§ Mr. Graham Riddick (Colne Valley)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. My point of order is serious. I am concerned about the safety and well-being of two of our colleagues in the House. As the new hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Kilfoyle) was being presented here in the House of Commons for the first time, I noticed that the hon. Members for Liverpool, Broadgreen (Mr. Fields) and for Coventry, South-East (Mr. Nellist) were not in the Chamber. Should we send out a search party?
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The House is very full, so I cannot see everyone.
§ Mr. CryerOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Have you had any request for a statement from the Secretary of State for the Environment about the fact that the Bank of Credit and Commerce International is on the current DOE list of recommendations for local authorities to put their money into? A number of local authorities are now deeply in debt because of the freezing of the accounts. Is the Secretary of State for the Environment prepared to come to the House and make a statement to outline arrangements for compensating local authorities that are in debt as a result of the Department's incompetence?
§ Mr. SpeakerI have not had any further requests for a statement, but we had one yesterday and I cannot recollect that question being asked.
§ Mr. Robin Squire (Hornchurch)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Have you had any notification that the Secretary of State for Transport intends to make a statement? I received a press release yesterday which confirms that a further 15 new or extended bypasses are to be built and that three scheme identification studies are to be carried out, at a total value of £85 million—a significant figure. I should have thought that many hon. Members on both sides of the House would want the opportunity to congratulate the Department on that announcement and to establish any further details about the plans that they may seek on behalf of their constituents. Does this good news have a chance of being aired in a statement?
§ Mr. SpeakerI have had no request for a statement about that, but I was present for a long Adjournment debate on this very matter, and I thought that I heard the hon. Gentleman raise the subject.
§ Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. You will recall that, when the Economic Secretary gave us a report on BCCI yesterday, he said that he might have to return to the subject. Will you therefore agree that we need a statement from the Department of the Environment which, on 28 June, told York city council, "You can borrow money from BCCI"? It is a question of who will be surcharged: the local authority, or, more properly, the Department of the Environment.
§ Mr. SpeakerIt is certainly not a matter for me.
§ Mr. D. N. Campbell-Savours (Workington)Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. May I draw attention to a letter from the Department of the Environment to Allerdale council advising it to borrow from this company? Following that advice by a Government Department, recieved by Allerdale on 28 June, Allerdale district council borrowed £1 million from the bank last week. The advice came in the form of a list of banks approved by the Bank of England. Surely we should have another statement to Parliament setting out the truth of the position and the fact that local authorities have been grossly misled.
§ Mr. SpeakerThat may well be, but this is not a matter for me. What the hon. Gentleman has said will have been heard by those responsible for making these statements.
§ Mr. Tim Smith (Beaconsfield)Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. Could you ask the hon. Member for Workington (Mr. Campbell-Savours) to explain what the problem is if a local authority borrowed money from the bank and has got the cash?
§ Mr. SpeakerThat is patently not a matter for me; these are matters for debate across the Chamber—
§ Mr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow)rose—
§ Mr. SpeakerThis will be the last one.
§ Mr. DalyellFurther to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. You said that what my hon. Friend the Member for Workington (Mr. Campbell-Savours) said should be heard by those who are present. Would it not be courteous if, for a matter of this importance, either the Government Chief Whip or the Leader of the House were present? By what mechanism may we ask questions on this vital subject, which concerns local authorities and many families who see their futures going up in smoke? By what mechanism do the Government propose to make a response, given the inadequate answers of yesterday?
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. This is the whole problem about points of order of this kind—they are addressed to me. They should not be matters for the Leader of the House—
§ Mr. DalyellWhere is the Leader of the House?
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The hon. Gentleman is in effect not raising points of order with me—he is raising them with the Leader of the House. I repeat that although they are not matters for me they were heard by the Leader of the House, who is present. Nothing else arises out of that.
§ Mr. DalyellThe right hon. Gentleman should not be skulking where we cannot see him.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursFurther to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. May I correct the record? When I said "borrow", I meant "invest in".