The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Tag: 1991

  • PMQT – 30 April 1991

    Below is the text of Prime Minister’s Question Time from 30th April 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER

     

    Engagements

    Q1. Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 30 April.

    The Prime Minister (Mr. John Major) : This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I shall be having further meetings later today.

    Mr. Kirkwood : Does the Prime Minister recall that when he was a parliamentary candidate in 1983 he gave a commitment, on the questionnaire he returned to the World Development Movement, that he would want to see British aid increased, over a period of five years, to the official United Nations target of 0.7 per cent. of the country’s national wealth? Will he confirm that the level of official aid is now running at well under half that target figure, at a time when 27 million people on the continent of Africa face the prospect of imminent starvation? Does not the right hon. Gentleman recognise that his credibility as Prime Minister is at stake? If he does not find the money to meet the commitment that he made in 1983, his credibility will be severely dented.

    The Prime Minister : The important point is that our aid programme is both effective and growing. Where necessary, as the hon. Gentleman will have seen in the case of the Kurds, we provide extra and well-targeted aid. For example, we have now provided more than £60 million to aid the Kurds, and the amount is rising each week. We still accept the principle of the 0.7 per cent. aid target, and like other donors, we shall move to it as and when economic circumstances permit.

    Mr. Dunn : Can the Prime Minister give a guarantee that the advanced level examination will be maintained, and not diluted or weakened in any way whatsoever?

    The Prime Minister : I can certainly say that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science will shortly announce comprehensive proposals for 16 to 19-year-olds. I agree with the point that my hon. Friend has made so clearly–that the Opposition’s proposals for slimmed-down A-levels are likely to mean more certificates, but certificates of less value.

    Mr. Kinnock : Will the Prime Minister take this opportunity to reject the view of his Secretary of State for Health, who says that cuts in the numbers of doctors and nurses and cuts in patient care in opted-out hospitals are nothing to do with him?

    The Prime Minister : There are two things that I hope that the right hon. Gentleman knows about the health service–first, the vast increases that there have been in the numbers of doctors, nurses and other people in the service and, secondly, that the purpose of the reforms is to make sure that the management of the service becomes as efficient as its medical delivery.

    Mr. Kinnock : Will the Prime Minister tell us where he thinks responsibility lies? The managers of the the Guy’s and Lewisham opted-out hospitals have said that there will be

    “substantial and inevitable reductions in direct patient care.” How can the Prime Minister justify turning his back on the consequences of his own policies? Does not he think that he has a moral obligation to ensure that the loss of vital patient care services at Guy’s and Lewisham is not repeated anywhere else? Will he ensure that opting out is stopped right away?

    The Prime Minister : If the right hon. Gentleman were really concerned about matters like hospital doctors, he might perhaps have looked at their pay record and have seen a real terms increase of 37 per cent. under this Government and nothing remotely like that increase under the Labour Government, for doctors’ pay fell under the Labour Government.

    Mr. Kinnock : Is not it clear from the Prime Minister’s answers that when it comes to the national health service and patient care, he, like his predecessor, could not care less?

    The Prime Minister : The right hon. Gentleman should know that I am personally committed to the national health service, and that I want the management of the service to be as efficient as the medical care in the service. Unless and until it is, we shall not deliver the level or amount of patient care that we need.

    Sir Nicholas Fairbairn : If my right hon. Friend has read the latest Labour party document–

    Mr. Speaker : Order. Even if he has, would the hon. and learned Gentleman please ask a question relating to the Prime Minister’s responsibility?

    Sir Nicholas Fairbairn : To the extent that it is readable, will my hon. Friend endorse the fact that the poorest in the country will be poorer and the part of–

    Mr. Speaker : Order. Will the hon. and learned Gentleman please ask a question relating to the Prime Minister’s responsibility? He may not ask the Prime Minister directly about the Opposition’s policy.

    Sir Nicholas Fairbairn : Will my right hon. Friend, as a matter of his responsibility, having read that document, ensure that a Labour Government never return, so that the poor do not get poorer? The part of the country that would get poorest would be Scotland.

    The Prime Minister : In answer to my hon. and learned Friend’s direct question ; willingly I will make sure that a Labour Government are never returned to power. I think that Labour’s policies will be of some assistance in that, for the electorate know that it has no fresh policies and no fresh ideas and that many of its policies, like renationalisation of British Telecom, it fails to put in its policy documents.

     

    Q2. Mr. Archer : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 30 April.

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

    Mr. Archer : Will the right hon. Gentleman find time to recognise in some way that today is the anniversary of the completion in 1821 of the first iron steamship, all the components of which were completed in one factory in the industrial black country, launching an industry which over the years offered employment to millions? Since over the past 12 months the numbers employed in manufacturing industry have fallen by 178,000, does the Prime Minister wish to remember our industrial history, or does he agree with his Secretary of State for Education and Science that history is unnecessary and perhaps better forgotten– [Interruption.]

    Mr. Speaker : Order. We are taking a long time over this history lesson.

    Mr. Archer : –or does he find it hard to make up his mind?

    The Prime Minister : The right hon. and learned Gentleman, apart from misquoting my right hon. and learned Friend, has picked an odd day to raise that point because, as the Confederation of British Industry business agenda brochure shows, manufacturing output has just risen to new record heights, and in the last quarter of 1990 it stood 50 per cent. higher than in the first quarter of 1981.

     

    Q3. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 30 April.

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

    Mr. Greenway : Is my right hon. Friend aware of the widespread support for his personal vision of a first-class education for everyone? To that end, will not the promised pay review body for teachers bring better professional status for them without the strikes that have so damaged education? Does not that mean a better deal for teachers all round, for children and in the end for the prosperity of the country?

    The Prime Minister : I believe that it does. I believe that the introduction of a pay review body for teachers will be warmly welcomed. The House will have noticed that at the end of a six-hour debate yesterday, no one was clear whether the Opposition were for or against the pay review body, because the National Union of Teachers had not yet told them.

     

    Q4. Mr. Ernie Ross : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 30 April.

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

    Mr. Ross : Can the Prime Minister confirm that when Peter Griffiths was given the job of running the opted-out Guy’s Hospital, the salary for that post was doubled to £90,000 a year, and both he and his wife were given cars? What possible justification for this scandalous misuse of public money can there be when much-needed doctors and nurses at the same hospital are facing the sack?

    The Prime Minister : Peter Griffiths has the job of ensuring the adequate and proper delivery of services and he is committed to achieving that. What has so frequently damaged services in the national health service is that whenever there has been a move towards natural and necessary rationalisation, the Opposition have turned it into a political football.

     

    Q5. Mr. Colvin : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 30 April.

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

    Mr. Colvin : If one man’s pay rise is another man’s job loss, how many jobs does my right hon. Friend think are being lost in Britain this year as a result of the astronomic pay rises which Britain’s top business men awarded themselves last year? Is it not the duty of leaders to give a lead on pay restraint?

    The Prime Minister : Pay must always reflect both performance and responsibility. In many countries, pay already includes a large performance element and I thoroughly welcome that. In the difficult months that we have recently seen many top managers have held or cut their pay, and that is an excellent example.

    Mr. Ashdown : Does the Prime Minister realise that many in our country will feel pride at the role that he and Britain have played in relieving the suffering of the Kurds? However, many will have felt dismay at the complacent answer which he has just given on the African famine. Does he not realise the scale of that disaster, in which not 1 million but more than 20 million lives are now at risk? Will he assure the House and the nation that he will apply the same determination to making sure that we play our part in relieving that towering tragedy that he applied to assisting the Kurds?

    The Prime Minister : I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his first remark. As to his latter remarks, I would remind him that this country has committed something over £4 billion to Africa in the past decade and that we invariably play a significant part in dealing with the tragedies that occasionally occur, not only in Africa but elsewhere. Even as the right hon. Gentleman asks his question, we are examining what assistance might be given to Bangladesh in the aftermath of the cyclone.

     

    Q6. Mr. Viggers : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 30 April.

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

    Mr. Viggers : In the difficult international climate for business expansion and employment, is it not clear that the countries that will benefit first from a renewal of confidence will be those with flexible work practices? Does my right hon. Friend agree that the worst that could happen would be for us to adopt the statutory pay and training schemes advocated by the Labour party?

    The Prime Minister : I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. The greatest danger, of course, would be to adopt the Labour party’s minimum wage plans which, were the right hon. Gentleman to implement them, would inflict not the 750,000 to 1 million job losses that we thought they would but between 1 million and 2 million job losses.

     

    Q7. Mr. John Evans : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 30 April.

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

    Mr. Evans : Has the Prime Minister had the opportunity to read early -day motion 747, which has been signed by 148 Members who are worried about the proposed takeover of the Tootal Group plc by Coats Viyella plc and the impact on jobs in the textile industry? Is he aware that 540 workers at the Tootal Slimma works in St. Helens fear that they will face the sack if that unnecessary bid succeeds? Will the right hon. Gentleman instruct the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to change his mind and refer this unnecessary bid to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission?

    The Prime Minister : That is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to consider. The hon. Gentleman and his hon. Friends are in no position to talk about unemployment while they hold to their minimum wage proposals.

  • PMQT Written Answers – 29 April 1991

    Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 29th April 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    St. John Ambulance Brigade

    Mr. Redmond : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make facilities available to staff in his office to contribute to the appeal that has been launched for people with the name of John to help raise £5 million for the St. John Ambulance Brigade.

    The Prime Minister : Arrangements exist for officials to contribute by deduction from pay to charities of their choice. The decision by members of my office about which charitable appeals to support must be a matter for them.

     

    Drink Driving

    Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Prime Minister if he, with his colleagues responsible for transport in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, will consider consultations on ways to let the public know whether a driver killed in a road crash had consumed alcohol.

    The Prime Minister : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply he received from my hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Mr. Lloyd) on 22 April 1991 at columns 350-51.

     

    Management Consultants

    Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister what was the total sum paid out in fees by the Prime Minister’s office to management consultants in 1979-80 and in each following year; and what is his estimate for 1990-91 and budget for 1991-92.

    The Prime Minister : There has been no expenditure by my office on fees to management consultants since 1979-80, and none is planned for 1991-92.

    Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister what was the total sum paid out in fees by the Cabinet Office to management consultants in 1979-80 and in each following year; and what is his estimate for 1990-91 and budget for 1991-92.

    The Prime Minister : The expenditure by the Cabinet Office, including from its creation on 1 October 1987, the Office of the Minister of the Civil Service, on management and computer consultancies, including certain consultancies relating to the civil service as a whole, in the financial years from 1983-84 is as follows :

    Year |£

    ————————

    1983-84 |152,000

    1984-85 |423,818

    1985-86 |329,334

    1986-87 |505,092

    1987-88 |417,778

    The figures for each year since then, which exclude the cost of computer consultants, are as follows :

    Year |£

    ———————————

    1988-89 |70,608

    1989-90 |51,500

    1990-91 |<1>182,000

    1991-92 |<2>242,735

    <1>Estimate.

    <2>Budget.

    Note:

    The figures for 1990-91 and 1991-92 reflect increases in management consultancies undertaken by the Cabinet Office for the civil service generally.

     

    Press and Public Relations

    Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister what was the total expenditure by the Cabinet Office on press and public relations in 1979-80 and in each following year; and what is his estimate for 1990-91 and budget for 1991-92.

    The Prime Minister : Expenditure on press and public relations by the Cabinet Office was :

    |£

    ————————

    1984-85 |247,495

    1985-86 |232,980

    1986-87 |224,813

    1987-88 |215,925

    1988-89 |201,837

    1989-90 |205,650

    The latest estimate for 1990-91 is £165,088 and the budget for 1991-92 is £213,323.

    Similar information is not available for the years prior to 1984-85.

    Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister what was the total expenditure by the Prime Minister’s office on press and public relations in 1979-80 and in each following year; and what is his estimate for 1990-91 and budget for 1991-92.

    The Prime Minister : Expenditure by my office on press and public relations was not recorded separately before 1987-88. The total expenditure for each year since then and the budget for 1991-92 are as follows :

    |£

    ———————————

    1987-88 |377,987

    1988-89 |419,326

    1989-90 |427,802

    1990-91 |<1>553,010

    1991-92 |<2>554,748

    <1> Estimate.

    <2> Budget.

    Note: The figures for 1990-91 and 1991-92 include notional superannuation costs which are excluded from the figures for earlier years.

     

    Departmental Staff

    Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will give for each year from 1979-80, including 1991-92, the number of staff actually employed on 1 April and the full complement of staff, including vacant posts, by grade, in the statistical divisions in the Cabinet Office; and if he will differentiate between staff in statistical posts and staff in administrative posts.

    The Prime Minister : The number of staff, by grade, employed on 1 April in each of the years from 1982 in the statistical divisions of the Cabinet Office, differentiated between staff in statistical posts and staff in administrative posts, were :

    Staff in post, with in brackets,

    where different, total complement

    Grade |Members of |Members of |Total

    |Statistician |Administration

    |Group |and other

    ———————————————————————————————-

    1982 |51.0 |153.0 |204.0 |(209.0)

    1983 |50.0 |159.5 |209.5 |(208.5)

    1984 |47.0 |146.0 |193.0 |(193.0)

    1985 |50.5 |136.5 |187.0 |(186.0)

    1986 |52.0 |148.5 |200.5 |(198.5)

    1987

    1a |1 |- |1

    3 |3 |- |3

    5 |9 |1 |10 |(9)

    7 |24 |6 |30 |(31)

    Senior Executive Officer |- |8 |8 |(7)

    Higher Executive Officer |- |23 |23 |(22.5)

    Executive Officer |- |34 |34 |(35.5)

    Administrative Officer |- |24 |24

    Personal Secretary |- |13 |13 |(12.5)

    Senior Assistant and Assistant

    Statistician |9 |- |9 |(11)

    Cadet Statistician |7 |- |7

    Chief Draughtsman |- |1 |1

    Senior Draughtsman |- |1 |1

    Higher Draughtsman |- |2 |2

    Draughtsman |- |6 |6 |(7)

    Information Officer |- |1 |1

    |——- |——- |——- |——-

    |53 |120 |173 |(175.5)

    1988

    1A |1 |- |1

    3 |3 |- |3

    5 |9 |1 |10 |(9)

    7 |25 |4 |29 |(31)

    Senior Executive Officer |- |8 |8

    Higher Executive Officer |- |20 |20 |(21)

    Executive Officer |- |31 |31 |(37)

    Administrative Officer |- |21 |21 |(24)

    Senior Personal Secretary |- |1 |1

    Personal Secretary |- |11 |11 |(11.5)

    Senior Assistant and Assistant Statistician |9 |- |9 |(10)

    Cadet Statistician |6 |- |6 |(7)

    Chief Draughtsman |- |1 |1

    Senior Draughtsman |- |1 |1

    Higher Draughtsman |- |2 |2

    Draughtsman |- |5 |5 |(7)

    Information Officer |- |1 |1

    |——– |——- |——- |——-

    |53 |107 |160 |(175.5)

    1989

    1A |1 |- |1

    3 |3 |- |3

    5 |9 |1 |10 |(9)

    7 |25 |4 |29 |(31.5)

    Senior Executive Officer |- |7 |7 |(5.5)

    Higher Executive Officer |- |18 |18 |(21)

    Executive Officer |- |35 |35 |(36)

    Administrative Officer |- |25 |25 |(24.5)

    Senior Personal Secretary |- |2 |2

    Personal Secretary |- |11 |11 |(10.5)

    Senior Assistant and Assistant Statistician |8 |- |8 |(11)

    Cadet Statistician |3 |- |3 |(1.5)

    Chief Draughtsman |- |1 |1

    Senior Draughtsman |- |1 |1

    Higher Draughtsman |- |2 |2 |(1)

    Draughtsman |- |4 |4 |(7)

    Information Officer |- |1 |1

    |——- |——- |——- |——-

    |49 |112 |161 |(167.5)

    <1>Includes all other non statistician group staff.

    Figures for the years prior to 1982 are no longer available, and information on the numbers of staff by grade is not readily available for the years 1982 to 1986 and cannot be obtained except at disproportionate cost.

    Since July 1989, when the Central Statistical Office became a separate department, the Cabinet Office has had no statistical divisions.

    Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will give for each year from 1979-80, including 1991-92, the number of staff actually employed on 1 April and the full complement of staff, including vacant posts, by grade, in the statistical divisions in the Prime Minister’s office; and if he will differentiate between staff in statistical posts and staff in administrative posts.

    The Prime Minister : During the period in question, there has been no statistical division within my office. There are no statisticians in post or on the staff complement, and there are no plans to create any such posts.

     

    Iraqi Refugees

    Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Prime Minister whether he has any plans to increase the financial year 1991-92 budget of the Overseas Development Administration to cover the costs of emergency relief for Iraqi refugees.

    The Prime Minister : Additions to the overseas aid programme totalling up to £30 million have been agreed to fund the Government’s further efforts to relieve the suffering of Iraqi refugees. Within this total, up to £20 million will be provided to continue the airbridge operation, to provide urgently needed supplies, and to finance the immediately foreseeable costs falling to the aid budget of the United Kingdom’s participation in Operation Haven inside Iraq. The balance of £10 million represents the Government’s contribution to the Kurdish refugee appeal announced on Thursday 25 April. These additions will enable the ODA to maintain its planned development activities, and to continue to provide substantial humanitarian assistance to help relieve famine in Africa.

     

    North Sea

    Mr. David Porter : To ask the Prime Minister if he will set up a high-level task force combining all the Departments of state concerned, all industries involved and all interested parties to bring forward proposals to secure continued viability of all uses and the well-being of the North sea, once gas and oil structures are decommissioned; and if he will make a statement.

    The Prime Minister : Departments maintain regular contact with a wide range of organisations with an interest in many aspects of the North sea. I see no advantage in establishing an additional forum. Consideration of an abandonment programme by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy under the provisions of the Petroleum Act 1987 will take account of consultations with organisations concerned with other uses of the sea including fishing, and with environmental interests. The abandonment of offshore installations will be performed in such a way as to cause no significant adverse effects upon navigation or the marine environment, in accordance with our international obligations.

     

    Opposition Parties (Access to Civil Service)

    Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Prime Minister whether he will consider allowing opposition parties equal access to civil servants and publicity budgets to enable them to prepare and publicise their own policies.

    The Prime Minister : No. By long-standing convention, civil service time and Government publicity budgets are not used for party political purposes.

    Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the civil service trade unions regarding the effectiveness of the rules set out in the Armstrong memorandum of December 1987 on the propriety of publishing party political material using civil servants’ time.

    The Prime Minister : None.

     

    Arms Trade

    Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what proposals he has for an international register of arms sales.

    The Prime Minister : At the special European Council in Luxembourg on 8 April, I proposed a register of arms sales at the United Nations to monitor the scale of arms build-up in any one country. We are taking every opportunity to urge others to support the idea of such a register. Our ambassador at the United Nations is also taking this forward in New York.

     

    First Division Association

    Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister how many of the demands of the First Division Association code of civil service ethics have been incorporated into official regulations.

    The Prime Minister : The Government’s position is set out in the note by the former head of the home civil service on the duties and responsibilities of civil servants in relation to Ministers, issued in December 1987, subject to the further points contained in the Government’s responses to the fifth report of the Treasury and Civil Service Select Committee for the 1989-90 Session.

     

    Iraqi Arms Disposal

    Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what proposals he has put to the United Nations for a commission to monitor Iraqi arms disposal.

    The Prime Minister : United Nations Security Council resolution 687 requires the Secretary-General to establish a special commission to oversee the elimination of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. We hope that the special commission will start work as soon as possible, and we shall co-operate with it fully.

     

    Members’ Letters

    Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 22 April, Official Report, columns 293-94, to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East (Mr. Barnes), whether he will make it his aim to provide responses to Members’ letters to Ministers which are as full and as helpful as possible, on a time scale similar to that for a response to a parliamentary question.

    The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr. Davis) on 12 February at column 393. I have nothing further to add.

     

    South Africa

    Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Prime Minister whether he raised with Mr. de Klerk at their meeting on 22 April the failure of the South African Government to release all political prisoners by the target date of 28 February 1991, as agreed in the Pretoria minute of 6 August 1990.

    The Prime Minister [holding answer 26 April 1991] : No, not least because the target date of 30 April has not yet been reached.

  • PMQT Written Answers – 26 April 1991

    Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 26th April 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Overseas Aid

    Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Prime Minister how much extra would be needed each year for the United Kingdom to meet its United Nations target on overseas aid over the next five years.

    The Prime Minister : Under the public expenditure survey system, plans for expenditure on the aid programme have only been made up to 1993-94. Forecasts for nominal gross national product are available only to 1994-95. However, on present trends, to reach the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent. of GNP spent on official development assistance would require a total aid programme of some £5.2 billion in 1995-96, £3.3 billion greater than the presently planned aid programme for 1993-94.

    Press and Public Relations Staff

    Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister if he will give for each year from 1979-80, including 1991-92, the number of staff actually employed on 1 April and the full complement of staff, including vacant posts in the press and public relations office of the Prime Minister’s Office.

    The Prime Minister : Seven people including support staff were employed in 10 Downing Street on 1 April 1991 on press and public relations activities. There is one vacant post at present. Detailed figures were not recorded separately prior to 1987-88; since then the total staff complement has remained at eight. The complement for 1991-92 is eight.

  • PMQT Written Answers – 25 April 1991

    Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 25th April 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    President de Klerk

    Q6. Mr. Robert Hughes : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his recent meeting with President de Klerk of South Africa.

    The Prime Minister : I was glad to have had the opportunity to meet President de Klerk during his visit to the United Kingdom this week. We had a useful talk on a wide range of issues.

    I should add that I also had useful talks with Mr. Nelson Mandela at our meeting yesterday.

     

    Economic and Social Committee (United Kingdom Membership)

    Mr. Beith : To ask the Prime Minister whether he will list the 24 United Kingdom members of the European Community Economic and Social Committee, indicating their dates of appointment, their occupations and their party political affiliations if known.

    The Prime Minister : The United Kingdom members of the Economic and Social Committee who were appointed in September 1990 for a term of four years are as follows. Members are recommended to Council for appointment on the basis of their individual qualifications not political affiliations.

    Neville Beale Esq–Independent Consultant. Former senior executive of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies.
    Michael Bell Esq–Chairman, International Business Communications PLC.
    John Little Esq–Former Chairman and Chief Executive, Anderson Strathclyde. Former Chairman, Scottish Confederation of British Industries.
    Kenneth Gardner Esq MA FRSC–Consultant in food law technology and food technology.
    Dr Felix Kafka–Production and Technical Managements (Health and Safety and Environment), ICI Europa Ltd.
    Michael Mobbs Esq–Chairman and Managing Director,M L Aviation. Dr Ann Robinson–Head of Policy Unit Institute of Directors. John Whitworth Esq– Chairman, Merchant Navy Officers’ Pension Fund. Former Director of the International Shipping Federation. Campbell Christie Esq–General Secretary, Scottish Trades Union Congress.
    Peter Dawson Esq OBE–General Secretary Professional Association of Teachers.
    Tom Jenkins Esq–Assistant Secretary, Trades Union Congress, International Department.
    John Lyons Esq CBE–General Secretary, Engineers’ and Managers’ Association.
    Miss Ada Maddocks OBE–National Organising Officer (Health Staffs), National Association of Local Government Officers.
    William Morris Esq–Deputy General Secretary, Transport and General Workers’ Union.
    Roy Sanderson Esq OBE–National Secretary, Electrical and Engineering Staff Association (Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunication and Plumbing Union).
    Alexander Smith Esq–General Secretary, National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers.
    Wilfred Aspinall Esq–Executive Director, Managerial, Professional and Staff Liaison Group.
    Mrs Jocelyn Barrow OBE–Deputy Chairman, Broadcasting Standards Council.
    Professor William Black–Economic Adviser, Department of Economic Development, Northern Ireland. Former Professor of Economics, Queen’s University, Belfast.
    Mrs Angela Guillaume–(British) Chairman, European Union of Women.
    Robert Moreland Esq–Former MEP. Member of the Council for Business Graduates Association. Management Consultant. Chairman of Regional Development Section.
    Ms Sue Slipman–Director, National Council for One Parent Families. Michael Strauss Esq–Former Co-ordinating Director for Policy, National Farmers’ Union.
    Andrew Tyrie Esq–Fellow, Nuffield College, Oxford.

     

    Disabled People

    Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Prime Minister when he expects to reply to the letter dated 27 March from the hon. Member for Monklands West, concerning the Government’s policy of non-implementation of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986.

    The Prime Minister : I replied to the hon. Member on 22 April 1991.

    Mr. Tom Clarke : To ask the Prime Minister what representation he has received from the Act Now Group concerning the Government policy of non-implementation of sections of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986; and how he has responded.

    The Prime Minister : The Act Now Group and I have corresponded.

     

    Haemophiliacs

    Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Prime Minister what steps are taken to ensure parity of treatment for haemophiliacs in Scotland and Wales so far as factor 8 is concerned.

    The Prime Minister : The prescribing of factor 8 in the treatment of haemophiliacs is a matter for the individual clinicians concerned. Both Scottish and Welsh patients have equal access to the treatment deemed appropriate.

     

    Building Works

    Mr. Fisher : To ask the Prime Minister whether he will list the number and location of all new buildings or extensions commissioned by the Cabinet Office in each of the past five years which (a) had contracts worth between £3 million and £5 million and (b) had contracts worth more than £5 million.

    The Prime Minister : The Cabinet Office has not commissioned any new buildings or extensions in the last five years which had contracts worth more than £3 million.

     

    Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty

    Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister whether the issue of South Africa signing the nuclear non-proliferation treaty was discussed in his meeting with President De Klerk of South Africa in London on 27 April.

    The Prime Minister : Yes.

     

    Chernobyl

    Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister if he will set out the compensation received by the United Kingdom from (a) the Soviet Union and (b) any other relevant international authority to cover the financial losses incurred by United Kingdom farmers and tourist trade businesses in Scotland, Cumbria, Northern Ireland and North Wales as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in the Soviet Union.

    The Prime Minister : No compensation has been paid to the United Kingdom for damage suffered following the Chernobyl accident. The Soviet Union is not a party to the international conventions on third party liability for nuclear damage.

     

    Iraq

    Mr. Flynn : To ask the Prime Minister if he will propose the creation of safe havens for Shias in southern Iraq.

    The Prime Minister : We are concerned for the welfare of all Iraqis. We understand that the International Red Cross and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees are ready to take over responsibility for refugees in those parts of southern Iraq presently occupied by coalition forces. The United Nations Iraq/Kuwait observer mission is being deployed to the border. Our contribution of some £20 million to the UN Secretary-General’s and other international appeals is for the humanitarian need of all Iraqis. We are in touch with both the Kuwaiti and Saudi Governments about access for Iraqi refugees to their countries.

  • PMQT – 25 April 1991

    Below is the text of Prime Minister’s Question Time from 25th April 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER

     

    Agriculture Spending

    Q1. Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister if he will raise at the next meeting of the European Council the discussions of the Council of Agriculture Ministers on the level of agriculture spending in 1991.

    The Prime Minister (Mr. John Major) : The Agriculture Council is currently considering proposals to keep spending on the common agricultural policy in 1991 within the agricultural guidelines. I hope that the issue will be resolved before the meeting of the European Council.

    Mr. Taylor : Does the Prime Minister accept that, despite the brave battle that is being fought alone by Britain and Holland to maintain the legal limits that his predecessor fought hard to achieve, Brussels will inevitably find some device or accountancy fiddle to break through, as has happened before? As the agricultural policy is causing damage to taxpayers, consumers, the third world and, now, to farmers, and as we are suffering from an uncontrollable protection racket which is riddled with graft, will my right hon. Friend consider suggesting to Brussels that it would strengthen the Economic Community and everyone else if agriculture were repatriated to individual member states?

    The Prime Minister : I confirm to my hon. Friend that we shall continue to insist that the guidelines are respected. I am not sure that it would be in the interests of the United Kingdom to see the break-up and repatriation of the common agricultural policy. The danger I foresee is that separate national agricultural policies would lead to increased protectionism and considerable distortions of trade. I believe that our interest is best served in this area by common policies and by seeking to improve them. In essence, we need to win the match in Brussels, and that we shall seek to do.

    Mr. Cryer : It is outrageous that the British Government are allowing to continue a common agricultural policy that is costing every family in this country £16 a week as part of the policy of the Conservatives, who have handed over in 10 years more than £40 billion to the Common Market. Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that it is time that the food mountains were made available to the starving nations of Africa and to help the Kurds? Instead of that, the CAP ensures that food is bought on the open market. Stocks continue to soar and the Prime Minister is doing nothing about it.

    The Prime Minister : As the hon. Gentleman knows, we have been in the forefront of the battle in the Community to impose guidelines and to prevent unnecessary agricultural production. The answer to his second point about food mountains being used to assist people in need is that I agree that whenever that can be done, it should be done.

    Mr. Colin Shepherd : In his consideration of United Kingdom agriculture within the context of the European Community, will my right hon. Friend continue to bear it in mind the remarkable contribution that has been made by agriculture to the rural economy? Will he also bear it in mind that farm incomes are now about half what they were two years ago and that the Samaritans have expressed grave concern about the increase in suicidal thought in the farming industry? Will he bear those points in mind at all stages because we must protect the foundation of our rural economy?

    The Prime Minister : I can assure my hon. Friend that we will continue to bear those matters in mind. He will know that some of the direct assistance that we have been able to give within the common agricultural policy has been aimed at areas like hill farming, where there are particular difficulties.

     

    Engagements

    Q2. Mrs. Irene Adams : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 25 April.

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

    Hon. Members : No.

    Mr. Speaker : We had better have the answer.

    The Prime Minister : I made the mistake because of the tedious aspect of the regular questions that I am asked.

    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 will be having further meetings later today.

    Mrs. Adams : Has the Prime Minister seen the letter in today’s Evening Standard from the private secretary of the right hon. Member for Chingford (Mr. Tebbit) which says that the Government’s new local tax is

    “not fair–grossly inequitable and hurtful”?

    The lady goes on to ask why she should pay more for a small, one-bedroomed flat on her own in one part of London than the entire family of the Secretary of State for the Environment will pay in his luscious home in the west end? What answer will the Prime Minister give to that lady?

    The Prime Minister : The answer that I will give to the lady is that she lives in one of the most expensive houses in London. The hon. Lady and her hon. Friends need to make up their minds. They allege with one breath that the council tax will benefit the rich, who, they say, are Conservative voters, and with the next breath that it will hurt Conservative voters.

    Mr. Fry : Will my right hon. Friend find time today to examine the illustrative bills for the new council tax for those authorities where householders will pay substantially more than under the existing community charge for two people? Will he note, for example, that for the dearest house in Westminster, the tax will be less than for the cheapest house in Wellingborough? Whereas Westminster has benefited from large Government grants, Wellingborough has been penalised by loss of grants because it has traded profitably and passed the profits on to its charge payers. If I am to propose that the new tax is fair to my constituents will my right hon. Friend initiate an investigation without delay into Wellingborough’s position?

    The Prime Minister : If councils spend at the same standard spending assessment, they will pay the same in each band. That is the essential equity of the scheme that we have proposed. Over 70 per cent. of people will be gainers under the scheme that we have proposed. Where there are losers, there will be transitional protection and, for people on low incomes, the generous rebate scheme. That is by far the best deal that the ratepayer, the community charge payer, or in future the council taxpayer, has ever received.

    Mr. Kinnock : Does the Prime Minister agree with the considered view of the Governor of the Bank of England, who recently testified that Britain’s deep and worsening recession is, in his words, “home grown”?

    The Prime Minister : As the right hon. Gentleman knows, for he has asked me that question on previous occasions, I do not accept the proposition that the recession is home grown. There are a variety of causes of the downturn in world trade here and elsewhere and we cannot be immune from all those.

    Mr. Kinnock : Did not the Prime Minister notice the comments of the Governor of the Bank of England on the subject of the recession’s origins? He said that, while Britain

    “is in recession, Japan and Germany undeniably are not and our other EC partners”–

    [Interruption.] Perhaps the right hon. Gentleman will permit me to quote the Governor of the Bank of England, who is not yet a member of the Labour party. He said that, although the economies in the remainder of the European Community have slowed down, they are not in recession.

    Is the Prime Minister aware that that view is borne out by the International Monetary Fund and that Britain’s condition is the direct result of the Prime Minister’s policies? Why will he not accept his responsibility or, better still, take action to reverse the recession that he has caused?

    The Prime Minister : If the right hon. Gentleman had examined the matter more carefully, he would have seen that the United Kingdom is coming out of its economic difficulties, while other countries are still facing deepening difficulties. He might also have observed that we have been in a position, since joining the exchange rate mechanism, to make five cuts in interest rates–four in the past 10 weeks. At the same time, we have seen an appreciation, not a depreciation, in sterling.

    Mr. Kinnock : I wish that the Prime Minister’s optimism was well placed. However, the Chancellor of the Exchequer testified to the Treasury Committee a few weeks ago, rather diffidently :

    “I think that there are cautious grounds for believing we, somewhere about the middle of this year, may begin to come out of recession”.

    The Confederation of British Industry, the Engineering Employers Federation, the Association of British Chambers of Commerce, the Institute of Directors, the International Monetary Fund and anyone else with eyes to see, and who is concerned about the condition of our economy, knows that the right hon. Gentleman has plunged Britain into deep recession. What will he do to combat the rises in unemployment and the depression of our economy?

    The Prime Minister : The right hon. Gentleman, who has policies for a minimum wage that will create another million unemployed, has nothing to say about that. With interest rates and inflation having fallen and being set to fall significantly further, and with a balance of trade gap narrowing, it is difficult even for the right hon. Gentleman to deny the improvements now coming about.

    Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : In the course of his busy day, might my right hon. Friend find a moment to visit the organ transplant exhibition in the Upper Waiting Hall? If he does so, he will be told that there are 5,000 people awaiting transplants in this country and that current organ donation must double to meet that demand. In those circumstances, will it be possible to include an item on organ transplantation and the increase in the programme at the weekend meeting at Chequers that my right hon. Friend is having with health service managers?

    The Prime Minister : I hope that, at my weekend meeting in Chequers, I shall be able to discuss with health professionals a wide range of matters and I shall endeavour to include that subject among them.

     

    Q3. Mr. Mullin : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 25 April.

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

    Mr. Mullin : Is the Prime Minister aware that last year, in a secret ballot supervised by the Electoral Reform Society of Great Britain and Ireland, the employees of the North of England building society voted by 257 to 81 to join the Banking Insurance and Finance Union? The response of the management was to embark upon a programme of intimidation designed to get employees to resign from that union. Will the Prime Minister confirm that it is Government policy that employers as well as employees should be bound by the outcome of properly conducted secret ballots? Or am I being naive?

    The Prime Minister : I would never accuse the hon. Gentleman of being naive. The strict answer to the first part of his question is that I was not aware of that incident. However, if it is as he describes, I can confirm that both sides should be bound by the agreement.

     

    Q4. Mr. Arbuthnot : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 25 April.

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

    Mr. Arbuthnot : What would happen to the figures produced for the local council tax if we were to abolish capping and competitive tendering, and raise a higher proportion of local funding from local taxes–the policies of the Labour party? Would the figures, like those in the Labour party’s unfair rates proposals, go through the roof?

    The Prime Minister : There is absolutely no doubt about what would happen to council tax bills under Labour’s proposals–that is precisely why the figures that it has produced are wholly bogus.

     

    Refugees (Kuwait)

    Q5. Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister what is Her Majesty’s Government’s policy towards receiving ecological refugees from Kuwait and surrounding countries into the United Kingdom.

    The Prime Minister : All applications for entry to the United Kingdom are individually considered against the requirements of the immigration rules and in the light of compassionate considerations outside the rules.

    Mr. Dalyell : Are not thousands of Kuwaitis now taking residence in countries as far away from the photochemical smog and respiratory diseases as they can, and is not the root of the problem that, frankly, Kuwait is so paralysed that Kuwaitis cannot tackle the oil inferno? In those circumstances, would the Prime Minister consider the advice from the Saudi sources that I have named that, with the Americans and the Saudis, we should step in and tackle the oil fires, as we did with operation Desert Storm?

    The Prime Minister : I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving me notice of the point that he wished to raise. I can assure him that the United Kingdom Government are treating the matter of the oil well fires in Kuwait very seriously. The United Kingdom industry, together with officials from both the Department of Energy and the Department of Trade and Industry, are examining how best to contribute to the resolution of the problems faced in Kuwait. A number of possibilities have been identified and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy will tomorrow lead a delegation of key British industrialists to Kuwait to pursue the specific proposals that have already been put to the Kuwaiti Government.

  • PMQT Written Answers – 24 April 1991

    Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 24th April 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    Privatisation

    Mr. Dobson : To ask the Prime Minister what was the total sum paid out in fees to outside organisations in the furtherance of privatisation by the Cabinet Office in 1979-80 and in each following year; and what is his estimate for 1990-91 and budget for 1991-92.

    The Prime Minister : No expenditure has been incurred by the Cabinet Office on fees to outside organisations in the furtherance of privatisation since 1979-80 and none is planned for 1991-92.

     

    Senior Civil Servants (Degrees)

    Mr. Page : To ask the Prime Minister if he will numerate those Under Secretaries who have engineering, science or mathematics degrees; and what percentage that is of the total.

    The Prime Minister [pursuant to his reply, 19 February 1991, c. 89] : Information now available records 110 Under Secretaries – 22 percent. of the total – with degrees in one or more of these subjects. Twenty-seven have engineering degrees, 70 have science degrees and 16 have mathematics degrees.

  • Mr Major’s Speech at Lunch for President Walesa – 24 April 1991

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s speech at lunch for President Walesa on Wednesday 24th April 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Mr President, I welcome you and your wife most warmly to Britain on your State Visit – the first by any Polish head of State.

    We are delighted to see you here, together with so many friends of Poland. It is also a great joy to welcome here the President and Prime Minister of the former Polish Government-in-exile. That is a true sign that freedom has come to your country.

    I am only sad that, because of poor health, Count Raczynski [Former President of the Government-in-exile] could not be here as well.
    Mr President, you are a man who has captured the imagination and the admiration of the world.

    In your home town of Gdansk there are two monuments which draw all visitors. One is in the church of Saint Brygida. It is to Father Popielusko who was a martyr in the cause of freedom.

    The other is to the shipyard workers who lost their lives in the strike of 1970. Ten years later, you climbed the wall of the shipyard to sustain the courage of your comrades.

    That was an act of physical bravery. Much more, it set in train a revolution of people, ideas and values that swept away the old order.

    So we pay warm tribute to you, and to your wife, Danuta.

    Wives are the unsung heroines of many careers. Especially in politics. But Danuta had to show a very special courage.

    You and she put more on the line than a career. You put your lives on the line for your people and your country.

    Mr President, we have a lot in common.

    Our Scottish and English forebears traded and lived side by side with yours in your home town of Gdansk. Some people have even been so bold as to suggest that in times past your family came from the ancient Kingdom of Strathclyde. I should like to think so. If so, perhaps we can claim some small responsibility if not for your success as a political leader then at least for the technical skills which are the common heritage of the shipbuilders of Gdansk and of Strathclyde.

    More seriously, it was the invasion of your country that brought Britain into the last war. The Polish Government came to London to carry on the fight for liberty. Many of your compatriots fought alongside us. In the Battle of Britain – directed by Winston Churchill from this house – Polish pilots fought and died to give us our victory.

    I have not visited Warsaw, but all of us know its history and its bravery. Your Ambassador was a young man at the heart of the Warsaw uprising. Today, the old city, re-built, is a monument to the heroism of the Polish people.

    It is against that past that we delight in Poland’s return to democracy under your leadership. We want to help you in. practical ways. We have been through an economic revolution in our own country. Your transformation may be more difficult, but the problems are alike. Privatisation, re-training, small businesses. In all these we can assist you with skills and experience. And we are doing so through the Know How Fund.

    We will help, too, in the organisation of local government, police training and English language teaching. Two of our initiatives (in management and consultancy) are based in Gdansk.

    With our partners in the European Community we have given assistance worth more than £125 million. We have championed your cause in the Paris Club. We were delighted at the recent decision to halve your debt.

    For nearly half a century Poland was cut off, politically and culturally, from the mainstream of European development. Now all that is changing. You will soon reach an Association Agreement with the European Community. I have no doubt that, if you want it, you will become full members of the Community in the not very distant future.

    Mr President, when you were last in London I recall that you described yourself as an amateur. You had done your bit. Now it was time to hand over to the professionals.

    But then I think you found that you could not just ‘hand over to the professionals’. Poland needed your leadership. Now you have become a professional yourself. But although you may be poacher turned game-keeper, I know that you have not lost any of the qualities which led you to climb that wall at the Lenin Shipyard a decade ago.

    I know I speak not just for your friends here but for the vast numbers of people in this country who have fond feelings for Poland and warmth and admiration for you. It is that warmth and admiration, on behalf of my fellow countrymen, that I would like to express now in inviting our guests to drink a toast.

    The toast is to the health and prosperity of the President of the Republic of Poland and of Mrs Walesa.

    The toast is to the people of Poland. Nazdrovia.

  • PMQT Written Answers – 23 April 1991

    Below is the text of the written answers relating to Prime Minister’s Question Time from 23rd April 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER:

     

    Public Holidays

    Dame Elaine Kellett-Bowman : To ask the Prime Minister if he will bring forward proposals to abolish the May day holiday in England and declare St. George’s day a public holiday instead.

    The Prime Minister : I have no plans to do so, though I recognise that this is a holiday that many people disapprove of.

     

    Engagements

    Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for 23 April.

    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.

     

    The Gulf

    Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his policy in relation to long-term coalition presence in the Gulf.

    The Prime Minister : We have made it clear that it is for the states of the region to take the lead in establishing lasting security arrangements for the Gulf, We stand ready to play our part in underpinning such arrangements, if requested, but we have no intention of maintaining a permanent ground force presence in the Gulf.

    Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to bring war charges against Iraqi leaders ; and if he will make a statement on British policy on this issue.

    The Prime Minister : Iraqi leaders bear personal responsibility under international law for their actions. This principle was reiterated in United Nations Security Council Resolution 674. In the case of both the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Genocide Convention of 1948, Iraqi leaders can, in law, be brought to trial before a national court or international tribunal. We and our EC partners have asked the United Nations Secretary-General to investigate how this might be achieved.

  • PMQT – 23 April 1991

    Below is the text of Prime Minister’s Question Time from 23rd April 1991.

    PRIME MINISTER

     

    Engagements

    Q1. Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 23 April.

    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. Blunkett : Does the Prime Minister agree that under the proposed council tax the price of protecting the rich will be that the rest of us will have to pay more? Given that the Labour party proposes to protect the interests of retired people, does the Prime Minister believe that someone who lives alone but who has an income of £50,000 or £100,000 a year and owns two properties should or should not be entitled to an automatic 25 per cent. rebate on both properties, when a couple who are struggling just to make ends meet will get no relief at all? Is that what the Prime Minister means when he talks about developing a classless society?

    The Prime Minister : As the hon. Gentleman will be aware, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment will make a statement, setting out the details of our new proposals immediately after Question Time. Whether people live in a large, small or medium-sized property, they will have to pay less under Conservative local government than they do under Labour.

    Mr. Hague : Will my right hon. Friend reflect today on the great respect that there is in my constituency for the way in which he kept his nerve during the local government review and was not pushed into making a premature announcement? Would not it have been wiser for his political opponents to give him the credit for that, particularly as their policies are the result of three years of hand-wringing and head-scratching before they decided to go back to where they started from?

    The Prime Minister : To be fair to the Opposition, the Leader of the Opposition did precisely what I did in terms of consulting and waiting before introducing proposals for his own tax. As he wrote in April 1990 :

    “We are currently consulting widely with people in local government about our proposals. Our proposals have been planned and tested. Our aim is to get the system right rather than to announce it prematurely.”

    That is what we did and we were both correct to do so.

    Mr. Kinnock : Does the Prime Minister think that Mr. Peter Morgan of the Institute of Directors was right to say today that this awful recession

    “is a failure of Government economic management”?

    Is not it clear that, as a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Prime Minister must bear a special personal burden of guilt?

    The Prime Minister : If the difficulties that the economy faces are solely the result of domestic economic mismanagement, it is an oddity that there are recessions in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland and in many other countries.

    Mr. Kinnock : Last week’s figures from the Government showed unemployment soaring and output and productivity collapsing. Today’s figures show that imports and exports are wildly out of balance again, with imports rising twice as fast as exports. When all that is the case, is it any wonder that the Institute of Directors, like everyone else, understands very well that this is a recession hand-made in Downing street by the right hon. Gentleman?

    The Prime Minister : If the right hon. Gentleman cares to examine the trade figures more carefully, he will find that export volumes are up on last year and import volumes are down.

    Mr. Kinnock : In so far as there is any improvement year on year in the import figures, would it have been any wonder, when the right hon. Gentleman has flattened the economy, that imports should have been falling? Instead of that, imports are rising twice as fast as exports. Why is not the Prime Minister man enough to accept his share of the blame?

    The Prime Minister : What we are flattening is inflation and interest rates ; both are falling.

    Mr. Forman : Is not it clear to my right hon. Friend and to the House that interest rates and inflation will fall in the remainder of the year and that it will be possible for economic recovery to come as a consequence? Is not it equally clear that any Government who had a policy of increasing the rates of tax on incomes, without telling the British people exactly what those rates and what that coverage would be, would be both working against the interests of recovery and not levelling with the British public?

    The Prime Minister : My hon. Friend is entirely right. As he knows, inflation has fallen by nearly 3 per cent. since October and will show a further dramatic fall again next month. That has paved the way for five interest rate cuts. As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer said this morning, the economic recovery will gather pace in the second half of the year.

    Mr. Ashdown : Is the Prime Minister concerned that after 12 years of Conservative Government, one third of our seven-year-olds are still being sold short on the learning of their mother tongue, English? How can he explain that?

    The Prime Minister : My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science has made clear on a number of occasions the importance that we attach to the basics in the curriculum–the most important of all being English. If the right hon. Gentleman is so concerned about such matters, perhaps he will offer us his clear and unequivocal support for testing so that we can determine precisely what is happening and improve it.

    Mr. Robert G. Hughes : Does my right hon. Friend agree that when the cost of the new council tax comes to be analysed per household, all policies should be taken into account? If a policy included the scrapping of any capping on local authority spending or the re-creation of the Greater London council, one thing is clear : it would cost every London household an absolute fortune.

    The Prime Minister : My hon. Friend will know that the proposals of the Leader of the Opposition for local government would lead to a massive and costly disruption. The Labour party proposes two upheavals : first, a return to the rates, which would mean massive bills for many people in different parts of the country ; and, secondly, ever-rising bills because Labour refuses to cap spendthrift councils.

     

    Q2. Mr. Lewis : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 23 April.

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

    Mr. Lewis : Does the Prime Minister agree with the Secretary of State for Employment that there needs to be yet another job creation scheme to massage the figures before the next general election, or will he side with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who wants nothing to do with it?

    The Prime Minister : The hon. Gentleman would know, if he studied these matters, that we now have in place in this country the largest training programmes that we have ever had.

    Mr. Ken Hargreaves : The Prime Minister will be aware from his visit to my constituency last week how much my constituents appreciate the community charge reduction scheme. Many couples benefit to the tune of £500, while families of three benefit to the tune of £800. Does he understand the anger of my constituents at the Labour party’s action last Wednesday in trying to scrap the community charge reduction scheme?

    The Prime Minister : I can certainly understand that. I think that anybody would be extremely angry indeed not only at the Labour party’s plans for that, but on examining the details of what it proposes to replace the community charge with.

     

    Q3. Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 23 April.

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

    Mr. Jones : Will the right hon. Gentleman confirm today that, despite the desperate need to improve his electoral chances at the next election, he will not be extending his safe-haven policy to representatives of other small, distant minorities, such as the right hon. Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Dr. Owen)?

    The Prime Minister : I am at the moment fully occupied with dealing with safe havens in Iraq.

    Mr. Oppenheim : Bearing in mind the widespread calls for Britain to adopt an industrial strategy, has my right hon. Friend ever met anyone who would like to go back to the days when we last had an industrial strategy, when British Airways was rated by passengers below Aeroflot, when British Steel was the world’s largest loss-maker and when British Leyland was the butt of international jokes?

    The Prime Minister : Certainly, as my hon. Friend intimates, I have never met anyone sensible who wished to return to such a process. But, of course, Opposition Members have policies remarkably like that, with the return of quangos, enterprise banks and all the nastiness of the 1970s.

     

    Q4. Mr. O’Brien : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 23 April.

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

    Mr. O’Brien : Now that the Prime Minister and the Government have recognised the unfairness of the payment of 20 per cent. of the poll tax by the poorest people in the country, why does not he act now and abolish the 20 per cent. payment? Why is he planning to continue the misery and suffering of thousands of poorer families for a further two years?

    The Prime Minister : The hon. Gentleman would be better employed asking his own leader why he should wish to abandon the community charge reduction scheme.

    Mr. Beaumont-Dark : Does my right hon. Friend accept that it is surprising to hear the Leader of the Opposition praying in his support the chairman of British Petroleum, who spoke against the Government today, bearing in mind the fact that much of the inflation has been caused by petrol companies putting up prices more than they should and paying themselves more than they should? What lead is that and what example is that for the Leader of the Opposition to give to the rest of the country?

    The Prime Minister : The statement by the chairman of British Petroleum was certainly odd in that respect, although he did make the very wise statement that pay settlements are often too high, that the labour market remains riddled with imperfections and that while it remains so riddled it is prevented from working properly.

     

    Q5. Mr. Martlew : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 23 April.

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

    Mr. Martlew : The Prime Minister, when being interviewed last week by Brian Walden on television, said that some of the principles of the poll tax need to be enshrined. Does the Prime Minister still stick with that statement, or is he going to change his mind again?

    The Prime Minister : The hon. Gentleman has just invented a new definition of impatience. He need wait but a matter of minutes and he will know.

    Mr. Andrew Mitchell : Will my right hon. Friend confirm that no Government under his leadership will ever introduce a national minimum wage? Will he confirm that such a policy would destroy jobs and massively increase unemployment, as well as wipe out the system of apprenticeships?

    The Prime Minister : I can most certainly confirm all those matters. The estimate of the Department of Employment officials is that a minimum wage would cost between 750,000 and 1 million jobs.

     

    Q6. Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 23 April.

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

    Mr. Winnick : As the original poll tax was the beloved flagship of the Prime Minister’s predecessor, is it surprising that some of the more ardent supporters of the right hon. Member for Finchley (Mrs. Thatcher) believe that the Government are betraying the true faith of Thatcherism again today? Is not it understandable that the right hon. Lady is pretty cross about the record of the Government since she left office?

    The Prime Minister : I have never seen the hon. Gentleman as someone who could adequately reflect the views of my right hon. Friend the Member for Finchley (Mrs. Thatcher).

    Mr. Sayeed : Will my right hon. Friend confirm that parts of the country such as Bristol would benefit from being unitary authorities and that the Government have no intention of following the Labour party lead and imposing regional authorities, which would mean just another tier of local government?

    The Prime Minister : I can confirm that, but my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment will also cover such matters in his statement shortly.

     

    Q7. Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 23 April.

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

    Ms. Armstrong : Does the Prime Minister recognise that he has a real problem in his Cabinet–a truant ? What action is he prepared to take about the Secretary of State for Education and Science, who, during his period in the Department, has spent less than one working day in state schools ?

    The Prime Minister : When the hon. Lady sees the full range of proposals that my right hon. and learned Friend has prepared for education she, like everyone else, will be bound to applaud them.

     

    Q8. Mrs. Currie : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 23 April.

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

    Mrs. Currie : Does the Prime Minister agree that the most significant aspect of local government finance is how much is raised and what the money is spent on? Does my right hon. Friend have a view on the proposal of the leader of Derbyshire county council and of some Members of the House that there should be no controls on council spending ? Does he agree that that would lead to huge increases in bills under such councils ?

    The Prime Minister : I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. There have to be controls over levels of local authority expenditure, for two reasons–first, to protect community charge payers and ratepayers and, secondly, in the interests of the wider economy.

  • PMQT Written Answers – 22 April 1991

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

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Parliamentary Questions

    Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list by Government Department those subject areas that were previously open to answer via parliamentary questions, but which since June 1979 have been excluded as a consequence of legislation and changes in administrative arrangements.

    The Prime Minister : Legislation and changes in administrative arrangements do not generally change the accountability of Ministers to Parliament except where the Government’s successful programme of privatisation has removed a particular function from the public sector. In respect of “next steps” agencies, ministerial accountability is unchanged and parliamentary questions relating to executive agencies remain in order, although Ministers may arrange for chief executives to write to Members on matters which have been delegated to an agency in its framework document. I would encourage members to approach chief executives direct in the first instance on such matters, their aim is to provide a response which is as full and as helpful as possible on a timescale similar to that for a ministerial response to a parliamentary question.