§ Q1. Mr. BaldryTo ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 23 February.
§ The Prime Minister (Mrs. Margaret Thatcher)This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and held meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.
§ Mr. BaldryWill my right hon. Friend confirm that drinking water throughout Britain is of a high quality and that the problems experienced in Swindon and Oxfordshire this week are very rare and, in this instance, have been dealt with properly and fully by Thames Water, and that with new capital investment of £1.4 billion in the water industry next year, the Government are doing far more for water quality than the Opposition ever did when they were in power?
§ The Prime MinisterI am happy to confirm that, generally, public water supplies in Britain are of a high quality. The incident in Oxfordshire is only the second such incident to have been identified in a public water supply in the United Kingdom. I agree that Thames Water has taken the necessary precautionary measures to safeguard public health and is investigating the cause of the incident as a matter of urgency. We are making heavier capital investments in the water supply than ever before, and the investment of some £1.4 billion next year will ensure a higher standard of water throughout the country.
§ Mr. KinnockIn regard to the Prime Minister's plans for the Health Service, whose judgment should patients trust—that of the doctors who work in it or that of the Prime Minister who never uses it?
§ The Prime MinisterPerhaps they should judge the record of this Government compared with that of the Labour Government.
§ Mr. KinnockThe Prime Minister has been telling us about that record for some time—
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder.
§ Mr. KinnockThe huge majority of patients are not reassured about it. Why should they be reassured about any of the Prime Minister's plans?
§ The Prime MinisterThe huge majority of patients are reassured by using the Health Service. Public opinion polls show that those who use the Health Service are highly satisfied with it, and so they should be. There are far more doctors and dentists and a greater proportion of GDP is invested in the Health Service. The right hon. Gentleman's problem is that the National Health Service is better than it has been at any time.
§ Mr. OnslowIs my right hon. Friend aware that the award of £100,000 in costs against a firm of developers that was flagrantly seeking to breach the Government's green belt policy will be particularly welcomed in south-east England and elsewhere? Does she agree that that decision should be taken as a warning by any other developers with similar ambitions?
§ The Prime MinisterSome two years ago my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment said that if developers went to appeal in flagrant breach of green belt land, they would risk paying high costs. That is what has happened and it is yet another example of my right hon. Friend's determination to safeguard the green belt.
§ Q2. Mr. ParryTo ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 23 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. ParryWill the Prime Minister make urgent representations to the Prime Minister of South Africa on behalf of Mr. Oscar Mptha, a sick, 80-year-old man who has been in gaol for nine years?—[Interruption.] Will she ask Mr. Botha to use his discretion and mercy before he has on his hands another murder which will be condemned by the western world?
§ The Prime MinisterI did not quite catch the whole of the hon. Gentleman's question, but I understand that it concerned South Africa and people who have been in prison for some time. The hon. Gentleman knows full well that the Government are anxious for Nelson Mandela to be released and believe that anyone who has been on remand should be either charged or released. We are closely watching events in South Africa, but we do not believe in sanctions. I should also point out that Namibian independence could scarcely have been achieved without the great co-operation of South Africa.
§ Dr. TwinnDoes my right hon. Friend agree that yesterday's vote by the Civil and Public Servants Association against having YTS trainees in the Civil Service was a disgrace and a slap in the face for young people genuinely seeking work and training?
§ The Prime MinisterI agree with my hon. Friend that it was a disgrace that the CPSA voted against having YTS trainees in the Civil Service. It was very disappointing for us all and for many young people who would have liked that opportunity to train.
§ Mr. HumeIn her discussions with Chancellor Kohl, did the Prime Minister discuss the possibility of moving towards a common European currency? Does she think it possible to have a genuine common market without a common currency?
§ The Prime MinisterI did not discuss that with Chancellor Kohl. It is possible to have a genuine single market without a common currency, which is not in any way necessary to achieve a single market.
§ Q3. Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 23 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Miss NicholsonIn her busy day, has the Prime Minister had time to glance at the copy of The Meavy Times that I left at No. 10 Downing street this morning? It is the Meavy primary school's entry in The Daily Telegraph schools newspaper competition. Did she note the pupils' call for a cleaner world, including beaches and rivers? Has she a message for me to give to those caring children?
§ The Prime MinisterYes, thanks to my hon. Friend, she can tell those school pupils that I received a copy of The Meavy Times at No. 10 Downing street this morning. I congratulate them on its excellent content and production. Will my hon. Friend please tell the pupils that we must all play our part in improving the environment? I should be grateful if she would take back to them the Government's 1143 leaflets and information on the environment and the British aid programme, overseas development and tropical forests, and the guide to protecting the environment.
§ Q4. Mr. MorganTo ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 23 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. MorganAs one of Sir Raymond Gower's constituents for the past 32 years, may I say on behalf of Welsh Members how much we shall miss his unfailing courtesy? May I also send that message to Conservative Members who were his friends, and to his family?
Will the Prime Minister confirm that she will be giving a keynote speech on 5 March at the conference on the ozone layer and CFCs at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in London? Will she also confirm that she refused to attend the international environment summit at The Hague on 11 March convened by her friend the Dutch Prime Minister, Mr. Lubbers? Will she accept from Opposition Members that if she wants to be taken seriously in international environmental scientific collaboration to solve the environmental problems affecting this planet, she should not attend only conferences at which Mr. Bernard Ingham can control the television cameras?
§ The Prime MinisterMay I say how much we appreciate the hon. Gentleman's message of sympathy on the loss of our hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Sir R. Gower)? He, like all of us, regarded it as a great privilege to serve his constituents in Westminster, and he will be greatly missed here and by them.
With regard to the ozone layer, I shall be making a speech at the conference, as will many others. The purpose of the conference is to create new and higher standards so that we cut the CFC gases by 85 per cent. At the moment we have reached our target of 50 per cent. reduction. By the end of this year, we shall reach a 60 per cent. reduction. The conference is designed specifically to raise standards and improve the quality of the environment.
The other conference to which the hon. Gentleman referred, which has been called by the French Prime Minister and is to be held in The Hague, is not on specific targets for the environment. It is to form a new organisation, and I respectfully submit that we do not need one, given that we have the United Nations, the European Economic Community, the World Climate Authority and the World Meteorological Authority. The conference is to set up yet another organisation, which is not necessary, and it proposes that compensation should be paid—without saying how—and that sanctions should be applied if rules are not complied with—again without saying how. We believe in calling conferences to do things about the environment.
§ Mr. HigginsWill my right hon. Friend today meet ministerial colleagues from the Department of Employment, the Department of Social Security and the Treasury to discuss the earnings rule for pensioners, which is an anachronism that is long overdue for abolition?
§ The Prime MinisterI take note of what my right hon. Friend says. I know that he has long held this view and we shall, of course, consider the matter.
§ Q6. Mr. MansTo ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 23 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. MansWill my right hon. Friend join me in condemning the action of the Association of University Teachers which, in order to pursue its pay claim, is threatening not to set the examination papers of students, thus jeopardising their degrees and causing them a great deal of anxiety and worry?
§ The Prime MinisterI agree. The action taken by some university lecturers to the effect described by my hon. Friend is deeply disappointing, very irresponsible, wholly unprofessional and careless of the interests of the students in their care. It also goes contrary to what they frequently tell us—that it is vital that we have graduates of high calibre. If we are to have more of those, teachers must carry out their duties of teaching and setting and marking exam papers.
§ Mr. HealeyDoes the Prime Minister recall instructing her spokesman to inform the Sunday Times last November that she would—I apologise for using his indelicate words—
help Kohl to screw Genscher"?Can she explain how it happened that when she visited Germany this week it was, in fact, Kohl who helped Genscher to conduct the same indelicate operation on her?
§ The Prime MinisterSuch indelicate language and thoughts do not come from any part of Downing street during the lifetime of this Government.
§ Mr. CormackWill my right hon. Friend take a little time today—or over the weekend—to select appropriate thank-you cards to send to the Leader of the Opposition, the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) and all the others who played such a signal part in defeating devolution, which led to her return to power 10 years ago?
§ The Prime MinisterMy hon. Friend has saved me the expenditure involved in doing what he requires, but the feelings are precisely the same as they were then.
§ Q7. Mr. EasthamTo ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 23 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. EasthamNoting the Government's fanfare about finally bringing unemployment down to fewer than 2 million after nearly 10 years of Conservative Government, may I ask the Prime Minister to tell the House how many more years it will be before they can bring unemployment back to what it was under the Labour Government?
§ The Prime MinisterThe employment we have now is not full of restrictive practices as it was at the time of the Labour Government. May I remind the hon. Gentleman that the work force in employment is at a higher level than ever. There are more jobs now than ever before.
§ Mr. BurnsCan my right hon. Friend confirm that the British Government will not be bounced by the European Commission into a phased withdrawal of the mile and the pint? Is my right hon. Friend aware that it would cause widespread dismay?
§ The Prime MinisterAs my hon. Friend is probably aware, there is a permanent derogation for the pub pint, for the bottle of milk on the doorstep, for the mile and for the acre. I hope that that reassures him.
§ Q8. Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 23 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. HughesHow many more opinion polls will there have to be which show—[Interruption.]
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The hon. Gentleman has only just started.
§ Mr. HughesHow many more opinion polls will there have to be which show that four fifths of general practitioners believe that the proposals in the White Paper will result in a poorer service for patients before the Government change in any substantial respect their proposals for the Health Service?
§ The Prime MinisterThe poll to which the hon. Gentleman refers was sent to 33,000 general practitioners. Some 631 replied before the White Paper was published; a further 262 replies were received before the working papers in detail went out this week; the rest did not reply at all. It seems strange to do a diagnosis before examining the patient.