§ Q1. Mr. Gareth Wardellasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 February.
§ The Prime Minister (Mrs. Margaret Thatcher)This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House I shall be visiting Yorkshire later today.
§ Mr. WardellAre there any circumstances in which the right hon. Lady's Government would prevent a British company falling into foreign hands?
§ The Prime MinisterIf we were to say that we would automatically prevent a British company from falling into foreign hands, we would prevent a great deal of inward investment that is welcome in this country.
§ Q2. Mr. Spellerasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. SpellerWill my right hon. Friend consider the anomaly over television licence fees for the elderly? Is she aware that if one is in warden-controlled sheltered accommodation which is council-owned one pays 5p per set per year, but if one is in private residential care or any other form of housing one pays the full fee regardless of age or income? Would it riot be fairer if all people of pensionable age had the opportunity to pay the same fee based upon means to pay, not just upon age?
§ The Prime MinisterI note my hon. Friend's suggestion. However, as he will be aware, the House debated that matter recently. I do not believe that it is fair, as a general rule, to exempt particular groups from the licence fee. My hon. Friend's proposal would cost some £80 million, which would add considerably to the cost of the licence fee for others, including many pensioners, who would still be required to pay it.
§ Mr. KinnockIs the Prime Minister aware that the Secretary of State for Defence said in Washington yesterday that if any part of the strategic initiative programme
we are involved in went, in our view, outside the treaty"—that is the ABM treaty—we wouldn't want to be involved."?Is that now also the position of the Prime Minister, or is she going to be yet again the presidential doormat?
§ The Prime MinisterI think that the right hon. Gentleman would do well first to consult my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence to see exactly what he did say. He will find that it did not resemble exactly what he said. The position is as I have outlined it previously. First, we have no locus in interpreting the ABM treaty. Secondly, deployment is clearly a matter for negotiation, as we have agreed. Thirdly, we have received satisfactory assurances from the United States that there will be consultation about any significant change of policy in relation to SDI research. Fourthly, the Government fully support the SDI research programme, which is permitted by the ABM treaty. It is vital to our defence that the West should always be at the forefront of new technology.
§ Mr. KinnockI think that the Prime Minister should consult her right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence, since clarity is all-important in this issue, both for the American President and, more importantly, for the British people. Is the Prime Minister aware that, when asked yesterday what he would do if the United States said that it wanted to test SDI technology in space, the Secretary of State for Defence said:
The outcome might be that we agreed with what was proposed or might not agree.Since, on Tuesday, the Prime Minister started off by supporting the narrow interpretation of the ABM treaty but by the end of Question Time she was supporting the broad interpretation, exactly where does she stand?
§ The Prime MinisterThe right hon. Gentleman has suggested that I should consult my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. That is precisely what I did do this morning and that is why I gave the reply that I did.
§ Mr. SumbergIn relation to the north-south divide, has my right hon. Friend noted the remarks of Mr. Kenneth Livingstone, that far too many northern Labour MPs know nothing of life in London and all they do know about are the brothels and wine bars of Westminster.?
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. Is all this part of the Prime Minister's responsibilities?
§ Mr. SumbergWill my right hon. Friend join me in condemning this disgraceful slur on the north of England and on the hard-working northern Members of Parliament on both sides of the House?
§ The Prime MinisterI am not going to get involved in that one.
§ Q3. Mr. Pikeasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. PikeIs the Prime Minister not worried about the reported links between cancer and nuclear installations?
§ The Prime MinisterThe report to which the hon. Gentleman is referring has been, or will be, placed in the Library of the House when it is available. In fact, its production has been accelerated so that it can be available before the debate on Sizewell. I understand that many people have interpreted it totally differently. Its purpose is to find out the facts and it is for others to make the assessment.
§ Q5. Mr. Colvinasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. ColvinDoes my right hon. Friend agree that the Agriculture Council, under the United Kingdom presidency, took a major and historic step last December when it tackled the mounting problem of food surpluses? Will she acknowledge that the total change of direction that the whole of the agriculture industry is now having to face will be both painful and difficult? What will the Government be able to do to assist the industry in this process of adaptation, bearing in mind the calls for a five-year transition period and the devaluation of the green pound?
§ The Prime MinisterI agree with my hon. Friend that the Agriculture Council last December made a great effort officially and in a very practical way to tackle the problem of food surpluses in the Community. I know full well that the adaptation will be painful for farmers, but, as my hon. Friend is aware, we already give considerable national help to farmers in addition to that which they get from the CAP, for example, in capital grants and in support for special areas. Support for special areas totals £141 million.
I think my hon. Friend is aware that my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food plans to publish next month a document describing in greater detail how the Government's policies towards farming are being adjusted to reflect changes in agriculture and the potential in the rural economy as a whole. With regard to the green pound, that will be a matter to be considered at the annual price fixing. As he knows, there is at present the review of the agro-monetary system.
§ Mr. WrigglesworthDoes the Prime Minister agree that lack of adequate housing is a major impediment to labour mobility and causes great misery in many parts of the country? Will she spend some time today looking at the housebuilding record of her Administration since 1979, which will show that, after eight years, this Government have managed to get only 200,000 new houses started in the private and public sectors last year, when Mr. Harold Macmillan, in his period as Minister of Housing, after four years, was able to build 300,000 houses?
§ The Prime MinisterIt is not only public sector housing, as the hon. Gentleman is aware. The dwelling stock has increased by 1.4 million. That is an enormous increase during the lifetime of this Government. Capital spending on the renovation of English council housing has increased from about £480 million in 1978–79 to an estimated £1,300 million in 1986–87. So there are more houses and better renovated houses.
§ Q6. Mr. Cashasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. CashDoes my right hon. Friend share my deep concern that certain Left-wing teachers in London have banned the video which would have enabled children to be properly informed about sex attacks, simply because the police recommended that it should be shown? Does that not demonstrate that those teachers could not care less about child abuse?
§ The Prime MinisterI think it absolutely disgraceful that a few Left-wing teachers in ILEA should attempt to jeopardise children's safety in this way. I believe that parents will be appalled, and rightly so, that their children are put at risk because of this anti-police demonstration by Left-wing teachers.
§ Q7. Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursDid the Prime Minister not make a bit of an ass of her Chief Whip last night, when she allowed Downing street to bypass him and use the hon. Member for Watford (Mr. Garel-Jones) to arrange the tabling of a motion attacking the Labour leader?
§ The Prime MinisterI have myself been the victim of attacks from the hon. Gentleman and many others, and I have never squealed or complained about it. But may I make it absolutely clear that I for one, regardless of the hon. Gentleman, welcome the agreement reached by my right hon. Friend the Chief Whip and the Chief Whip of the Labour party that we concentrate on policy matters. I have always tried to do that and shall continue so to do.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. It sounds like a rabble.
§ Mr. FormanIn the course of her busy day, can my right hon. Friend find time to consider the disappointing level of civilian research and development in this country compared with Germany and Japan? As a former trained scientist herself, can she look closely into the matter to see 1057 that everything possible is done to improve our position, since, in the long term, if we do not pay attention to this matter there is a danger of its damaging us in international competitiveness?
§ The Prime MinisterI know that there is a very important debate in another place today. May I point out that overall net Government expenditure on research and development is at a record level? United Kingdom Government-funded civilian research and development as a proportion of national output exceeds the level in Japan and the United States. My hon. Friend mentioned Germany. It is also true that for all research and development our expenditure as a proportion of national output exceeds that of Germany, so we have a much better record than many people realise.
§ Q8. Mr. Michieasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 19 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. MichieMay I bring the Prime Minister's attention back to the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Burnley (Mr. Pike), which was not whether the report 1058 will be placed in the Library or whether there is a different interpretation, but whether she is worried about the report, which links cancer with nuclear installations?
§ The Prime MinisterUnlike some hon. Gentlemen, I prefer to read a report before I pronounce upon it.
§ Sir John FarrMay I ask my right hon. Friend whether she will have a chance today to look at the reports of the difficulties in raising finance encountered by those engaged in promoting the Channel tunnel? When she has had a look at those reports, will she assure the House that in no way will the Government put up funds should such people be unable to raise the finance?
§ The Prime MinisterAs my hon. Friend knows, we are glad to reaffirm the Government's general support for the Channel tunnel project. As I have made clear in the past, no Government money will be provided. I think that both the French Government and our Government remain enthusiastic about the project. It is one of the most challenging of our time. It will provide many man years of work and many thousands of jobs. I hope that the finance will be forthcoming for this project and that this generation will be able to rise to this challenging adventure.