PRIME MINISTER
Engagements
Q1. Mr. Kennedy
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 30 June.
The Prime Minister (Mrs. Margaret Thatcher)
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.
[column 520]Mr. Kennedy
Given the reality of the Prime Minister's opposition to Scottish devolution and the perfectly proper wish in the United Kingdom Parliament of Members representing constituencies elsewhere than in Scotland to ask questions of Scottish Office Ministers, will the Prime Minister consult her right hon. Friend the Leader of the House and, without entering into any specific commitments or responses this afternoon, at least undertake to consider whether a practical way of easing the passage of Scottish questions in the House would be to have an additional period of Scottish questions within Scotland at the old Royal High school in Edinburgh, which would not reduce the ability of English, Welsh and Northern Irish Members to contribute on a regular basis, but would allow Scottish Members extra input to Scottish Question Time?
The Prime Minister
No. We are a United Kingdom Parliament and our questions, as I know every Tuesday and Thursday, come from the whole of the United Kingdom.
Mr. Anthony Coombs
Will my right hon. Friend confirm the results of the latest manpower survey on employment prospects? Will she indicate that not only is the employment situation in this country the best for 15 years but that the improvements in employment prospects in Scotland and south Wales are stronger than anywhere else in the United Kingdom? Will she confirm that this is ample evidence of the success of the Government's policies in making sure that prosperity returns, not just to the south-east, but to every region of the country?
The Prime Minister
Yes, I gladly confirm that. Employment prospects are good. Growth has been good for over six years now. [Interruption.] Unemployment has been falling for 22 months in succession and 1.7 million jobs have been created since 1983. I do like to give full answers, especially to the Front Bench below the Gangway.
Mr. Kinnock
Is the Prime Minister aware, in the wake of Monday's balance of payment figures, that if the balance of payments deficit in the second half of this year we shall have an external deficit as large, in relation to our domestic product, as the American deficit is in relation to its domestic product? For an oil-rich, oil-exporting country, does that not show unique incompetence by the Government? Will the Prime Minister tell us what she will do to close the payments gap?
The Prime Minister
The present current account deficit is being readily financed by an inflow of private sector capital, showing great confidence in other manufacturers in this country as a base for future manufacturing operations.
Mr. Kinnock
If the confidence is so great and the inflow so ready, why must the Prime Minister inflict 9.5 per cent. interest rates on British industry and British home buyers?
The Prime Minister
To keep downward pressure on inflation.
Mr. Goodlad
Will my right hon. Friend continue her efforts to secure the Thyssen collection's ultimate location in this country? Will she seek to persuade Baron Thyssen [column 521]and the trustees to consider seriously the development at Battersea, which, like Alton Towers, will be visited in years to come by many millions of people every year?
The Prime Minister
This is a unique and very valuable collection, and obviously we should like it to have its permanent home in this country. Certain proposals have been made, and it is for the trustees to decide whether they are acceptable. As my hon. Friend knows, a number of other countries have made proposals. It is for the trustees to make the final decision.
Mr. Alfred Morris
How does the Prime Minister justify saying that there are no resources for full implementation of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986, which received all-party support, when she has stuffed so much gold into the mouths of the richest 5 per cent. of taxpayers? If she feels that her priorities are not inhumane, why can she not convince the Royal National Institute for the Blind, MENCAP, MIND, the Spastics Society and other major organisations of and for the disabled?
The Prime Minister
As the right hon. Gentleman knows, expenditure on all the social services has gone up enormously. Since 1979, help for the disabled—about which the right hon. Gentleman is asking—has gone up by 80 per cent. in real terms.
Q2. Mr. Hunter
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 30 June.
The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Hunter
Will my right hon. Friend reflect on the wide popularity of the Criminal Justice Bill—not least because of the protection that it gives to child victims—and reflect further on the remarkable fact that the Opposition voted against it? Does that not make a mockery of their protestations on law and order and suggest that it is not only the extreme Left who live in a weird Disneyland of their own creation?
The Prime Minister
The Opposition express sympathy for the victims of crime, but so often they vote against the measures that would enable us to protect people from crime. Not only the Criminal Justice Bill, but the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, the Public Order Act 1986 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1974 all attracted an adverse vote from the Opposition.
Q3. Mr. James Lamond
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 30 June.
The Prime Minister
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Lamond
Five years ago the Prime Minister was boasting with pleasure and pride about the balance of payments surplus and warning us against the extreme damage that high interest rates could do to our industrial production. Now that we are running the highest balance of payments deficit in the history of the country and interest rates are being increased every week, can she tell us whether she looks back over the past five years and thinks that we have made economic progress?
The Prime Minister
We have made enormous progress, with inflation down, growth up, the number of new jobs being created considerably up, and the highest standard of [column 522] living that we have ever known and the best standard of social services that we have ever known. Yes, progress continues apace.
Mr. Sumberg
Has my right hon. Friend noted the remarks of a distinguished constituent of mine, the deputy chairman of the BBC and former Cabinet Minister, Lord Barnett, that in the north-west of England there is an outlook of optimism and an air of confidence? Does that not endorse the success of the Government's economic and regional policies, and prove that when the Labour party claims to be listening it is effectively engaged in a dialogue of the deaf?
The Prime Minister
Yes, I agree with that. There is a mood of optimism and confidence, different from when the Labour party was in power, as is manifest in the remarkable book, “Inside the Treasury” written by Lord Barnett. The book tells it all.
Q4. Ms. Quin
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 30 June.
The Prime Minister
I refer the hon. Lady to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Ms. Quin
Has the Prime Minister found time to study the recently published report by the Low Pay Unit entitled “The 1988 Budget and the Poor” ? Is she aware of the statement of its director that today's supertax payers in Britain are the poor, not the rich? Is she proud of the fact that the gap between rich and poor has widened so dramatically during her premiership? If not, what does she propose to do about it?
The Prime Minister
The fact is that those on the lowest incomes have also gained from the growth of the economy and the creation of wealth. As everyone knows, wealth must be created before it can be distributed. Moreover, whereas before the reform of the social security system there was a group of people who, if they increased their pay, forfeited in other benefits more than 100 per cent. of what they gained in earnings, that gap has been greatly reduced.
Mr. Hayward
Has my right hon. Friend compared the newspaper reports printed on Monday and the radio reports the Airbus accident in France on Sunday night with the Press reports that are now appearing? It seems that the British media are determined to talk down British technology and the fly-by-wire system of the A320. However, three days later, they are having to admit that they are wrong.
The Prime Minister
I have seen the reports. It is always wiser to wait for a full investigation of these matters before one expresses conclusions.
Q5. Mr. Andrew Welsh
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 30 June.
The Prime Minister
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Welsh
Will the Prime Minister pay as much attention to the views of the Scottish people, who are opposed to dumping nuclear waste, as to those of the Lord President of the Council, the right hon. Member for Colchester, South and Maldon (Mr. Wakeham), whose constituency was exempted from dumping such waste before the general election? Even if a local lord is willing [column 523] to be bought and sold for Nirex gold in Caithness, I assure her that the Scottish people will not be. I can guarantee massive sustained national opposition to dumping nuclear waste in Scotland. Does she listen to the people, or only to Cabinet Ministers?
The Prime Minister
As the hon. Gentleman is aware, there are inquiries and studies into dumping nuclear waste. [Interruption.] If the hon. Gentleman is referring to imports of waste from other countries, obviously—[Hon. Members: “No.” ] If he is not, I do not need to answer that question. If it is nuclear waste, the matter has already been subject to deep study and inquiry.
Mr. Leigh
Further to the question of the right hon. Member for Islwyn (Mr. Kinnock) on deficits, will my right hon. Friend reflect on the fact that it is not she who is 12 points in deficit in the opinion polls? Could it be that that is because we do not have a chaotic defence policy, we are returning real prosperity to the people and we are not in hock to the block votes of trade unions?
The Prime Minister
Yes, all that. I could not possibly have put it better myself.
Q7. Mr. Fatchett
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 30 June.
The Prime Minister
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Fatchett
If, as the Prime Minister said in reply to my right hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn (Mr. Kinnock), the increase in interest rates is caused by inflation and she aims to act on inflation and not on the trade deficit, is there a level of trade deficit on which the Government would act and introduce measures?
The Prime Minister
The prime objective is to keep inflation down, because to let it rise would be the very worst thing that one could do to the prospects of manufacturing industry, as most people realise. Interest rates are one of the instruments by which one keeps inflation down. As the hon. Gentleman will know, inflation is now lower than it was at any time under the last Labour Government.[column 524]
Q8. Mr. Harry Greenway
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 30 June.
The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Greenway
Does my right hon. Friend remember the excellent contribution made to education by direct grant schools, and their destruction by the Labour Government between 1975 and 1979? Does she agree that grant-maintained schools, as envisaged in the Education Reform Bill, will make an admirable return to the principle, formerly upheld by the direct-grant schools, of making education available to children of all levels of ability? Will my right hon. Friend seek to ensure that the Lords amendment on the number of parents voting is overturned so that the decision on opting out can be taken by a simple majority?
The Prime Minister
I agree that grant-maintained schools will give the kind of opportunity to many parents which they lost through the abolition of direct grant schools. We shall consider whether to apply to reverse their Lordships' amendment to the Bill when it returns to this House.
Mr. Hume
In view of the Prime Minister's oft-expressed concern that there should be no hiding place in these islands for people who commit serious crimes, is she aware of legislation negotiated by her right hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr. Heath) with the Irish Government in 1974—the Civil Jurisdiction Act? Is she also aware that during the past few weeks, in the cases of two people wanted for serious crime in Dublin who were resident in Northern Ireland, the Irish authorities, instead of applying for extradition, supplied the evidence to the authorities in Northern Ireland, where they were tried, found guilty and convicted? Could she tell me why the Government do not use those same facilities, which are just as effective for achieving the objective, as extradition?
The Prime Minister
Because, as the hon. Gentleman, I would have thought, would be the first to be aware, having others tried in the Republic is a very different proposition from what he said.