Engagements (Hansard, 16 July 1991)

§ Q1. Mr. Trotter
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 16 July.

§ The Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. John MacGregor)
I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is hosting the economic summit.

§ Mr. Trotter
Is my right hon. Friend aware that many members of the electricians' trade union on Tyneside play a great part in the economic success of our region? That union is not tied to out-of-date practices. Did my right hon. Friend know that Eric Hammond had recently warned his members of the dire consequences of socialist policy and does he agree that those consequences should be made known to all trade union members?

§ Mr. MacGregor
I think that all trade union members are becoming increasingly aware of them. Eric Hammond was talking about the minimum wage policy, which he said would cause industrial unrest, discourage training, harm the economy, put more people on the dole and create a cycle whereby inflation continues to rise. 217 No wonder Opposition Ministers do not want to hear what a trade union leader has said. That is only one in a long line of devastating indictments of Labour's minimum wage policy. It is beginning to look like Napoleon's retreat from Moscow: bad news and more bad news every day.

§ Mr. Kinnock
Will the right hon. Gentleman take this opportunity to confirm that the Bank of England and the Treasury have known since the publication of the March 1990 Price Waterhouse report that serious irregularities were operating in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International?

§ Mr. MacGregor
The right hon. Gentleman knows that the Bank took action as soon as it was satisfied that it would have evidence—[HON. MEMBERS: "Answer the question."] This is a very important point. It took action as soon as it was satisfied that it would have evidence to support the use of its statutory powers. It cannot act on mere suspicion.

§ Mr. Kinnock
Will the right hon. Gentleman now confirm that the 1990 Price Waterhouse report said that BCCI was then virtually bankrupt and that hundreds of millions of dollars were being given in unsecured loans? Does he not think that if businesses, individuals and council treasurers had been aware of those conditions, they would then have formed an appropriate opinion on whether to use BCCI? A great deal of hardship and misery might thus have been avoided.

§ Mr. MacGregor
The point is that the Bank must act according to the Banking Act 1987. Actions under that Act are subject to appeal and the Bank must therefore have evidence that would stand up in court before it does anything. It cannot act on rumours; it must have good evidence before acting. In this case, it acted as soon as it had such evidence.

§ Mr. Kinnock
We are not talking about the Bank or the Government acting on the basis of rumours. We are talking about both bodies acting on the basis of a serious report from the auditors. The bank has now closed, 200,000 people have lost all or part of their savings and councils of all political descriptions have lost scores of millions of pounds. Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that it is time that the Government accepted their share of the blame for these conditions instead of trying to shift the blame to the shoulders of people who simply could not have known what was going on in the same way as the Government could?

§ Mr. MacGregor
There is no question of shifting the blame. On the question of the individuals concerned, the right hon. Gentleman knows that under the deposit protection scheme compensation is paid to depositors up to certain levels of deposit. That gives considerable protection to small depositors. It is essential for the Bank to act on evidence that would stand up in court and it did so as soon as it had that evidence.

§ Q2. Mr. Charles Wardle
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 16 July.

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

§ Mr. Wardle
Will my right hon. Friend take an early opportunity to reconsider the laws governing prison visits and the number of visitors allowed at any one time so that 218 all 28 Labour Members who agree with the hon. Member for Liverpool, Broadgreen (Mr. Fields) about nonpayment of the community charge may visit him together in gaol?

§ Mr. MacGregor
My hon. Friend asks an intriguing question, but it has a serious point. Since he raised the matter of the 28 Labour Members, it is worth mentioning that three years ago the Leader of the Opposition said that he would wipe out the Militants once and for all. He failed then, which is why we have called upon him to take action ever since. My hon. Friend has made the good point that the influence of Militant in the Labour party is still strong.

§ Mr. Rees
Will the Leader of the House bring to the Prime Minister's notice the serious allegations made in The Guardian today about a "World in Action" programme which reported the comments of a former member of the Joint Intelligence Committee and the fact that serious matters are not brought to the attention of Cabinet Ministers or Parliament? They are serious allegations which should be investigated. Will he ask the Prime Minister, when he has finished today, to institute an inquiry, because such allegations cast doubt on matters that should not be in question?

§ Mr. MacGregor
I have not seen that "World in Action" programme, but I shall arrange for it to be looked at and will draw the right hon. Gentleman's point to the notice of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.

§ Q.3 Sir Michael Neubert
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 16 July.

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

§ Sir Michael Neubert
Will my right hon. Friend find an opportunity to get a message to the Prime Minister at the economic summit to ask him to express regret at the assertion revealed today in The Sun that the election of Mr. Bush to the Presidency was based on a disgraceful campaign of slurs and attacks? Those assertions are apparently made in a letter from the general secretary of the Labour party.

§ Mr. MacGregor
I have seen the report and I hope that it is not true. If it is true, it is a disgraceful slur and I am sure that the Leader of the Opposition would wish to have it withdrawn.

§ Ms. Walley
With so many international leaders meeting in London this week, will the right hon. Gentleman take this opportunity to tell the House why his Government have no policy on British shipping? Now that the House has been denied the opportunity to debate and vote on this matter, will he tell us why he is not giving the support to British shipping that other countries enjoy?

§ Mr. MacGregor
There already is support for British shipping, but it was made clear in one of the debates last night that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer was considering proposals put forward during that debate.

§ Q4. Mr. Knowles
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 16 July.

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

§ Mr. Knowles
Will my right hon. Friend ensure that when he sees the Prime Minister—

§ Mr. Tony Banks
Will he recognise him?

§ Mr. Knowles
During the Group of Seven conference and discussions with President Gorbachev, will my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister make it clear that the Baltic states have not been forgotten, that none of the G7 countries has ever accepted the Soviet conquest of those three states and that that must be a starting point for any discussions about aid and investment?

§ Mr. MacGregor
I certainly take note of my hon. Friend's point.

§ Dr. Kim Howells
Is the Leader of the House aware that at this morning's annual general meeting of British Airways, Lord King announced that, because of the appalling incompetence of the Secretary of State for Transport in his dealings with American airlines, British Airways is considering selling off all but its core operations, including an aero overhaul plant in my constituency which employs 1,000 men and women? What is he going to do to prevent such a calamity for south Wales?

§ Mr. MacGregor
I certainly reject the allegation about my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Transport. The whole House knows of the way in which he has conducted these matters.

§ Q5. Mr. William Powell
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 16 July.

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

§ Mr. Powell
Will my right hon. Friend take time today to re-read the excellent speech made a few days ago by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister about the future of our education system and will he pay special attention to the passage which deals with the future of city technology colleges? Can we expect early action by the Government to ensure a great increase in the number of CTCs?

§ Mr. MacGregor
I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. I thought that it was an admirable speech which showed the tremendous progress that has been made under our education policies. My hon. Friend makes it clear that one programme—only one among many—is that for city technology colleges. There are now 13 in operation or about to be in operation and two more in the pipeline. They are undoubtedly making a big impact in inner-city areas by extending technology and involving industry and commerce. My right hon. Friend mentioned two other ways in which the programme can be carried forward—allowing local education authorities to invest in CTCs and allowing grant-maintained CTCs. It is worth pursuing both ideas and I am sure that we shall do so as soon as legislative time permits.

§ Mr. Wallace
To revert to the BCCI affair, is the Leader of the House satisfied that in all respects the Bank of England and the relevant Government Departments took the proper action at the proper time?

§ Mr. MacGregor
I have already said that I believe that the Bank of England acted on the evidence at the proper time.

§ Q6. Mr. Patrick Thompson
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 16 July.

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

§ Mr. Thompson
Has my right hon. Friend had time today to read the report that has just been issued by the Department of Trade and Industry's Invest in Britain Bureau? Does he agree that it is encouraging to hear overseas business men say that we have better-qualified and better-trained engineers than the Japanese and that we now have almost no strikes in this country? Does not the report show that under this Government the British disease of the 1960s and 1970s has now been cured—[Interruption] Would not that be reversed under a Labour Government?

§ Mr. MacGregor
I am not at all surprised that some members of the Opposition did not want my hon. Friend to finish his question, because they do not like good news. I believe that the Invest in Britain Bureau survey is the authentic verdict on the country's economic progress and policies. It is worth telling the House that the majority of those involved in the survey found that British factories were more productive than those in the rest of the world. They found our industrial relations excellent and improving. They found that our workers had the skill and expertise that they wanted and they intend to make further investments in this country.
Opposition Members did not like the comment that my hon. Friend made about the so-called "British disease" of the 1960s and 1970s. It is worth referring to the statement made recently by Gavyn Davies in reference to current trends on pay and prices. He said—[Interruption.] I am not surprised that Opposition Members do not like it. He said—it is directly relevant to my hon. Friend's point— This means that Britain's perennial problem of excess labour cost is being solved.

§ Mr. Morgan
Will the Leader of the House confirm that in addition to describing the incompetence of the Secretary of State for Transport in giving away large chunks of British Airways' business to American Airlines and United Airlines, Lord King also said that he was reviewing the practice by British Airways of making large donations to the Tory party? He said that he was considering opening negotiations with the Labour party, because, unlike the Government, we have a transport policy. As the leader of a large transport undertaking, Lord King wanted there to be a Government with whom he could work in helping British transport undertakings to create more jobs and more business for this country.

§ Mr. MacGregor
I hope that any industrialist considering opening negotiations with the Labour party will ask it about its policy of an extra £35 billion on public expenditure and about the consequences of that for higher taxation, higher borrowing and higher interest. I hope that such an industrialist will ask it about its policy for the minimum wage and about its industrial relations policies which will take us back to a situation such as we had, alas, in the late 1970s and which we hope never to see again.