§ Mr. John Prescott (Kingston upon Hull, East)I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 10, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,
further redundancies at the workshops of British Rail Engineering Ltd.The matter is specific, as it involves nearly 3,000 redundancies in British Rail Engineering Ltd. and concentrates on the areas of Shildon, Horwich and Swindon, where unemployment is over 20 per cent., and where male unemployment is, in some cases, over 50 per cent.The issue is urgent because of the great uncertainty that has been introduced by the statement on the future of British Rail Engineering Ltd., and because the level of redundancies is twice that predicted last year, before the general election. The Swindon works are now threatened, although before Christmas the Minister assured the House that statements about the closure of Swindon were simply scare stories.
It is important to debate the issue because the whole future of British Rail Engineering Ltd. is threatened. British Rail is directly affected, and the whole issue arises from the cuts in the public service obligation which the Government have imposed, which are leading to redundancies in the workshops, fewer services, and a threat to our public railway transport system.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott) asks leave to move the Adjournment of the House under Standing Order No. 10 for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,
further redundancies at British Rail engineering and locomotive workshops.The hon. Gentleman will know that the only decision that I have to take is whether to give this matter precedence over the business already set down for today or tomorrow. I listened carefully to what he said, but I regret that I do not consider that the matter that he raised is appropriate for discussion under Standing Order No. 10 and, therefore, I cannot submit his application to the House.