PRIME MINISTER
Engagements
Q4. Mr. Ronnie Campbell
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 13 April.
[column 1053]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 this House, I shall be having further meetings later today.
Mr. Campbell
Official figures show that the number of people in this country living below the poverty line increased by 55 per cent. in the past 10 years. Therefore, will the Prime Minister call for a commission of inquiry to find out how that happened?
The Prime Minister
The moment we alter the standard of what is called poverty and raise the threshold, obviously it is possible that more people will come in. We have a very good, comprehensive social security system. It contributes to the living standards of a large proportion of the population, and to nearly one sixth of the disposable income of the population as a whole. The £51 billion that we are now spending on social security benefits is more than the Government collect in income tax.
Mrs. Currie
Has my right hon. Friend heard the rumours about increased inward investment in this country, by international firms from Japan, for example? Does she agree that that has nothing whatever to do with Government subsidies or Socialist planning, but a great deal to do with a good work force, single-union deals, and an atmosphere of encouragement for business which only a Conservative Government can provide?
The Prime Minister
Yes. The inward investment record into this country is excellent. Other people have great confidence in the policies that are pursued by this Government, and confidence that they will continue to be pursued without controls in the future.
Q2. Mr. Michael J. Martin
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 13 April.
The Prime Minister
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Martin
May I ask the Prime Minister during her busy day to consider the plight of one of my young constituents, Mr. Robert McKee, aged seven, and that of his grandmother? Young Robert was born without any arms. When it rains or snows, his grandmother must hold him by the scruff of the neck in case he falls. He has been refused a bus pass and his grandfather is denied a companion's pass. On seven occasions he has been before a tribunal for a mobility allowance. If the right hon. Lady really cares about the poor and the disadvantaged, why does she make people go through such humiliating hurdles?
The Prime Minister
Of course one would be deeply concerned about any case such as that—[Interruption.] Of course one would, and every hon. Member would. I assume that the hon. Gentleman has taken the matter up with the appropriate authorities. As I said in reply to the last question, the taxpayer in this country pays about £51 billion towards social security, which is higher than the entire yield of income tax. That is the extent of our commitment.
Q3. Mr. Steen
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 13 April.
[column 1054]The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Steen
Will the Prime Minister spare a thought this afternoon for the frail and elderly living in private residential homes who can no longer make both ends meet because of the limit on the board and lodging allowance which the DHSS has set for 1988? While there must be limits on public expenditure, even for the elderly, may I ask my right hon. Friend to say something to ensure that those living in private residential homes will not be pushed out if there is not sufficient money forthcoming from the DHSS?
The Prime Minister
In accordance with the general uprating, we have reviewed many of the payments paid to those who live in residential care or in nursing homes, and I think that that is the group to whom my hon. Friend is referring. From Monday, we have provided extra help to nearly nine out of 10 people who claim income support to meet residential care or nursing home fees. We are now helping 150,000 people in such homes compared with 12,000 when we took office, and expenditure has risen from £10 million to £890 million. That is because the economy is successful, and it demonstrates—[Interruption.] Yes, it demonstrates also the extent of our commitment: £10 million when we took office and £890 million now.
Mr. Kinnock
Why is the Prime Minister continuing to lose the battle against inflation?
The Prime Minister
I notice, as Nigel Lawsonthe Chancellor of the Exchequer said in some very percipient replies upstairs, that the level of inflation—it was a miracle that the Labour Government ever achieved it—was a cause of concern for us.
Mr. Kinnock
Why is the rate of inflation in Britain twice the European average?
The Prime Minister
It is not on precisely the same basis—[Interruption.] I would add that the level of unemployment has fallen faster in this country than in all of the European main countries put together.
Mr. Kinnock
Will the Prime Minister explain why unemployment, by her reckoning, is still nearly one million higher than it was when she came to power and why, when the rate of inflation was at the average of Europe in 1979, it is twice the average now? Will she give an answer?
The Prime Minister
The rate of inflation in 1979, when the Labour Government left office, was a lot higher than it is now—[Interruption.] There are now more than 1.5 million more people of working age than there were in 1979. There are today more people in work in this country than ever before and we have a bigger proportion of our people in work than in almost any other country in the EEC.
Q4. Mr. Hayes
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 13 April.
The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Hayes
Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is outrageous that the French and Italian Governments should be spending vast sums of money every year directly in subsidising their own nationalised industries to [column 1055]undercut British competition, which is costing this country jobs? Will she add her weight to the campaign to make Europe a place in which there is free and fair competition?
Mr. Tony Banks
So that we can all go down the pan.
The Prime Minister
As my hon. Friend knows, state aid is incompatible with the concept of a common market, which is why we must get permission from the EEC in any case where it is given. If my hon. Friend has any particular cases in mind we shall of course take them up vigorously, because state aids may be phased out before we reach 1992 and they should already be the subject of permission. The Commission has recently said that it intends to make much more active use of its powers to scrutinise existing state aids in all member states, and it has our strong support in doing that.
Mr. Steel
When, in her next Cabinet reshuffle, the Prime Minister is looking for somewhere to send her right hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr. Walker), which is further away than Wales, will she consider Scotland—[Hon. Members: “No.” ] Yes—where the policies and principles that he outlines will be more acceptable than the present ones?
The Prime Minister
I do not think that the right hon. Gentleman need worry—I should hardly be sending for him—[Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker
Order.
The Prime Minister
In fact, Scotland and Wales are doing very well because of the economic policies of this Government. The right hon. Gentleman is aware that Scotland has the second highest average male earnings of the whole of the United Kingdom, thanks to the Conservative Government, and to private enterprise.
Mr. David Evans
Will my right hon. Friend join me in welcoming the decision of the Union of European Football Associations to allow English clubs back into Europe in the 1991 season, subject to Government approval?—[Interruption.] Does she agree that the Football Association and the Football League would have had their application turned down had it not been for the Government's intention in the Football Spectators Bill, which will drag English football into the next century?
The Prime Minister
In so far as I heard my hon. Friend's question, I agree that the decision is welcome and I wish English football teams well when they return to Europe.
Mr. Grocott
Is the Prime Minister aware that when, in response to the vision and courage of Mr. Gorbachev, she continues to use the tired old language of the arms race, she is not speaking for the British people?
The Prime Minister
Nonsense. The British people are not as easily taken in as the hon. Gentleman. The British people noted that last weekend, for example, East German border guards shot at two people who wished to enter West Berlin, and they are noticing other things that are taking place in the Soviet Union. They know that we must keep our defences sure and that the nuclear deterrent has preserved peace for 40 years—and Conservatives think that peace is important.
[column 1056]Q5. Mr. Harry Greenway
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 13 April.
The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Greenway
While recognising that the Green Paper on the reform of legal services is a legitimate matter for discussion by judges, does my right hon. Friend share my relief that the judges' proposed discussion in work time of that paper on Monday is off?
The Prime Minister
Yes, I understand that the judges will hold their discussion on Saturday, 20 May, at a time when Lord Mackaythe Lord Chancellor will be able to address the meeting as he wishes. That decision is very welcome.
Q7. Mr. Fraser
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 13 April.
The Prime Minister
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Fraser
If, during her busy day, the Prime Minister has time to go to the supermarket, how much would she pay for a large white and how would it compare with the price 10 years ago?
The Prime Minister
I am sorry, we do not buy large whites.
Mr. David Davis
Is my right hon. Friend aware that port employers employing 90 per cent. or more registered dock workers have given guarantees today against the casualisation of the docks and, accordingly, there is no need now for the dock labour scheme, which we intend to abolish, and there is no need for the dock workers to go on strike?
The Prime Minister
Yes, I understand that in a major statement issued today, the National Association of Port Employers gave a public guarantee that it will not return to casual employment systems after the repeal of the dock labour scheme in July. The guarantee was endorsed by employers representing over 93 per cent. of Britain's registered dock workers. It stated:
“This unprecedented promise deals with the major fear voiced by the dockers since the Government made its announcement … The historical justification of the scheme was to end casual employment. Today's promise carries forward that principle. As such, there is obviously no case for inventing a substitute or revised form of the Scheme or equally calling a futile and unnecessary strike.”
It went on to say that it would of course be prepared to enter into discussions in the coming weeks and months about the scheme and conditions of employment which would supersede the ending of the dock scheme.
Q8. Mr. Janner
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 13 April.
The Prime Minister
I refer the hon. and learned Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Janner
Did the Prime Minister see the sad and remarkable television programme by Esther Rantzen last week which revealed the disgraceful under-resourcing of hospitals and facilities for people who are mentally ill or mentally handicapped? Will she give some sign that the Government know and care about those people and that they propose to provide resources not merely to close [column 1057]down mental hospitals, but to provide facilities for people outside which is better, but which cost much more?
The Prime Minister
With regard to those in hospital, as the hon. and learned Gentleman knows, expenditure has [column 1058]gone up on all hospital services from £8 billion in 1979 to £24 billion this year. With regard to the proposals for community care in the Griffiths report, the Government are considering those and will in due course make an announcement about their decisions.