House of Commons
Thursday 18 November 1999
The House met at half-past Eleven o'clock
PRAYERS
[Madam Speaker in the Chair]
Business of the House
11.33 am
Sir George Young (North-West Hampshire): May I ask the Leader of the House to give us the business for next week?
The President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mrs. Margaret Beckett): Madam Speaker, you informed the House yesterday of the subjects for debate on the Queen's Speech. The business for the remainder of the week commencing 22 November will be:
Thursday 25 November--Motion to take note of the outstanding reports of the Public Accounts Committee to which the Government have replied. Details will be given in the Official Report.
Friday 26 November--There will be a debate on Government support for the arts on a motion for the Adjournment of the House. Additionally, at the end ofthe main debate on Tuesday 23 November, motion on the draft Maximum Number of Judges Order 1999. The provisional business for the following week will be as follows:
Monday 29 November--Second Reading of the Electronic Communications Bill.
Tuesday 30 November--Second Reading of the Representation of the People Bill.
Motion relating to the Postal Privilege (Suspension) Order 1999.
Wednesday 1 December--There will be a debate on the European Union on a motion for the Adjournment of the House in advance of the European Council Meeting in Helsinki on 10 and 11 December.
Thursday 2 December--Second Reading of the Resource Accounting and Budgeting Bill.
Friday 3 December--The House will not be sitting.
The House will wish to be reminded that, as from the week commencing 29 November, there will be sittings in Westminster Hall. I shall announce the proposed subjects for debate in my business statement next week. Adjournment debates previously held in the Chamber on Wednesday mornings will, in future, take place in Westminster Hall. As the House is already aware, there will be no morning Adjournment debates on Wednesday 24 November.
The House will also wish to know that on Monday22 November there will be a debate on the World Trade Organisation millennium round in European Standing Committee C. On Thursday 25 November there will be
a debate on taxation and financial services in European Standing Committee B. Details of the relevant documents will be given in the Official Report.
[Monday 22 November 1999:
European Standing Committee C--Relevant European Union documents: 10297/99, World Trade Organisation Millennium Round; Relevant European Scrutiny Committee Report: HC 34-xxx, (1998-99).
[Thursday 25 November 1999:
European Standing Committee B--Relevant European Union documents: 8329/99, Taxation and Financial Services; 6615/98, 8781/98, 8484/1/99. Relevant European Legislation Committee Reports: HC 155-xxv; HC 155-xxxvi and HC 155-xxxiii (1997-98). Relevant European Scrutiny Committee reports: HC 34-xvi; HC 34-xxiii and HC 34-xxviii (1998-99).
Sir George Young:
The House is grateful to the Leader of the House for giving next week's business, and for an indication of the business for the following week.
I begin this Session as I ended the last, with a reminder that we are still awaiting a debate on the royal commission on long-term care. I hope that it will not be too long before we can find time for that important debate.
In view of the promising developments in Northern Ireland, can the Leader of the House tell us whether the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland plans to make a statement, either tomorrow or next week?
The Leader of the House announced the new sittings in Westminster Hall. Will she give guidance to Members on how the experiment will work, and how they should apply to have the relevant debates?
This is the first Queen's Speech since devolution, and the Leader of the House has announced the Second Reading of a number of Bills. Will the Government indicate in advance which Bills are United Kingdom Bills and which cover England and Wales only? For example, on fur farming, it is not clear whether the proposed Bill is a UK Bill or an England and Wales Bill. It would be genuinely helpful if Members knew.
Usually, there is a debate in Government time in the autumn on either the unified Budget or the public expenditure announcement. There is a risk of losing that debate. Will the Leader of the House assure us that there will be a debate on the economy, public expenditure or the pre-Budget statement before Christmas?
Finally, with memories of the disarray of the last Session fresh in our minds, may I ask the Leader of the House whether, in their programme, the Government have bitten off more than the House is able to chew?
Mrs. Beckett:
On long-term care, I hope and anticipate that we will be able to schedule a debate on the matter, perhaps before Christmas.
On Northern Ireland, I cannot tell the right hon. Gentleman at what point my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be able to come to this House and make a statement. However, I can assure him that the Government intend to keep the House informed. Clearly, the timing is not entirely in our hands.
The right hon. Gentleman asked about the sittings in Westminster Hall, and it is our intention to provide some guidance. The Select Committee on Modernisation of the
House of Commons suggested that I, as Leader of the House, might write to all hon. Members to remind them of how the debates are to be organised and sought. I have that in hand.
The right hon. Gentleman asked about Bills which are UK-wide and Bills which are for England and Wales only. We anticipate that that will be clear at their introduction, but I accept his point that it will be helpful to the House to know.
The right hon. Gentleman referred to an autumn debate following the pre-Budget statement. That is a matter that we can discuss through the usual channels.
Finally, I reject the right hon. Gentleman's contention that the Session ended in some disarray. I thought that it ended remarkably smoothly, with the Government getting not only all the legislation forecast in the previous Queen's Speech, but more legislation than had been forecast. There is a full legislative programme for the new Session--although that is not what Conservative Members said yesterday, when they claimed that there was nothing in the Queen's Speech.
I remind the right hon. Gentleman of an important development for the House, and an important potential improvement to the way in which we manage our business. A number of Bills foreshadowed in the Queen's Speech concern matters which have had substantial pre-legislative scrutiny in different Committees, and a number have been available in draft for a considerable period. That will make a big difference to the way in which the House can handle them.
Charlotte Atkins (Staffordshire, Moorlands):
Can we have a debate on mutuality, in view of the imminent threat to my local building society, Leek United, and other local mutual societies, from the asset-stripping company Murray Financial? That would also give us the opportunity to debate the report from the Select Committee on the Treasury on demutualisation, which is an important issue.
Mrs. Beckett:
I cannot undertake at present to find time for a special debate on the important issue to which my hon. Friend refers, but perhaps I can remind her that there is a trade and industry debate on Friday as part of the Queen's Speech debates and that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will introduce a debate on the economy on Wednesday.
Mr. Paul Tyler (North Cornwall):
We endorse the request from the official Opposition for an urgent debate on the royal commission on long-term care. I hope that we can have that quickly.
Will the Leader of the House address the issue of early-day motions, which have in the past been discouraged by the attempt by some outside the House to treat them as parliamentary wallpaper? Some early-day motions receive the support of large numbers of hon. Members. For example, early-day motion 16,
[That this House welcomes the proposed national Fleet Air Arm Memorial in honour of more than 6,000 men and women who gave their lives in service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Fleet Air Arm from 1914 to 1918 and since 1938, respectively; acknowledges the vital
role played by naval aviation in defence of freedom during the 20th century; recalls the 40 battle honours won in two world wars and in subsequent campaigns, including Korea, Borneo, the Falklands, the Gulf and the Adriatic; and believes that the unveiling of the Memorial in June 2000, in Victoria Embankment Gardens outside the Ministry of Defence, will be a fitting tribute to those who have died and an inspiration to future generations.],
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |