House of Commons Hansard Debates for 6 Apr 2000 (pt 5)

Sir George Young: The House is grateful for next week's business and an indication of the provisional business for the week after. I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for thinning out the business for next week in response to my request last week. I am sure that this is a sensible response to the pressure from her Back Benchers for a less demanding parliamentary programme, although we shall still deal with the Second Reading of two Government Bills. To inform the debate next Tuesday on the Standing Committee on Regional Affairs, will she place in the Library the relevant papers that she presented to the Modernisation Committee last year?

There is continued concern in the House about events in Zimbabwe. Might we expect a statement next week following the meeting of the General Affairs Council on Monday? Is there likely to be a statement next week on the reform of licensing hours? If there is, will Ministers respond to Madam Speaker's stern injunction yesterday not to trail the announcement, but to present it first to the House of Commons? Has the Leader of the House

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initiated the review of procedures in Whitehall that was asked for by you, Madam Speaker, in column 975 yesterday?

Finally, the House will have noticed that there is no time to debate the housing Green Paper published on Tuesday, the sporting strategy paper published yesterday, the intergovernmental conference White Paper published in February or the Royal Commission report on reform of the House of Lords. Is that not yet further evidence that the Government's programme is simply too large and is squeezing out the other functions of the Chamber--namely, debating matters of public interest?

Mrs. Beckett: I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his thanks. I remind him that my hon. Friends who are looking for improvement in the management of this place are seeking, not a less demanding, but a better managed schedule in which the House conducts its business more efficiently. I will certainly place in the Library the memorandum to which he referred. I thought that that had already been done and I apologise if it has not. I had asked for it to be put in hand.

The right hon. Gentleman asked for a statement on Zimbabwe and the licensing laws next week. I will draw both requests to the attention of my relevant right hon. Friends. He asked particularly that there should be no trailing of the licensing statement. As he will know, that is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, who is meticulous in his responsibilities to the House. I am aware of yesterday's unfortunate event and I concur with your view, Madam Speaker, that it is unacceptable--as, clearly, does the Department concerned. We will, indeed, remind colleagues and their Departments about the responsibilities that we all have to this House.

On the notion that there is something unusual about the scale of the programme and the other debates that we are not taking now, all hon. Members are perfectly well aware that at this time of year we concentrate on getting the legislative programme under way. The notion that the programme is too large is being fed by some erroneous information that, inexplicably, someone gave to The Times. It suggests that last year only 18 per cent. of the Bills in the legislative programme were introduced. That is, of course, just the Bills that were introduced in the House of Commons, as last year 31 Bills in total were introduced. We have two Houses in this Parliament; all Governments use both Houses and that includes this one. So although this year's programme is, of course, substantial, as people would expect of a reforming Government, it is certainly not unusual.

Mr. Hilary Benn (Leeds, Central): Following the terrible tragedy that took place in Turkey last night, when two Leeds United supporters--Mr. Speight and Mr. Loftus--lost their lives, I am sure the whole House would want to express its condolences to the families on their very sad loss. In the light of that tragedy, could my right hon. Friend find time for a statement on the safety of British football supporters travelling abroad?

Mrs. Beckett: The whole House will share the concern expressed by my hon. Friend and will want to offer our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and to all who were bereaved. I realise that this raises more general anxieties about safety--whether for football

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supporters or for other travellers. I fear that I cannot undertake to find time for a special debate on that subject in the near future, but there will be Foreign Office questions next week, so my hon. Friend may find an opportunity to raise the matter then. We may also have more information by then.

Mr. Paul Tyler (North Cornwall): May I endorse the request for an early statement and a debate on the Government's intentions on the reform of the House of Lords? Did the Leader of the House read more leaks from the Government in today's papers, apparently trailing their intentions on the matter? Surely it is inexcusable that such leaks should continue while there has been no statement to the House explaining how long we shall have to put up with a wholly unsatisfactory appointments system for the other place.

Does the Leader of the House recall that, last week, she gave me, and other Members who supported me, an explicit promise that there would be a statement and an opportunity to debate the issue of the farm summit? We were given a simple explanation as to the Government's intentions; that was placed in the Library. Indeed, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food said that he was outlining his proposals.

The right hon. Lady told me:

The discussions are under way and they will be properly reported to the House.

In response to a Conservative Member who supported me, she said that

it is also extremely important that Members have those properly reported to them and have an opportunity to pursue them, and that opportunity will come.--[Official Report, 30 March 2000; Vol. 347, c. 498-506.]

There is a real crisis in agriculture. Many Members on both sides of the House are aware that the problems are not being properly addressed. The proposals are only a stopgap; they do not deal with the unsatisfactory situation in respect of the uncompetitive currency. When will we receive that statement?

Mrs. Beckett: I have not seen the reports on the Lords to which the hon. Gentleman refers. I am not aware that anybody has trailed or leaked anything. I am perfectly well aware that all sorts of people are all over the papers continually giving their opinions; that is not the same as the leaking of Government policy.

The hon. Gentleman referred to the farm summit. Yes, of course I said that the matter would be properly reported to the House. I believe that it was--through the vehicle of a written answer. I simply point out to the hon. Gentleman that, as I have said before, proper reporting to the House--as Madam Speaker has repeatedly made clear--includes written parliamentary answers. The timing of the farm summit was not such that it was helpful to the House--or indeed possible--to have an oral statement. There are, and will be, opportunities for the matter to be questioned.

As for the hon. Gentleman's final remarks, I understand that the NFU has written to all members welcoming the package.

Mr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow): Is there any chance of a statement next week on the difficulty faced by our forces, and indeed, those of other western countries,

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in Kosovo, where a situation is developing in which not only are Serbs being ethnically cleansed, but Albanians who do not support the KFA and have fallen out with the KLA are also being cleansed? This is rather an urgent matter.

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