Engagements

HC Deb 03 November 1988 vol 139 cc1178-82

Q1. Mrs. Gillian Shephard

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 3 November.

The Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. John Wakeham)

I have been asked to reply.

My right hon. Friend is on an official visit to Poland.

Mrs. Shephard

My right hon. Friend will have noticed in Tuesday's Autumn Statement the announcement that spending on the National Health Service is to increase next year by more than £2 billion—the largest increase ever announced. Does he agree that such an increase demonstrates overwhelmingly this Government's commitment to the continuing success of the National Health Service.

Mr. Wakeham

My hon. Friend is right. The Autumn Statement demonstrates the commitment to the Health Service. It provides the largest increase in resources ever made to the National Health Service—more than £2 billion in 1988–89. Full funding has been provided for the nurses' pay, and in real terms that is an increase of more than 45 per cent. under this Government. The biggest building programme in the history of the National Health Service is under way and record levels of patient care are being achieved. The contrast with the Labour Government could not be more marked. Their words cannot disguise their actions when they were in power. It was Labour that cut nurses' pay and the hospital building programme.

Mr. Hattersley

Are the Government confident that charging for optical tests will not be a deterrent to examination, as the Minister of State, Department of Health hopes, or did the Under-Secretary of State for Health reflect the official view when she said on television last night that charging might well be a deterrent?

Mr. Wakeham

I thought that the right hon. Gentleman would at least take the trouble to look at what my hon. Friend said in full rather than what she said in the reports in some—[Interruption.]—at what my hon. Friend was reported as saying in some of the papers. My hon. Friend was clearly making the point that it would be commercial suicide for opticians to charge a fee for sight tests at a level that would drive away customers for spectacles. Three out of four sight tests result in a prescription for glasses. What my hon. Friend said was perfectly sensible and I support it.

Mr. Hattersley

I have the transcript, which clearly reveals that the Under-Secretary of State said that charges might be a deterrent, but on the other hand they might not. Was not the truth of the matter revealed by the Minister of State in the House in the early hours of Wednesday morning—that the Government have no idea whether they will or will not be a deterrent? In fact, the Government do not know whether they are cutting back on eye tests, and they do not care.

Mr. Wakeham

The Government do not believe that such charges will be a deterrent. We have had two very good debates on the issue in the House. Each time the Government have won the argument and the vote that followed. The right hon. Gentleman does not like to accept that. He will have to wait to see what happens down the Corridor. The right hon. Gentleman will try to have it both ways. If the Government win he will say that it is undemocratic, and if the Government lose he will say that it is a triumph for democracy. He cannot have it both ways.

Sir Anthony Grant

Will my right hon. Friend please ask all Ministers to speed up the replies that they give to letters from hon. Members? In particular, will he ask my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment to reply to two requests that he has received from me on behalf of my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridgeshire, South-East (Mr. Paice) and me, to which we have not had the courtesy of a reply?

Mr. Wakeham

If my hon. Friend has not had a reply to his letter I shall look into it and see what can be done. It is timely that my hon. Friend should remind us that it is important that all Ministers reply to letters as speedily as possible. I hope that my hon. Friend will ask me the same question in a year's time and that there will be an improvement where there has been any shortcoming.

Mr. Ashdown

Is the Leader of the House aware that the United States Government have now refused to supply key software to British universities because they refuse to take action on end users, which his Government have described as illegal under international law and an infringement of British sovereignty? We all know that the Government have refused to stand up to the United States Government in protecting British industry. Will he now stand up to the United States Government in protecting British universities and academic freedom?

Mr. Wakeham

The relationship between the British Government and the United States Government is a good, long-standing and enduring relationship. Any difficulties that there might be in any particular instance can be dealt with through negotiation between the two Governments.

Mr. Bowis

Will my right hon. Friend find time to study Mr. Dukakis's criticism of the British legal system and courts? Does he agree that either that gentleman is muddle-headed or mischievous, and in either case there is a question mark over his judgment?

Mr. Wakeham

I have no wish to make any comments about the United States presidential candidates on either side at this time. I am sure that if any presidential candidate studies the United Kingdom's justice system he will find that it does not match up with some of the reported comments.

Q2. Mr. Bell

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 3 November.

Mr. Wakeham

I have been asked to reply.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave recently.

Mr. Bell

Can the Lord President of the Council tell the House why the Cabinet met on Tuesday morning, agreed public expenditure of £167,000 million, agreed a welcome £2,000 million for the Health Service, agreed a balance of payments deficit of £13,000 million, agreed a contingency of £9,000 million, and then reassembled here late at night and in the early hours of the morning to take three quid from the pockets of our constituents for dental checks and ten quid from their pockets for eye tests?

Mr. Wakeham

The hon. Gentleman gives an inaccurate account of a Cabinet meeting at which he was not present, and an inaccurate account of a meeting of the House at which he was present. At the Cabinet meeting in the morning we approved this year's Autumn Statement. That Autumn Statement shows the success of the Government's policies. Spending on priority programmes continues to grow. Total public spending as a share of gross domestic product is lower than it has been for 20 years and we are repaying the national debt. We have taken firm action to ensure that inflation resumes its downward path next year. Strong investment growth is adding to capacity, which will boost exports, discourage imports and help to reduce the current account deficit. All this will happen in the ninth successive year of economic growth. Any Labour Government would have been proud indeed to announce programmes of that kind, but they never did.

Q3. Mr. John Browne

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 3 November.

Mr. Wakeham

I have been asked to reply.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

Mr. Browne

Will my right hon. Friend support the drive against leaded fuel, highlighted in today's Daily Mail? Is he aware that although we appreciate Government action to date in terms of publicity and petrol tax incentives, we expect far more decisive and speedy action? Will he think in terms of legislation to set maximum percentage sales levels for leaded fuel, which would decrease into the future?

Mr. Wakeham

I agree that this is an important subject. The Government are playing a major part in the campaign to persuade motorists to switch to unleaded petrol. I urge all drivers to find out whether their cars can run on unleaded petrol. I am delighted to say that mine can and does. I hope that the industry will ensure that the clearest possible information is given to assist motorists in this.

Ms. Ruddock

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree with the British ambassador to Dublin that nuclear power is popular in Britain, and will he confirm the ambassador's assertion that a possible sight for a nuclear power station has been considered in east London?

Mr. Wakeham

The Government are strongly committed to nuclear power and in that, I believe, we have the overwhelming support of the British people, but I am certainly not getting involved in discussing sites for nuclear power stations.

Q4. Mr. McCrindle

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 3 November.

Mr. Wakeham

I have been asked to reply.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

Mr. McCrindle

Will my right hon.Friend join me in suggesting to those nurses who have a grievance about their grading that the way to overcome the problem is to use the appeals machinery that has been introduced, rather than to contemplate industrial action? Does he further agree that the British taxpayer will find it curious if, having met the bill for the largest ever wage settlement for nurses, the result were a diminution rather than an enhancement of patient care?

Mr. Wakeham

I agree very much with my hon. Friend. I am sure the public recognise that the great bulk of the nursing profession are very satisfied with the generous and well-deserved settlement. On average, even after inflation, nurses' pay is 45 per cent. higher than in 1979. That compares with a cut of 21 per cent. under the Labour Government. I am afraid that it is typical of some trade unions to prefer industrial action to sticking to agreements that they have reached, whether about the grading structure itself or about the way in which grading disputes should be handled.

Mr. Mallon

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that basic essentials such as food, heat and electricity cost 30 per cent. more in Northern Ireland than in other regions, with the result that many people will not be able to put food on the table in the winter? Are the Government intent on tampering with the right to eat in the same way as they are tampering with the right to silence, the right to free speech and the right to a free and open franchise?

Mr. Wakeham

The hon. Gentleman gives a one-sided account, although I accept that there are many problems in Northern Ireland. The hon. Gentleman put the same question to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security the other day, and I have nothing to add to what my right hon. Friend said.

Q5. Mr. Hannam

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 3 November.

Mr. Wakeham

I have been asked to reply.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

Mr. Hannam

Is my right hon. Friend aware of the growing public demand for higher standards in broadcasting, especially with regard to violence and pornography on the screen? Will he ensure that proper safeguards are built into the future deregulation of broadcasting to protect viewers against what could be a flood of undesirable material?

Mr. Wakeham

My hon. Friend is right, and it was in response to the increasing public concern about the portrayal of sex and violence on television and radio that the Government decided to set up the Broadcasting Standards Council, which will serve as a focus for public concern on these matters. The need to maintain proper standards of taste and decency has been taken fully into account in our preparation of the White Paper on broadcasting, which will be published shortly.

Mr. Faulds

After the disturbing scenes at the Nuremberg rally at Brighton a couple of weeks ago, when do the Government intend to introduce uniforms for their followers?

Mr. Wakeham

I have a feeling that the hon. Gentleman would like to be wearing a uniform, and a year or two ago he might have looked quite smart in it. I have to tell him that we have no such plans.

Q6. Mr. David Porter

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 3 November.

Mr. Wakeham

I have been asked to reply.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

Mr. Porter

Will my right hon. Friend acknowledge the warm welcome given by most East Anglians to this week's Autumn Statement and in particular that part which gives extra money to sea defence spending, coast protection and flood prevention? Will he confirm that it is Government policy that flood prevention is a national undertaking and not merely a local problem?

Mr. Wakeham

As a Member representing an east coast constituency, I share my hon. Friend's pleasure at the fact that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has given priority to improving our flood defences, and an extra £25 million per annum was announced in the Autumn Statement. We believe that local communities are the best judges of sea defence priority and costs, but the Government recognise that the expenditure can be heavy, and thus contribute substantial grant-aid to water authorities undertaking sea defence works.