§ 24. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he will make a statement on the Scottish Law Commission's report on illegitimacy.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Malcolm Rifkind)With permission, Mr. Speaker, I shall reply on behalf of the Solicitor-General for Scotland.
§ Mr. MillanOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Is it not unprecedented for a Minister not to be available to answer questions? Are we not entitled to an explanation? Where is the Solicitor-General for Scotland?
§ Mr. RifkindI can tell the right hon. Gentleman that my hon. and learned Friend is in Scotland, engaged in duties connected with his Department.
§ Mr. MillanFurther to that point of Order, Mr. Speaker. That is unacceptable. The first duty of a Minister is to this House, and if questions are put down to the Solicitor-General for Scotland he ought to be here to answer them. We do not want the hon. Gentleman as a substitute.
§ Mr. RifkindThe Scottish Law Corn-mission has not published any report on illegitimacy, but it intends to prepare a memorandum for consultation purposes on the legal issues connected with illegitimacy. Matters are, however, still at an early stage because of the demands made on the commission's resources by its other commitments. It is, therefore, not possible to forecast when the commission's memorandum will be ready for publication.
§ Mr. HamiltonI thank the hon. Gentleman for sending the information to me. I received it this morning. Is he aware that the Law Commission in England has produced a special report on this problem? In view of that, and the fact that on this matter Scottish law is different from English law, will he undertake to ask the Law Commission in Scotland to consider producing a separate report on this problem?
§ Mr. RifkindAt this stage the English Law Commission has produced only a working paper. It has yet to produce any final recommendations. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that it would be desirable for any reform on this aspect of the law to be proceeded with in a joint manner north and south of the border.
§ Mr. PollockDoes my hon. Friend agree that an unfortunate habit has developed among certain sections of the press who describe certain illegitimate children as "love children", thereby causing great offence to many married couples in Scotland, whose children are surely much more appropriately the product of love?
§ Mr. RifkindMy hon. Friend has raised a fair point. He will appreciate that Government policy can do little to remedy that problem, but no doubt those who report these matters in that way will have heard his comments.
§ Mr. DewarFurther to the point of order that was raised by my right hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Craigton (Mr. Millan).
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I think that it would be extremely untidy to pursue that point of order now. Did the hon. Gentleman want to ask a supplementary question?