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Mr. Stephen Day (Cheadle): Given the unprecedented regularity with which the Government introduce guillotines; given the fact that the Prime Minister's initiative on a European army was never brought before the House; and given the fact that Ministers regularly brief the press before they brief the House, would it not save
the taxpayer an awful lot of money if the right hon. Lady were to go into town to buy a sign to hang on the door that simply said "Closed"?
Mrs. Beckett: The hon. Gentleman has a list of givens, but, unfortunately, none of them are given. It is nonsense to suggest that the proposals that were discussed yesterday were not brought before the House. They have been brought before the House repeatedly, not least originally by Lady Thatcher and then by the right hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Major).
On the hon. Gentleman's first point, it is also nonsense to talk about the unprecedented use of guillotines by this Government. I know that it is uncomfortable for Conservative Members--
Mrs. Eleanor Laing (Epping Forest): It is not.
Mrs. Beckett: I am delighted to hear that. The hon. Lady will therefore welcome the news that under the Government whom she supported in the 1987 Parliament, we had the maximum number of guillotines ever seen. Twenty-seven Bills were guillotined; we have not reached that number yet.
Mr. Douglas Hogg (Sleaford and North Hykeham): The right hon. Lady will know that a commitment has been made of United Kingdom troops to the European rapid reaction force without the Government having obtained or, indeed, sought the consent of the House. Surely, in a democracy, the consent of Parliament should be secured for such a major strategic decision. Should not the right hon. Lady reorganise the business for next week, so that the House can be given the opportunity on a substantive motion to consider the commitment of British troops to the European rapid reaction force and so that we can give our consent or withhold it?
Mrs. Beckett: I have seldom heard such rubbish. I am becoming singularly tired of right hon. Members, in particular, in the Conservative party denouncing as a constitutional outrage this Government's exercising of the powers that every previous Government have had.
Mr. Patrick Nicholls (Teignbridge): The right hon. Lady will recall that it is more than a year since the European Commission, no less, produced a report expressing its concerns that much of French meat production was contaminated by human sewage. Bearing in mind that the case for a ban on French meat was compelling then and that it is even more compelling now, would it not be a good idea to have a debate so that we could examine why Ministers are much harsher on British farmers than they have been on French farmers? It would also enable us to explore why the Government think that they are discharging their duties by fawning on our so-called partners in Europe at the expense of public safety at home.
Mrs. Beckett: The hon. Gentleman's suggestion is ill-founded. The Government have stringent provisions to ensure the safety of British beef. We are not responsible for the administration of the French beef regime, although we continue to press the French Government to give us full information. The Food Standards Agency has demanded to know details of procedures adopted in
France. I simply say to the hon. Gentleman what I would to any other hon. Member who raised such a matter: in Britain, we have the most stringent and sound protection of health, and if people want to eat beef, they should eat British beef.
Rev. Martin Smyth (Belfast, South): Just under a year ago, early-day motion 175 was tabled. It calls for a national framework for services for disabled people and has now been signed by 195 Members.
[That this House is concerned by the inconsistencies in the provision of equipment to disabled people; notes the positive work done by the disability charity consortium emPOWER in highlighting the importance and needs of users; also notes the Equipped for Equality report which revealed that 76 per cent. of disabled users surveyed experienced problems with equipment, that one in two had problems with the assessment process, and yet 39 per cent. could not manage without their equipment; welcomes the Government's commitment to introduce one new national service framework each year; and calls upon the Government to develop a national service framework for disablement services to set national standards and define service models for equipment for disabled people.]
I welcome the steps that have been taken to help folk with disabilities, but could we have an early debate so that the Government might set forth their plan for such a national service?
Mrs. Beckett: I understand the hon. Gentleman's long concern about and interest in the matter. He will know that a rolling programme along those lines was launched in April 1998. The Government continue to work on those issues. I fear that I cannot undertake to find time for a special debate on the issue in the near future, but recommend to him use of debates in Westminster Hall.
Mr. Eric Forth (Bromley and Chislehurst): The Leader of the House has announced the suffocation of debate in the House of Commons next week through four guillotines in order to protect the Government's programme from the shambles into which it has fallen. I am not asking her to tell us exactly how many amendments will be tabled next week, but could she estimate the order of magnitude--to the nearest 500, let us say? Could she then estimate the amount of time that the suffocating guillotines will allow the House of Commons to consider those amendments? Could she divide one by the other and give us some idea of how much time the Government think the House of Commons should have properly to consider each amendment from another place?
Mrs. Beckett: The right hon. Gentleman talks about the suffocation of debate. He will know that none of this is unprecedented. I have a list here of the many different guillotines for which the right hon. Gentleman voted.
Indeed, during consideration of the Education (Schools) Act 1992, he, as Education Minister, moved the guillotine motion. I know that he perfectly properly takes the view that, as he said earlier, that was then and this is now, and that he feels that he has every ground, in opposition, to apply different standards, but I am afraid that the Government will apply the same standards.
Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham): Given that there was no opportunity to highlight the matter during this morning's Education and Employment questions, will the right hon. Lady please find time for an early debate in Government time on the quality of teacher training? Does she agree that that would provide an admirable opportunity for the House to pronounce its verdict on the views of Kimberley, Meek and Miller, three of this country's prominent teacher training academics who specialise in the teaching of reading? They are recently on the record as saying:
- Within the psycho-semiotic framework, the shared reading lesson is viewed as an ideological construct where events are played out and children must therefore learn to position themselves in three interlocking contexts.
Mrs. Beckett: I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on having not only learned but remembered that complicated description. As he knows, the Government take great interest in improvements in teacher training. We are certainly endeavouring to facilitate that. We are also very much encouraged by the greater number of people who are undertaking teacher training, and will continue to try to raise standards in that arena of education, as we are already in our schools.
Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York): The Leader of the House will be aware of the devastation caused by the continuing flooding in Vale of York. When the Deputy Prime Minister returns from Holland and his tour of the Dutch dykes, will the right hon. Lady allow time for a full debate, in Government time, on the recommendations of the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee on planning policy guidance 25? That says that local authorities do not have to follow the Environment Agency's recommendations, and we must ensure that those recommendations are binding.
Mrs. Beckett: I fear that I cannot undertake to offer the hon. Lady time for the special debate that she seeks, although I entirely accept her important point. Apart from the number of places where people are distressed about having been flooded, a noticeable feature of much of the reporting on the floods was the number of places where floodworks have been held up or rejected because of objections of local residents. There is a debate on the Environment Agency tomorrow, and I am sure that the hon. Lady will find an opportunity to raise the issues then or on another occasion.
European Affairs
- [Relevant documents: Minutes of Evidence taken before the Foreign Affairs Committee on 21st November, HC 68-iii; Memorandum laid before the European Scrutiny Committee containing the Government's response to the Committee's Seventeenth Report, Session 1999-2000, on the 2000 Inter-Governmental Conference (available from the Vote Office); White Paper, Developments in the European Union, January-June 2000, Cm 4922.]
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