| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Sir George Young: The House is grateful for next week's business and an indication of the business for the following week. I welcome the announcement of an early debate on drugs, which I called for last week. That leaves outstanding the debate on the royal commission on long-term care, which I also mentioned last week. It reported three months ago and there is growing concern that the important issues that it raised are being ignored. An early debate would allay those fears. I welcome the
third and final debate on the services. I believe that the new structure has been well received.
Might we expect a statement on Monday from the Prime Minister after this weekend's G8 meeting? The Prime Minister has recognised that there is a crisis in Northern Ireland. As we approach the deadline of 30 June the House would welcome a statement from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland about recent developments. Might the Leader of the House facilitate that?
Wednesday's debate on proportional representation has been chosen by the Opposition because of widespread concern at the form of last week's elections, but not at the results. Can she tell the House who will answer for the Government? Might it be the right hon. Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney)?
Finally in the interests of all who work in the House, can the Leader of the House shed any further light on the summer recess beyond saying what she said last week--that she hoped it would be in August?
Mrs. Beckett:
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his welcome for the debate on drugs. Indeed, we have now dealt with a fair number of the outstanding issues, despite having all the extra debates and statements as a result of Kosovo. I am mindful of the request for a debate on long-term care; however, I know that the right hon. Gentleman is aware that the Government are giving careful and full consideration to the recommendations before them.
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for welcoming the pattern of debates on defence. I agree with him that that is an improvement--even at this early stage, the House realises that. I anticipate that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister will make a statement on Monday as to the outcome of the G8 summit, which, as I said last week, is indeed in Cologne--to my relief. I will bear in mind the remarks of the right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire on Northern Ireland; I shall draw them to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
At present, I cannot tell the right hon. Gentleman who will open the PR debate, but it is unlikely to be my right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney). I cannot add anything to what I said last week about the summer recess. However, in view of the right hon. Gentleman's remarks on PR, I congratulate him and his hon. Friend the Member for South Staffordshire(Sir P. Cormack) on the increase in their responsibilities to bring them further into line with some of mine. I invite them to be pleased that they do not undertake the full range of those responsibilities; they are not yet responsible for the Euro-elections or for the millennium bug.
Mr. Alan Simpson (Nottingham, South):
Will the Leader of the House ask the Secretary of State for Health if he intends to make a statement about yesterday's press release on the national health service performance indicators? In the figures published yesterday, those from the hospitals and the health authority in Nottingham were absent, although the data had been sent in. The problem
It would be helpful to clarify the terms on which NHS hospitals are expected safely to contribute data for the national collection of performance indicators.
Mrs. Beckett:
I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I understand that it is possible that some of the returns from Nottingham arrived a little late. However, the difficulty as to the clarification of terms that he identifies may well have contributed to any problems. I shall certainly draw his remarks to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. My hon. Friend is right to point out that to make available information that should be in the public domain is an important new initiative. It is important that we develop it and get it right.
Mr. Paul Tyler (North Cornwall):
Following on from the concerns expressed about various aspects of the national health service, may I again draw the attention of the Leader of the House to the fact that we urgently need a statement from the Secretary of State about NHS dentistry? The situation is deteriorating in many parts of the country.
I endorse the request by the right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire (Sir G. Young) for an early statement and debate on the royal commission on long-term care. We appreciate that the Government must consider the matter carefully, but many weeks have passed since the publication of the royal commission's report and there is considerable concern about the matter.
Can the Leader of the House give us any indication of the likely timetable for freedom of information legislation? Again, there is widespread concern among many Members of the House that there seems to be a major deficiency as between the proposals in the White Paper and those currently being made. I hope that there will be an opportunity for the House to debate them sooner rather than later.
Finally, as we are now two years into this Government, will the Leader of the House give us a progress report on the election pledges on gender discrimination? Will she tell the House how many differential impact assessments have been made? Who will make statements on that matter? Is the Leader of the House directly involved in the Cabinet sub-committee on women, and how often does the sub-committee meet?
Mrs. Beckett:
I will draw the hon. Gentleman's remarks about dentistry and about the need for a debate on long-term care--and the remarks made by the right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire on that subject--to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. As the hon. Member for North Cornwall is aware, some work has been done on improving the standard of NHS dentistry, although we realise that a great deal of work remains to be done to redress the problems that we inherited.
At present, I can give the hon. Gentleman no further information about the timing of the Freedom of Information Bill. However, we look forward eagerly to that debate, as we do not accept that it will reveal any major deficiency; indeed, we believe that many of the criticisms made of the Bill are misplaced.
I do not have to hand the information requested by the hon. Gentleman on gender discrimination and the measurement of differential impacts. However, I shall draw his remarks to the attention of the Leader of the House of Lords, who has responsibility for the matter.
Mr. Frank Cook (Stockton, North):
Will my right hon. and compassionate Friend look at early-day motion 637?
[That this House applauds the decision of Her Majesty's Government to initiate in December 1997 a review of the causal factors related to the alleged Gulf War Syndrome and the physical state of the service personnel and civilians who allegedly suffer its ill effects; applauds the level of concern and degree of logic that led to this decision; expresses the hope that the results of this review will be published in the near future; and calls on the Secretary of State for Defence to apply the same measures of concern and logic to the equally pressing but longer running cause of the British nuclear test veterans.]
Both that early-day motions and early-day motion 659 stand in my name and have gathered considerable support from hon. Members on both sides of the House. They refer to British nuclear test veterans: one calls for a review of veterans' circumstances consequent on their attendance at nuclear tests; the other calls for the institution of a meritorious ribbon. Will my right hon. Friend try to find Government time for a short debate this side of the summer recess, so that the House can form a view that might prompt the inclusion of some sort of sensible suggestion in the Queen's Speech?
Mrs. Beckett:
My hon. Friend has campaigned vigorously on that issue for many years, and many have paid tribute to his efforts. The Government have made clear our recognition and appreciation of the service given by those veterans and, as my hon. Friend knows, the issue has been considered exhaustively over a number of years. However, I remind my hon. Friend that, although we did say that the arrangement was provisional, we anticipate that there will be a debate on armed forces personnel on 1 July. If he is able to catch Madam Speaker's eye, he will be able to raise such matters on that occasion.
Mr. Peter Viggers (Gosport):
Following the question on hospital league tables, does the right hon. Lady agree that those might require further analysis and refinement? One point is absolutely clear: the crucial importance of keeping to an absolute minimum the time between heart attack and hospital admission. Does she accept that, if the Royal Hospital Haslar in my constituency, with its accident and emergency unit, were to be closed, there is no doubt that lives would be lost on the congested road between Gosport and the remaining hospitals? Does she agree that, because of that and because of the overwhelming need to solve the crisis in the defence medical services, which the closure of that hospital would
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |