§ Q2. Mr. CousinsTo ask the Prime Minister when she next proposes to visit Newcastle upon Tyne.
§ The Prime MinisterI have at present no plans to do so.
§ Mr. CousinsWhen the Prime Minister next makes it up to our fine and well-run city, what hope does she expect to bring for Gemma Hayley of Blakelaw who has waited three years for a liver transplant, who cannot get it done in her own city, because, although the doctors there are trained, no money has been allocated for them to use their skills, and who has to go backwards and forwards to Addenbrookes hospital in Cambridge, and who finds budgets and figures very hard to understand because she is only six years old?
§ The Prime MinisterAs I know well, and I expect the hon. Gentleman also knows well, that particular hospital in Cambridge is the very best, specialising in liver transplants. I do not think that anyone would complain about going there—it is a quite magnificent hospital.
§ Mr. TrotterWhen my right hon. Friend next visits Tyneside, will she see for herself the visible signs of progress and the success story of the regeneration of our area? Will she accept that there is a new spirit of confidence in the north-east, which is better placed to face the challenge of the future than it ever has been in the past?
§ The Prime MinisterI agree with my hon. Friend. About a year ago I went up to Tyneside and saw the excellent amount of development that is taking place there and the much better employment position. It has a very good future. Swan Hunter has a good order for frigates, and there are many other things in the pipeline that will bring new prosperity to Newcastle—greater even than it is enjoying now.