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Mr. Michael: I am happy to give those assurances. Nevill Hall will continue as a district general hospital. As I indicated earlier, there must not be an exercise in asset stripping. My hon. Friend is right to point out that there was no consultation when the previous group of trusts was created, but we have listened, and I would be more likely to share the concerns expressed by some of his constituents if the trusts were to be of the type set up by the previous Government. We have made it clear that the trusts must be totally different, and must involve partnership and co-operation. They must provide an integrated health service in which there is no question of hospitals or acute services winning over community services, but, instead, complementing each other. I shall be happy to work through those issues with my hon. Friend and his colleagues as time goes by.
Business of the House
5.10 pm
The President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mrs. Margaret Beckett): With permission, Madam Speaker, I shall make a statement on the business of the House. The business for next week is as follows:
Monday 7 December--Second Reading of the Water Industry Bill.
Tuesday 8 December--Second Reading of the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Bill.
Wednesday 9 December--Until 2 o'clock, there will be debates on the motion for the Adjournment of the House.
Opposition Day [1st Allotted Day].
Until about 7 o'clock there will be a debate on decommissioning and the release of prisoners, followed by a debate on tax. Both debates will arise on Opposition motions.
Motion on section 155 of the Finance Act 1998.
Thursday 10 December--Estimates Day [1st Allotted Day].
There will be a debate on prison sentences and alternatives to prison sentences, followed by a debate on new deal pathfinders and pathways into work for lone parents. Details will be given in the Official Report.
At 10 o'clock the House will be asked to agree the winter supplementary estimates, the votes on account and supplementary defence votes A.
Friday 11 December--The House will not be sitting.
The provisional business for the following week will be as follows:
Monday 14 December--Second Reading of the Greater London Authority Bill.
Tuesday 15 December--Until 7 o'clock, conclusion of Second Reading of the Greater London Authority Bill,
Debate on the Common Fisheries Policy on a Government motion
Proceedings on the Consolidated Fund Bill.
Wednesday 16 December--Until 2 o'clock, there will be debates on the motion for the Adjournment of the House, which will include the usual three-hour pre-recess debate.
Debate on the modernisation of the House of Commons.
Thursday 17 December--Second Reading of the Scottish Enterprise Bill.
Friday 18 December--The House will not be sitting.
Subject to the progress of business, it will be proposed that the House will rise for the Christmas recess from Thursday 17 December until Monday 11 January 1999.
[Thursday 10 December:
Estimates Day [1st Allotted Day]--Class 1V, Votes 1 and 2: Home Office administration, police, probation, immigration and other services, England and Wales, and prisons, England and Wales, in so far as they relate to prison sentences and alternatives to prison sentences. Relevant reports: the Third Report from the Home Affairs Committee, Session 1997-98, on Alternatives to Prison Sentences (HC 486).
The Department for Education and Employment and Office for Standards in Education Departmental Report: The Government's Expenditure Plans 1998-99 (Cm 3910).
The Home Office Annual Report 1998 (Cm 3908).
Class 1, Votes 1 and 3: Department for Education and Employment: programmes and central services and Employment Service and Class X11: Department of Social Security, in so far as they relate to New Deal Pathfinders and Pathways into Work for Lone Parents. Relevant Reports: the Seventh Report from the Education and Employment Committee, Session 1997-98, Pathways into Work for Lone Parents (HC 646); and the Government's response thereto (HC 1122); the Eighth Report from the Education and Employment Committee, Session 1997-98, New Deal Pathfinders (HC 1059)and the Government's response thereto (HC 1123)
Sir George Young (North-West Hampshire):
The House is grateful for the business and for the dates of the Christmas recess, which are a sensible response to our suggestion that there was no point in bringing the House back after a non-sitting Friday for one or two days during Christmas week when we want to be busy in our constituencies.
On the Greater London Authority Bill, I am grateful for the right hon. Lady's response to my suggestion of allowing extra time for debate. Will the House be able to sit until midnight on that day so that debate is not duly constrained? May I repeat my request for sections of the Bill to be taken on the Floor of the House as they affect the constitution?
The right hon. Lady trailed a debate on modernisation of the House, not on a Thursday, but on a Wednesday. Can she confirm that the report on how we manage Thursdays will be published in good time for that debate? Does she recognise that Members have strong and conflicting views on that matter? Can she confirm that Members will be able to vote for a range of options, including the status quo, on a free vote?
On Monday, will the Prime Minister be making a statement on the Anglo-French summit, and will he be able to explain his increasingly isolationist language on European matters? When we debate tax on Wednesday, will the Chancellor try to make good his disappointing performance on the "Today" programme on tax harmonisation? Will he be able to tell us which United Kingdom businesses are being targeted by the working group on harmful competition, which is chaired by the Financial Secretary? Will the Chancellor explain what he meant when he signed a code to tackle harmful tax competition? Will he give the same messages in the UK that he gives when he is in Europe?
Mrs. Beckett:
First, I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that we intend to suspend the rule and to allow debate until midnight on the first day of consideration on the Greater London Authority Bill. We hope that debate on the second day will conclude at around 7 o'clock.
Secondly, the right hon. Gentleman asked whether we would take sections of that Bill on the Floor of the House. We can discuss that through the usual channels,and I understand both the concerns of the right hon. Gentleman and his hon. Friends, and their anxiety to scrutinise the Bill thoroughly.
The right hon. Gentleman asked whether I expected the report on modernisation of the House of Commons to be published in time for the debate. I expect it to be published on Monday, leaving many days in which Members may consider it. He also asked about voting. It would be wrong of me to attempt to comment on how we might handle decisions when the report is not yet before the House. I am sure that the matter can be discussed through the usual channels, although if hon. Members wish to vote for the status quo, all that is required is that they reject any proposal for change. There will certainly be a free vote.
The right hon. Gentleman asked whether my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister would make a statement on the summit. I expect that my right hon. Friend will do so. As we have made clear, informal councils or meetings might not be followed by a statement, but we certainly expect the Prime Minister to make a statement after the summit. With regard to the observations of the right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire (Sir George Young) on the Prime Minister's stand, I feel that the right hon. Gentleman is drifting back in time. The Government are not isolationist; on the contrary, we seek, successfully, to put together alliances across the European Union, which is one reason why we--unlike the previous Government--were successful in lifting the beef ban, a lifting long promised by the Conservatives, but never delivered.
Finally, the right hon. Gentleman referred to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the finance debate. I am sure that my right hon. Friend will speak about some of the issues that the right hon. Gentleman has raised. As for the targeting of UK businesses in any proposal under discussion, the right hon. Gentleman entirely misunderstands that matter. We have had many complaints--I am sure that the previous Government had many such complaints in their day--about unfair taxes and concessions elsewhere. United Kingdom businesses have complained to us, and my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary is addressing those complaints.
Mr. Tony Benn (Chesterfield):
Have the Government given any consideration whatever to making a statement about the information that came out casually yesterday that there has been a major change in Government policy towards the second Chamber? The House has been completely bypassed. Was the matter discussed by the consultative committee on which the leader of the Liberal Democrats sits? Is Lord Cranborne now an unofficial member of that committee, as part of the patriotic alliance? Will the hereditary peers who are elected be elected by proportional representation on a closed-list system, or will they be elected in the traditional hereditary manner of first past the bedpost?
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