Engagements (Hansard, 1 April 1993)

§ Q4. Mr. Hendry
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 1 April.

§ The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave some moments ago.

§ Mr. Hendry
My right hon. Friend will be aware of the opposition of the police, my constituents and myself to the proposed all-night rave scheduled to take place in my constituency at the end of May. Does he agree that such events have less to do with entertainment than with organised crime and pushing illegal and dangerous drugs? Does he agree that the High Peak, as one of the most popular national parks in the world, is a wholly unsuitable venue for such an event? May I assure him that he has the support of the Conservative side of the House for the Government's proposal to give the police more power to tackle these people? Will he ensure that the measures are brought forward as soon as possible?

§ The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend touches on a point which will concern many parents. The statement of my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary yesterday shows beyond doubt that the Government are determined to crack down on those who ignore the rights and property of law-abiding citizens. It is wholly unacceptable behaviour. That is why we are giving the police tougher powers to deal with it.

§ Mr. Simpson
Is the Prime Minister aware of the report recently highlighted in the Nottingham Evening Post, which illustrated that claims for severe hardship payments had increased in the east midlands by over 750 per cent. in the last three years, leaving large numbers of young people with no jobs, no cash and no hope? Will he explain how he has failed to deliver jobs to those young people and when will he restore entitlement to benefit payments to them?

§ The Prime Minister
I should mention to the hon. Gentleman that payments from the social fund could not have been made until we introduced the legislation to do so. No such comparable payments existed. As for jobs, it is interesting to note that for the first time in several weeks—in fact, since the unemployment figures fell last time—an Opposition Member has mentioned unemployment. We continue to take measures which will seek to increase jobs for all sectors of the community.

§ Q5. Mr. Kynoch
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 1 April.

§ The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave some mdoments ago.

§ Mr. Kynoch
I welcome the support given to small businesses in the recent Budget. Is my right hon. Friend aware that my area of Scotland has benefited significantly from the oil and gas industry, and in particular from oil exploration in the North sea? Is he further aware that the changes in petroleum revenue tax have provoked enormous support from my constituents? Will he ensure that the transition to what many oil companies regard as 496 a better low tax regime is smooth and does not cause undue disturbance and disruption in the industry in the meantime?

§ The Prime Minister
As my hon. Friend will know, many people have welcomed the changes in taxes, not least because of the big encouragement to development that is clearly evident in the new structure. That development will create future jobs, a matter which every hon. Member is concerned about. I take the figures from memory, but I seem to recall that in the year 1991–92 the previous petroleum revenue tax system actually cost the taxpayer £200 million net.

§ Mr. William Ross
Has the Prime Minister noticed that the Prime Minister of the Irish Republic said that the idea that the Republic was a haven for terrorists is a fallacy? Does he understand that my constituents were surprised about that until they realised that today is the first day of April?

§ The Prime Minister
I know that the hon. Gentleman feels very strongly about the matter, but I must say to him that he should not confuse the actions of a minority with the views and instincts of the majority of people. I do not believe that the majority of people in the Republic of Ireland support the activities of the IRA, and I believe that their response to recent events is a clear illustration that that is the case. I hope and believe that the vast majority of people in the Republic of Ireland will join the hon. Gentleman and every other hon. Member in the House in condemning the IRA and all its murderous activities.

§ Q6. Mr. Amess
To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 1 April.

§ The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave some moments ago.

§ Mr. Amess
As we approach the first anniversary of the re-election of my right hon. Friend's Government, does the Prime Minister recall that only four weeks after that event a Conservative council was elected in Basildon? What conclusions does my right hon. Friend draw from the fact that, under the council tax, Conservative Basildon will, for the first time, not be capped while nearby socialist-controlled Harlow district council will be?

§ The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend has made a profession of making Basildon world famous and is doing it remarkably well. As it is also the anniversary of my hon. Friend's re-election, I offer him my congratulations on that. When he won, we knew that we had won, and it was an especially sweet victory.
It is no coincidence that a Conservative council produces a lower council tax charge than a Labour council. That is what we would expect. That is what we see in Conservative councils up and down the country at all levels of the council tax.