§ Q1. Mr. Dixonasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 6 March.
§ The Prime Minister (Mrs. Margaret Thatcher)This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I hope to have an audience of Her Majesty the Queen.
§ Mr. DixonIs the right hon. Lady aware that the seasonally adjusted unemployment figures published last Thursday showed over 20 per cent., of men in the northern region—one in five—are out of work? With continuing job losses in manufacturing and service industries, when will the Government produce new policies to create jobs in the northern region to get us back to full employment? Or is it the Prime Minister's intention to continue with the Government's present policies and turn the north of England into an industrial desert?
§ The Prime MinisterSecuring new employment consists of securing new manufacturing industry, usually through small businesses, or new service industries. The number of people in work rose by 85,000 between the first and third quarters of 1983, mostly because people were making, or providing, services which other people would buy. There will, of course, continue to be problems because the population of working age and the labour force are still rising and are not expected to fall until 1990.
§ Mr. CormackWill my right hon. Friend rake a moment to contemplate the array of distinguished talent on the Opposition Front Bench below the Gangway and agree that the sooner Parliament is televised the better?
§ The Prime MinisterNot altogether. I do not think that it would add to the beauty on the screen.
§ Mr. KinnockOn the subject of industrial growth and new opportunities, I am sure the Prime Minister will share my delight at the fact that National Semiconductors is to expand its factory at Greenock. Will she say, in the interests of national technological advance, whether recent reports that the support for industry scheme is running out of funds are true? If those reports, which seem to come from authoritative sources, are true, will she give an undertaking that fresh allocations will be made so that valuable technological aid throughout British industry is properly maintained?
§ The Prime MinisterThere are a number of schemes under which support for industry is given, and one would need to look through them all to see how they have been progressing. They have been valuable. I am glad that the right hon. Gentleman welcomes the decision of National Semiconductors to invest £100 million at its Greenock plant. That is expected to lead to the creation of 800 new jobs by 1987. I hope that he also welcomes the success that has occurred in Wales in that, since its inception last April, 731 the Welsh inward investment unit has attracted 18 entirely new overseas projects, seven American, eight European and three joint ventures, with the promise of over 2,000 jobs.
§ Mr. KinnockI am very pleased at those successes, but in Wales, for instance, it leaves only another 104,000 jobs to go until we get back to where we were in 1979. On my original question, many schemes require further examination, but it appears that the examination being made by the Department of Trade and Industry is resulting in a reduction of the funds necessary for microelectronics support and development, for robotics, fibre optics and software development—[Interruption.] While I realise, Mr. Speaker, that the more atavistic elements in the Conservative party see these matters in a cavalier light, I am sure that the Prime Minister takes them very seriously.
In the examination currently being conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry—[Interruption]—will the Prime Minister ensure that there is no loss of funds, and not try to cover the absence of information with an interesting discussion about unemployment in the regions?
§ The Prime MinisterA review of regional policy is under way in the Department of Trade and Industry, which will take some time to be completed. In the meantime, there will be a whole day's debate on public expenditure later.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythWill my right hon. Friend deny that Britain is selling chemical weapons abroad and confirm that the United Kingdom is playing a leading role in bringing about the banning of production and use of those weapons?
§ The Prime MinisterWe have repeatedly made it clear to the Iranian Government that there is no truth in their accusation that the United Kingdom has supplied chemical weapons to Iraq. I am glad to reaffirm that the United Kingdom has not manufactured chemical weapons for 25 years and has destroyed stocks of such weapons. We have been in the forefront of attempts to impose a universal ban on chemical weapons, and we recently put forward new proposals to that end at the conference on disarmament in Geneva.
§ Mr. SoamesWill my right hon. Friend tell the House what progress is being made in the search for an honourable and lasting peace with the Argentine?
§ The Prime MinisterWe proposed to the Argentine Government that we should hold talks on a number of things, such as commercial matters, to move towards greater normalisation of relations. The Argentines have replied, and we are studying their reply. We cannot, of course, have any discussions on sovereignty.
§ Q2. Mr. Willie W. Hamiltonasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for 6 March.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. HamiltonThe Prime Minister has no doubt read The Sunday Times of two days ago on the recent revelations about her problem family. Does the right hon. Lady recognise that those revelations, which were made by her own friends, simply reinforce the current opinion that she has degraded her high office—[Interruption.]— and turned No. 10 into a squalid, seedy family casino 732 [Interruption.]—in which each member of that family, albeit with limited capacity, seems to be on the make. Will the right hon. Lady come clean—[Interruption.]
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The hon. Gentleman must put his question succinctly.
§ Mr. HamiltonWill the right hon. Lady make a clean breast of these matters to the Select Committee on Members' Interests?
§ The Prime MinisterI have answered many questions on this matter in the House, but I shall summarise them and answer the hon. Gentleman's latest accusation.
During my visit to Oman I did not raise the interest of any individual companies that could have been interested at that stage in securing the right to negotiate on aspects of the university project. I did raise, as I was advised to do, Britain's general interest in all aspects of the project: consultancy, construction and academic. I am advised that some 400 British companies obtained orders from that contract. I wish that more right hon. and hon. Members would go abroad and sell for Britain and get more jobs for the constituencies.
With regard to the latest article, to which the hon. Gentleman referred, the arrangements affecting this bank account were perfectly proper and are not in any sense a public matter. What should be a matter for public concern is that methods of impersonation and deception were used to obtain information about a private bank account, which was subsequently published in a national newspaper. I understand that Barclays has recently published a statement about that, in which it says that, because of evidence of impersonation and deception, it is informing The Sunday Times of the bank's intention to make a formal complaint to the Press Council.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasIs the Prime Minister aware that the only people who are degraded are those who are pursuing this scurrilous campaign, and that the sooner they, including the shadow Leader of the House, give it up, the better for the reputation of public life?
§ Mr. SpeakerMr. Doug Hoyle.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I did not call the right hon. Gentleman.
Later—
§ Mr. ShoreOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I do not know whether you are in any way able to protect hon. Members from cheap and contemptible charges made against them, above all by a right hon. Member who, because he held the office of Leader of the House, should have a greater understanding of the standard of conduct——
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I look to the Front Benches to support the Chair by not seeking to continue Question Time. With great respect, I heard exactly what was going on, but frequently charges are made across the Chamber, with which right hon. and hon. Members disagree. It is just one of those things with which we must put up.
§ Mr. LawrenceOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Is it in order for the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) to bring his bully-boy tactics to the Floor of the House and threaten Conservative Members with violence when they leave the Chamber?
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I have no idea to what the hon. and learned Gentleman refers, but I am certain that he is able to look after himself.
Later—
§ Mr. ShoreFurther to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. I was simply, almost in parenthesis, answering the intervention of the right hon. Member for Chelmsford (Mr. St. John-Stevas) in seeking to raise a point of order. My point of order is a serious one. We have a right to expect reasonable openness and responsiveness to serious questions, seriously asked. Straightforward questions were put to the Prime Minister, but she has refused to answer them. It is time that she should be made aware that her failure to respond to serious questions——
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I must say to the shadow Leader of the House, and to the whole House, that we must not seek to have a continuation of Question Time beyond 3.30. It is really very unfair.
§ Q4. Mr. Gareth Wardellasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 6 March.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. WardellCan the Prime Minister explain why, when the Manpower Services Commission has been given an additional £15 million, Wales should be penalised for making effective use of the scheme by having 1,310 community places withdrawn?
§ The Prime MinisterI understand that the community scheme for the older unemployed was oversubscribed and that the full amount will be restored at the beginning of the new financial year. The scheme was slow to get off the ground. When my right hon. and learned Friend the present Foreign Secretary, then the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced £150 million for it, it was difficult to get it taken up. Recently it has proved popular, and I understand that the full amount will be restored in the next financial year.
§ Mr. HaywardDoes my right hon. Friend accept that the reason for the investment by National Semiconductors and the decision by International Business Machines in Greenock is that the levels of productivity achieved in those two firms are the highest in the world? Does she agree that there is a clear message from those two firms to other companies in and around that area?
§ The Prime MinisterI agree with my hon. Friend The levels of productivity both per man and per man-hour in British industry are at an all-time peak. For that reason we are securing more overseas investment in this country. Of course, we also belong to the Common Market.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesWhat is going on in the Ministry of Defence?
§ Mr. ReesIs it the case that professional civil servants or other people who disagree with the Government on policy are to be removed from their jobs?
§ The Prime MinisterNo, Sir. I think that I detect the precise question from the general question that the right hon. Gentleman is asking. There is no question of the Ministry of Defence trying to introduce a form of vetting based on party political beliefs. The matter arose in the Ministry of Defence out of the case of one senior civil servant who, while at work, was actively and openly promoting the views of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament — [Interruption.] — and using official internal mail facilities to do so.
The Government's position on the political activities of senior civil servants is no different from that of their predecessors. Indeed, the Government have not imposed any new restrictions on political activity. On the contrary, they have accepted the recommendations of the Armitage committee, which will increase the scope for civil servants to take part in political activity, subject to the nature of their work. What they do in their private time is wholly a matter for them. Obviously it does not affect the way in which they discharge their duties.
§ Mr. MaloneMy right hon. Friend welcomed the investment of National Semiconductors in Greenock. Does she agree that in Scotland 45,000 people are now involved in the electronics industry and that that figure exceeds that for those involved in traditional industries? Will she join me in welcoming the fact that Scotland now leads the second industrial revolution in Great Britain, as well as dominating its rugby fields?
§ The Prime MinisterWith regard to the latter, I congratulate all those who hail from that country. With regard to the former, congratulations are also due. Scotland has been extremely successful both in attracting electronic industries and in her performance with them. It is clear that many new jobs will come from those industries.