PRIME MINISTER (OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENTS) (Hansard, 21 October 1975)

§ Q2. Mr. McCrindle
asked the Prime Minister if he will detail his official engagements for Tuesday 21st October.

§ Q4. Mr. Lawson
asked the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 21st October.

§ Q8. Mr. Blaker
asked the Prime Minister whether he will list his engagements for the remainder of Tuesday 21st October.

§ Q10. Mr. Les Huckfield
asked the Prime Minister whether he will list his official engagements for 21st October.

§ The Prime Minister
I have held a number of meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, including a meeting this morning with representatives of the executive council of the Scottish Daily News. Later today I shall be meeting leading representatives of the medical profession to discuss the inquiry by the Royal Commission into the National Health Service.

§ Mr. McCrindle
When he meets the doctors later today, will the Prime Minister bear in mind that to many of them the issues of clinical freedom and pay beds are inseparable? In those circumstances, will he reconsider his decision not to include the pay beds issue in the terms of reference of the Royal Commission? Will he consider a postponement of the legislation he proposes if a damaging confrontation between the doctors and the Government is to be prevented?

§ The Prime Minister
I have nothing to add to what I said yesterday in answer to many questions on this subject. I shall naturally wish to hear the views of the doctors rather than have them aired perhaps on their behalf, in however distinguished a manner.

§ Mr. James Lamond
Will my right hon. Friend remind the doctors that they said very little in 1971 when the Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a savage cut in expenditure on the National Health Service? Will he draw their attention to this Government's excellent record with regard to the National 237 Health Service, including an increase of £750 million a year in expenditure on the service?

§ The Prime Minister
In these important discussions I shall not want to go back to what doctors did or did not say or do under the previous Government, but it is certainly a fact that, as my hon. Friend said, we have made a big increase in the resources available to the National Health Service. I gave the figures yesterday showing that the proportion of the GNP going to the National Health Service was now an all-time record, despite the economic difficulties facing the country.

§ Mr. Lawson
When he meets the doctors, will the Prime Minister ask them whether there is any known cure for an epidemic of burglaries? Bearing in mind that the National Health Service is a major item of public expenditure, when does the right hon. Gentleman intend to see that the Chancellor of the Exchequer honours the pledge that the Prime Minister made last Thursday, recorded at the foot of col. 1587 of Hansard for that day, that the Chancellor will make a statement on the greatly increased size of the public sector borrowing requirement?

§ The Prime Minister
My right hon. Friend did, although I am not aware that that matter arises out of the important discussions that I shall be having with the doctors this afternoon, which the hon. Gentleman has characteristically sought to trivialise. I should perhaps tell him in relation to one of his throw-away lines that it is the doctors I am meeting, not the police. The police have their responsibilities. As I have already told the House in answer to Questions, there is no ministerial responsibility involving this Government because this all occurred before the change of Government.

§ Mr. Campbell
Who are the representatives from the Scottish Daily News whom my right hon. Friend met today? Can my right hon. Friend give us some idea of the results of that meeting?

§ The Prime Minister
We met the representatives of the works council, including the editor as well as the TUC member. As a liquidator has been appointed, the liquidator was also there. The liquidator, who has been given his function by a decision of the court, and 238 who is thereby required to act on behalf of the creditors, will be getting in touch with the creditors, as he informed us. When he has done that, when he has done whatever he can not only to sort out the facts but to decide what should be done for the future, he will be in close touch with my right hon. Friend and hon. Members.

§ Mr. Blaker
Will the Prime Minister now answer the Question which he failed to answer last Thursday, and which is even more topical today, owing to the welcome presence in this country of our distinguished visitors from Saudi Arabia: as central Government spending has increased by no less than 47 per cent. in the past six months compared with the same period last year, and as the Prime Minister made it clear last Thursday that he has no plans to announce further cuts in Government spending to take effect before the year after next, how does he expect to convince our overseas creditors and customers—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. This supplementary question seems to be getting a very long way from the Question on the Order Paper.

§ The Prime Minister
I answered this question last week, and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer made a very important pronouncement on these matters, following the practice of previous Chancellors, Labour and Tory, who made important speeches on these occasions. The matter in no way arises out of this Question. I am not meeting Prince Fahd today. I met him yesterday and I am meeting him again tomorrow. I have far more faith in Prince Fahd's ability to assess the economic position of this country than in the ability of biased Opposition Members.