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Ms Quin: I strongly endorse my hon. Friend's comments. I should like the issue to be approached within a cross-party consensus, but I am certainly prepared to defend very strongly the Government's record on it. I am grateful to him for mentioning EU directives, because we have received no official communication from Spain claiming that Gibraltar is in breach of various EU directives. Fifty-one are listed, and that list has been sent to the Commission. That allegation is ill-founded.
I have information that, of the 51 directives listed, 31 have been transposed by Gibraltar. Of the remaining 20, seven are not applicable because of Gibraltar's EU status, and two do not require transposition,
because Gibraltar does not have the relevant facilities. A further seven directives are in the final stages of transposition, with draft legislation complete or almost complete. Gibraltar's record is extremely satisfactory in that respect. Given the commitments that the legislative Assembly has, and the size of Gibraltar, it has done a good job in transposing those directives into legislation.
Mr. Christopher Gill (Ludlow):
The Minister will be aware of the popular perception in Gibraltar that the British Government are not prepared to stand up to the Spanish Government. Will she assure the House that the Foreign Office will abandon its supine policy of doing nothing that upsets the Spanish and will recognise its true responsibility, which is to protect British interests and British subjects?
Ms Quin:
I cannot recommend that the Foreign Office abandons a supine policy that it did not adopt in the first place.
Mr. John Wilkinson (Ruislip-Northwood):
As we are one of the largest contributors to the European Union and Spain is the biggest net recipient by far, would it not concentrate the Spanish mind wonderfully if Her Majesty's Government said that they would cut off the supply to Brussels?
Ms Quin:
The Government would be unwise to deal bilaterally with issues that are the subject of negotiation among the 15 member countries of the European Union. As the hon. Gentleman knows, we are currently negotiating in the European Union on Agenda 2000. We are strongly defending our interests in those negotiations, and we are promoting new ideas and proposals for reform of the European Union.
Mr. Howard:
Will the Minister reply to just one of the questions that I put to her earlier, which she completely ignored? Why has the Foreign Secretary not yet rejected the proposals from Spain for joint sovereignty over Gibraltar?
Ms Quin:
We have a framework for discussing issues with Spain, which was adopted by the previous Government, and we have continued that practice. Those proposals will be examined within that framework without, in any sense, undermining the commitment in the Gibraltar constitution to which many hon. Members on both sides of the House have rightly referred.
Business of the House
12.57 pm
Sir George Young (North-West Hampshire): Will the Leader of the House tell us the business of the House for next week?
The President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mrs. Margaret Beckett): The business for next week will be as follows:
Monday 15 February--Consideration in Committee of the House of Lords Bill [1st Day]
Tuesday 16 February--Consideration in Committee of the House of Lords Bill [2nd Day]
The provisional business for the following week will be as follows:
Monday 22 February--Second Reading of the Immigration and Asylum Bill.
Motion on the Northern Ireland Arms Decommissioning Act 1997. (Amnesty Period) Order.
Tuesday 23 February--Second Reading of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill.
Wednesday 24 February--Until 12.30 pm, debate on the Third Report from the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on Composition, Recruitment and Training of the RUC, followed by a debate on the Sixth Report from the Agriculture Committee on Flood and Coastal Defence. Followed by debates on the motion for the Adjournment of the House.
Remaining stages of the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc) Bill [Lords].
Remaining stages of the Rating (Valuation) Bill.
The Chairman of Ways and Means is expected to name opposed private business for consideration at 7 o'clock.
Thursday 25 February--Debate on Welsh Affairs on a motion for the Adjournment of the House.
Friday 26 February--Private Members' Bills.
The House will also wish to know that on Monday 15 February there will be a debate on Agenda 2000: Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy in European Standing Committee A. [Mr. Rooker].
On Wednesday 24 February there will be a debate on VAT Fraud in Intra-Community Trade, the Independent Fraud Office and the Court of Auditors Annual Report for 1997 in European Standing Committee B. [Ms Hewitt]. Details of the relevant documents will be given in the Official Report.
[Monday 15th February:
European Standing Committee A--Relevant European Committee document: Unnumbered EM, submitted by MAFF on 20 November 1998; Agenda 2000:Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. Relevant European Scrutiny Committee reports:HC 34-ii (1998-99) and HC 34-ix (1998-99).
Wednesday 24 February:
European Standing Committee B--Relevant European Community Document: OJC 349, Court of Auditors report for 1997;14031/98, Independent Fraud Office:10786/98, VAT Fraud in intra-community trade;Relevant European Scrutiny Committee reports:HC 34-vi, HC 34-vii and HC 34-viii (1998-99).]
Sir George Young:
The House is grateful to the right hon. Lady for the announcement of next week's business, and for an indication of business for the following week. Will she find time for a debate on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee report on the Sierra Leone fiasco? Not only does the report contain devastating criticism of the Foreign Office, but the Government have made it clear that they dispute the findings. Does that not make it even more imperative to debate the report at an early stage, so that the House can decide for itself whom to believe?
Can we also debate the Defence Select Committee report on the Territorial Army? Will the right hon. Lady halt the growing practice of Ministers rubbishing Select Committee reports in advance? Before the Defence Select Committee report was even published, the Minister for the Armed Forces said that he would reject any criticism. Will the right hon. Lady condemn that contemptuous approach to the House and its Select Committees?
The Greater London Authority Bill is in Committee again next week. I understand that it is being substantially amended, which suggests either a lack of preparation or some change in policy. May we have an assurance that the Committee will have adequate time to consider those substantial amendments before they are debated?
I understand that the Chancellor will shortly be publishing a document about the euro--the outline national changeover plan--an important publication on an important subject. Can the right hon. Lady confirm that the Chancellor will make a statement to the House on that occasion? Will he be able to explain why Mr. Oskar Lafontaine is able to write an article in today's The Daily Telegraph saying that he is in step with the Prime Minister on Europe, although, yesterday, one Minister endorsed criticism of the German presidency for its proposals to tax the British art market?
In respect of the White Paper on the House of Lords, will the right hon. Lady reflect on what she said to my hon. Friend the Member for South Staffordshire(Sir P. Cormack) and me, and agree that it would be right for the House to debate such an important constitutional reform in Government time?
Finally, can we expect next week a statement on the talks on Kosovo?
Mrs. Beckett:
The right hon. Gentleman asked me for an opportunity to debate the Foreign Affairs Committee report. As he said, it has only just appeared, and the House has already had an opportunity to debate the issuesfully. The Government will, of course, give careful consideration to both the report and our reaction to it, but I understand that the report does not take us much further than the position that we reached at the end of the Legg inquiry. Nevertheless, I undertake to consider that request.
The right hon. Gentleman said that it was necessary to discuss those matters so that we could decide whom to believe. As I have said, I understand that little new has emerged from the report, other than what was known on the publication of the Legg report. The question of whom to believe therefore does not arise in the way implied by the right hon. Gentleman.
As for what the right hon. Gentleman said about the Territorial Army, I did not hear the remarks to which he referred, and I would be very surprised if my hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces had rejected the findings of a report. I am sure that he would have said
what is the case--that there has been full consultation about the Territorial Army, which will provide the background to the Government's reaction.
I share some of the right hon. Gentleman's concern about over-speedy reaction to Select Committee reports, which should indeed be weighed carefully by all hon. Members. I can only say that, if the Opposition perpetuate the practice--for instance, of the shadow Foreign Secretary--of preceding every Select Committee report with a demand for the immediate resignation of the relevant Minister, it is only natural for Ministers to respond. Perhaps each of us can encourage our colleagues not to judge reports before they are published; but the hysterical reaction of Conservative Front Benchers does nothing to encourage such a measured approach.
As for the Greater London Authority Bill, I, like the right hon. Gentleman, dislike the practice that makes extensive amendment necessary during the passage of Bills. That practice grew up under, and was used a good deal by, the last Government. I hope that, following the discussions and proposals of the Modernisation Committee, we shall be able to reduce it gradually, but that will clearly not be possible in the short term. However, I expect that adequate time for consideration of such matters will be available. I remind the right hon. Gentleman that we have not yet resorted to the last Government's practice of guillotining legislation and then introducing substantial new clauses.
The right hon. Gentleman asked for a statement on the changeover plan. I will bear his remarks in mind. As for the remarks of Minister Lafontaine, he says a number of extremely interesting things, none of which is the direct responsibility of this Government; but we shall bear in mind the right hon. Gentleman's request for a statement when the document is published.
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