.I., 1998, No. 1000), and (5) Road Vehicles Registration Fee (Amendment) Regulations 1998 (S.I., 1998, No. 995), dated 7th April 1998 [by Act] [Mr Secretary Prescott].
Other Papers:
Page 519 Wednesday 8th April 1998 1997-1998 Volume 254 Back to top
APPENDIX II Standing Committees
(1) The Speaker has allocated the Bill to Standing Committee A, and appointed Mr Roger Gale and Mr Joe Benton Chairmen; and (2) the Committee of Selection has nominated twenty-one Members to serve on the Committee, viz.: Janet Anderson, Mr Tony Banks, Mr Ivor Caplin, Mr Michael Connarty, Mr Ronnie Fearn, Mr Mark Fisher, Mr Christopher Fraser, Mr Bernie Grant, Mr Damian Green, Mrs Joan Humble, Mr Tom Levitt, Mr Robert Maclennan, Fiona Mactaggart, Laura Moffatt, Mr Jim Murphy, Mrs Diana Organ, Mr Kerry Pollard, Mr David Prior, Mr Richard Spring, Mr Gareth R. Thomas and Mr Nigel Waterson.
(1) The Speaker has allocated the Regulations to the First Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation, and appointed Mr Peter Atkinson Chairman; and (2) the Committee of Selection has nominated sixteen Members to serve on the Committee, viz.: Mrs Jackie Ballard, Mr Graham Brady, Mrs Angela Browning, Mr John Cryer, Mr John Cummings, Mrs Eileen Gordon, Mr David Jamieson, Mr Piara S. Khabra, Mrs Theresa May, Estelle Morris, Mr Peter Snape, Rachel Squire, Mr Nick St. Aubyn, Mr Mark Todd, Mr Phil Willis and Derek Wyatt. APPENDIX III Reports from Select Committees
(2) Memoranda laid before the Treasury Committee [The 1998 Budget] [Mr Giles Radice]
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