The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Category: Prime Minister (1990-1997)

  • PMQT Written Answers – 18 March 1996

    Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 18th March 1996.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    Ministerial Responsibility (Bristol)

    Mr. Flynn: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the duties of the hon. Member for Monmouth (Mr. Evans) in respect of the city of Bristol.

    The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend the Member for Monmouth is helping to promote local regeneration in his role as sponsor Minister for Bristol.

     

    Parliamentary Questions

    Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what has been the total cost of answering questions to the Prime Minister in each Session since 1989-90;

    (2) what was the cost of answering (a) an oral and (b) a written parliamentary question to the Prime Minister from (i) Opposition and (ii) Conservative hon. Members in each parliamentary Session since 1989-90.

    The Prime Minister: The information as requested is not available.

     

    Overseas Visits

    Mr. Hall: To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a list of Ministers who have requested prior assent from the Prime Minister under “Questions of Procedure for Ministers”, paragraph 74, for payment from public funds to meet the expenses of spouses accompanying Ministers on overseas visits; and if he will indicate which requests were granted and which were refused for each year since 1990.

    The Prime Minister [holding answer 1 March 1996]: Complete records of such requests prior to 1995 have not been retained. The following Ministers were accompanied by their spouses on overseas visits at public expense in accordance with “Questions of Procedure for Ministers” from 1995 onwards.

    Country | Minister

    – ———————-

    1995

    2-10 January Bangladesh/India/ Pakistan Mr. and Mrs. Hurd

    25-26 January Paris Mr. and Mrs. Forsyth

    30 January–5 February Japan Mr. and Mrs. Heseltine

    3-6 February France Mr. and Mrs. Gummer

    2-5 March USA Mr. and Mrs. Rifkind

    18-19 March Carcassone Mr. and Mrs. Hurd

    19-26 March South Africa Mr. and Mrs. Hurd

    7-9 April France Mr. and Mrs. Clarke

    7-12 April Zimbabwe/South Africa/Namibia Mr. and Mrs. Rifkind

    28-30 April Germany Mr. and Mrs. Rifkind

    21-31 May USA Sir Patrick and Lady Mayhew

    27 May–6 June Latin America Mr. and Mrs. Hunt

    17-27 August Caribbean Mr. and Mrs. Newton

    12-19 September Russia Mr. and Mrs. Eggar

    16-22 September Cuba/Jamaica Mr. and Mrs. Taylor

    18-29 September Australia/New Zealand Sir Patrick and Lady Mayhew

    29 September–1 October Spain Mr. and Mrs. Clarke

    30 August–15 September Asia Mr. and Mrs. Hanley

    10-12 October Slovenia Lord and Lady Cranborne

    20-22 October Spain Mr. and Mrs. Gummer

    1-8 December Australia Lord and Lady Fraser

    29 December–10 January UAE/Far East Mr. and Mrs. Portillo

    29 December–9 January Indian sub-continent Mr. and Mrs. Howard

    1996

    2-5 January India Mr. and Mrs. Arbuthnot

    15-25 January Hong Kong/China Mr. and Mrs. Nelson

    8-15 April Asia Mr. and Mrs. Hanley

    12-16 April Bulgaria/Italy Mr. and Mrs. Clarke

  • Mr Major’s Comments on the Stirling Royal Infirmary – 15 March 1996

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s comments made on the work of the Stirling Royal Infirmary following the Dunblane Tragedy during a visit to the hospital on 15th March 1996.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    This hospital has had to deal with a horror of almost unimaginable proportions.

    Tony [Blair] and I, this morning, were delighted to come here together so that we could take the opportunity to thank the hospital for the work that they have done. I don’t think there is any doubt in the minds of anyone in that hospital, certainly none of the patients or the other people that we met, that they had to face an horrific job and have done it with the most enormous skill and dedication over recent days.

    We met a number of the patients, some of whom had been very severely injured, and they are in remarkably good shape, and there’s no doubt that they’ve had the most tremendous treatment and I was delighted to be here this morning with Tony to express our thanks to them for the work that they’ve done.

  • Mr Major’s Comments on Dunblane Tragedy – 15 March 1996

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s comments made on the Dunblane Tragedy during a visit to the town on 15th March 1996.

    QUESTION:

    [Mr Major was asked what was the purpose of his visit]

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I wanted to come and physically see for myself, and in what I hope is going to be a very unobtrusive visit, I’d like to see what has happened, form some of my own judgements and perhaps physically show some support for the people who have had such a terrible time over the last few days.

    QUESTION:

    [Mr Major was asked what he expected to find during his visit to Dunblane]

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Well, I think it must be a community that cannot possibly yet begin to imagine quite what has happened to them.

    It’s bound to take a time to put the community together again. From all I’ve heard of it, people have handled the matter with immense courage so far. But that courage will need to be sustained. I think the huge wave of emotional support that has come from all over the United Kingdom, I don’t think I have ever seen anything quite like it and I can remember nothing quite like it , and I hope that in some fashion that that will be of some support to the people of Dunblane.

  • PMQT Written Answers – 14 March 1996

    Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 14th March 1996.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    Exports (Iraq)

    Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library the minute circulated on 1 August 1990 of the meeting chaired by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 19 July 1990 in regard to the changing of the 1985 Howe guidelines concerning the sale of goods to Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

    The Prime Minister: This document was submitted as evidence to Sir Richard Scott’s inquiry. I understand that Sir Richard Scott proposes to publish as soon as possible any documents which he considers relevant to his report, consistent with his procedures.

     

    Engagements

    Sir Peter Tapsell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 14 March.

    The Prime Minister: This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

  • PMQT – 14 March 1996

    Below is the text of Prime Minister’s Question Time from 14th March 1996.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    Engagements

    Q1. Mr. Booth: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 14 March.

    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 be having further meetings later today.

    Mr. Booth: Will my right hon. Friend join me and others in the House in expressing our outrage and horror at the appalling deaths and killings in Dunblane yesterday?

    The Prime Minister: Yesterday was an event of almost unimaginable horror. We can only begin to guess at the impact it will have upon the families and the whole community. I know that the whole House will wish to join me in extending our sympathy to the families of the children and their teacher who were killed and to the children and the other teachers who were injured in yesterday’s attack. Many questions will have to be addressed and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland will make a fuller statement at the end of Question Time.

    Mr. Blair: May I agree with what the Prime Minister has said and simply add this: Britain today is a nation in mourning. Our senses are in a state of shock, bewildered at the sheer horror of what happened. Not war, nor a catastrophe of nature, nor human error was this, but a massacre of innocents without cause and without reason. How many parents last night will have clutched their own children to them, looking at them differently and imagining the pain which, for others, is all too real?

    Politics is silent today. We grieve. We hope that this dark shadow can in time be lifted. We stand in solidarity with the community of Dunblane and we pay our respects.

    The Prime Minister: Sometimes, after a tragedy, there is little we can say that we feel will bring comfort to the people concerned. After yesterday’s tragedy, I believe that that is a feeling that everyone in this House will understand. Words seem inadequate; I feel that today.

    The right hon. Gentleman’s words will find a echo in the heart of every parent in the House and right across the country. What happened yesterday cannot be understood and must not be forgotten. It was an act of wickedness beyond imagination and I do not believe that anyone can be unmoved by that, either now or at any time in the future. What we must now do is look to the interests of the children, their families and the others who were injured and see what external help can be given–perhaps by this House, but by others as well–to try to play some part in putting that community together again.

     

    Q2. Mr. Evennett: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 14 March.

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

    Mr. Evennett: In the wake of the appalling tragedy in Dunblane yesterday, will my right hon. Friend urge the media to exercise the maximum possible restraint to allow that community to grieve in private?

    The Prime Minister: I certainly join my hon. Friend in that request. There is a code of practice on privacy for such occasions. I hope very much that that code of practice will be rigorously observed on this occasion.

     

    Q3. Mr. Wigley: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 14 March.

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

    Mr. Wigley: As someone who, before entering the House, lived in the borough of Merthyr Tydfil not far from Aberfan, may I convey the sympathy of Wales to the people of Dunblane and to all the families who have suffered loss? Does the Prime Minister accept that playing with guns can at times mean playing with lives? It should always be a certainty that neither personal indulgences nor vested interests come before assuring the safety of communities and the avoiding of tragedies such as the tragedy that happened yesterday.

    The Prime Minister: I am sure that the hon. Gentleman’s early words will be well received everywhere. On the subject of gun control, clearly my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary will wish to consider the implications of the incident for any future changes in firearms control. There is of course a Firearms Consultative Committee that, as a statutory body, constantly keeps legislation under review. Its purpose is to review the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988. I know that it issued a statement this morning saying that it does not propose to express a view on the matter in advance of the conclusions of the fatal accident inquiry, but that it will want to consider the implications for future firearms legislation or practice.

     

    Q4. Mr. Patrick Thompson: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 14 March.

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

    Mr. Thompson: Speaking as a former teacher and in the aftermath of the awful tragedy yesterday, may I ask my right hon. Friend to reinforce the tributes that are rightly paid to head teachers and teachers who put the welfare and safety of their children above all else?

    The Prime Minister: It is not very many weeks ago that the House and the country were mourning the death of another teacher, Mr. Lawrence, who was murdered outside his school by being stabbed to death. My right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary has told me, both last night and this morning, of the courage of teachers at the school. I particularly single out the courage and performance of the headmaster, Mr. Taylor, who had appalling circumstances to deal with yesterday, but, I am informed, dealt with them with the greatest possible courage in every respect. I am happy to join my hon. Friend, himself a former head teacher, in that tribute.

    Mrs. Bridget Prentice: Dunblane is a small, close-knit community and no doubt that closeness will stand it in good stead as it grieves over the appalling slaughter of innocent children and their dedicated teacher. Will the Prime Minister convey to the people of Dunblane that their grieving is shared by the whole country; every parent in the land is grieving with them? In particular, will he convey to the people of Dunblane the horror and sadness of my constituents and Londoners across our capital city who feel today that they are part of that small, close-knit community?

    The Prime Minister: I shall happily convey the hon. Lady’s thoughts when I have the opportunity of visiting Dunblane tomorrow. She speaks for the attitude of every parent in the country. For a small number of parents, yesterday was a day of horror that they could never have imagined. The thought has flitted across the minds of every other parent in the country that it might have been their son or their daughter on that occasion.

     

    Q5. Mr. Butler: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 14 March.

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

    Mr. Butler: In common with many colleagues in the House, I went home last night to see my own children for exactly the reasons given by the right hon. Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Blair). I associate myself with everything that has been said. May I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on his sense of priorities, which led him to take a day out this week to attend the conference against terrorism in Egypt? Terrorism so often–and deliberately–causes the sort of grief, slaughter and horror that was caused by one evil mad man yesterday. May I urge my right hon. Friend to do all that he can to play a full part in the international war against that most evil of activities?

    The Prime Minister: I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I think that the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh was a very useful and worthwhile occasion. It was the first time that I can recall when so many Heads of Government from different parts of the world met specifically to deal with the problems of terrorism and how to curtail and defeat it. The summit not only condemned terrorism in very strong terms but, more practically, laid the foundations for a programme of international co-operation in anti-terrorist activities. I think that everyone will welcome that.

    The first meeting to follow yesterday’s summit will take place within the next fortnight, and I hope that we shall see practical and worthwhile co-operation that will make the terrorist’s life much more difficult than it has been hitherto. That is the determination of the Governments who met yesterday, and I look forward to seeing it carried into practice.

     

    Q6. Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 14 March.

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

    Rev. Martin Smyth: Further to the Prime Minister’s answer to a previous question, I too share the grief of the mourning families in Dunblane. Does he share my concern that journalists and other pundits have spent much time, recently, blaming Israel for its attitude to the Hamas terrorists, just as they blamed the Prime Minister for holding back the peace in Northern Ireland, when they should put responsibility on the terrorists who continue the terror?

    The Prime Minister: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I agree, without qualification, with everything that he has said.

    Mr. Clifton-Brown: Does my right hon. Friend agree that the rule of law should always prevail in a democracy? On this day, above all others, as we discuss the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989, does he agree that the House should agree unanimously to the measures? Does he agree also that terrorism and violence by the gun or by the bomb should be rooted out wherever they occur?

    The Prime Minister: I think that that would be the unanimous view in dealing very severely with terrorists. The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 has proved indispensable as part of our armoury against terrorism. It is vital that its powers are continued by the House.

    Mr. Norman Hogg: The Prime Minister’s decision to visit Dunblane will be deeply appreciated by everyone in Scotland. Does he accept my assurance that we shall all co-operate to give the fullest support to that community in whatever action is necessary in view of this tragic and terrible event?

    The Prime Minister: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for those remarks. I hope that everyone will understand that I visit Dunblane as a representative of the House: it is in that spirit that I conduct my visit.

    Mr. Robert G. Hughes: Does my right hon. Friend agree that the terrible tragedy will focus the prayers of the nation on mothering Sunday this weekend? Does he agree that it would be a proper mark of respect if people observed a period of silence on Sunday to remember the children and their teacher and to pray together as a nation?

    The Prime Minister: I believe that, now and up to and beyond Sunday, many people will remember the events at Dunblane. Perhaps it would be particularly appropriate if the churches were just a little more crowded on Sunday.

    Sir David Steel: As one who was married in Dunblane cathedral and who therefore regards it as a place of particular happiness and serenity cruelly shattered, I support the Prime Minister’s decision to visit Dunblane tomorrow on behalf of the House. I add the thanks of the House to the Secretary of State for Scotland and the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Hamilton (Mr. Robertson), for the way in which they represented the interests of the House yesterday to that grieving community.

    Although I do not suggest that anything could have prevented the madness of yesterday, will the Prime Minister ask his relevant ministerial colleagues to look again at the report of the Firearms Consultative Committee and see whether further steps can be taken in response to its recommendations without relating it to yesterday’s episode?

    The Prime Minister: As to the right hon. Gentleman’s second point, those matters will need to be examined, and I assure him that we shall do so with an open mind. On his first point, I echo the tribute to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and the hon. Member for Hamilton (Mr. Robertson) who, together, visited Dunblane yesterday. That was appropriate, and I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for what he did on that occasion.

    Mr. Nicholas Winterton: While we contemplate this horror, is it not wonderful that the love of children has brought the House together? I pray that it will do so more often.

    The Prime Minister: Sometimes our political disputes, whether they involve great or small matters, seem very petty beside human matters. I think that this is one such occasion.

  • Mr Major’s Doorstep Interview at Heads of Government Meeting – 13 March 1996

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s doorstep interview at the Heads of Government Meeting on Wednesday 13th March 1996.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    We’ve brought together heads of government from the whole of the region and far beyond. All of them expressing their belief that a great deal of progress has been made in the peace process. That the peace process still holds the key to a proper, secure, peaceful future for the people of the Middle East, and pledging themselves to do all they can to support the major players in achieving that. I think it has been very productive. We’re looking at problems. We’re deciding how we can deal with those problems. There will be further meetings convened within the next fortnight so that we can look at practical steps that will be helpful.

    I think it’s been a very productive session indeed this morning, and I think it was well worth doing. I think it’s been a very great success for everyone. It’s brought together people from all sorts of different parts of the world with a common interest in beating terrorism. The summit has produced a complete solidarity for the Middle East peace process, a complete determination to assist it proceed, and a determination to sit down together over the next few weeks and work out some practical measures to deal with the problems of terrorism. I think that is a success.

    QUESTION:

    What can Britain do to help against terrorism?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think every government can do something to help. Certainly, in practical measures as far as the Palestinian authority is concerned, we’ve provided a substantial amount of resources to help policing in the Palestinian area. We propose to help more. Other people will be doing exactly the same thing. What is needed is an international determination to root out and hunt down the terrorists and their sources of funding, and to make it clear to the pariah states that acts as the host and home for terrorism, that they are going to be complete international pariahs unless and until they stop it. What we saw here was an absolute determination upon those issues. I can’t remember a summit like this in the past.

    I can’t remember a summit that brought so many people together, from so many different points of view, with a single focus against terrorism. That’s what happened this morning, and it was well worth doing.

  • Mr Major’s Doorstep Comments on Dunblane – 13 March 1996

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s doorstep comments on Dunblane on Wednesday 13th March 1996.

    QUESTION:

    There’s obviously been a tragedy of great dimensions. I just wondered if we could have your initial response to what you’ve heard?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Well this is a sickening, evil act, that almost passes belief. Those children were in school. They had nothing to do with anything. They were where they should have been safe. They’re perhaps of a generation that has more to look forward to in optimism and hope than any before, and suddenly this appalling act just knocks out all that opportunity. My heart goes out to those parents and their families, and their teachers as well, who will have to cope with what has happened. It beggars belief that it could have happened.

    QUESTION:

    A tragedy for the whole of Scotland?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think the whole of the United Kingdom and beyond. The news of what happened has reached here at this conference, and head of government after head of government has come up to me already to express their sympathy with what has happened. We don’t yet have all the details, but we know sufficient to know that this is the sort of tragedy that occasionally the world has seen in recent years – today’s bitter, brutal, heartless thing to happen. We don’t have all the information yet, but I think it’s a tragedy of course for Scotland, but far beyond it as well.

  • Mr Major’s Opening Statement on the Middle East Summit – 13 March 1996

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s opening statement on the Middle East Summit, held on the 13th March 1996.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Egypt is a senior member of the club of Middle East peacemakers. It is right that we should be meeting here in Sinai, whose peace and prosperity are one of the significant practical achievements of the Middle East peace process so far.

    We are here today for a simple reason: to support peace through political negotiation, and to make clear our implacable opposition to the wickedness of terrorism, and agree on practical measures to combat that terrorism.

    All those present share an absolute abhorrence of terrorist violence and a revulsion at those who murder innocent people. Most, like us, have known the effect of terrorism at first hand.

    But we are also here because of our full-hearted support for the peace process. We are not willing to see recent hopes die.

    The Middle East has seen remarkable progress in recent years. It has been led by exceptional and courageous men, some of whom are, sadly, not with us today.

    We owe it to them not to give in to those who have the evil purpose of destroying what has been created and preventing a peace settlement. If they win, peace loses.

    The people of the United Kingdom know something of the emotions and political difficulties involved in sustaining a process towards peace. We have only too much bitter experience of our own.

    Recently terrorist violence has also returned to the streets of London. Unjustified. Unacceptable. Leading nowhere but to more violence. We reject it with contempt. And we will continue to work for a lasting settlement with all those committed to peaceful, democratic methods.

    So I warmly welcome the co-operation between President Arafat and Prime Minister Peres to this end. I welcome the action President Arafat has taken. I urge him to persevere in this course, whatever the difficulties. Israel alone cannot police the Palestinian areas. The only solution is full collaboration between the Palestinian and Israeli security forces.

    They already do co-operate. As they do more, the way will I hope soon be clear for present measures affecting the people of the West Bank and Gaza to be eased. The parties need circumstances to be created which enable them to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible, on the Syrian as well as the Palestinian tracks.

    Britain has applauded the major steps forward between Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians. We welcome recent progress in talks between Israel and Syria.

    That support remains complete today.

    We already co-operate with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the field of counter terrorism. We are looking urgently with them at the moment at what further practical help we might offer.

    We will consult President Arafat about how we can help train further the Palestinian Police Force and meet the needs of the Palestinian population. If by doing this we can erode the support Hamas gains: so much the better.

    If we deprive them of new breeding grounds in which to work, something worthwhile will have been achieved.

    We all know that terrorism is an international phenomenon. It thrives on international support. It often operates as Shimon Peres said, out of pariah states. We need collectively to try to stop this.

    I believe the time has come for us to look together, as part of the follow-up to this meeting, at the activities not just of those who actively conspire to commit terrorist acts but also at those who abuse the hospitality and protection available in some of our countries to create a climate in which terrorism can flourish. We need the right tools to tackle the terrorist fund-raisers and planners. This is something we must examine together, as those concerned will move from one safe haven to another.

    We have already started such as examination in Britain. I encourage others to do so, and to look at this collectively.

    But let us not forget where the core of the problem lies: with the bombers who have so savagely shattered the peaceful lives of Israelis in recent weeks and with those countries which encourage, condone and actively sponsor this terrorism. Let a clear call go out from this Conference to these countries to abandon such vicious policies. We have already spelt this out to Iran and Libya. I urge all concerned to commit themselves fully to the fight for the peace process and against terrorism.

    We are at a critical and difficult moment in the Process. But such moments have been met and overcome in the past. We must all be there to help ensure that they are met and overcome once more, in the future. If we are able to move in that direction, this meeting will have achieved something. But we must also move to practical action in the areas I have outlined.

  • PMQT Written Answers – 12 March 1996

    Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 12th March 1996.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    Government Policies (Lichfield)

    Mr. Fabricant: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the impact of Government policies on the people of the city of Lichfield.

    The Prime Minister: Lichfield has benefited fully from the Government’s policies, which have given this country a stronger recovery than any other large European country and the longest run of low inflation for almost 50 years. Unemployment in Lichfield has fallen by 40 per cent. since its peak.

     

    Department of Employment

    Mr. Burden: To ask the Prime Minister what functions of the former Department of Employment have been transferred to (a) the Department of Trade and Industry,

    (b) The Department for Education and Employment and (c) other Government Departments; and what plans he has for the further transfer of such functions.

    The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the press notice released by No. 10 Downing street on 5 July 1995, a copy of which is held in the Library of the House. It was subsequently decided that the Department for Education and Employment would have responsibility for work permits.

    I have at present no plans for the further transfer of functions.

     

    Engagements

    Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 12 March.

    Sir Peter Tapsell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 12 March.

    The Prime Minister: 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.

     

    Children (Exploitation)

    Mr. Alison: To ask the Prime Minister what invitations he has received from the Swedish Government for United Kingdom governmental participation in the world congress against commercial exploitation of children, to be held in Stockholm in August; what response has been made to the invitation; and which individuals will represent the United Kingdom.

    The Prime Minister: We intend to take part in this congress in response to an invitation I have received from the Swedish Prime Minister. The British embassy is in close touch with the organisers in Stockholm, but a final decision has still to be made on the composition of the United Kingdom delegation.

     

    Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe

    Mr. Sykes: To ask the Prime Minister what changes he has made to the composition of the United Kingdom delegation to the parliamentary assembly of the OSCE.

    The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend the Member for Rochford (Dr. Clark) has resigned as a substitute delegate to the assembly and will be replaced by my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate (Mr. Banks). This change takes effect from today.

     

    Conservative Party Functions

    Mr. Hall: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the occasions upon which Government-owned premises were used for Conservative party functions in 1995, including details of the purposes for which each event was held, the name of each event’s host and the date, time and place of each event.

    The Prime Minister [holding answer 1 March 1996]: This information is not held centrally.

     

    EU Legislation

    Mr. Steen: To ask the Prime Minister how many EU regulations have been passed; how many of these have altered United Kingdom law; and how many have been the subject of the fiche d’impact in each of the last five years.

    The Prime Minister [holding answer 11 March 1996]: The table provides a breakdown of the number of European Community regulations introduced since 1991.

    1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

    Council(15) 335 383 319 274 242

    Commission(16) 1,107 1,125 1,055 963 748

    Source:

    (15) Annual general reports of the activities of the European Communities from 1991-95.

    (16) Commission’s CELEX database of Community legislation. The figures exclude short-term or temporary regulations–eg. those measures relating to day-to-day management of agricultural matters. for 1995, the figures include regulations adopted up to 12 December 1995; full year figures are not yet available.

    All European Community regulations are directly applicable in United Kingdom law. Information on how many proposals have been the subject of a fiche d’ impact is not held centrally. However, it is the Government’s policy to press for all proposals for Community legislation which may have a significant impact on business to be accompanied by a fiche d’impact.

  • PMQT – 12 March 1996

    Below is the text of Prime Minister’s Question Time from 12th March 1996.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    Deregulation

    Q1. Mr. Steen: To ask the Prime Minister if he will establish a league table of deregulation initiatives from each Government Department.

    The Prime Minister (Mr. John Major): I am sure that my hon. Friend will welcome the further measures that I announced yesterday on simplified tax registration, new rights for business against enforcement action and simplified planning and development controls. I have arranged for a copy of details of the number of regulations repealed or amended by each Department to be placed in the Library.

    Mr. Steen: I understand my right hon. Friend’s reluctance to cover the walls of No. 10 Downing Street with deregulation league tables. If he did so, however, it would highlight the difference between his approach to small firms and that of the Opposition, which will certainly increase the number of rules and regulations emanating not only from this country but from Europe. Will my right hon. Friend boost his own excellent approach by promoting Ministers–and, indeed, Back Benchers–who have good ideas on deregulation, and demoting those who have not? Perhaps he will have a word with the Leader of the Opposition, suggesting that he take similar action with his Front Benchers.

    The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend is right about the importance of deregulation. We have undertaken comprehensive consultation with small businesses, and, as a result of what they had to say to us, we have set out a comprehensive range of action which will, I believe, have been welcomed across the small business sector. I very much regret the necessity to place extra burdens on business sometimes, but we are utterly resolute in not accepting burdens such as the social chapter which would undoubtedly make the country inefficient and cost us jobs. Small firms are the life-blood of the economy, and they deserve our support.

     

    Engagements

    Q2. Mr. Roy Hughes: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 12 March.

    The Prime Minister: 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. Hughes: Does the Prime Minister recall that last Thursday he gave the House the clear impression that the Government had no intention of taking away the employment protection rights of 10 million workers in private businesses? The very same day, he was contradicted by the Deputy Prime Minister. Who really speaks for the Government, and what is the true position?

    The Prime Minister: In no sense did my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister contradict what I said yesterday. [Interruption.] I am sorry, Madam Speaker, but noise from the Opposition does not make them right; they are just as wrong whether they are noisy or silent.

    I made it clear that I had no intention of announcing those changes yesterday; nor did I. I also made it clear that we intended to look at unnecessary regulations across the board: I made that clear to the House. Nothing is automatically exempt, but, having been examined, nothing will automatically be changed unless the examination suggests that that is worth while.

    Sir Terence Higgins: As the referendum is an alien concept inconsistent with our system of representative parliamentary democracy, would it not be a mistake to change the Government’s policy on the issue? On a single currency referendum, does my right hon. Friend agree that a single currency, in the sense that every member of the European Union gives up its own currency in favour of it, is not likely to happen before the next general election, the one after or the one after that and that a referendum on a core currency, which would split the Union, is even less likely to produce a sensible result?

    The Prime Minister: As I have said to the House before, let me say again to my right hon. Friend that there are circumstances in which we think that it might be appropriate to have a referendum on the particular matter of whether this country should decide to join a single currency, were one to go ahead in 1999. I have made that point to the House before; that is a matter under consideration and it remains so.

    Mr. Blair: Does the Prime Minister recall that he used to be flatly against a referendum on a single currency and then–

    Mr. Ashby: Tell us your policies.

    Madam Speaker: Order. Mr. Ashby, you are not at a football match now.

    Mr. Blair: And then the Prime Minister’s position changed to say that the question of whether to have a referendum would not arise until after a British Cabinet had recommended joining a single currency. That was the position reiterated a few days ago by the Chancellor of the Exchequer: it would be postponed until the decision about the single currency. Is that still the Government’s position?

    The Prime Minister: If the right hon. Gentleman wishes to swap quotes on these matters–[Hon. Members: “Answer.”] If the House is patient, I will come directly to the right hon. Gentleman’s point, but I remind him, on the subject of consistency, that he once said:

    “we’ll negotiate a withdrawal from the EEC”.

    To be strictly fair, he did subsequently say that he

    “wasn’t actually opposed to membership of the EC . . . I said at the election, within the closed doors of the Labour Party, that I disagreed with that policy on Europe.”

    The right hon. Gentleman did not of course say that publicly, which one might have expected from such an ambitious Member.

    I have often said before that, although I do not in general favour referendums in our parliamentary democracy, there are circumstances in which one might be appropriate. One of those circumstances is were the Cabinet to make a decision to join a single currency. I have made that clear; that is still the case. We are examining at the moment what the appropriate circumstances might be. When we have completed that examination, I will ensure that the right hon. Gentleman is among the first few hundred people to know.

    Mr. Blair: The right hon. Gentleman did not actually tell us whether the Chancellor’s position remains the position of the Government. Can I put this question to him? Is it still his view that collective responsibility during the course of such a referendum would still apply?

    The Prime Minister: The fact is, on the first point, that my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor was with me and agreed in Cabinet to the examination that we are undertaking. The examination that we are undertaking covers not only the point that the right hon. Gentleman raised but a series of other important points that would need to be clear were such a decision to be taken.

    Mr. Blair: So everything is up for review. The right hon. Gentleman used to be flatly against a referendum; now he cannot say. He used to be in favour of collective responsibility; now he cannot say. Is it not the truth that on this issue–[Interruption.] They do not like it, Madam Speaker. The right hon. Gentleman now cannot say on either issue. Is it not the truth that, on this issue, as in so many other areas, he is no longer able to be a Prime Minister taking these decisions in the interests of the country but is simply a full-time party manager trying to manage irreconcilable factions in his own party?

    The Prime Minister: One of these days, the right hon. Gentleman will learn to quit when he is losing. [Interruption.] He just made it perfectly clear that he has no interest in collective responsibility, no interest in Cabinet government and no interest in the Cabinet discussing these matters–which is precisely what his Back Benchers say about the way in which he determines his own policies. When he has had a little more experience, he will realise that that will never work in government.

    Mr. Churchill: Is it not fantastic that the European Court, the European Commission and the leader of the Labour party should be so hellbent on pricing British and European workers out of jobs and exporting those jobs to the Pacific rim? If people in this country choose, of their own volition, to work 48 hours or more a week, why on earth should not they be allowed to do so?

    The Prime Minister: I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. I strongly disagree with the ruling of the Advocate General this morning. We have one of the best records on health and safety at work across Europe. I do not believe that the working time directive can make any significant contribution to health and safety. We shall continue to argue the case that these matters are best agreed between employers and employees in the light of their own circumstances.

    European legislation such as the working time directive is ludicrous, and we will continue to tell our partners in Europe that that is so. It is precisely because of legislation like that and stupidities like that, that the European Union is becoming uncompetitive and losing jobs to other parts of the world. It is complete nonsense and it is time that people began to stand up and say so.

    Mr. Ashdown: So why did not the Prime Minister and the Government vote against the directive in the Council of Ministers? As the Prime Minister is in the business of swapping quotes, I shall remind him of two. In June 1992 he said to me, “I am not in favour of referendums and I will not put one before the British people.” Last week he said, “I have never changed my view–it remains that a referendum might be the course of action to take.”

    Is it not perfectly clear that the right hon. Gentleman is not the leader of his party, but the prisoner of his party? How long will it now take for him to join us in saying that, when it comes to deciding Britain’s future in Europe, Britain’s people have a right to a say?

    The Prime Minister: The right hon. Gentleman will know that his hon. Friend the Member for Ross, Cromarty and Skye (Mr. Kennedy) has in the past admitted the differences in their party on the question of a referendum. He knows that there are sharp differences. The right hon. Gentleman has said that he favours a referendum on this issue. He should not be so uncharacteristically modest–has it not occurred to him that his splendid advocacy might just possibly change my hon. Friends’ minds?

    Mr. Hayes: If my right hon. Friend has the good fortune to bump into Sir James Goldsmith, will he remind him that, although he might think that wealth can buy privilege, it does not buy Members of Parliament and it does not buy Governments?

    The Prime Minister: The only things for sale in this House are Labour party policies to the trade unions. [Interruption.] The deputy leader of the Labour party, the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott), says, “Change the computer.” We would like him to change the fact that half the Labour party’s policies are determined by the trade unions, that most of its money comes from the trade unions, that it is the handmaiden of the trade unions and that it has no independence. The trade unions pay for the Labour party and they own it–it was that way, it is that way and it always will be that way.

     

    Q3. Mr. Wareing: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 12 March.

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

    Mr. Wareing: Does the Prime Minister remember saying in April 1992, “Vote Conservative on Thursday and the recovery will continue on Friday”? When he became Prime Minister, the unemployment figure was 1,754,811, but in January this year it was 2,224,207. They are his figures. What went wrong?

    The Prime Minister: I shall tell the hon. Gentleman what has gone right with our economy, and he can then compare what has happened in this country with what has happened in other countries. If he is worrying about what has gone wrong, he should look at Liverpool council to get an indication. The leader of the Labour party said, I think, to The Spectator some time ago that one does not know the character of a party until it is in power. We have seen Labour in power in Liverpool council, and we know exactly the character of the Labour party.

    I shall tell the hon. Gentleman what has happened in Britain. We have the lowest sustained rate of inflation for almost 50 years–it is below 3 per cent; we have the lowest mortgage rates for 30 years; we have an unemployment rate well below the European Union average; we have the lowest basic rate of tax for 50 years; we are the largest recipients of foreign investment outside Europe, into Europe and more than the rest of Europe added together; and we export more per person than any other country in Europe. In spite of the pantomime drivellings of the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, East, that is what has happened in this country, and it is time that he woke up and saw it. It surely would not have happened with any other Government.