§ Q1. Mr. MarlandTo ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 February.
§ The Prime MinisterThis morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I hope to have an audience of Her Majesty the Queen.
§ Mr. MarlandIs my right hon. Friend aware that it is not the principle of the community charge which causes concern, but the amounts that Liberal and Labour-controlled councils are asking people to pay? Is she further aware that Gloucestershire county council, which is controlled by the Liberals, has just set its community charge level and has seriously breached all Government guidelines on spending? Will she, without delay, set in motion a mechanism to charge-cap Gloucestershire?
§ The Prime MinisterI am aware of the position in Gloucestershire. As my hon. Friend says, it is a Liberal-Labour-controlled council. Conservatives are proposing lower community charges. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has said that if councils persist in charging excessively high public expenditure he will not hesitate to charge-cap them. I cannot give any undertaking with regard to any particular council. My right hon. Friend must wait until all the charges have been set, then consider the matter and make up his own mind.
§ Mr. KinnockIs the Prime Minister aware that yesterday in the House her right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy told hon. Members that household electricity prices will rise by between 8 and 9 per cent., and that two or three boards may increase their charges by a higher percentage? Can she tell us how that will help in the fight against inflation?
§ The Prime MinisterAs the right hon. Gentleman is aware, those price increases come after a period during which the real price of electricity has fallen substantially. Indeed, the real reduction of 8 per cent. which domestic customers have enjoyed over the past five years must be taken into account. I really must take the right hon. Gentleman to task. Under the last Labour Government electricity went up by 2 per cent. every six weeks.
§ Mr. KinnockCannot the Prime Minister get it through her head that it is the bills that people face now which really bother them and that she is blamed for most of those bills? If she cannot answer my first question, can she say how she thinks that the 13 per cent. increase in water charges, the 13 per cent. increase in rail fares and the 50 per cent. increase in mortgage interest rates will help in the fight against inflation?
§ The Prime MinisterWhen the hon. Gentleman raised these matters with me, I pointed out that for both water and electricity we required higher standards for environmental reasons. I said that if people required higher standards, it would mean higher expenditure. The right hon. Gentleman agreed then that higher standards would mean higher prices, so why does he disagree now?
§ Mr. KinnockAs the Prime Minister is so interested in recent history, will she tell us why such huge increases are necessary after all the time that she has been in power, when plainly a great deterioration must have taken place?
§ The Prime MinisterIn fact, the real price of electricity has gone down in recent years. Since privatisation, the real price of gas has gone down and since privatisation the real price of British Telecom services has gone down, so I am really rather proud—[Interruption.]
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder.
§ The Prime MinisterIs the right hon. Gentleman now saying that he intends to drop all efforts at increasing—[Interruption.]
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder.
§ The Prime MinisterIs the right hon. Gentleman saying that he is going to drop all support for and all policy on environmental improvement, because that is what his question implies?
§ Sir Marcus FoxDoes my right hon. Friend agree that despite the embarrassment to the Leader of the Opposition the House should welcome the triumph of democracy in Nicaragua?
§ The Prime MinisterYes, once again the right hon. Member for Islwyn (Mr. Kinnock) was on the wrong side. I congratulate Mrs. Chamorro on becoming President of Nicaragua. It was a splendidly fought campaign. The people turned out the Ortega Socialist Government and I wish Mrs. Chamorro well.
§ Q2. Ms. ArmstrongTo ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Lady to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Ms. ArmstrongWill the Prime Minister confirm that if local education authorities spend to the limit that she has set for the poll tax they will have to lose tens of thousands of teaching posts, and that the education of the nation's children will suffer? Is she happy to contemplate that prospect, or is she asking them to follow her example and that of many of her hon. Friends and to abandon state education and say that they are not bothered about it?
§ The Prime MinisterNo, the hon. Lady is assuming that the more money that is spent on education, the better the education is. I am afraid that that is not the case. The highest spending authority in this country is ILEA, which has the worst education.
§ 3. Mr. TredinnickTo ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. TredinnickIs my right hon. Friend aware that President Menem of Argentina has said that he has nothing but the highest respect for her and her Government and also that the state's finances can be saved only through rapid privatisation? Does she agree that that offers great opportunities for British companies?
§ The Prime MinisterI am sure that those are the right policies, but whether they can be put into effect in Argentina is another matter. There are great problems there at the moment. As my hon. Friend knows, we have just restored diplomatic relations with Argentina. I hope and believe that trade relations should now be stepped up and that the people who had interests there before will continue them. However, that will necessitate the Argentines bringing down their enormous rate of inflation because it will be impossible to invest until that comes down.
§ Q4. Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. HinchliffeCan the Prime Minister honestly defend the expenditure of £100 million this financial year on allowing hospitals to opt out while health authorities across the country face huge deficits, cuts and closures? Is she aware that the treasurer of Wakefield district health authority, Mr. Ray Corner, has just been sacked because he refused to allow the use of public money for wining and dining those involved in the opting-out process at a time when there are dangerously low nurse staffing levels in Wakefield district health authority? Will the right hon. Lady set up an inquiry into the matter?
§ The Prime MinisterOn the first part of the hon. Gentleman's question, self-governing hospitals are not opting out of the Health Service in any way. They are part of the Health Service, but much more in charge of how to run themselves and take their own decisions. If they choose to work harder and take more patients, they receive increased income. No hospital can become self-governing until the Bill currently before the House has gone through, so at present there is no such thing.
§ Q5. Mr. BatisteTo ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. BatisteWhile German unification must necessarily be primarily a matter for the German people, will my right hon. Friend confirm that the natural and legitimate concerns of many other countries would be best allayed if the German Government took an early opportunity to confirm their acceptance of Germany's post-war boundaries?
§ The Prime MinisterI agree with my hon. Friend. When the Polish Prime Minister came on an official visit to this country he was most concerned about Poland's boundaries and that they should be guaranteed by treaty. He felt that the Helsinki accord and assurances were not sufficient, and that Poland was entitled to have its boundaries guaranteed by treaty. We fully support him, 136 and I hope that that will come about. In the meantime, it would be very good to receive an assurance that it will come about.
§ Mr. AshdownHaving last week blamed Conservative councils—[Interruption.]
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder.
§ Mr. AshdownHaving last week blamed—[Interruption.]
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder.
§ Mr. AshdownHaving last week blamed Conservative councils for the poll tax, will the Prime Minister this week condemn Conservative peers who have described her student loan scheme as "crazy"? Why does she believe that the best way to encourage young people into higher education is first to saddle them with the burden of a loan?
§ The Prime MinisterThe Education (Student Loans) Bill has passed through this House and gone to the other place. The right hon. Gentleman is, or should be, aware that all educational tuition is free. The grant goes only for maintenance and there is also a topping-up loan for maintenance. All education remains free. For many young people who are unable to get a parental contribution to their grant, even though they would be entitled to one, it will be helpful to get the best value loan on offer anywhere in the country.
§ Q6. Mr. WilshireTo ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. WilshireWill my right hon. Friend confirm that since 1948 doctors have had the right to refuse patients admission to their lists? Does she agree that it is totally wrong for a few general practitioners to use the excuse of a new contract to refuse patients admission to their lists? Will she join me in condemning the cruel and misleading campaign being run by a daily newspaper which seems to be aimed at frightening patients into opposing the new contract? Will she also join me in calling on the Labour party to disown that campaign?
§ The Prime MinisterYes, I join my hon. Friend in doing that. First, there are now more doctors as general practitioners in the Health Service than there were some years ago, so their lists are considerably smaller than they used to be. Secondly, the new contract deliberately provides a bigger capitation fee for vulnerable patients and nearly doubles the amount for each patient aged 75 or over. Thirdly, it doubles the payments for night visits which the general practitioner undertakes. Therefore, it is a very good contract, which I hope that most general practitioners will welcome. I know that some GPs are putting people off their lists. As my hon. Friend says, that is something that they have been able to do since 1948. I was pleased that the British Medical Association has said that it regards such action by general practitioners as unacceptable.
§ Mr. LofthouseWhat advice would the Prime Minister give to education authorities such as mine in Wakefield where abiding by the standard spending assessment will 137 mean a reduction in education spending of 22 per cent., equivalent to the cost of 1,450 teachers? Who is to teach our children?
§ The Prime MinisterThe maximum amount spent on education does not mean the very best education. We learned that many years ago. The standard—[Interruption.]
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The Prime Minister must have a chance to give her answer.
§ The Prime MinisterThe standard spending assessment gives a reasonable amount to be spent on education. It will provide extremely good education for our children, provided that it is managed and run well by the local education authorities.
§ Q7. Mr. Quentin DaviesTo ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 27 February.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. DaviesDoes my right hon. Friend agree that despite the positive reforms introduced during her Administration, recent events have made it clear that the British trade union movement has a long way to go before it can be considered either democratically accountable to its members or free of manipulation by political extremists?
§ The Prime MinisterI agree with my hon. Friend that there is still quite a long way to go. A new trade union Bill is coming before the House which will give every union member the right to complain to the certification officer or to the court if he believes that a union has acted unlawfully. We shall continue our reform of the trade union movement. We believe it has been very beneficial to the ordinary members of trade unions.