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New National Forest
Q7. [79139] Mr. David Taylor (North-West Leicestershire): When he next expects to visit the new national forest.
The Deputy Prime Minister rose--
The Deputy Prime Minister: There are different ways of doing it at different times; it is the way I tell them. Just hang on. The answer is: my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has no immediate plans to do so.
Mr. Taylor: I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. Is he aware that the first new national forest for several centuries, covering 200 square miles and several parliamentary constituencies, has been an astonishing success, but for it to be genuinely environmentally sustainable, passenger rail services need to be returned to the national forest line between Leicester and Burton? Can my right hon. Friend confirm that the integrated transport strategy was designed to encourage just such projects? When he visits the area, will he reassure the 200,000 people who live there that the Government cavalry can ride to the rescue of the scheme, which is rapidly becoming becalmed in a quagmire created by Tory privatisation?
The Deputy Prime Minister: May I apologise for causing some confusion at the beginning of the question? I thought that you said that it was Question 7, Madam Speaker; now I understand that it is Question 6.
Madam Speaker: Order. The right hon. Gentleman is in perfect order. It is Question 7.
The Deputy Prime Minister: There was a change to or the removal of a question, so I thought this was Question 6. I apologise to you, Madam Speaker, and to the House.
My hon. Friend asked how we could improve the railway service in the area. Without doubt, we want improvements in the railways and in access to the wonderful countryside. Rail routes that have been discontinued or are not properly used are being reviewed by the Strategic Rail Authority, which started business on 1 April. We believe that it will improve access to the industry and to those beautiful areas--[Interruption.]
Madam Speaker:
Order. If the House would come to order and hon. Members would read their Order Papers, they would know which question was being answered--[Interruption.] No; hon. Members should read the Order Paper. This is a substantive question.
Q8. [79140] Mr. Norman Baker (Lewes):
Does the Deputy Prime Minister remember telling the Labour party conference last September that
Can he explain why the Department of Trade and Industry has published a report recently called "Releasing the Power of Rail", which boasts that
What explains this miraculous transformation from base metal to gold? Was he right or has he now been shunted into the sidings by his colleagues in the Department of Trade and Industry?
The Deputy Prime Minister:
The reference in the Department of Trade and Industry report was to the engineering excellence available in the United Kingdom. The problem with privatisation in the United Kingdom is that we have not had or achieved that type of modern investment, and that, by common consent, privatisation has not improved the railway system. The appointment of the Strategic Rail Authority, a new franchising director and a new Rail Regulator will make a difference. It is a spring clean. I intend to make a change, and that change will come.
Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover):
On the subject of withholding money, has my right hon. Friend seen this morning's newspapers? The Daily Express--no less--has informed us that, in the run-up to the general election, the Tory party took £18,000 from a firm that was close to Milosevic. None of them have denied it. Does my right hon. Friend agree that that money should be handed over to the Secretary of State for International Development, so that she can take the money to the refugees?
The Deputy Prime Minister:
I am sure that that point has been heard. We shall see whether the Tories respond to it in the same spirit.
Q9. [79141] Mrs. Eleanor Laing (Epping Forest):
A few moments ago, the Deputy Prime Minister failed to answer the question asked, very reasonably, by the hon. Member for West Tyrone (Mr. Thompson). If I ask a more simple question, perhaps the Deputy Prime Minister will answer it. In view of the refusal of paramilitary organisations in Ireland to give up their weapons, will the Deputy Prime Minister now agree with what Opposition Members have been saying for many months--that there should be no more releases of terrorist prisoners until decommissioning starts and terrorism stops? Does he agree or not?
The Deputy Prime Minister:
It is understood in the House that there is bipartisan agreement on support for the Good Friday agreement--which involved release of prisoners. The agreement has been endorsed by the House, and it has certainly been endorsed in Northern Ireland. All of us should use the type of language that encourages people to finalise the Good Friday agreement, rather than to ask such questions. If that is the type of advice that the hon. Lady is giving, it is only as good as the advice that she gave as the special adviser on railway privatisation.
Q10. [79142] Mr. Clive Soley (Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush):
Is it not time to put on record what my right hon. Friend will remember well--that, during our years in opposition, we gave support to the Conservative party in government, particularly on Northern Ireland, and particularly when the United Kingdom was at war? [Interruption.] We did not attempt to seek narrow party advantage, as we have heard today. [Interruption.]
Madam Speaker:
Order. I will have a little silence on the Opposition Benches, particularly on the Front Bench.
Mr. Soley:
On issues such as Northern Ireland and Kosovo, support should stay solid on both sides of the House.
The Deputy Prime Minister:
My hon. Friend is absolutely right--and I do believe that support is solid on both sides of the House. However, some individual voices express certain views. I appeal to them to bear it in mind that words spoken in the Chamber can have an effect that does not help the process of peace,
Mr. David Atkinson (Bournemouth, East):
Will the Deputy Prime Minister tell my constituents in Bournemouth why their council tax remained substantially the same under the previous Conservative Government, but has risen by 20 per cent. under this Government?
The Deputy Prime Minister:
The reality of the agreement on council tax increases, on average--[Hon. Members: "In Bournemouth."] I shall deal with Bournemouth in a second. The average council tax increase was 6.8 per cent. On average, across the country, Tory councils had higher increases, at 7.6 per cent., and Labour councils had lower ones, at 6.1 per cent. We are producing a better-value service that has been recognised in the United Kingdom. In the elections in 1995, we returned a record number of councillors and councils. Now, Tory councils are responsible for and in control of only 5 per cent. of councils, including Bournemouth. The people gave their verdict on the Tory councils, and they rejected them.
Dr. Liam Fox (Woodspring):
On a point of order, Madam Speaker. You may have seen newspaper reports today that following the defeat of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill in the House of Lords last night, the Government are claiming that they will now use the Parliament Acts to bring the Bill back for a third time. If that is done in a year's time, a change will be sought to the law in Scotland in an area which will by then be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. Has the Secretary of State for Scotland made any attempt to make a statement in this House to clarify under what legislation the Government intend to implement such proposals, which undermine their own policy of devolution?
Madam Speaker:
I am not aware of any statement that is about to be made in the House. The Government have not made their intentions known to me at this stage.
Mr. Ian Bruce (South Dorset):
On a point of order, Madam Speaker. I understand that one of the Government's key policies is to get youth unemployment down, and I know that all hon. Members on both sides of the House want to see the statistics on youth unemployment. Apparently, the Office for National Statistics has just announced that the Government have asked it not to keep those statistics any more, so we will not be able to see whether the new deal is working or not.
"the performance of our privatised railway is by common consent a disgrace, with service reductions, failing performance and increased fares"?
"Britain's railways have experienced a revolution in thinking as well as massive new investment. There is new energy and enthusiasm in the industry. The customer is king"?
3.30 pm
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