§ Q3. Mr. Brintonasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 March.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. BrintonIs not the way to create greater enduring employment through prudent climate-setting by Government and prudent spending by Government? Is not the current CBI report, combined with the report that the Government have prudently saved £75 million on prescriptions, a good example of exactly the way that we should go?
§ The Prime MinisterYes. The Government's task is to provide a sound financial background and a sound framework of law within which enterprise can flourish. We are entering the seventh successive year of growth. That is a very good record and shows the strength and rightness of the Government's policy, as confirmed by the CBI estimate and forecast today.
§ Mr. BeithDoes the Prime Minister agree that anything that the Syrian Government could do to assist in bringing about the release of Terry Waite and other hostages would materially affect attitudes in this country towards future better relations with Syria?
§ The Prime MinisterI assume that anything that Syria can do she would already be doing.
§ Q4. Mr. Terlezkiasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 March.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. TerlezkiAs my right hon. Friend will be visiting Moscow and meeting Mr. Gorbachev, will she please tell him that, while it is very important that we should negotiate on nuclear and conventional weapons for peace, harmony and friendship in the world, it is absolutely imperative that he show his human heart, human face, compassion and sincerity by allowing the people in Soviet Russia the freedom of speech, religion and movement, that we take for granted in this country. [Interruption.] Then we could negotiate on nuclear weapons. Only when, for all people in the Soviet Union, the barriers are broken down, the Berlin Wall is demolished and slave labour camps are abolished can the people be free. [Interruption.]
§ The Prime MinisterI fully agree with my hon. Friend. [Interruption.]
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The whole House knows why the hon. Gentleman feels strongly about this matter.
§ The Prime MinisterI fully agree with my hon. Friend and can assure him that I shall, of course, be raising those matters under the Helsinki accords, which deal with the free movement of people and ideas. I am having a bigger correspondence than I have ever had from people who wish certain personal cases to be raised and from people who hope that I will raise the matter of religious freedom and freedom of speech for all in the Soviet Union.
§ Q5. Mr. Pendryasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 March.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. PendryWill the Prime Minister take time out today to look afresh at the guidelines for civil servants when asked by their Minister to give advice on such personal issues as tax problems? Would she care to comment on the report in The Guardian today which concerns one such case in connection with her Chancellor of the Exchequer?
§ The Prime MinisterI see no cause whatsoever to comment upon a particular case. I am satisfied that the standards on both sides were upheld.
§ Mr. HillDid my right hon. Friend, during her discussions with President Mitterrand and Chancellor Kohl, discuss our independent nuclear resources in France and the United Kingdom, and was it ever mentioned that the new European forum for discussion of defence matters should be the reactivated Western European Union?
§ The Prime MinisterYes, of course we discussed the independent nuclear deterrents of both the United Kingdom and France, reaffirming once again that they are wholly outside the present arms control negotiations. They are our last resort deterrent and are absolutely vital to our security and future. We did not go into the wider matter of the European forum, although I thought that my right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary made an excellent speech on it the other day.
§ Q6. Mr. Pikeasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 March.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. PikeThe House having given approval last night to the Budget proposals, in which the tax concessions benefit the wealthier sections of the community the most and give little benefit to the poorly paid, will the Prime Minister indicate her concern for those pensioners who are receiving only their state pension, who are to receive a mighty small increase in April compared with those of pensionable age still in well-paid occupations, even if for only a short time, who will obviously be benefiting considerably from the tax concessions?
§ The Prime MinisterThe tax concessions will benefit many people— factory workers, nurses, teachers, policemen, on average earnings and one in three pensioners. Of course, many pensioners do not only have the basic state pension, but have a second pension as well. I remind the hon. Gentleman that in 1979 second pension, SERPS, amounted to 95p per week for those who retired then. People who are now retiring and who have the 162 SERPS pension to add to the basic pension have an extra £16.25 a week. Pensioners, too, benefit from tax reductions.
§ Mr. FavellHas it occurred to my right hon. Friend that the Leader of the Opposition's most recent recipe for jobs is not dissimilar to that adopted by Derek Hatton and his friends for Liverpool——
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder, Questions must relate to the Prime Minister's responsibility.
§ Mr. FavellDoes my right hon. Friend consider that she should adopt a recipe for jobs similar to that adopted by Derek Hatton and his friends for Liverpool?
§ The Prime MinisterAs I am sure my hon. Friend is aware, our recipe for jobs is absolutely the right one. It has produced 1 million extra jobs since 1983 and is reducing the numbers of unemployed on the register. In addition, since 1979 we have spent £10.5 billion on special employment measures and are introducing yet another one, a new job training scheme, on 1 April. That will also help those who have not got jobs to get a training to help them find a job.
§ Q7. Mr. Roy Hughesasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 March.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. HughesWould the Prime Minister care to comment on the reports emanating from Washington about the modernisation of nuclear weapons, which, as I understand it, have been denied by at least four Ministers? Would it not be reasonable to suggest that they have been handling the truth rather carelessly, or is it yet another example of this Administration's rather perverted use of the term "open government"?
§ The Prime MinisterI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this matter. At the Montebello meeting of the nuclear planning group in 1983, NATO agreed both a major reduction in the number of its theatre nuclear weapons in Europe and the need for possible improvements to ensure the effectiveness of the remaining stockpile. This was clearly set out in the comminiqué issued at the Montebello meeting. Since then SACEUR has put forward his proposals for these improvements. These are being pursued with the individual nations concerned, but, as Defence Ministers have made clear to the House, no decisions affecting the modernisation of the theatre nuclear weapons in service with British forces have yet been made. I thank the hon. Gentleman for asking the question.