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Mrs. Beckett: Of course I understand the hon. Gentleman's concern. I congratulate him on his ingenuity in making even a health issue a matter of EU policy. I would simply say that it is a little harsh for him to blame my hon. Friend, who is today a Minister at the Department of Trade and Industry, given that the policy was pursued through all the years of the Government whom he supported.
Gillian Merron (Lincoln): Will my right hon. Friend find time to hold a debate on the future shape of the NHS so that the House can openly compare the recent, welcome announcement on an early-warning system to detect all adverse events that might take place in health care with the Conservative party's apparent policy, which seems to revolve around paying for operations, such as hip replacements, which can cost up to £5,000? That policy, if it ever came about, would be a tremendous worry and burden to people in my constituency.
Mrs. Beckett: I recognise, as does everyone, the importance of the moves that are being considered to produce an early-warning system so that people can learn from the mistakes of others in the health service, as happens elsewhere. It is unfortunate that such a system has not been in place previously, but it is to our credit as a Government that it is now being developed. My hon. Friend is right to contrast that with the policy of the Conservative party, which apparently wants no one to be able to have operations such as hip replacements on the NHS, thus persecuting pensioners yet again.
Mr. Michael Jack (Fylde): The Leader of the House may be aware that today BAE Systems has announced 3,800 job losses throughout the company. Some 750 of those job losses will affect the constituents of Fylde and those of my hon. Friend the Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) and other right hon. and hon. Members. As the Government are a major customer of the company, can she arrange for an oral statement, or some other communication from the Government, giving their views about the future prospects for supporting the company? There is great uncertainty and worry in the work force about the future, especially of projects such as the Eurofighter Typhoon, the joint strike fighter and the future offensive air system. The Government's attitude to those projects is vital to the company's future.
Mrs. Beckett: Of course I understand the concern that the right hon. Gentleman expresses on behalf of his constituents and those of other Members. There is always anxiety in the House when job losses are announced, but I believe that he recognised that the Government support the industry and will continue to do so. We will continue
to do our utmost to work with it to make sure that it stays competitive and that it sustains the highest possible employment levels.
Dr. George Turner (North-West Norfolk): I know that most of my constituents will have been delighted by this morning's news that the Government are to allow for the effects of sparsity in the policing of rural areas. However, is my right hon. Friend aware that there is an impatience in rural constituencies such as mine for the delivery of the Government's major programme, which I understand is to be heralded in the rural White Paper? When does she expect the White Paper to be published and is there a realistic hope that the House might debate it before the recess?
Mrs. Beckett: At this moment, I cannot be absolutely certain when the recess will be or when the rural affairs White Paper will be published, so I fear that I cannot give my hon. Friend much more information. However, I can tell him that the Government will introduce a rural affairs White Paper and will continue, in line with what he and many other Labour Members who represent rural areas are urging, to do our utmost to improve the circumstances in which we found those areas.
Mr. Eric Forth (Bromley and Chislehurst): May we please have an urgent debate on the role of focus groups in government? The Prime Minister's very unfortunate remarks yesterday appalled the entire country with their flippancy and superficiality. [Hon. Members: "Hear, hear."] Therefore, is it not time for us here in the House of Commons to get to the bottom of exactly how far focus groups decide Government policy and whether the Prime Minister has any views of his own at all? If so, please may we have some open government in this case and the regular publication of the focus group results so that we can relate them directly to his statements?
Mrs. Beckett: I certainly cannot find time for an urgent debate on the matter. I am very sorry if Conservative Members are a little sensitive about what the right hon. Gentleman called the Prime Minister's unfortunate remarks, but it is unfair to suggest that my right hon. Friend was being trivial and superficial yesterday. After all, it is clear from Hansard that he declined to talk about such matters and wanted to talk instead about the extra 1 million jobs, the fall in unemployment and the real issues; but the Leader of the Opposition said:
- We would be delighted if the Prime Minister read out the comments of his focus groups . . .--[Official Report, 14 June 2000; Vol. 351, c. 934.]
Mr. Paul Flynn (Newport, West): When can we debate the extremely alarming increase in hospital-acquired infections? A documentary on HTV Wales this week claimed that the number of deaths from methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus in Wales alone is running at 500 a year compared with only 30 a year in the Netherlands, which has five times the population of Wales. A reason for the improvement in the Netherlands is the enhancement of standards of hospital cleanliness and hygiene, which, sadly, have deteriorated in British hospitals over the past 20 years. Cannot we debate the need to elevate the role of nurses in our hospitals and to
restore the matron to her role as the most important element in our hospital services, which is what she was in the past?
Mrs. Beckett: My hon. Friend makes an important point. We must always be concerned when people come out of hospital with more diseases than they went in with. He is right to link that issue particularly to standards of cleanliness and hygiene and I share his view that the deterioration in those matters, which we have all seen in the health service over the past 20 years, is of considerable concern. However, he will know that my right hon. Friend has made it very plain that he shares that concern and that, as Secretary of State, he is discussing how we can restore standards, whether by the formal reintroduction of matrons or by some other means. Although I sympathise with my hon. Friend's question, there is no need for a special debate at this time because the matter is being addressed.
Mr. David Davis (Haltemprice and Howden): May I press the right hon. Lady further on the question asked by my right hon. Friend the Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack)? There have been 850 job losses in my constituency today, arising partly from the merger of BAE Systems, but also from the inability of the defence industry to compete in the modern world as a result of the level of the pound and other considerations. Will the Leader of the House provide time for a debate in the House on the British defence industry's competitive ability and what the Government should be doing to promote it?
Mrs. Beckett: We have made it clear that we certainly recognise that there are industries in which the level of the pound has caused difficulties. I understand that lately the shadow Chancellor has recognised that there is an upside as well as a downside to the strong pound.
I hope that the right hon. Gentleman is aware that the Government take seriously their responsibilities to manufacturing, whether in the aerospace industry or elsewhere. I fear that I cannot undertake to find time for a special debate on the matter on the Floor of the House in the near future, but, although the right hon. Gentleman might not welcome these words, some 200 extra opportunities are available in Westminster Hall to scrutinise the Government.
Mr. David Winnick (Walsall, North): I have asked my right hon. Friend before about the possibility of a statement before the summer recess on compensation to former prisoners of war of the Japanese. Is she aware that it would be totally inappropriate for the House to go into the long summer recess without such a statement and that there is overwhelming support in the House and certainly in the country for those former prisoners, who have suffered so much, receiving some compensation, bearing in mind the fact that the Japanese refused to pay when they should have done so?
Mrs. Beckett: I know that my hon. Friend has long taken a great and deep interest in this important subject. He will know that the Prime Minister discussed the matter with senior representatives of the Royal British Legion in April and undertook to consider it further with ministerial
colleagues. That consideration is being undertaken. I cannot undertake today to find time for a further debate or statement on the matter in the near future, but I certainly undertake to draw my hon. Friend's remarks to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence.
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