§ Q1. Mr. BerryTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 25 October.
§ The Prime Minister (Mr. John Major)This 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.
§ Mr. BerryDoes the Minister for business probity still command the full support of the Prime Minister?
§ The Prime MinisterI shall be making a statement immediately after Question Time and the hon. Gentleman should contain himself.
§ Q2. Dr. Michael ClarkTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 25 October.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Dr. ClarkDuring the course of his busy day, does my right hon. Friend ever pause to reflect on how easily little bits of bad news can push major items of good news out of the headlines? In congratulating my right hon. Friend on his continuing achievements in Northern Ireland, may I ask whether he agrees with me that the end of 1994 will be remembered not for the media's obsession at the present time, but for the achievements in Northern Ireland, which have brought stability, hope and peace beyond our wildest expectations?
§ The Prime MinisterIt is attractive from time to time to maintain a proper perspective on political matters and 753 I do believe that we have now entered a fresh phase of the peace process in Northern Ireland, as I set out in my speech in Belfast last week. As I saw for myself across the community in Belfast last week, there is enthusiastic support in Northern Ireland for the progress that has been made and appreciation and understanding of what still needs to be done. But there is greater hope that peace may now be permanently achievable than we have seen at any time in the last quarter of a century.
§ Mrs. FyfeWill the Prime Minister investigate the affair of Healthcare International at Clydebank and tell us why more than £30 million of public money has been put into creating a private hospital and what will now happen to rescue that hospital? Will he guarantee that any such rescue effort will not be at the expense of NHS hospitals in Glasgow and the west of Scotland?
§ The Prime MinisterI am sure that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will examine carefully what the hon. Lady has said. As the hon. Lady will know, year on year, the resources available to the health service in each part of the United Kingdom have increased, as have the number of patients treated and the quality of service offered by the NHS, and we intend that that will continue.
§ Q4. Sir Thomas ArnoldTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 25 October.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave some moments ago.
§ Sir Thomas ArnoldI invite my right hon. Friend to use the time between now and the start of the intergovernmental conference in 1996 to persuade our partners in the European Community to adopt a moderate rather than ambitious agenda. Does he agree that a stately minuet would be preferable to the rain dance that he described in his celebrated article in The Economist one year ago?
§ The Prime MinisterMy hon. Friend sets out my view with great clarity. It will be necessary in 1996 to look carefully at changes that have occurred. I do not personally believe that there is a great appetite across the European Union for dramatic changes. We will have to wait to see what is placed on the agenda, but my judgment is that changes deserve to be modest and should be no more.
§ Mr. Bryan DaviesDoes the Prime Minister accept that it is not sleaze but his party's basic values that have been exposed? Is it not the case that, now that public service is set at naught and the marketplace rules, Conservative Back Benchers are operating in that marketplace?
§ The Prime MinisterIf the hon. Gentleman examined improvements across the range of public services over the past 15 years, he would realise that his remarks are utterly and totally misguided. Service to the public is what matters. Where that can best be provided in the private 754 sector, it should be. Where it remains in the public sector, we have done more to improve service than any previous Government.
§ Q5. Mr. PawseyTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 25 October.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. PawseyDoes my right hon. Friend agree that choice and diversity are essential if we are to continue improving the nation's schools? Will he reconfirm yet again his support for grammar schools, grant-maintained schools, the assisted places scheme and city technology colleges? Can he tell the House how many children are being educated in those schools?
§ The Prime MinisterMy hon. Friend's point follows on rather well from the previous question. Education is a service to the public and now offers more choice at a higher standard than previously. It does so as a direct result of the policies that we have followed. Giving parents more choice and more information on which to base their choice is a fundamental part of our policy will remain so. That means that we need more grant-maintained schools and CTCs. I cannot immediately tell my hon. Friend how many pupils are attending those schools but I will do so in writing. Something like 1 million parents have benefited from those schemes, and many more will do so in future.
§ Mr. BarronWhen I was first elected to the House, I believed that I was elected to perform a public service. Will the right hon. Gentleman make a comprehensive statement at 3.30 pm, to ensure that other Conservative Members believe that we are here to give public service and not for self-service?
§ The Prime MinisterClearly the hon. Gentleman was not listening a few moments ago. I set out clearly our determination to improve all services that must remain in the public sector, as many must. I commend to the hon. Gentleman my speech at the chartermark awards a few days ago, which he would find of some interest.
§ Q6. Mr. WatersonTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 25 October.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. WatersonDoes my right hon. Friend agree that those who have something to contribute to public life should be encouraged to serve on public bodies? Has not the obsession with sleaze reached absurd heights when the Labour party accuses General Sir Peter de la Billière and the Duke of Kent of being Tory placemen on public bodies?
§ The Prime MinisterI believe—[Interruption.]
§ Madam SpeakerOrder. The House must settle down.
§ The Prime MinisterMy hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Mr. Waterson) is entirely right in pointing to the fatuous nonsense that appeared in a Labour pamphlet published last week. There is a serious debate to be held about public service and non-departmental bodies but it cannot be held by claiming that General Sir Peter de la Billière and the 755 Duke of Kent were placed on quangos because of donations that they made to the Conservative party. Where there are issues, let us look at them.
Let us look also at the large number of Labour party members who serve on quangos. I have here a long list of members of quangos, all good Tory placemen: Mr. Bill Morris, Mr. Jack Jones, Mr. Harry Irwin, Lord Plant, Eric Hammond, Hugh Scanlon, Reg Bottini, Lord Cocks, Baroness Blackstone, Lord Barnett. I shall spare the House the rest of the list.