PMQT Written Answers – 22 October 1991
Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 22nd October 1991.
PRIME MINISTER:
EC Presidency
Mr. Anderson : To ask the Prime Minister which special events during the United Kingdom presidency of the European Economic Community he proposes to hold in Wales.
Mr. MacGregor : I have been asked to reply.
A wide ranging programme of special events is planned to mark our EC Presidency next year including cultural and artistic events. In Wales there will be an enhanced EC flavour to the Llangollen international eisteddfod : my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will attend on 9 July as day president.
An informal meeting of EC Employment and Social Affairs Ministers will be held in Wales. The Welsh Office is also considering hosting a conference for representatives of its economic partner regions in Europe.
British Medical Association
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister what recent meetings he has had with the British Medical Association ; and what was discussed.
Mr. MacGregor : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend met the chairman of the Council and the Secretary of the British Medical Association on 30 September, and had a useful discussion on a range of matters related to the NHS.
Mr. Colin Wallace
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 22 July, Official Report, column 376, if he will set out his assessment of what went wrong in the case of Mr. Colin Wallace.
Mr. MacGregor : I have been asked to reply.
A copy of the conclusions of the report by Sir David Calcutt QC into the handling of this appeal by Mr. Colin Wallace to the Civil Service appeal board was placed in the Library of the House on 13 October 1990.
Earthscan Publication
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister if he will obtain for the library at 10 Downing street a copy of the study published on 21 October by Earthscan, “Caring for the Earth : A Strategy for Sustainable Living”.
Mr. MacGregor : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is aware of the report’s contents and has arranged for copies to be made available in the Library of the House. The study will be useful in developing our position for next year’s United Nations conference on environment and development which the Prime Minister hopes to attend.
Citizen’s Charter
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Brighton, Kemptown (Mr. Bowden), on 14 October, Official Report, column 7 , if he will set out the criteria he used in choosing the members of his panel of advisers on the citizen’s charter.
Mr. MacGregor : I have been asked to reply.
The panel of advisers were chosen for their experience and their commitment to improved standards of public service.
Disarmament
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library his response to the nuclear disarmament initiative made by President Gorbachev on 5 October.
Mr. MacGregor : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has already made it clear that the Government warmly welcome the response made by President Gorbachev to President Bush’s initiative of 27 September. Together they represent a genuine opportunity to maintain secure defence at a lower level of armaments.
Commonwealth Conference
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister whether, in the course of his trip to the Commonwealth conference, he or any of his accompanying Ministerial colleagues or officials devoted any time to matters of a party political nature.
Mr. MacGregor : I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 21 October.
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 22 October.
Mr. MacGregor : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is returning from the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Harare.
Party Conferences
Mr. Pike : To ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Lancashire on the effects on policing throughout Lancashire during the Conservative party conference; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will set up a review of the policing and funding of policing and other emergency services for the major party political annual conferences.
Mr. MacGregor : I have been asked to reply.
No. It is for the chief officer of the force concerned to decide how a party conference should be policed, as with any other police operation. I do not believe that such operations require any changes to the normal arrangements for funding police forces.
Northern Region (Visits)
Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list those official visits he has made to the northern region.
Mr. MacGregor : I have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is making visits to all parts of the country and he intends to include the northern region in them.