| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Mr. Hain: I strongly agree with my hon. Friend, and the BBC indeed deserves praise for exposing the problem. I congratulate Clive Wolfendale, the deputy chief constable of North Wales police, on saying that he admitted to feeling "physically sick" when he saw the scenes. That shows that the police force is absolutely determined to root out racism. Although 99 per cent. of police officers are not racists and have never practised racism, a minority in the force needs to be dealt with and it is quite clear that police chiefs are dealing with it in the most robust fashion; as my hon. Friend says, individuals are rightly being thrown out.
Mr. Patrick McLoughlin (West Derbyshire): When will the Leader of the House be able to tell us the arrangements for a joint address of both Houses by President Bush? Would it not be an absolute disgrace if he did not address both Houses and follow the precedent that has been set on many occasions when Presidents of the United States have visited this country?
Mr. Hain: I will obviously give consideration to the hon. Gentleman's request.
Mr. Gwyn Prosser (Dover): Will the Leader of the House find time for an urgent debate on security and transparency in the Home Office's detention and removal centres? According to this morning's Dover Express, there have been 16 breakouts from the Dover centre in the past eight months, with 24 failed asylum seekers going missing, and no one from the Home Office, the immigration and nationality directorate or the Prison Service has seen fit to inform the public or brief the local MP. Surely those important matters should be brought to the Floor of the House for urgent debate.
Mr. Hain: I am very surprised that my hon. Friend, as the local Member of Parliament, has not been properly informed in the manner to which he should be entitled. I am sure that the Home Office will want to address the
problem and I shall draw it to the Home Secretary's attention, because the situation is clearly intolerable. My hon. Friend's community is putting up with a detention centre that I understand is used prior to the removal of asylum seekers. If there are any escapees, that must be tackled and the local community must be reassured.
Mr. Andrew Mackay (Bracknell): Further to the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for West Derbyshire (Mr. McLoughlin), will the Leader of the House confirm that stories in national newspapers saying that the Government have decided to withdraw the invitation for President Bush to speak to both Houses are untrue? Although I would not expect him to give us details of when the speech will take place, for security reasons, does he accept that many hon. Members on both sides of the House would like to hear President Bush? There is a clear precedent because he and I, among others, heard President Clinton speak to both Houses in the Royal Gallery of the House of Lords, and President Reagan did that as well.
Mr. Hain: I certainly recall the example of President Clinton's address and I shall report back to the House at an early opportunity if I can give further information.
Mr. Bill O'Brien (Normanton): Will my right hon. Friend consider giving us a full day's debate on the packaging industry, which employs hundreds of thousands of people who are involved in paper, board, glass, plastics, steel, aluminium and wood? The industry must meet targets that are set by the European Union and Her Majesty's Government. The question of reducing, recycling and reclaiming waste applies to every constituency in the country. We should be allowed a full day's debate on the packaging industry to consider what happens with the industry, including the landfill tax, and the environmental factors that follow. Given that there has been no debate in the House on the packaging industry for such a long time, will my right hon. Friend consider allowing a full day's debate?
Mr. Hain: I am grateful that my hon. Friend raised the matter because I, like many hon. Members, have packaging companies in my constituency. The packaging industry plays a vital role in our economic life. I will certainly ensure that his request for a debate is reported to the relevant Secretary of State, although I think that more than one Department is responsible for the issue because it is relevant to industry and the environment.
Mrs. Patsy Calton (Cheadle): Did the Leader of the House hear this morning's reports that unsafe track has been laid in my constituency between Cheadle Hulme and Stockport? Will he urge the Secretary of State for Transport to come to the House as soon as possible to make a statement on the situation, tell us what he intends to do to sort out the mess—a mess it is—and assure us that unsafe track has not been laid on other parts of the west coast main line? We have had the wrong sort of leaves and the wrong sort of snow, and now it seems that we have the wrong sort of track.
Mr. Hain: I spoke to the Secretary of State for Transport this morning and he is seized of the issue. He
is meeting Network Rail today. He has ensured that safety will apply on that stretch of track because speed will be reduced. I understand that it is anticipated that normal running may be resumed after Sunday next. The situation is a very bad example of rail contracting and, no doubt, of other matters which will be investigated. I am sure that the Secretary of State will want to keep the House informed.
Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover): Last week I asked the Leader of the House whether local authorities that refuse to transfer their council housing stock on principle should be penalised compared with those that sell off or transfer their stock. I did not get a decent answer, so I would like one today to tell me that those authorities will not be penalised for sticking to Labour party principles and keeping their own council houses.
On the subject of crime, does my right hon. Friend think that the figures are comprehensive enough, because there have been many incidents of backstabbing on the Tory party Benches lately and I think that they should be included in a comprehensive review?
Mr. Hain: A bit of law and order on the Tory Back Benches would be advisable.
On council housing, I do not want Labour councils penalised, nor does my hon. Friend. I drew his concern to the attention of the Deputy Prime Minister and I am sure that it will be addressed in due course.
Mr. Julian Brazier (Canterbury): May we have an early debate on the mounting crisis in local government funding in many southern councils? Before the recent change in the formula, a granny from an area like mine received funding to be in an old people's home at about 40 per cent. of the level of a granny from Islington, to mention a borough at random. We now face three years of further squeezing under a formula that rewards every constituency represented by a Cabinet Minister. That is a travesty of justice for the elderly and the school children in my constituency.
Mr. Hain: It is a myth that the Government are discriminating against local authorities. All local authorities, including the hon. Gentleman's, have received big increases in funding in recent years. Whether that is channelled into facilities for the elderly or used in other ways is a matter for local authorities. The idea that there are huge cuts is a travesty. Huge cuts were running around when his party was in power.
Mrs. Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside): I note the response to the hon. Member for Cheadle (Mrs. Calton), but will the Leader of the House go further and consider allowing the House to debate a call for Network Rail to conduct an inquiry into Jarvis engineering works on our railways and to withdraw its decision to make Jarvis the preferred bidder for a major renewals contract in the London north-east area? Jarvis has withdrawn from its three major contracts. It has a poor maintenance record, is associated with accidents and derailments, and faces possible prosecution on safety issues.
Mr. Hain: Jarvis has many questions to answer, which it will do over the coming period when the incident is
investigated. That is the intention of the Secretary of State for Transport and is partly the purpose of his meeting today. No doubt he will keep the House informed on that serious matter.
Mr. Graham Brady (Altrincham and Sale, West): When the House debates the reclassification of cannabis next week, will the Leader of the House ensure that sufficient time is available for a proper debate? Will he also ensure that all evidence on both sides of the argument is put before the House? There is a danger that some hon. Members, especially those of a certain age, will address the issue with knowledge or experience that is out of date and inappropriate. It is important that the House knows that the cannabis available today is 10 or 15 times stronger than cannabis that was freely available in the 1960s and that it leads to a fourfold increase in the danger of serious depression or schizophrenia. Evidence suggests that the level of mental illness will rise dramatically if the use of cannabis in its current form is to increase. It is vital that Members are aware of those facts. Will the Leader of the House ensure that they are made available before the vote next week?
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |