§ Q1. Mr. Foulkesasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 April.
§ The Prime Minister (Mrs. Margaret Thatcher)This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. Later today I shall have a meeting with the Prime Minister of Romania, after which I shall leave for official visits to India and countries in the Gulf.
§ Mr. FoulkesBefore the Prime Minister flies off to India will she take time to read the impressive and revealing document produced by journalists on The Scotsman newspaper, which shows that the Thomson organisation is putting the future of that newspaper in jeopardy by refusing to invest in the maintenance of high journalistic standards, and that it has siphoned off profits from Edinburgh for a substantial number of years?
§ The Prime MinisterI doubt whether I shall have time to read that before I go to India. No doubt the Thomson organisation has good reasons for doing what it is doing.
§ Mr. Kenneth CarlisleWill my right hon. Friend consider today the role that capital investment could play in helping us to overcome the recession? Is she aware that some projects in the public sector, such as the electrification of the railways, could earn commercial rates of return? Is it not possible to find a way of financing such profitable projects by private capital?
§ The Prime MinisterMany of us would like to devote a larger proportion of resources to capital investment, 'Out if that, too, is not to be a drain on the private sector it must be compensated for by a reduction in current expenditure. We cannot spend money on current expenditure and still have it available for capital expenditure.
§ Mr. FootWill the right hon. Lady look afresh at what was said by the Home Secretary yesterday about the terms of reference of the inquiry into the Brixton disturbances? In the light of her statement yesterday that she does not consider that unemployment is a primary cause of such difficulties, does she not think that the matter should be investigated by the inquiry?
§ The Prime MinisterThe terms of reference that my right hon. Friend announced are very wide. I do not know whether the right hon. Gentleman heard Lord Scarman on the radio at lunchtime today. I gather that he thinks that they are wide enough for everything into which he would wish to inquire to make good his duties.
§ Mr. FootWill the right hon. Lady go further, particularly as she went much further on television last night, when she was prepared to commit herself to the proposition that high unemployment was not a primary cause of such troubles? According to the reports in the Daily Mirror today—there is no need to laugh, because people should face it—half of the unemployed people between the ages of 16 and 19 in Brixton are coloured. 147 How does the right hon. Lady think that the country will have a chance to inquire into these matters? Will all the questions of how unemployment affects the situation really come within the scope of the Scarman inquiry?
§ The Prime MinisterThe terms of reference give Lord Scarman sufficient scope to inquire into anything that he may wish to in connection with the riots that took place in Brixton. During my interview last night I was asked a straight question and I gave a straight answer. I am not surprised that the right hon. Gentleman did not understand it.
§ Mr. John MacKayBefore my right hon. Friend leaves today will she accept the congratulations of most people—except those who really play for the other side—on deciding to arm and re-store the "Resolution" by means of naval manpower?
§ The Prime MinisterI am grateful to my hon. Friend for expressing those congratulations. The defence of this country must not be put at risk by the actions of a very small minority.
§ Mr. Stephen RossOn her long flight to India, will the Prime Minister reflect on the result of last week's Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election? Does she agree that if election to Westminster had been by proportional representation the result might have been very different?
§ The Prime MinisterThere were two candidates. The answer is "No, Sir".
§ Q2. Mr. Langasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 April.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. LangDoes my right hon. Friend agree that all hon. Members will wish to congratulate the Leader of the Opposition on nominating six new Labour peers? Does she agree also that, in addition to a need to strengthen the membership of the other place, there is a need to entrench its very existence against those who might seek to undermine and destroy that vital part of our parlimentary democracy?
§ The Prime MinisterThe Leader of the Opposition made a request that I understood. I was happy, for once, to be able to agree to one of his requests. The other place is not in any danger from Conservatives Members. Those who wish to entrench its existence, or even that of a strong Second Chamber, should vote for our continuance in office.
§ Mr. Clinton DavisWill the Prime Minister take time today to reflect on her views about the connection between unemployment and events in Brixton over the weekend? Is she not aware that some areas in inner London are seriously deprived, have a high incidence of unemployment and have appalling housing? Surely those factors cannot be divorced from the situation afflicting so many young blacks.
§ The Prime MinisterIf the hon. Gentleman considers that unemployment was the only cause of the riots, I disagree with him. If he considers that it was the main cause of the riots, I disagree with him. Nothing that has happened with regard to unemployment would justify those riots. Lambeth has about the largest housing investment allocation in London, amounting to about £40 million this year. A large amount—about £9 million—is being spent on the partnership scheme. In addition, about 1,200 council houses have been vacant in Lambeth for more than a year.