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Jim Sheridan (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): May I draw my right hon. Friend's attention to a circular sent to every member of staff of the Alliance and Leicester building society under the heading, "Money-laundering and Politically Exposed Persons"? Clearly identified as a politically exposed person is a member of this House or their close relatives. Staff are advised:

"If any member of staff identifies a PEP when opening a new account or administrating an existing account, they must notify the Money Laundering team".

Will my right hon. Friend use his good offices to have the position clarified with the Fees Office, so that Members know exactly what is going on when they are treated as financial terrorists by organisations such as Alliance and Leicester?

Mr. Hain: My hon. Friend has performed a valuable service in drawing that problem to the attention of the House. The relevant Minister will want to pay close attention to what he said. If my hon. Friend has an opportunity to apply for a debate to raise the matter, I am sure that he will.

Rev. Martin Smyth (Belfast, South) (UUP): The Leader of the House paid tribute to teachers. Does he recognise the growing concern among teachers about the possibility of extending their retirement age from 60 to 65 and the penalties that will be imposed, bearing it in mind that many of them live under strain? May I impress on him the need for a debate in the House on foreign issues, bearing it in mind that Nathan Scharansky has played such an important role to date partly because some of us in this House fought for the release of Soviet refuseniks?

Mr. Hain: Indeed, and those who fought for the release of Soviet refuseniks under the repressive communist regime deserve to be applauded and acknowledged. I will make sure that the relevant Minister is aware of the hon. Gentleman's earlier points.
 
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Mr. John Smith (Vale of Glamorgan) (Lab): As this week saw the start of the DVT awareness month in the USA and more than 32,000 people in this country die unnecessarily from deep vein thrombosis—more than the numbers of those who die from breast cancer, AIDS and road traffic accidents put together—will my right hon. Friend find time for this House to explore ways of supporting a similar initiative in this country? Next Tuesday the Health Committee will report that far fewer people die of the condition in the USA than here and something needs to be done.

Mr. Hain: Certainly the Secretary of State for Health will want to pay close attention to my hon. Friend's comments. Notwithstanding that, my hon. Friend will acknowledge that in many other respects we are making considerable progress in cancer treatment and so on as a result of our huge investment, much of which would be at risk under the Opposition's policies.

Mr. Colin Breed (South-East Cornwall) (LD): Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on the serious issue of our defence industries, particularly our naval dockyards which, because of Government policy, are suffering from a paucity of refit work? That will have a huge effect on the continuation of skills which are vital for the future.

Mr. Hain: There is a reconfiguration of defence spending in line with modern military realities, but the defence budget continues to rise in real terms and will continue to do so. The hon. Gentleman will recognise that, because of new threats and new operational necessities on the ground—for example, in Iraq and other theatres of conflict—we have to tailor our defence forces to meet those realities. I do not accept that there is any shortage of skills provision as a result of this investment. The investment will continue to rise and would be put at risk by the Opposition policy of cutting public spending.

Mr. David Chaytor (Bury, North) (Lab): May we have a debate about the future of the neighbourhood renewal fund? As my right hon. Friend knows, the Government are consulting on four options for the distribution of those important regeneration funds. Does he agree that it is critical when making the judgment that the Government use the most recent information provided by the new index of multiple deprivation? Does he accept that that is crucial for local authorities that stand to gain from the new index of multiple deprivation, because access to the neighbourhood renewal fund triggers access to a wide range of other Government funding streams and funding from the regional development agencies? Can my right hon. Friend find time for a debate on that important subject?

Mr. Hain: I shall certainly consider that, but I am not optimistic that I can find time in the next few weeks, at least.

I remind my hon. Friend that, notwithstanding his important points, which will be borne in mind by the Deputy Prime Minister, the Government have invested nearly £1.9 billion in the 88 most deprived areas of the country in the period 2001–06, with a further £1 billion
 
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a few years after that. All that would be at risk under the Conservative party's plans for £35 billion of public spending cuts.

Mr. Crispin Blunt (Reigate) (Con): Once the Leader of the House has put right the shocking deficit of debate on the Prevention of Terrorism Bill in the Chamber, which his proposals in the business statement do not adequately address, can time be found to address deficits in NHS funding? We could then understand why the East Surrey primary care trust has had to instruct the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS trust not to carry out any elective surgery unless patients are about to breach the nine-month target. Will the right hon. Gentleman also explain why the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS trust, which serves the constituency of the Chairman of the Health Committee, received a £30 million bung to sort out its deficit when, in Surrey and Sussex, the blame is falling entirely on the managers, who, as I said back in 2001, have to manage an impossible situation?

Mr. Hain: It is not unusual for the health service to be reporting deficits at this stage of the financial year. Past experience shows that the overall position improves by the year end, and the health service has achieved an overall financial balance for the last four successive financial years. The real deficits, as the hon. Gentleman knows, happened before we came to power in 1997, since when the health budget has doubled with record investment, all of which would be at risk under the Conservatives' plans for £35 billion of cuts. He supports the plans for £1 billion to be taken out of the health service and put into private hospitals.

The hon. Gentleman referred to a shortage of time to discuss the legislation on terrorism. As I said, 17 hours are available next week, but we do not know whether that will need to be extended because we do not know what will come back from the House of Lords. I will pay attention to hon. Members' requests.

Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore) (Lab): As we look around the desperately tired and flagging faces in the Chamber today, how concerned is my right hon. Friend about the startling report that MPs are getting less sleep than any other profession in the UK? Given that Churchill, who is generally well regarded and was an effective leader of the country, slept famously long hours, but other Prime Ministers and Leaders of the Opposition had very different nocturnal habits, how worried should we be?

Mr. Hain: Given my restricted sleeping hours and the pressures of my job, I am not sure that I am a good advertisement. Perhaps the public expect their Members of Parliament to work hard for them, and we do. I think the public may prefer politicians who have something of the day about them.

Mr. Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley) (Con): I thank the Leader of the House and the Government for the success of the Welsh rugby team. I am sure that they could not have achieved it without them. Diolch yn fawr.

Cyber-theft is silently stealing millions of pounds from our constituents. One wrote to me last week to say that a bill that was usually between £25 and £30 is now
 
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more than £170. Will the right hon. Gentleman arrange for a Minister to come to the Dispatch Box to spell out the strategy to deal with the rising problem of preventing and protecting our constituents from being bled dry?

Mr. Hain: The Cabinet is split on the excellent performance of the Welsh rugby team. It is united on everything else, but there are serious divisions concerning the performance of the Welsh rugby team versus the Scots, Irish and English rugby teams. I cannot offer the hon. Gentleman any support or claim any credit.

The hon. Gentleman's point about cyber-theft is important, and it was valuable to have it drawn to our attention. The relevant Minister will want to pay close attention to it and may be in touch with the hon. Gentleman.

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