| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Mrs. Beckett: I share my hon. Friend's view that the report is interesting; it raises several important matters that will need to be discussed. Of course, as the report is important, weighty and worthy of consideration, it has not received much media coverage. However, I fear that I cannot undertake to find time for a special debate on it in the near future. My hon. Friend may find opportunities today, or on another occasion, to raise some of the issues that it sets out. They require the thorough consideration and debate that I am sure they will receive.
Mr. John Wilkinson (Ruislip-Northwood): Why cannot the Leader of the House find time for the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to announce in debate a success for his ethical foreign policy? Does the right hon. Lady realise how earnestly such a success is sought--most notably by the white farmers of Zimbabwe, who daily face forcible expropriation of their farms? Many of those farmers are British, and the House is entitled to know how the Secretary of State's foreign policy will curtail the lawless excesses that are being perpetrated in Zimbabwe, especially as that country is a recipient of British overseas aid and one to which Britain has exported armaments.
Mrs. Beckett: The hon. Gentleman must be aware of the Government's concerns about some of the things that have been happening in Zimbabwe and about the behaviour of the Zimbabwean Government. Only recently, we had to make strong protests to them. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will also be aware that the staff in Zimbabwe have--I understand--been increased to provide continuing help and support. The Government will maintain that role.
Mr. David Chaytor (Bury, North): In view of the welcome ministerial statement earlier this week, announcing the deferral of the decision on the public- private partnership for British Nuclear Fuels plc; in view of the continuing pressure applied to BNFL by utilities in Japan, Germany and Sweden; and in view of the pressure to close Sellafield now being applied by the Governments of Ireland, Iceland and Denmark, does my right hon. Friend agree that there is an irrefutable argument for holding a debate in Government time on the future of nuclear energy and, in particular, of nuclear reprocessing in this country?
Mrs. Beckett: I understand my hon. Friend's interest in this difficult and complex subject. May I pick him up on one point? He mentioned the calls about Sellafield from the Irish and Danish Governments. I think that I am right in saying that those Governments are not calling for the closure of Sellafield. It is not possible to close Sellafield, which is an important facility where large
quantities of material need to be held and managed safely. Those Governments are calling for no further reprocessing and we have that matter under review.
My hon. Friend will know that BNFL has some current difficulties with its customers; those are for the company to resolve. Until there has been some progress on that, I cannot undertake to find time for a debate on the matter in the short term.
Mr. Graham Brady (Altrincham and Sale, West):
Last week, the Commissioner for Public Appointments published a report which made important recommendations for ending what she found to be a systematic process of politicisation in NHS appointments under the Labour Government. Will the Leader of the House tell us when there will be either a debate on the report or a Government statement on when and how those recommendations will be implemented?
Mrs. Beckett:
Of course, I am aware of the commissioner's report. I am a little surprised that the hon. Gentleman is so keen to highlight the comments to which he referred, as the system under which those appointments are made was set up by the previous Conservative Government. He should be aware that the sifting and interviews for such appointments are undertaken by a panel with an independent assessor, and that the process is not open to Ministers. Nor have Ministers appointed anyone--
Mrs. Beckett:
I do not know why the hon. Gentleman shakes his head. Those are facts, not matters of opinion. Ministers are not in a position to appoint anyone who has not been through that process. The hon. Gentleman should be aware of that; if he is not, that is no doubt why he continues to raise a matter that is erroneous.
Dr. George Turner (North-West Norfolk):
I am sad to tell the House that, for the second time within a few months, Barclays will close a branch in my constituency--this time, in Terrington St. Clement. Yesterday, the Prime Minister made it clear that the Government believe that when banks close, communities can be served by post offices. Last night's debate, in particular, made it clear that while there is uncertainty, there will be mischief making from Conservative Members about the future of the Post Office. The report that we await from the performance and innovation unit will be very important. Will my right hon. Friend undertake to provide an early opportunity, following its publication, for a proper and thorough debate in the House on its contents?
Mrs. Beckett:
Of course I am aware of the concern that my hon. Friend has repeatedly raised in the House on behalf of his constituents about the impact of such closures. I know that that concern is shared by many Members and in many parts of the country, and the issue was discussed in Westminster Hall yesterday. We await the publication soon of the report to which he referred, but I cannot undertake to find time for a debate on it in the near future in this Chamber. However, no doubt to the despair of Opposition Members, I recommend to him that it is a matter that can be pursued in Westminster Hall.
Mr. Owen Paterson (North Shropshire):
Today's replies from the Leader of the House on agriculture show
Mrs. Beckett:
With respect to the hon. Gentleman, it is important for Members to put the case on behalf of their constituents. However, people in the farming industry probably think that they are capable of putting their concerns across in person to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. That is why they are meeting him today. I accept that Members will wish to pursue any announcements that are made and to raise issues on behalf of their constituents. I remind the hon. Gentleman that Members can today table questions for the next Agriculture Question Time, which will be held on 13 April.
Mr. Desmond Swayne (New Forest, West):
When I was at school, if a boy showed unnatural inclinations, he was taken in the most sensitive way to see a shrink. [Interruption.] Now the Headmasters Conference has been told that, under the Government's human rights legislation, headmasters must tolerate openly homosexual relationships among their pupils. Today's newspapers carry reports that the Lord Chancellor is considering ways of protecting the legal system--and the English way of life--from the deluge of law suits that are about to hit it. Can we have a statement on the work that the Lord Chancellor's Department is doing in that respect?
Mrs. Beckett:
I am afraid that, such was the reaction to the hon. Gentleman's remarks, that I was not able to follow them as readily as I might have wished. Therefore, I will simply say to him that of course I recognise that some of the legislative steps that have been taken will have implications for the future handling of cases and for the law courts. However, I was under the impression that the general moves were supported on both sides of the House.
Mr. Michael Fabricant (Lichfield):
Will the right hon. Lady please impress on her right hon. Friends that this place is a Parliament where people are meant to parley? [Interruption.] For those Members who have not learned basic French, that means to talk. It will really not do, when there is such an important issue as Rover, for a Secretary of State to say that a written answer will suffice. At Question Time today, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry refused to make public any of the correspondence that he has had with Rover or with BMW. More worryingly, the Chairman of the Select Committee on Trade and Industry has announced in his question that, in effect, he has already concluded what his inquiry findings will be. Will the right hon. Lady please either insist that we have a full-day's debate or use what
Mrs. Beckett:
Given what seem to be the rather chauvinist tendencies developing among Conservative Members, the hon. Gentleman is taking his life in his hands by using a foreign language in the Chamber, but that is a matter for him. I did not hear the exchange between my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and hon. Members about the subject to which he refers, but the Select Committee's conclusion is a matter for the Committee, and one that it will discuss. My right hon. Friend keeps the House informed, as he can, about the progress of discussions, and I am sure that no hon. Member would want him to do so in a way or at a time that might jeopardise the future success of such discussions.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |