The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Category: Prime Minister (1990-1997)

  • PMQT Written Answers – 11 June 1991

    Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 11th June 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    Engagements

    Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 11 June.

    The Prime Minister : This morning I has meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further meetings later today.

     

    Tanks

    Mr. Bill Michie : To ask the Prime Minister what response he has made to the letter of 4 June from Sanderson Kayser Ltd. on the implications of the Chieftain main battle tank replacement contract.

    The Prime Minister : A reply will be sent to the company shortly.

  • PMQT – 11 June 1991

    Below is the text of Prime Minister’s Question Time from 11th June 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER

     

    Engagements

    Q1. Mr. John Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 11 June.

    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. Greenway : Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating the England cricket team on the marvellous win in Yorkshire yesterday ? Does he equally welcome the sharp fall in wage increases announced yesterday and in producer prices announced today ? Does not that demonstrate that his Government’s policies against inflation have what it takes to build a long and successful innings while the whole country knows that under Labour the economy would be for ever trapped leg before wicket ?

    The Prime Minister : There are some dangerous metaphors there. I certainly welcome the producer price figures. They are extremely good. The fall in the underlying, as well as the headline, rate of inflation is very welcome news indeed. It shows clearly that we are now well on target for the Budget forecast of a 4 per cent. inflation rate this autumn. It is also encouraging that wage bargaining is beginning to reflect falling inflation and the realities of exchange rate mechanism membership. That is very good indeed for industries’ competitiveness. On the first part of my hon. Friend’s question, I am happy to congratulate the England team, but, in doing so, I remind him and everyone that the West Indies is a formidable side and there is a long way to go yet.

    Mr. Kinnock : Will the Prime Minister now be asking his right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley (Mrs. Thatcher) to step down as President of the Bruges group?

    The Prime Minister : That is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley (Mrs. Thatcher).

    Mr. Kinnock : Is it not apparent from today’s events and yesterday’s events that what we are seeing is not Britain at the heart of Europe but deep division at the heart of the Conservative party? [Interruption.]

    Mr. Speaker : Order.

    Mr. Kinnock : Is it not the Prime Minister’s duty to clear up the confusion in the ranks of his own Government, which can do nothing but damage Britain’s interests?

    The Prime Minister : I am not quite sure what the right hon. Member for Bethnal Green and Stepney (Mr. Shore) might think about the degree of unity that the right hon. Gentleman suggests is on his Benches. We are negotiating in the intergovernmental conferences on exactly the same basis as that on which we first started. The position on economic and monetary union has not changed in any way. I have set out repeatedly the circumstances and conditions under which we are negotiating.

    Mr. Kinnock : Can the Prime Minister tell us why 11 finance Ministers and a couple of Commissioners in a meeting yesterday with the Chancellor got entirely the wrong end of the stick?

    The Prime Minister : I can say categorically to the right hon. Gentleman, as I did a moment ago, that there is no change whatever in our negotiating position on Europe. I have repeatedly set that out over recent months.

     

    Q2. Mr. Adley : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 11 June.

    The Prime Minister : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Adley : In welcoming the current ministerial visit to the Lebanon and in recognising the help that the Syrian and Iranian Governments are providing on the hostage problem, may I ask my right hon. Friend whether he recognises an additional ingredient in the conundrum, namely, the holding by the Israeli Government of Sheikh Obeid and other Lebanese hostages? Will he please make known on behalf of his Government to Mr. Shamir that that ingredient is a problem, and that we expect the Israelis to be as helpful as possible in resolving it?

    The Prime Minister : I agree with my hon. Friend, and can tell him that the Prime Minister of Israel is aware of my views on that matter. It is wrong for any country to take and hold hostages, and I have communicated that view to Israel on more than one occasion. Our objective is to see the release as soon as possible of all hostages, and we count on any Government with influence to use it for the return of hostages. They should be back with their families where they belong.

     

    Q3. Mr. Beith : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 11 June.

    The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Beith : How will the Prime Minister respond to the demand from those of his supporters who say that he should veto a single currency here and now? Will he back a single currency when it comes before this Parliament for decision, or is he scared to say?

    The Prime Minister : There is no veto as such. There is a requirement that treaty changes can come into effect only if agreed by all member states and by their Parliaments. I have repeatedly said that we will not agree to any treaty on EMU which does not safeguard the interests of this country. I am happy to reiterate that.

    Sir Michael Marshall : Will my right hon. Friend take this opportunity to welcome the visit to the House of Britain’s first astronaut, Helen Sharman? Does he agree that her courage and professionalism is a matter of national pride? Will he take this opportunity to urge British industry and science to join with the Government in the careful and continued look at further opportunities for international space collaboration?

    The Prime Minister : I look forward to meeting Miss Sharman shortly and to congratulating her on her courage and on her remarkable achievement. I happily agree with my hon. Friend’s other comments.

     

    Q4. Sir David Steel : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 11 June.

    The Prime Minister : I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Sir David Steel : Is the Prime Minister aware that there are some creatures who, when removed from their settled natural habitat, can turn dangerously unpredictable in their behaviour [Interruption.]

    Mr. Speaker : Order.

    Sir David Steel : Since allowing them to wander freely abroad has caused some difficulty– [Interruption.]

    Mr. Speaker : Order. Interruptions take up a great deal of time.

    Sir David Steel : –has the right hon. Gentleman any proposals to extend the requirements for muzzles and leashes to the right hon. Member for Finchley (Mrs. Thatcher)?

    The Prime Minister : As the right hon. Gentleman knows, every hon. Member has the right and the duty to speak their mind, and that is entirely proper.

    Mr. Tony Banks : She never said that.

    The Prime Minister : That is entirely proper, and it is a freedom which I propose to exercise myself.

     

    Q5. Mr. Cyril D. Townsend : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 11 June.

    The Prime Minister : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Townsend : Now that Mr. James Baker’s middle east peace mission has fallen into serious trouble, and given that the United Kingdom was the first sponsor of United Nations’ resolution 242, would not this be a good moment for the United Kingdom and its European Community partners to start playing a far more positive role in the search for a lasting peace settlement to the Arab-Israeli dispute?

    The Prime Minister : My hon. Friend makes an important point. We have played an important role in that process for many years, and it is right that, in the forthcoming peace conference, the European Community should play a leading role. I welcome the recent Israeli agreement that the European Community presidency should participate in the conference that will be held soon. That is a welcome advance.

     

    Q6. Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 11 June.

    The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Howarth : If the Prime Minister is so confident about the Government’s proposal on health service trusts, why is it that the Mersey regional health authority is keeping its expensively produced business plans for the second wave of opt-outs a secret? It will not even release them to Members of Parliament. Why can we not have all this information out in the open, have a proper debate on the subject and then a ballot? Let us find out what the people of Merseyside think.

    The Prime Minister : I believe that there will be many opportunities for Mersey debates in the weeks to come and I look forward to those with great relish. Every reform of the health service has been controversial, but, in due course, each has proved to be irreversible and in the interests of the health service. Our recently introduced changes will follow the same course.

    Mr. Norris : Will my right hon. Friend intervene in the local government review to look at a local authority in Britain where people wait eight weeks to have their bins emptied, where thousands of council houses lie empty and where kids have to run the gauntlet of a picket line to get to school? My right hon. Friend will know that this is not fiction ; it is Labour Liverpool under so-called moderate Labour control. If this is how the Labour party runs a city, how will it run a country?

    The Prime Minister : I strongly suspect that the whole country will have observed how Liverpool has been run and drawn appropriate conclusions from that about how a Labour Government would work on a larger scale. Whether the Labour council is far left or moderate, it has done that great city no favours, just as a Labour Government would do this country no favours.

     

    Q7. Mr. McKelvey : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 11 June.

    The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. McKelvey : Will the Prime Minister give some serious consideration to the plight of two brave but unfortunate young men in my constituency, Walter and Ian Baird, of the same family, who are 21 and 16- years-old and who have contracted AIDS through blood transfusion? Although a settlement of over £45,000 for the pair of them was agreed over two months ago, they have yet to be paid. Why is it that 10 per cent. of the payment seems to be held up in Scotland?

    The Prime Minister : If the hon. Gentleman will give me precise details of the cases that he has in mind, I shall be happy to examine them and respond to them.

     

    Q8. Mr. David Evans : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 11 June.

    The Prime Minister : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Evans : Will my right hon. Friend make sure that there are enough funds in the English Heritage budget to ensure that a certain building in the Walworth road is preserved, so that my children and grandchildren can not only read about the demise of socialism but can go and see where the last of the Bolsheviks are working, led by a leader who was a co-producer and director of a play called “Promises, promises”?

    The Prime Minister : My hon. Friend makes his point as only he can.

    Dr. Owen : Will the Prime Minister confirm that he is as determined to strengthen and enlarge the European Community as he is to prevent the emergence of a united states of Europe? Will he tell the European Community that positively negotiating and participating in those negotiations does not in any way surrender a final decision on the overall package to protect the best interests of this country, and that while the devil, as always, is in the detail, so can be the benefits, and that it will probably be December before we can make an overall decision on the package that is negotiated?

    The Prime Minister : The right hon. Gentleman is entirely correct in his latter point and I strongly support his remarks about a wider Europe, which I believe should involve not only the EFTA states but, in due course, the eastern European states. I agree with him that negotiations on the two conferences are of vital importance to the future of this country. Whatever decisions are made may have a profound effect on our trade and well-being. I have set out often enough to the House that the economic case for monetary union has not been made, that we cannot accept the imposition of a single currency and that any proposed changes to the treaty of Rome–a move to a single currency–would require a separate decision by the United Kingdom Government and Parliament– [Interruption.] If Opposition Members do not wish to hear about the important negotiating position of the Government, that is a matter for them. Against that background, I shall negotiate with our European partners for what I believe to be right for this country. It will then be for this House to decide at the conclusion of those negotiations whether it is content to accept them.

  • PMQT Written Answers – 10 June 1991

    Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 10th June 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    International Tropical Timber Organisation

    Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Prime Minister if he will transfer responsibility for the United Kingdom’s membership of the International Tropical Timber Organisation from the Department of Trade and Industry to the Overseas Development Administration.

    The Prime Minister : Responsibility was transferred to the Overseas Development Administration in October 1990.

     

    National Union of Mineworkers’ Funds

    Mr. Galloway : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 3 June, Official Report, column 34, to the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) on Her Majesty’s Government’s assistance to Price Waterhouse, sequestrators of the National Union of Mineworkers, what relavant information the Government passed to the sequestrators; and what was the provenance of this information.

    The Prime Minister : I have nothing further to add to my answer of 3 June to the hon. Member for Linlithgow. Information was provided to the sequestrators in confidence.

     

    Cleeve Station

    Mr. Galloway : To ask the Prime Minister which Minister in Her Majesty’s Government has responsibility for the work of Cleeve station, and what is Cleeve’s relationship to Government Communications Headquarters.

    The Prime Minister : The station at Cleeve camp, Morwenstow is GCHQ’s and, as such, comes under the ministerial responsibility of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

  • PMQT Written Answers – 7 June 1991

    Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 7th June 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    Middle East (Arms Control)

    Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister what recent consultations Her Majesty’s Government have had with the United States Government concerning the creation of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.

    The Prime Minister : We worked closely with the United States Government and other members of the United Nations Security Council in the preparation of Security Council resolution 687, which specifically refers to the need to work towards the establishment of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. President Bush’s recent initiative, if implemented, would be an important step towards that objective.

     

    Special Forces

    Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister what questions Her Majesty’s Government have answered relating to special forces since November 1990.

    The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Member to the replies given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces on 24 January at column 317 and on 21 March 1991 at column 230 and by me on 17 May 1991 at column 281 and 20 May at column 333.

     

    National Security

    Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister (1) whether GCHQ, or Cleave station, Warminster has undertaken surveillance of any communications in order to assist criminal or civil investigations or to aid the enforcement of court orders since 1979;

    (2) whether GCHQ, or Cleave station, Warminster has undertaken surveillance of any communications for purposes other than national security since 1979;

    (3) what provisions are in place to prevent the dissemination of information gathered at GCHQ, or Cleave station, Warminster, in cases other than those representing a clear danger to national security.

    The Prime Minister : It has been the policy of successive Governments not to discuss the work of the intelligence services. The dissemination of intercepted information is governed by safeguards under the Interception of Communications Act 1985.

     

    NUM

    Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister if he will request the commissioner appointed under the Interception of Communications Act 1985 to report on allegations of the use of intercepted material in pursuit of the enforcement of court orders against the National Union of Mineworkers.

    The Prime Minister : No.

     

    Foreign Visits (Journalists)

    Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 3 June, Official Report, column 34, if he will list by date of journey and newspaper those accounts for journalists travelling on official transport provided for Prime ministerial visits abroad which remained unsettled as of 3 June.

    The Prime Minister [holding answer 6 June 1991] : It is not my practice to give details of outstanding accounts.

  • PMQT – 6 June 1991

    Below is the text of Prime Minister’s Question Time from 6th June 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER

     

    Engagements

    Q1. Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 6 June.

    The Prime Minister (Mr. John Major) : This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further meetings later today.

    Mr. Banks : Will the Prime Minister join me in sending best wishes to Prince William for a complete recovery– [Hon. Members :– “Hear, hear!”] That is the nice bit–

    Mr. Speaker : And it is just about in order.

    Mr. Banks : Did the Prime Minister see the article in yesterday’s Daily Mirror —

    Mr. Speaker : Order. One question is the ration.

    Mr. Banks : Did the Prime Minister see the article in yesterday’s Daily Mirror stating that the scanner used on the prince at the Royal Berkshire hospital was bought from the proceeds of jumble sales and sponsored walks? Is the Prime Minister aware that the ambulance which brought the prince to London was from a service that is actually breaking down in Greater London and that Great Ormond Street hospital, which looked after the prince so well, is turning away sick children because of the pressures on its services and has been kept open only by public begging? What sort of society is it that can find all the money in the world for weapons of death and destruction, but when it comes to keeping hospital wards open and buying vital medical equipment, has to use sponsored runs, flag days and jumble sales?

    The Prime Minister : I am sure that the whole House and the country will join the hon. Gentleman in sending best wishes to Prince William. We all hope that he will make a full recovery as speedily as possible.

    The Government found £33,000 million for the national health service, which is four times as much in cash terms as any previous Government have ever found. The private collections and private donations which go towards providing equipment such as scanners show, above all that the people of this country, including the Conservative party–in fact, often led by those in the Conservative party–care sufficiently for the national health service to cherish it and provide extra resources for it.

     

    Q2. Mr. Gill : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 6 June.

    The Prime Minister : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Gill : My right hon. Friend is aware of the tremendous support among Conservative Members for his views on economic and monetary union– [Interruption.]

    Mr. Speaker : Come on, please.

    Mr. Gill : Is my right hon. Friend aware that those same views, clearly articulated by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor last week and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary on the “Today” programme this week, command the support of the majority of British voters, as evidenced by a recent opinion poll showing that 63 per cent. oppose the single currency?

    The Prime Minister : I am sure that my hon. Friend is right about that. It is becoming increasingly recognised in this country and the Community that moves towards economic and monetary union which did not reflect proper convergence would be damaging, not only for this country, but for the whole of the Economic Community. That has been our position since the beginning of the negotiations and it remains our position, together with our constant intention to preserve the prerogatives of this House.

    Mr. Kinnock : Will the Prime Minister tell us what in concrete terms he intends to do to ensure that further harm does not come to small businesses as a result of the high interest rates being imposed upon them?

    The Prime Minister : The principal damage and difficulty that small firms have faced in recent years has been the collapse of demand not only in Britain but abroad as a result of a general downturn in trade and inflationary problems. Inflation is now falling rapidly, and that is a matter of the greatest concrete concern to small businesses, as they have repeatedly testified.

    Mr. Kinnock : It is obvious from that answer that the Prime Minister is not going to do anything in concrete terms. Is it not obvious that high interest rates are the policy of the Government and that the banks’ behaviour is the result of financial deregulation, also the policy of the Government? Why does not the Prime Minister change the policies, as he should, or will he remain the betrayer of small businesses?

    The Prime Minister : The right hon. Gentleman, having other things on his mind, has clearly not noticed that inflation is falling rapidly and that interest rates have fallen by 3.5 per cent. in recent months. That will make a dramatic difference to individuals’ prospects and, most particularly, to prospects for small and large firms.

    Mr. Kinnock : Small businesses which used to have arrangements to pay 3 per cent. above base rate on their overdraft facilities are now paying as much as 17 per cent.– [Interruption.] Oh yes, they are. Conservative Members should talk to some of the people who run the businesses which are paying that kind of money. How can such huge charges contribute to fighting inflation or to sustaining the small business sector?

    The Prime Minister : The right hon. Gentleman will have heard the gasp of frank disbelief at what he said a few moments ago. I hope that he will provide clear illustrations, not an isolated example, of what he has just said. What is necessary for the future health of Britain is, first, to ensure that we bring inflation down to a low level ; secondly, to keep it there ; and, thirdly, so as to ensure that that happens, never again to have a Labour Government.

    Sir John Wheeler : Has my right hon. Friend had time today to read about the dreadful events taking place in Labour-controlled Hackney– [Interruption.] –where council officials have been racketeering on the backs of the homeless and illegally renting out properties? [Interruption.] Does my right hon. Friend agree that that is a scandal, and will he condemn the empty properties that Hackney, Lambeth, Islington and Liverpool have that could be brought into use?

    The Prime Minister : In so far as I could hear the question over the chanting from Opposition Members, I believe that it concerned Hackney borough council. Anyone who wanted an example of the Labour party in power could only have seen it in recent years in local government in places such as Hackney, and I do not believe that they will have liked what they have seen. Labour repeatedly feigns concern for the homeless, but Hackney has more than 2,000 properties empty.

     

    Q3. Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 6 June.

    The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Kirkwood : Reverting to the important question of a single European currency, has the Prime Minister yet had a chance to study the important speech made by his right hon. Friend the Member for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (Mr. Ridley) last night? Am I right in thinking that the Prime Minister’s personal opinion is that a single currency may be a good thing eventually, but not yet and not for the foreseeable future? Does he not think that that “yes-maybe” approach to the question is now so hedged about and qualified as to be almost devoid of any meaning? When will he come to the House and tell the country what he thinks is the right course of action for Britain to take in this fundamentally important economic issue?

    The Prime Minister : The hon. Gentleman clearly has not been listening over the past two years, because we have done it repeatedly. We have made it plain to the House and to our European partners that we cannot accept any changes to the treaty of Rome which would bind us to a single currency or a single monetary policy without a separate decision by this party, by this Government and by this Parliament.

     

    Q4. Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 6 June.

    The Prime Minister : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Nicholson : Will my right hon. Friend take the opportunity to congratulate the hon. Member who represents the constituency where I was educated–the hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw)–on exercising his right of parental choice under the Education Reform Act 1988–

    Mr. Speaker : Order. The question must relate to the Prime Minister’s responsibility. He has no responsibility for that.

    Mr. Nicholson : Does my right hon. Friend agree that parental choice in schools is a major Conservative policy, and would it not help if more senior members of the Opposition parties joined Conservatives in supporting parental freedom of choice?

    The Prime Minister : I am always pleased to see support for Conservative reforms, especially from Labour Front Benchers. I wish that they would not say one thing in opposition and practise something else in there own lives.

     

    Q5. Mrs. Irene Adams : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 6 June.

    The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Lady to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Mrs. Adams : The question that I am going to put to the Prime Minister is a simple one and it has been put to him twice at Prime Minister’s questions in the past few weeks, but he has refused to answer it. Following his last refusal, my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Rutherglen (Mr. McAvoy)–

    Mr. Speaker : Order. May I say to the hon. Lady, who is new to us, that preambles take up much time? Will she ask a question, please?

    Mrs. Adams : Is the Prime Minister aware that my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen wrote to him putting that question yet again? He is still awaiting a reply. Will the Prime Minister answer today, because the question deserves a serious answer– [Interruption.]

    Mr. Speaker : Order. I ask the House to give the hon. Lady a chance to ask her question–please.

    Mrs. Adams : If the Conservatives should win the next general election, will the Prime Minister give an absolute guarantee that he will not raise value added tax–yes or no?

    The Prime Minister : When the Conservative party has won the next general election, the hon. Lady will see, and will perhaps have learnt by then, that no Government at any stage give categorical assurances–none have, and none will. But I can say to the hon. Lady that we have no present plans whatsoever to increase value added tax.

    Mr. Moss : Has my right hon. Friend had time to read a report published yesterday by the respected City firm, Goldman Sachs, which concludes that a minimum wage policy would destroy jobs, increase inflation and lead to a reduction in output? Does he agree that it is totally irresponsible of the Labour party to continue peddling that policy?

    The Prime Minister : Yes, I have seen that report and it shares the views of the Government, the Fabian Society and many others. A minimum wage would have devastating effects for people. It would encourage others to seek to raise the general level of wages. It would raise inflation and unemployment, and a National Institute estimate– [Interruption.] Hon. Members should listen, because this would affect people and their jobs, about whom they claim to care. The institute estimates that a statutory minimum wage would raise price levels by 3.5 per cent. at the end of three years, and would reduce the level of gross domestic product by 0.5 per cent. That is the likely cost of a Labour Government.

     

    Q6. Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 6 June.

    The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Bennett : Why have not the problems of a minimum wage that the Prime Minister just outlined caused difficulties in West Germany?

    The Prime Minister rose– [ Hon. Members – “Answer.”] I was unable to hear the hon. Gentleman’s question over the noise being made by Opposition Members. If you, Mr. Speaker, will allow the hon. Gentleman to repeat his question, I shall endeavour to respond to it.

    Mr. Bennett : I asked why the problems of a minimum wage that the Prime Minister outlined have not been evident in West Germany.

    The Prime Minister : West Germany has in no sense in recent years had many of the attendant difficulties created by trade unions and others– [Interruption.]

    Mr. Speaker : Order.

    The Prime Minister : As the hon. Gentleman knows, there is now a stack of people, the Fabian Society– [Interruption.]

    Mr. Speaker : Order.

    The Prime Minister : We have seen the way the Opposition behave and it is not unlike Hackney borough council writ large.

  • PMQT Written Answers – 5 June 1991

    Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 5th June 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    White Papers (Costs)

    Mr. Straw : To ask the Prime Minister what was the total cost of the design, preparation, printing and distribution of the White Papers “Education and Training”, Cm. 1536, volumes I and II and “Higher Education”, Cm. 1541.

    The Prime Minister : The total cost of the design and preparation of the White Papers “Education and Training”, Cm 1536, volumes I and II, and “Higher Education”, Cm 1541, was £51,000. This does not include the costs of printing, publishing and distribution, which are borne by HMSO, and which aims to recover its costs from sales revenue.

    Mr. Straw : To ask the Prime Minister what was the total cost of the launch at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre of the White Papers, “Education and Training” and “Higher Education”, on 20 May, including the cost of the hire of the centre and other charges.

    The Prime Minister : The total estimated cost of the launch at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre for the White Papers “Education and Training” and “Higher Education”, including the hire of the venue, will not exceed £48,000.

  • PMQT – 4 June 1991

    Below is the text of Prime Minister’s Question Time from 4th June 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER

     

    Engagements

    Q1. Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 4 June.

    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. This evening I hope to have an audience of Her Majesty the Queen.

    Mr. Coombs : Does my right hon. Friend share the widespread concern that in certain cases banks have not been fully passing on, particularly to smaller businesses, the full very recent and welcome reduction in bank base rate?

    The Prime Minister : My hon. Friend raises an important point. I am very concerned about the growing level of complaints from small businesses that they are being harshly treated by their banks. I discussed that matter with the Governor of the Bank of England 10 days ago and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer is taking this forward with the individual chairman of each of the clearing banks. The banks themselves can be in no doubt whatever about the strength of feeling on this, and they are as aware as anyone that their interests lie in having a sound base of small firms around for the future.

    Mr. Kinnock : Does the Prime Minister think that recession, rising unemployment and increasing poverty will improve or make worse the health of the nation?

    The Prime Minister : The health of the nation is improving. The policies that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health will be announcing in a few moments about preventive health medicine will also make further improvements. No one I know of with any experience or knowledge whatever doubts the improving quality, quantity or nature of health of the people in this country at the present time.

    Mr. Kinnock : I hope that the forthcoming Green Paper will therefore include specific policies to combat unemployment and poverty, although I very much doubt it. The Government have brought us two recessions in 12 years. Unemployment is higher and poverty is more widespread. As there is a very definite link between low income and high rates of death and illness in poor families, will the Prime Minister now do something effective to combat unemployment and recession instead of saying that it is a price well worth paying?

    The Prime Minister : As the right hon. Gentleman will soon learn, there are specific targets in the health proposals that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health will announce in a few moments. We set targets in other contexts a year or so ago, which have been met by doctors in terms of improving health care, and the targets will be met on this occasion as well.

    As for unemployment, the right hon. Gentleman’s comments were rich when every time his own party has been in government, when that Government left office unemployment was twice as high as it was when they entered government. The right hon. Gentleman’s present policies would have the same effect. His minimum wage policy would destroy jobs, his penal tax proposals would destroy incentives, and Labour’s tax on savings would destroy investment. What would then happen to jobs?

    Mr. Kinnock : Clearly, when the Prime Minister cannot give a straight answer to a straight question, his last refuge is to try to sound like the right hon. Member for Finchley (Mrs. Thatcher)–no wonder she said at the weekend, “I chose him.”

    The Prime Minister : The right hon. Gentleman, week after week, sinks to a new low. We shall see how low he can sink. We shall see how far he can sink in the months ahead.

    Sir William Clark : Does my right hon. Friend agree that not passing on the reduction in the base rate to small businesses is damaging to the economy? Would it not be a good idea for the British Bankers Association to make it mandatory for its members immediately to reflect any reduction in the base rate?

    The Prime Minister : A large amount of lending is, of course, tied specifically to the base rate and is therefore amended automatically. It is those loans that are renegotiated that I think cause the particular problems. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor is examining that matter with the chairmen of the clearing banks.

     

    Q2. Mr. Illsley : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 4 June.

    The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Illsley : In view of the horrific attacks by dangerous dogs that have taken place in the past two weeks or so, and the Government’s dithering about what measures to implement to take account of those attacks, will the Prime Minister now agree that in the interests of responsible dog ownership a dog registration scheme should be introduced? Will he introduce such a scheme at the earliest possible opportunity?

    The Prime Minister : So decisive have the Government been that my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will be introducing a Bill later this week to deal with the problem of dangerous dogs. On the specific point of general dog registration, I continue to hold the view that such a scheme would be ineffective, bureaucratic, expensive to operate and difficult to enforce.

    Sir Gerrard Neale : Has my right hon. Friend seen–and, if so, will he comment on–the report by the respected City institution, the Nomura Research Institute, that if interest rates were 11 per cent. at the next general election they would rise to 16 per cent. in the unlikely event of a Labour victory?

    The Prime Minister rose–[Interruption.] I will wait for a little silence– [Interruption.]

    Mr. Speaker : Order. This is taking up a lot of time. I call the Prime Minister.

    The Prime Minister : I have absolutely no doubt that my hon. Friend and the analysis that Nomura has made are right. Financial markets have no confidence whatever in Labour’s ability to keep down inflation and no confidence in its capacity to protect our competitive position. By contrast, the major independent forecasters agree with us that we shall have inflation at 4 per cent. by the fourth quarter of this year. The other point about Nomura’s analysis is very clear–it shows that Labour’s first priority would not be pensions and child benefit, but an immediate and necessary hike in interest rates and mortgage rates.

     

    Q3. Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 4 June.

    The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. and learned Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Campbell : Does the Prime Minister share the concern of many in the House about the events of last night in Vilnius? Will he take the opportunity both now and in July to impress upon Mr. Gorbachev and his generals that western economic co-operation and assistance depend upon a recognition of human rights and an acceptance of the right of self-determination for the people of Lithuania and of the other Baltic states?

    The Prime Minister : I can say nothing more to the hon. and learned Gentleman other than that I agree with him.

    Mr. John Browne : May I draw my right hon. Friend’s attention to early-day motion 776–about Grenadier guardsmen Povey, Hicks and Ray who, in 1989, had their legs blown off in Canada–which has now been signed by more than 200 right hon. and hon. Members on a cross-party basis, including the Secretary of State for Defence of 1989? It calls on my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to look personally into the case with a view to granting an ex-gratia compensation payment, thus creating a good precedent. What progress has been made in the past month?

    The Prime Minister : I am not yet in a position to tell my hon. Friend precisely what the outcome will be, but I am satisfied that the proper grounds for compensation should be on the basis of legal liability, and it is upon that basis that I shall examine the matter.

    Mr. Speaker : Mr. Hood–no, Mr. John Garrett– [Interruption.] Order. I am looking for an hon. Gentleman who has not asked a question. Let us have Mr. Garrett.

    Mr. John Garrett : Does not Britain deserve better than a lame duck Government, limping from one public relations fiasco to another?

    The Prime Minister : As it has a Government who are announcing new and fresh policies every day, the question does not arise.

     

    Q4. Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 4 June.

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

    Mr. Marshall : During the course of his busy day, has my right hon. Friend been able to read the comments of Mr. Gavin Laird about a minimum wage? Does he agree that a minimum wage would be cruel and heartless because it would lead to much higher prices and to an increase of 50 per cent. in the level of unemployment?

    The Prime Minister : I have, of course, read them. I enjoyed them and I agree with them, as do many other people. The reality is that the Leader of the Opposition’s plan for a minimum wage has very few friends left : the Fabian Society has said that there would be massive job losses ; Mr. Laird thinks that the plan is nonsense ; the engineers and electricians recognise that Labour’s policy is nonsense ; and the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) has said that himself in the past. Even the Sunday People, which is hardly a Conservative news sheet, stated in its editorial :

    “Labour’s plan for a national minimum wage is not the answer. It would only cause more unemployment and deny jobs to those who need them”–

    [Interruption.] Opposition Members do not like that because they know that it is true.

    Mr. Ashdown : The Prime Minister has rightly criticised the banks, but does he not accept that small business failures have increased by 68 per cent. with nearly 8,000 mainly small firms going to the wall in the first quarter of this year? The Prime Minister has criticised the banks, but does he feel any personal responsibility for this?

    The Prime Minister : As the right hon. Gentleman knows, very many additional small firms have grown and thrived in recent years. All Conservative Members, including myself, regret the loss of small businesses in the past year or so. However, what is essential is to create the circumstances in which businesses can thrive and survive and in which fresh businesses can be created, as has happened so widely in the past 10 years. That requires reducing inflation to a low level and keeping it there. That is the policy we are pursuing, and every independent commentator now acknowledges that we are succeeding in that policy.

     

    Q5. Mr. Robert B. Jones : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 4 June.

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

    Mr. Jones : Will my right hon. Friend find an early opportunity to visit north-west Hertfordshire to see for himself the £40 million worth of new investment in the national health service that has been made under this Government? Will he contrast the fact that at this very moment a new maternity unit is being completed in which babies can be born in the 1990s with the fact that, under the last Labour Government, babies had to be born in the clapped-out facilities of the former workhouse?

    The Prime Minister : My hon. Friend makes a valuable point. Capital expenditure on hospitals in England has grown in real terms in the past 12 years by 62 per cent. to £1.7 billion. In contrast, as the House well recalls, under the last Labour Government capital spending on hospitals in the national health service was cut by nearly 16 per cent. because the Labour Government lost control of the economy and inflation and would not take the necessary decisions to bring inflation down.

    Mr. Clelland : Did the Prime Minister see the recent “Panorama” programme entitled, “Scuppering British Shipbuilders”, which demonstrated how the Government have killed off merchant shipbuilding in Britain? Is he aware that unless the right decision is made about Challenger 2, “Panorama” will soon be making another programme about the killing off of the British tank manufacturing industry? Will he ensure that the decision that we now understand is to be made before the end of this month is made not only in favour of the British Army but in favour of British manufacturing and British workers?

    The Prime Minister : The answer to the first part of the hon. Gentleman’s question is no, I did not see the programme to which he referred, but on his substantive point–the question of a new tank for the Army–I hope that a decision on equipment for our future main battle tank fleet will not be delayed too long. When the appropriate military conditions are right for us to make the decision, we shall do so.

     

    Q6. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 4 June.

    The Prime Minister : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

    Mr. Bowis : Has my right hon. Friend had time to read the report of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, which shows that for the past year Britain’s strike record has been at its lowest for 56 years? Does my right hon. Friend agree that if we were to legalise secondary strikes, unofficial strikes and flying pickets, that strike record would be undone? Is it not odd that that is precisely the policy of the Labour party?

    The Prime Minister : My hon. Friend is correct. It is also the case that our employment legislation, which was opposed at every step by the Opposition has helped to transform industrial relations in Britain. But the Opposition do not care about industrial relations–they are obsessed with public relations.

  • PMQT Written Answers – 3 June 1991

    Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 3rd June 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    Nuclear Test Veterans

    Mr. McMaster : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the representations he has received since 29 November 1990 relating to the payment of compensation to victims of the British nuclear tests at Christmas Island; and if he will make a statement.

    The Prime Minister : I have received a number of representations and have nothing to add to the statements that I have previously made.

     

    Fishing Policies

    Mr. David Porter : To ask the Prime Minister if he will take steps better to co-ordinate the policies and spending programmes of the various Departments of state concerned with the fishing industry in England and Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

    The Prime Minister : My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has lead responsibility for United Kingdom fisheries policy in consultation with other Fisheries Ministers.

     

    General Pinochet

    Mr. Nellist : To ask the Prime Minister what procedures Her Majesty’s Government have in place in respect of protocol, security, or other considerations, for the reception or treatment of senior Ministers or heads of armed forces of another country arriving in this country on a private visit; how these procedures were applied in the case of General Pinochet’s visit of 18 and 19 May; and if he will make a statement.

    The Prime Minister : We have no set procedures for private visits to the United Kingdom, although protocol, security and other aspects are considered where necessary. In the case of General Pinochet, apart from arrival and departure, arrangements for his visit were the responsibility of his hosts.

     

    Gas and Oil Policies

    Mr. David Porter : To ask the Prime Minister if he will take steps better to co-ordinate the policies and spending programmes of the various Departments of state concerned with the gas and oil industry in England and Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

    The Prime Minister : The Department of Energy, which is the lead department for United Kingdom oil and gas, consults on and co-ordinates its policies with other Government Departments as appropriate.

     

    British Service Men (Correspondence)

    Mr. John Evans : To ask the Prime Minister when the hon. Member for St. Helens, North can expect to receive a reply to his letters of 1 February, 13 March, and 3 April, on the subject of the death of British service men in the Gulf other than by enemy fire.

    The Prime Minister : I shall reply to the hon. Gentleman’s letter of 1 February as soon as possible. I have no record of having received the hon. Gentleman’s letters of 13 March and 3 April.

     

    Journalists (Overseas Visits)

    Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Prime Minister how many accounts have not yet been settled by newspapers which sent journalists on official transport provided for Prime Ministerial visits abroad.

    The Prime Minister : As of 3 June 1991, 14 accounts had not been settled.

     

    National Union of Mineworkers’ Funds

    Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what information Her Majesty’s Government have made available about NUM funds to Mr. Brian Larkins, sequestrator of Price Waterhouse.

    The Prime Minister : The sequestrators were appointed by the court to carry out the order of the court for the sequestration of the funds of the National Union of Mineworkers. The sequestrators requested and obtained from the Government, as well as others, information relevant to the discharge of their duties to the court.

     

    Downing Street

    Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Prime Minister what changes he has made in the staffing and working arrangements in Downing Street since he became Prime Minister.

    The Prime Minister : I have nothing further to add to the reply that I gave the hon. Member on 28 March 1991 at column 500.

     

    Business Aviation Policy

    Mr. Wilkinson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will arrange for the Secretary of State for Defence to consult the Secretary of State for Transport about the implications for the Government’s business aviation policy of the Secretary of State for Defence’s decision to make the Royal Aeronautical Establishment airfields at Bedford and Farnborough available for disposal.

    The Prime Minister : I understand that consultations have taken place between the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Transport on this matter.

     

    Banking Transactions

    Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what representations, either formal or informal, have been made by the Irish Government over the alleged surveillance by British electronic listening posts of private Dublin banking transactions.

    The Prime Minister : The Government are not aware of any such representations.

    Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister if he will outline the rules which restrict the use of surveillance on private banking transactions in Britain and in the rest of Europe.

    The Prime Minister : The interception of communications during the course of their transmission by post or by means of a public telecommunication system is subject to the provisions of the Interception of Communications Act 1985.

     

    Energy Efficiency

    Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will give the number of energy audits carried out in the Cabinet Office in the past five years and for each audit a statement of its main conclusions.

    The Prime Minister : Six energy audits have been carried out in the Cabinet Office in the last five years. The main conclusions for each audit are as follows :

    10-12 Downing Street

    Installation of :

    water dams of WC cisterns; high efficiency low energy lamps; low energy garden lighting; and krypton tubes.

    Reduction of electricity supply capacity.

    24 Whitehall

    Draught sealing of windows.

    Installation of heat meter.

    Improvement in light switching practice.

    Investigation of ventilation and heating control.

    36 Whitehall

    Adjust heating controller.

    Installation of heat meter.

    Reduction of domestic hot water wastage.

    Investigation of ventilation system.

    53 Parliament Street

    Change to a metered water supply.

    Reduction of electricity supply capacity.

    Adjust settings of thermostatic radiator valves.

    Installation of compact fluorescent tubes.

    Murray House

    Change electricity tariff to quarterly billed non-domestic.

    More efficient use of supplementary heaters.

    Replacement of hot water heater.

    Installation of krypton tubes.

    Hepburn House

    Change to a metered water supply.

    Improvement in energy management within boiler room.

    Improvements to domestic hot water system.

    Installation of thermostatic radiator valves.

    Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will give for each available year from 1978 the energy consumption, broken down by fuel, of the buildings occupied by the Cabinet Office, expressing the figures in (a) cash terms, (b) 1990-91 money terms and (c) units of consumption for electricity in kilowatt hours, gas in therms, liquid fuel in litres and solid fuel in tonnes ; and if he will give the square footage of accommodation to which these figures relate.

    The Prime Minister : The figures requested are available only in cash and 1990-91 money terms and only for the following years :

    |Electricity (£) |Gas (£) |Liquid fuel (£) |Total of accommodation in sq. ft <1>

    ——————————————————————————————————

    1987-88 |268,523 |74,797 |56,511 |616,899

    |<2>(330,693) |<2>(92,114) |<2>(69,594)

    1988-89 |294,485 |53,904 |39,906 |586,843

    |<2>(337,582) |<2>(61,782) |<2>(44,738)

    1989-90 |295,126 |56,575 |42,000 |545,861

    |<2>(317,998) |<2>(60,959) |<2>(45,255)

    1990-91 |300,542 |58,033 |48,988 |547,481

    <1> As at 30 September of start year.

    <2> 1990-91 money terms.

    Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will give the number of dedicated energy managers in the Cabinet Office and the number of person-years devoted to energy management in the latest year.

    The Prime Minister : The Cabinet Office has one part-time energy manager.

    Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will give for each available year from 1978 the amount invested in improving the energy efficiency of the Cabinet Office in (a) cash terms and (b) 1990-91 money terms.

    The Prime Minister : The only information available relates to 1990-91 when approximately £78,000 was spent on measures aimed at improving energy efficiency in the Cabinet Office. This excludes expenditure on planned maintenance and the use of energy-efficient lighting in refurbishment programmes which is not separately identifiable from other costs.

     

    Council of Europe

    Mr. Burns : To ask the Prime Minister whether he has made any changes to the composition of the United Kingdom delegation to the 43rd session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

    The Prime Minister : At the request of the Leader of the Opposition the representatives and substitutes for the Labour party on the delegation to the 43rd session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will now be:

    The hon. Members for: |Representatives

    ——————————————————————

    Wentworth |Mr. Hardy

    Wallsend |Mr. Garrett

    Tooting |Mr. Cox

    Liverpool Riverside |Mr. Parry

    Wansbeck |Mr. Thompson

    Lord Kirkhill

    The hon. Members for: |Substitutes

    Warley, East |Mr. Faulds

    Newham, North West |Mr. Banks

    Cunningham, South |Mr. Lambie

    Falkirk, East |Mr. Ewing

    Manchester, Central |Mr. Litherland

    Don Valley |Mr. Redmond

    Newport, East |Mr. Hughes

    In addition, I have appointed my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Mr. Soames) from the Government Benches as a substitute delegate in succession to my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk, Central (Mr. Lord), taking effect from 28 June 1991.

     

    Mr. Mohinder Paul Singh Bedi

    Mr. Madden : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the invitations to official functions at No. 10 Downing Street to which Mr. Mohinder Paul Singh Bedi has been invited since 1979; and if he will make a statement.

    The Prime Minister [holding answer 22 May 1991] : Mr. Bedi attended a general reception at No. 10 Downing Street on 1 December 1986.

  • Mr Major’s Press Conference at Chequers Regarding Citizen’s Charter – 3 June 1991

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s press conference at Chequers, following a summit held there earlier on in the day, on Monday 3rd June 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Very briefly, just to tell you what we have been doing at Chequers this morning.

    We had a very lengthy meeting this morning with a large range of people across both the public and the private sector regulators, people representing consumer interests and a large number of people with special expertise to discuss one variety or another of ways of bringing the Citizen’s Charter to life and making sure that it has teeth and bite. The purpose of it is to improve the quality of public services that everyone enjoys. Everyone in the country at some stage is a passenger, a patient, a parent; they all have a very direct interest in making sure that we deliver high-quality public services.

    What we have been looking at this morning is a series of ways to ensure there is proper accountability by the public service; a much better system so that there is more in it for the staff as well as the public; and that we can increasingly ensure that the public sectors that are delivered – often with the use of very large sums of public money – are delivered with the maximum efficiency.

    It was a very worthwhile and useful seminar this morning. I perhaps should tell you how we now propose to carry it forward. The whole of Whitehall will be engaged in this exercise; a very substantial official committee is looking at details of it. Francis Maude, the Financial Secretary for the Treasury, will carry out a series of bilateral meetings with Ministers in every Department across Whitehall. Some time before the summer, we will publish a White Paper setting out detailed proposals which will include action points and thereafter we will bring those forward for legislation.

    That is what we have been engaged on and I will be happy to take some questions on the Charter now.

    QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

    QUESTION:

    Prime Minister, what about some specifics? What are you looking at specifically or is it still very much open-ended and in general areas?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    No. We have been looking at specifics. I am not going to enlarge on those specifics until we bring out the White Paper but the White Paper will specifically mention areas that we propose to deal with, how we propose to deal with them and set out the time-scale for doing so but I prefer to reserve what they are until we publish the White Paper – but they will cover a very wide range.

    QUESTION:

    [Inaudible] are you worried that perhaps some of the denationalised companies have been quite [inaudible] when it comes to [inaudible].

    PRIME MINISTER:

    No. We wanted to learn from the experience of what they have been doing and to build on that for the future – that was primarily why they were there.

    QUESTION:

    [Inaudible].

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Yes, I think the private sector may well wish to take an interest; there are areas of the private sector, of course, that have their own charters; they may not call them that but they have their own quality and their own interest in service – Marks & Spencer, of course, are a case in point – and I would hope that the private sector would follow the lead that we propose to give in the public sector, most certainly, because the public are entitled to a good service from both the public sector and the private sector and we wish to ensure that they get it.

    QUESTION:

    Prime Minister, will the Citizen’s Charter prove that the skids aren’t under the Government, as some newspapers are saying?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I am not concerned with what newspapers say – I am concerned with what we are proposing to do to improve public services and that is what we were discussing this morning; and it something that has concerned me for not just the last year or two but for very many years. I suppose the first time I indicated a clear concern with this was when I was the Housing Chairman at Lambeth and at that stage I took out on tour the Housing Advice Centre – myself as Chairman, the Planning Chairman, the Director of Housing, the Lettings Officer, people who had a very material impact on the life of people who lived in Lambeth – and it seemed to me to take them out to meet the public, to listen to their questions, to answer their questions and see how they could improve their service was the right way to proceed. This is a first cousin to that particular proposition.

    QUESTION:

    Prime Minister, the Liberal Democrats say that you are a bit of a late-comer to this particular field and that they thought of this idea a long time ago.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I have just indicated that I was actually in this field twenty years ago so I must say if they thought of it that long ago it is surprising they have not put rather more flesh on it than they have!

    QUESTION:

    A White Paper would imply that you are thinking long rather than short when it comes to an election.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    As for an election date, that will become clear in due course. We have more to do. I will announce the election when I am ready, but a White Paper certainly implies that there will be legislation to follow up this proposal – that would be correct.

    QUESTION:

    What would you say to those who say you should spend more time leading your Government from the front rather than holding seminars on the Citizen’s Charter?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    How is a government led from the front? It is led from the front by forming policy. What have we been doing this morning? Forming policy. Why have we been forming it? To improve public services. And for whom are we improving the public services? For the public. That seems to me to be precisely and absolutely the job of Government.

    QUESTION:

    But what do you say about the Whitehall Departments who have been dragging their feet on this?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    The “Whitehall Departments”, as you put it, are not dragging their feet – they are all contributing to this particular exercise and I promise you they will continue to contribute to it.

    QUESTION:

    Mr. Major, when the Party Chairman gives a message saying “Keep your nerve!”, doesn’t that give the impression that maybe some are losing their nerve?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I am certainly not and I think you will find that nobody in the Government is and nobody in the Conservative Party is and you will find, as you have seen over the last few days, there are a lot of policy proposals to come forward: you will find they are very innovative and I think people will find them attractive.

    QUESTION:

    [Inaudible, but regarding reported comments made by Mrs Thatcher].

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I gather she has denied them and I am perfectly happy to accept that denial – I am sure that is the case.

    QUESTION:

    [Same questioner, question inaudible].

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I must say you are extremely devious, Alistair!

    The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, as I pointed out to you a moment or so ago, is in fact conducting bilaterals across the whole of Whitehall. It is a classic exercise to be coordinated by the Treasury – you will recall he is a Treasury Minister.

    QUESTION:

    [Inaudible].

    PRIME MINISTER:

    What we have proposed will be put in the White Paper with details; I am not going to trail any of it in advance. I think some of the things that will be there will be eye-catching when they come forward; I have no intention of trailing any of it in advance.

    QUESTION:

    [Inaudible].

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I would remind them of what they were saying very recently. There were lots of people saying two months or maybe two-and-a-half months ago “2 percent off interest rates is what we really need!” Over the last few weeks, we have had 3.5 percent off interest rates. That has not yet worked fully worked its way through to the market place – it does take a time. It is only just about to work its way through to a reduction in mortgages thereby increasing net spending power in the High Street. That has happened; it is a very significant reduction. As and when it is appropriate to make further reductions we will do so but I am not going to anticipate when that might be. But if you recall, just a few months ago we had inflation running at about 11 percent – it is now 6.4 percent and falling; we had interest rates at 15 percent – they are 11.5 percent and falling. I think that is a very substantial movement. I think that perhaps public opinion has not yet caught up with that because the impact of it has not yet hit the High Street – but it will!

  • PMQT Written Answers – 22 May 1991

    Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 22nd May 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    Iraq (Economic Sanctions)

    Dr. Thomas : To ask the Prime Minister how many representations he has received concerning the United Nations Security Council appeal issued on 29 April for assistance to the 21 countries with special economic problems arising from their compliance with sanctions imposed against Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

    The Prime Minister : None. Our policy on assistance for these countries was set out in the answer given to the hon. Member by the Minister for Overseas Development on 14 May at column 99.

     

    Medical and Dental Officers (Pay)

    Mr. Conway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement about the pay of medical and dental officers in the armed forces.

    The Prime Minister : The Armed Forces Pay Review Body has submitted to me a supplementary report on the pay of medical and dental officers in the armed forces which recommends increases of between 7.5 and 11.4 per cent., with an average increase of 11.2 per cent. The Government have decided to accept the recommendations in full, though, in common with the pay awards announced on 31 January for the national health service doctors and dentists, with whom the pay of service medical and dental officers is closely linked, implementation will be staged, with 7.5 per cent. payable from 1 April 1991 and the balance of the award payable from 1 December 1991.