§ Mr. Allan Roberts (Bootle)I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 20, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,
the need for an immediate announcement of the results of the review by the Department of Trade and Industry about the future status of Girobank.Yesterday, the Department of Trade and Industry confirmed that Ministers and officials have been investigating privatisation within the Post Office and that Girobank is the simplest and first choice for a sell-off. This is a specific matter because it refers to a Government review of the future of Girobank and concerns proposals to privatise Girobank that have not been presented to the House or been the subject of a statement from any Minister. This matter is urgent because 7,000 staff, working at the Girobank headquarters in my constituency of Bootle, need reassurance about the futue security of their jobs. If another bank was to buy Girobank, there would be no need for that bank to maintain Girobank's clearing bank facilities in Bootle as it would be duplicating its own existing facilities.We need a statement, and we need to know where we are going. The 7,000 people employed on Merseyside, an area of high unemployment, need reassurance.
This is a specific and urgent matter because it is likely that, if Girobank was privatised, another bank would be the purchaser. Indeed, secret negotiations with other banks have already taken place. At least 7,000 jobs on Merseyside at that clearing bank would disappear. This is a specific matter because, unlike other privatisation proposals, what would be on sale would be Girobank's custom, customers and the 20,000 retail counter outlets in the country's post offices and sub-post offices.
The matter is urgent because plans have already been made by the management, in secret, to facilitate the privatisation proposals. There are proposals for a second centre outside Merseyside. Some three weeks ago the management visited South Africa to recruit middle management and computer staff to work at the Girobank headquarters in Merseyside—an area with 30 per cent, unemployment. That means that ready-made scabs will be brought in when privatisation takes place. This matter is urgent because secret negotiations have been taking place between Girobank management and the Visa organisation to facilitate privatisation.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Gentleman asks leave to move the Adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that he believes should have urgent consideration, namely,
the future of Girobank".764 I have listened carefully to what the hon. Gentleman said, but I regret that I do not consider that the matter he has raised is appropriate for discussion under Standing Order No. 20, and I cannot therefore submit his application to the House.
§ Mr. SpeakerI shall take points of order after the ten minute Bill.
§ Mr. HefferMy point of order relates to what my hon. Friend the Member for Bootle (Mr. Roberts) has just said.
§ Mr. SpeakerVery well, I shall take that point of order now.
§ Mr. HefferOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. There is a possibility that people in the constituencies of my hon. Friend and myself who are employed in Girobank will suddenly find themselves privatised and out of work. If it is not possible to debate the matter now, can you, Mr. Speaker, explain when something is a matter of priority, and when we can debate it?
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Gentleman has been here for as long as I have; he well knows the criteria under which Standing Order No. 20 debates can be granted. There are many other opportunities for raising matters of that sort, and I suspect that the hon. Gentleman is fairly adept at finding them.
§ Mr. George Howarth (Knowsley, North)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. During education questions earlier, the Minister of State said, during question 7, that Knowsley borough council had made approaches—
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I am sorry, but that is a continuation of Question Time.
§ Mr. Howarthrose—
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. If the Minister of State said that, it has nothing to do with me. I cannot deal with matters to do with what Ministers may or may not have said. We have a debate today on education in which the hon. Gentleman may well wish to take part. About 60 other hon. Members want to take part in it, too. It is wrong to try to continue Question Time with the Chair on a point of order.