§ Q4. Mr. AlexanderTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 7 November. [40130]
§ The Deputy Prime MinisterI have been asked to reply.
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. AlexanderDoes my right hon. Friend recollect that tomorrow the new Gas Act is likely to receive Royal Assent? I remind him that, by opening the market to competition, new entrants are likely to come in and that standing charges in that industry are likely to be a thing of the past in a couple of year's time. As standing charges are widely resented by the elderly and those on fixed incomes, will he urge British Gas and the other utilities to start abolishing those charges now, before competition and a change in the law oblige them to do so?
§ The Deputy Prime MinisterMy hon. Friend is absolutely right in drawing the attention of the House to the fact that the privatisation programme, and that includes British Gas, has, of course, been a triumph for British consumers. The fact is that competition has cut prices for gas consumers; standing charges are down by 29 per cent. since privatisation; gas prices are down by over 20 per cent. since privatisation; and the legislation to which my hon. Friend referred has already led to the possibility of experiments in the south-west. I read in this week's newspapers that perhaps another 10 to 15 per cent. 729 will come off the prices to the domestic consumer as a result of that enhanced competition. What that all stands for is that the Conservative Government, by privatising these industries, have not only created world-class companies but served the consumer in a way that nationalisation could never have begun to do.
§ Q5. Mrs. RocheTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 7 November. [40131]
§ The Deputy Prime MinisterI have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave some moments ago.
§ Mrs. RocheGiven that, in the United States of America, it is illegal for foreign nationals to make donations to political parties, why do the Government not introduce the same legislation here? Are the Deputy Prime Minister and the whole of the Conservative Government frightened to let the British people see how the modern Conservative party is funded?
§ The Deputy Prime MinisterI know of no restriction in this country that says that foreign nationals who are members of trade unions cannot give money to trade unions, which is then directed to the Labour party.
§ Mr. Quentin DaviesDoes my right hon. Friend agree that, if investment is to thrive, costs must be kept down 730 and business taxes kept low? Does he therefore agree that it would be a disaster for investment, and therefore for our prospects for growth and employment in the future, if the Labour party were able to implement its plans to allow local authorities to fix their own business rates?
§ The Deputy Prime MinisterThe Labour party in power has always put up costs, prices and taxes. Whether it is a national Labour Government or local Labour government, the same process is at work. In either case, it would be a disaster for Britain's investment potential.
§ Q6. Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 7 November. [40133]
§ The Deputy Prime MinisterI have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. JonesWill the Deputy Prime Minister ask the Prime Minister when he returns what is the precise role of the Deputy Prime Minister? It seems to be costing £40,000 a month for the Deputy Prime Minister to answer even fewer questions than his right hon. Friend.
§ The Deputy Prime MinisterJust the other day, people were complaining because I had brought £1 billion of Siemens investment to the north-east. I think that I am cheap at the price.