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2 Apr 2003 : Column 1036—continued
Amendment made: No. 95, in page 55, line 4, leave out 'an information' and insert 'a written charge'.—[Hilary Benn.]
Clause 91
Amendment made: No. 135, in page 56, line 28 after 'he' insert
'(or any legal representative appointed under section 38(4) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 (c. 23) to cross-examine a witness in his interests)'.—[Hilary Benn.]
Clause 97
Amendments made: No. 136, in page 59, line 29, at end insert—
'"offence" includes a service offence;'.
No. 96, in page 59, line 34, at end insert—
- '"written charge" has the same meaning as in section 24 and also includes an information.'.
- '"service offence" means an offence under the Army Act 1955 (3&4Eliz.2 c. 18), the Air Force Act 1955 (3&4Eliz.2 c. 19) or the Naval Discipline Act 1957 (c. 53);'.
'(3) Nothing in this Chapter affects the exclusion of evidence—
(a) under section 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 (c.23), or
(b) on grounds other than the fact that it is evidence of a person's bad character.'.—[Hilary Benn.]
Schedule 5
Amendments made: No. 101, in page 191, line 17, at end insert—
'1A Section 87, as it applies in relation to proceedings before service courts, has effect with the substitution in subsection (1)(a) of "charge sheet" for "written charge or indictment".'.
No. 102, in page 192, line 9, after 'advocate', insert
'in proceedings before a court-martial'.—[Hilary Benn.]
Bill, as amended in the Standing Committee, to be further considered tomorrow.
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
- That at the sitting on Thursday 3rd April, the Motion for the Adjournment of the House in the name of the Prime Minister relating to matters to be considered before the forthcoming adjournment may be proceeded with, though opposed, for three hours, or until Six o'clock, whichever is the later, and shall then lapse.—[Charlotte Atkins.]
PETITIONS
Pharmacies
7.55 pm
Bob Spink (Castle Point): Local pharmacies are part of the primary health care service. They take a great burden off general practitioners and could do more if regulations were relaxed. They are part of the very fabric of our society, not merely retailers, but professional health care service providers. The Office of Fair Trading proposals on control of entry regulations would damage
chemists and therefore the most vulnerable people in society—people who are disabled and have low mobility, who have babies in pushchairs and young children, or who are elderly. Deregulation would set back the pharmacy service for 10 years.
- To the Honourable Commons of the United Kingdom, Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled.
The Humble Petition of Mr. Robert Smith, Sailesh Patel, Ashleigh Sharp, Jessica Arnold, Jackie Govier and others of like disposition sheweth that local communities are best served by local community-based pharmacies, and that the OFT recommendations to abolish the 'control of entry' regulations would seriously damage local pharmacies.
Wherefore your Petitioners pray that your Honourable House shall urge the Government to reject proposals that would allow unrestricted opening of pharmacies able to dispense NHS prescriptions, and to preserve local pharmacies and safeguard their continuing provision of services to local communities.
And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray etc.
Iraq
7.57 pm
Bob Spink (Castle Point): I have a further petition, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
As a Member of Parliament, I have a duty to listen to all views and give voice to them, even those with which I fundamentally disagree. The petition is on Iraq. I believe that if taking action in Iraq saves more lives than not doing so, we must have leaders who have the moral courage to take that action. That is why I supported the Prime Minister in his action. Until the outcome is clear, we will not know which side of the argument will survive. What is certain is that we who live in a democracy must always be prepared to listen. I therefore present the following petition to the House.
- To the House of Commons.
The Petition of Mrs. Susan Al-Shaar, Mrs. Joan Wills and Mr. Rob Cook.
Declares that, whilst unreservedly condemning the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, supporting the cause of democracy in all countries of the Middle East and expressing solidarity with civilian Iraqi men, women and children who will be the main victims of any war, opposes any military attack on Iraq by the USA or Britain; believes no case for war has been made, such action is in defiance of international law, and hold that it is possible to resolve the present international crisis by exclusively peaceful means.
The Petitioners therefore respectfully request that the House of Commons urge the Government to stop this war and to pursue peaceful means to bring about a satisfactory resolution.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
Food Supplements and Herbal Remedies
7.58 pm
Mr. Tim Collins (Westmorland and Lonsdale): Sometimes the purpose of a petition is to draw the House's attention to an issue for the first time; sometimes it is to remind the House that an issue remains live and that the strong feelings surrounding it have not diminished with the passage of time. It therefore gives me great pleasure to present a petition
signed by some 295 of my constituents as part of the ongoing campaign on behalf of Consumers for Health Choice. It is part of a petition that has so far been signed by approximately 1 million people whose views remain strong, but unheard.
- To the House of Commons
The Petition from Consumers for Health Choice and its supporters declares that:
Consumers in the United Kingdom have for many years maintained good health by choosing to take safe vitamin and mineral supplements and herbal remedies and fear that the European Food Supplements Directive and the proposed European Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Herbal Products will severely restrict the number and range of such products on general retail sale in the future.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges that the Secretary of State for Health does all in his power to protect the rights of UK consumers by ensuring that such European legislation does not unnecessarily and unacceptably restrict the availability of natural herbal products.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
Pharmacies
8 pm
Mrs. Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside): I wish to present a petition on behalf of 195 of my constituents who recognise the value of local pharmacies to the community and who oppose the recent report from the Office of Fair Trading.
- Declares that the deregulation of pharmacies as set out in the recent Office of Fair Trading report, would threaten access for patients to adequate pharmacy services in their community and be detrimental to community pharmacy businesses everywhere,
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons rejects proposals that would allow the unrestricted opening of pharmacies able to dispense NHS prescriptions, preserves local pharmacies and safeguards their continued services to local communities.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
8.1 pm
Pete Wishart (North Tayside): It is my pleasure to present this petition on behalf of my constituents of Brechin and district in west Angus. This is another petition in support of local pharmacies that expresses grave concerns about what is recommended in the Office of Fair Trading report, which my constituents believe would especially threaten pharmacies in rural areas and in rural Scotland. It is worth noting that the Scottish Executive last week rejected the report and we hope that this House will respect the decision of the Scottish Parliament to go its own way on community pharmacies.
- To the House of Commons
The Petition of the constituents of Brechin and district declares that they oppose the recommendation made in the OFT Report—The Control of Entry Regulations etc.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons encourage the Government to rethink its decision regarding the recommendations of the OFT Report—The Control of Entry Regulations and Retail Pharmacy Services in the UK.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
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