PRIME MINISTER
Engagements
Q1. Mr. Foulkes
asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 April.
The Prime Minister (Mrs. Margaret Thatcher)
This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. Later today I shall have a meeting with the Prime Minister of Romania, after which I shall leave for official visits to India and countries in the Gulf.
Mr. Foulkes
Before the Prime Minister flies off to India will she take time to read the impressive and revealing document produced by journalists on The Scotsman newspaper, which shows that the Thomson organisation is putting the future of that newspaper in jeopardy by refusing to invest in the maintenance of high journalistic standards, and that it has siphoned off profits from Edinburgh for a substantial number of years?
The Prime Minister
I doubt whether I shall have time to read that before I go to India. No doubt the Thomson organisation has good reasons for doing what it is doing.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
Will my right hon. Friend consider today the role that capital investment could play in helping us to overcome the recession? Is she aware that some projects in the public sector, such as the electrification of the railways, could earn commercial rates of return? Is it not possible to find a way of financing such profitable projects by private capital?
The Prime Minister
Many of us would like to devote a larger proportion of resources to capital investment, but if that, too, is not to be a drain on the private sector it must be compensated for by a reduction in current expenditure. We cannot spend money on current expenditure and still have it available for capital expenditure.
Mr. Foot
Will the right hon. Lady look afresh at what was said by the Home Secretary yesterday about the terms of reference of the inquiry into the Brixton disturbances? In the light of her statement yesterday that she does not consider that unemployment is a primary cause of such difficulties, does she not think that the matter should be investigated by the inquiry?
The Prime Minister
The terms of reference that my right hon. Friend announced are very wide. I do not know whether the right hon. Gentleman heard Lord Scarman on the radio at lunchtime today. I gather that he thinks that they are wide enough for everything into which he would wish to inquire to make good his duties.
Mr. Foot
Will the right hon. Lady go further, particularly as she went much further on television last night, when she was prepared to commit herself to the proposition that high unemployment was not a primary cause of such troubles? According to the reports in the Daily Mirror today—there is no need to laugh, because people should face it—half of the unemployed people between the ages of 16 and 19 in Brixton are coloured. [column 147]How does the right hon. Lady think that the country will have a chance to inquire into these matters? Will all the questions of how unemployment affects the situation really come within the scope of the Scarman inquiry?
The Prime Minister
The terms of reference give Lord Scarman sufficient scope to inquire into anything that he may wish to in connection with the riots that took place in Brixton. During my interview last night I was asked a straight question and I gave a straight answer. I am not surprised that the right hon. Gentleman did not understand it.
Mr. John MacKay
Before my right hon. Friend leaves today will she accept the congratulations of most people—except those who really play for the other side—on deciding to arm and re-store the “Resolution” by means of naval manpower?
The Prime Minister
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for expressing those congratulations. The defence of this country must not be put at risk by the actions of a very small minority.
Mr. Stephen Ross
On her long flight to India, will the Prime Minister reflect on the result of last week's Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election? Does she agree that if election to Westminster had been by proportional representation the result might have been very different?
The Prime Minister
There were two candidates. The answer is “No, Sir” .
Q2. Mr. Lang
asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 April.
The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Lang
Does my right hon. Friend agree that all hon. Members will wish to congratulate the Leader of the Opposition on nominating six new Labour peers? Does she agree also that, in addition to a need to strengthen the membership of the other place, there is a need to entrench its very existence against those who might seek to undermine and destroy that vital part of our parliamentary democracy?
The Prime Minister
The Leader of the Opposition made a request that I understood. I was happy, for once, to be able to agree to one of his requests. The other place is not in any danger from Conservatives Members. Those who wish to entrench its existence, or even that of a strong Second Chamber, should vote for our continuance in office.
Mr. Clinton Davis
Will the Prime Minister take time today to reflect on her views about the connection between unemployment and events in Brixton over the weekend? Is she not aware that some areas in inner London are seriously deprived, have a high incidence of unemployment and have appalling housing? Surely those factors cannot be divorced from the situation afflicting so many young blacks.
[column 148]The Prime Minister
If the hon. Gentleman considers that unemployment was the only cause of the riots, I disagree with him. If he considers that it was the main cause of the riots, I disagree with him. Nothing that has happened with regard to unemployment would justify those riots. Lambeth has about the largest housing investment allocation in London, amounting to about £40 million this year. A large amount—about £9 million—is being spent on the partnership scheme. In addition, about 1,200 council houses have been vacant in Lambeth for more than a year.
International Year of Disabled People
Q3. Mr. Freud
asked the Prime Minister in what way she proposes to contribute to the International Year of Disabled People.
The Prime Minister
We have paid particular attention to the needs of the disabled in the last two Budgets, putting up the mobility allowance by 65 per cent. since we came into office and doubling the tax allowance for the blind. We are taking a large number of other initiatives to mark the International Year, and I will arrange for a full list to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Freud
Will the Prime Minister give an assurance that as her contribution to the International Year of Disabled People—[Hon. Members: “Reading” .] Will she give an assurance that services to the handicapped will not diminish as a result of the recession? For the sake of brevity, will she say either “Yes” or “No” ?
The Prime Minister
I have just given a reply that indicates that in some respects provision has increased.
Mr. John Browne
Is my right hon. Friend aware that the disabled people who work in the Enham Alamein factory in my constituency of Winchester are grateful, because they owe their entire working existence to the Government's lenient and compassionate attitude towards the survival of their factory?
The Prime Minister
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for pointing that out. The Government were able to undertake some public purchasing deliberately to help the disabled. We were glad of the chance to do so.
Mr. Ashley
Is the Prime Minister aware that her reply is only a half or a quarter truth? Since she came into office the severely disabled have been badly hit. The Prime Minister should tell the House that supplementary benefit discretions, invalidity benefit, social services and the Manpower Services Commission's provision for the disabled have been cut. The right hon. Lady does not seem to appreciate the severity of the impact of those cuts on the disabled. Will she undertake to read some of the many letters that have been received by the voluntary organisations?
The Prime Minister
If the right hon. Gentleman looks at the amounts spent on the health services and on social security benefits he will find that they have increased in real terms. In addition, in the last Budget we were glad to be able to double the income tax allowance for the blind. That is a real gesture in this International Year of Disabled People.
Mr. McQuarrie
Before my right hon. Friend leaves on her journey—which I hope will be enjoyable and [column 149]successful—will she take time to discuss with the Home Secretary the problem of the disabled and elderly who were seriously affected by last weekend's disturbances in Brixton? Will she ensure that they are being properly looked after?
The Prime Minister
Many people in Brixton were seriously disturbed by last weekend's disorders. Almost all of them—with the exception of those involved—were delighted that the police did not withdraw but fully and bravely carried on their duty to restore law and order to the area.
Engagements
Q5. Mr. Chapman
asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 14 April.
The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Chapman
As my right hon. Friend flies towards the Orient will she take stock of the growing feeling that our rating system is unfair, illogical, undemocratic, inadequate and out of date? At the very least, will she concede that the Government should bring forward a consultative paper giving all the possible options? In that way, a national debate could take place and perhaps a consensus could be reached about an alternative to the present iniquitous impost.
The Prime Minister
I agree with my hon. Friend's description of the rating system. My right hon. Friend Michael Heseltinethe Secretary of State for the Environment is considering the options. None of them is easy. We would consult before making any changes. I shall take into account my hon. Friend's remarks about a consultation paper.
Mr. Flannery
Will the Prime Minister turn her mind once again to the subject of unemployment? There is so much of it that her mind should be permanently on it. Does [column 150]she realise that since last week's Question Time—when there had been no fewer than five lobbies on unemployment in about five days—the great steelworks of Hadfields, in Sheffield, has announced that it is about to close? Is the right hon. Lady aware that once again there is a lobby outside the House of about one-fifth of the Hadfields' work force, who want to know what will be done about the private sector? Last December the Secretary of State for Industry told Members of Parliament for Sheffield constituencies that he would do nothing for the public sector but that he would do something for the private sector. Private sector firms are closing all over the country.
The Prime Minister
I am delighted to hear the hon. Gentleman standing up for the private sector. Perhaps we could stand up more for the private sector if we were having to spend a little less on the public sector. In the steel industry we are trying to form a number of companies into what is called Phoenix II, which is part British Steel Corporation and part private sector companies, such as Hadfields, with a view to its eventually coming into the private sector. That would be a great advance on the present situation.