Engagements (Hansard, 6 April 1989)

§ Q1. Mr. Alton
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 6 April.

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

Hon. Members
Where is she?

§ Mr. Speaker
Order.

§ Mr. Wakeham
I have been asked to reply.
This morning my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister presided at a meeting of the Cabinet. In the course of the day she will be having meetings with President Gorbachev. This evening she will give a dinner for him.

§ Mr. Alton
While the House will want to give a generous welcome to the remarkable improvement in the human rights record of the Soviet Union, will the Leader of the House take this opportunity to underline the Government's continuing commitment to the 400,000 Jewish refuseniks seeking exit visas and to the 4 million Ukrainian Catholics who have been outlawed since 1946? Will he make it clear that conditional on our attendance at the 1991 human rights conference is the Soviet Union's pursuance of a zero option to end human rights abuses and the renouncement of the sale of weapons to regimes that are opposed to this country's interests and the interests of other Western democracies?

§ Mr. Wakeham
I recognise the hon. Gentleman's long-standing concern with those matters. The Prime Minister will, of course, be raising the whole question of Soviet human rights with Mr. Gorbachev and will underline the need for fundamental reform. The Foreign Secretary will be pressing the Soviet Foreign Secretary on a range of specific questions, including those raised by the hon. Gentleman.

§ Q2. Mr. John Marshall
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 6 April.

§ Mr. Wakeham
I have been asked to reply.
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

§ Mr. Marshall
Will my right hon. Friend give an assurance that when the Prime Minister is discussing human rights with the Russians she will raise with Mr. Gorbachev the case of Mr. and Mrs. Zolotarevsky [HON. MEMBERS: "Reading."] It is not the easiest name to remember. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the only wish of that pensioner couple is to be reunited with their daughter and granddaughter in Israel? Does he agree that it is wrong for the Soviet Government forcibly to divide grandparents from a granddaughter? Will the strongest possible representations be made?

§ Mr. Wakeham
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister will be writing to my hon. Friend about this case. Although she will probably not have time to discuss individual human rights cases with Mr. Gorbachev, she has asked my right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary to raise that case with the Soviet Foreign Secretary.

§ Mr. Kinnock
Will the Leader of the House tell us whether, when the person who leaked the inspectors' report on the House of Fraser is discovered, the culprit will be prosecuted, like Miss Tisdall and Mr. Ponting, or protected, like Mr. Ingham and Mr. Powell?

§ Mr. Wakeham
I have nothing further to say on that except to remind the right hon. Gentleman that under this Government prosecution is a matter for the proper authorities and not for Ministers.

§ Mr. Cormack
When my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is discussing human rights with Mr. Gorbachev, will she make it plain that we recognise that there has been a significant improvement in that sphere in the Soviet Union? While we expect intentions to be honoured and lived up to, we recognise that progress has been made.

§ Mr. Wakeham
My hon. Friend makes his point well. Certainly that must be part of the message.

Mr. Robertson
The Prime Minister was absent yesterday as well and she sent the Leader of the House to apologise to the House for the unavailability in the Library of promised documents on Namibia. Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the key document, the report of the secretary general of the United Nations to the Security Council, on which the Prime Minister based her blame on SWAPO alone for the continuing violence in Namibia, is still not in the Library, and will not be in the Library because it has now been classified as confidential? As the Prime Minister specifically and categorically said on Tuesday that hon. Members could read that report, will the Leader of the House again apologise to the House and ensure that the report is put in the Library today?

§ Mr. Wakeham
If any apologies are required, they are from the hon. Gentleman for abusing points of order yesterday. That is not a matter for me.

Hon. Members
Withdraw.

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The Leader of the House must accept that the point of order was not out of order.

§ Mr. Wakeham
I withdraw what I said to the hon. Gentleman. I just noted that his point of order was somewhat long-winded. I apologise for saying what I did.
As I told the House yesterday, relevant documents have been placed in the House of Commons Library. They include the Geneva protocol which has been made public by the South African Government. A further set of documents, which together comprise the United Nations plan, will be placed in the Library today. The secretary general has asked that the report on the recent fighting be kept confidential for the time being.

§ Mr. Moate
Is my right hon. Friend aware of the widespread concern about the internationally and nationally important national fruit collections in my constituency—[Interruption.]—which, despite the reaction of the Opposition, are of considerable importance to the country, and which were supported so vigorously recently by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales? Is my right hon. Friend aware that the collections are threatened by the Government announcement of the closure of that fruit centre? Will he please ask the Minister of Agriculture to take no further steps until there has been proper consultation, including—if it is not too much trouble—consultation with the local Member of Parliament?

§ Mr. Wakeham
I am aware of the position in my hon. Friend's constituency. Final decisions on the closure of the Brogdale research station will not be taken until consultations with the industry are concluded. I shall see to it that my hon. Friend is included in the consultations. If research at Brogdale ceases, suitable arrangements will be made to continue the necessary work on the collection either at Brogdale or at another suitable site.

§ Q3. Mr. Eastham
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 6 April.

§ Mr. Wakeham
I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

§ Mr. Eastham
Now that the Prime Minister has returned from her tour of central Africa and is able to apply herself to some of the problems at home, will the Leader of the House draw to her attention the homelessness crisis in Britain and the recent statements by Shelter pointing out that thousands of teenagers, who have nowhere to sleep at night and are staying under arches and in doorways, are turning to crime, prostitution and drugs? What will the Government do about it?

§ Mr. Wakeham
The hon. Gentleman must recognise that housing in this country is of a much higher standard than it ever was under a Labour Government. The Government have taken particular steps to help those who are worse off.