PRIME MINISTER
Engagements
Q1. Mr. McFall
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 18 May.
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.
Mr. McFall
No doubt the Prime Minister is aware that Guy's hospital is appealing to the public to sponsor cots financially so that the lives of tiny babies who have to undergo heart operations can be saved. Would the Prime Minister care to consider the advice of St. Francis of Assisi—if that great man were alive today to give that advice to grandmothers such as her? Does she think that he would advice that adequate funding is important so that each and every operation is given priority and babies' lives can be saved? Does she agree that that would be better than the begging bowl approach that is adopted now, or does she not care?
The Prime Minister
With regard to cots for tiny children, the hon. Gentleman will be aware that there are many more intensive care units now than there were 10 years ago, many more specialised nurses attending those cots and many more consultant specialists to see that the children get the attention and care that they need. They have far more now than children had 10 years ago, and further progress will continue.
Sir Marcus Fox
Will my right hon. Friend take time today to consider the one-day strikes that are taking place, causing maximum hardship and disruption for the general [column 469]public and with minimum cost to the union members involved? Is it not time that we moved towards continental practices where in Germany and Italy—[Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker
Order.
Sir Marcus Fox
This is very topical. In Germany and Italy strikes are illegal and in France they are unlawful in the public sector.
The Prime Minister
I join my hon. Friend in condemning the strikes. The strikers show no concern whatever for the public whom they are intended to serve.
Mr. Kinnock
Is the Prime Minister aware that, according to The Daily Telegraph this morning, support among doctors for her new National Health Service proposals has risen to a new high of 1 per cent? What are her plans to double that support?
The Prime Minister
If the right hon. Gentleman had read other polls he would have noticed that at least 25 per cent. of doctors have shown interest—[Interruption.]—in taking their own practice budgets which is very different from the figure he gave. We have indications that many hospitals are showing interest in becoming self-governing hospitals in the Health Service. Under the White Paper the purpose is better service for patients and an opportunity for doctors to choose whether they have their own practice budgets and for hospitals to choose whether they will become self-governing. I am well aware that choice plays no part in Socialist policies.
Mr. McLoughlin
During the course of her busy day, will my right hon. Friend take time to consider why a number of local authorities are spending so much money trying to spread falsehoods about the community charge? Does she agree that the authorities which tend to do that usually turn out to be the high-spending authorities? Does she further agree that under the community charge, high-spending authorities will have high community charges and that that is why they are so concerned about the matter, because for the first time they will be accountable to the people who have to pay the money?
The Prime Minister
Yes, I agree with my hon. Friend, and I am pleased that Nicholas Ridleymy right hon. Friend's community charge leaflet was fully cleared by their Lordships for distribution and that, at the same time, Greenwich council was caught out in sending out false propaganda and insinuating that if one did not fill in the community charge form, somewhow one would be deprived of one's vote. That was totally wrong. I agree with my hon. Friend that the Labour party does not want the community charge to come in because it will show up which are the high spending, extravagant authorities, which are mainly Labour.
Q2. Mr. Hardy
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 18 May.
The Prime Minister
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Hardy
Will the Prime Minister note that I have received in recent weeks several hundred letters from constituents who are anxious about the NHS, showing that their concern is as much about the Government's apparently dogmatic attempts to destabilise the service as about the inadequacy of resources? Does the right hon. [column 470]Lady appreciate that many parts of these islands did not give much support to her party at the last general election—[Interruption.]—and that it is about time that the 24 million people who did not vote Conservative then, and who will not vote for her next time, had some consideration, and rather more than they have received in recent years?
The Prime Minister
Whether or not they voted Conservative, they have done very much better under this Government than they ever did under Labour, not only in terms of the standard of living but in terms of the standard of health care under the NHS, with far more resources for the Health Service, far more doctors, far more nurses, far more treatment for far more patients and far better treatment than ever before.
Q3. Mr. Aitken
To ask the Prime Minister is she will list her official engagements for Thursday 18 May.
The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Aitken
Looking ahead from my right hon. Friend's splendidly robust recent statements on EEC matters towards the practical implementation of her words at the forthcoming Madrid summit, may I ask her to say whether she agrees that the most explosive flashpoints on the Madrid agenda are likely to be the Delors report on economic and monetary union and the social charter? Is it her view that the British Government have a legal right to exercise a veto on these misguided proposals, and will she be prepared to use it?
The Prime Minister
I think that my hon. Friend has correctly identified what will be the two main issues at the Madrid summit—the Delors report and the social charter. From all the accounts that I have received about the social charter, it is more like a Socialist charter—[Interruption.]—of unnecessary controls and regulations which would tie up industry, which would put many more costs on industry, which would make industry uncompetitive and which would therefore increase unemployment and mean that we could not compete with the rest of the world for the trade that we so sorely need.
As for the Delors report, Nigel Lawsonthe Chancellor of the Exchequer has already made our position very clear indeed—that we could not follow that report. Both of those matters require unanimity. I do not believe that we shall be alone in opposing them but that we shall find many other Heads of Government opposed to all or parts of them, and will take a different course from that charted in both of those documents.
Mr. William Ross
Will the Prime Minister take time in the course of her busy day to visit Northern Ireland, where she could observe at first hand, either today or even tomorrow, the tedious and complicated procedure of count which must follow proportional representation elections, a system of election which makes it easy for parties such as Sinn Fein to be elected? Why does she deny to her own constituents in Finchley, who are at least as British as those in Northern Ireland, the opportunity to vote for and elect members of Sinn Fein, the National Front and so on?
The Prime Minister
I am very satisfied with the election system that we have in Great Britain, and hope and believe that it will continue.
[column 471]Q4. Mr. Lawrence
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 18 May.
The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. and learned Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Lawrence
Will my right hon. Friend welcome recent developments in the Soviet Union, where candidates for the Soviet parliament are no longer imposed upon the electorate by the central party organisation in the Kremlin? [Interruption.]
The Prime Minister
Yes, we are very glad to note that the Soviet Union is well ahead of the Labour party, judging from what is happening at Vauxhall in this country.
Ms. Armstrong
Can the Prime Minister explain why she has set her face so strongly against the Lingua programme, when her own Department was fiercely in support of it initially, and when reassurances are given in the programme that it will have no legislative effect on the curriculum or anything else? It will simply offer opportunities for our young people and teachers to be involved in exchange programmes to improve their modern language facilities.
The Prime Minister
We support the teacher part, but not the whole programme as operated from Europe because £160 million—[Interruption.] Perhaps Opposition Members would listen before they pass judgment. We do not support the £160 million programme because we could do better for our own pupils and teachers with expenditure of less money. The Labour party used to believe in value for money, but that was long ago.
Q5. Mr. Goodlad
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 18 May.
The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Goodlad
Will my right hon. Friend reinforce her notable victory in Brussels yesterday and ensure that zero-rated VAT for children's clothes, food and books will remain in this country by continuing her robust and successful efforts to prevent unhelpful attempts by the Commission to interfere in our taxation matters?
The Prime Minister
Yes. The continuation of zero rating is a major vindication of the United Kingdom's firm stance on this matter—a stance to which we have always adhered—[Interruption.] We have always adhered to it very firmly indeed. I also welcome the fact that the Commission's latest ideas appear to involve the continuation of those rates. We need to study the small print of the Commission's communication very carefully because we believe that there are some conditional factors, and that they propose some requirements for tax approximation, which we do not believe are at all necessary or, indeed, advisable.
Mr. Leighton
Did the Prime Minister say on Tuesday that the United Kingdom is paying £2 billion net to the Common Market for which we get no tangible return? Why on earth should we do that?
The Prime Minister
Because, as the hon. Gentleman is aware, that is the net contribution that falls to us this year [column 472]for being in Europe, receiving all the inward investment that we obtain as members of the EC, being able to negotiate on trade as part of the European Community, and gaining all the other benefits which flow from that. Had it not been for the negotiation which took place at Fontainebleau, when we gained a good deal of rebate, we would not pay a £2 billion net contribution, but about £3.5 billion.
Q6. Miss Emma Nicholson
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 18 May.
The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Miss Nicholson
In her busy day, has my right hon. Friend had a chance to see that the Greenwich borough council has had to withdraw 85,000 copies of the Greenwich Times because it contained a misleading and factually incorrect statement—[Interruption.] The paper incorrectly stated that those who did not put their names down for the community charge would lose their democratic right to vote. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is hypocritical and abominable for a council that has constantly bombarded the Government with charges of promoting inaccurate material to the public to then be guilty of doing so itself?
The Prime Minister
Yes, I agree with my hon. Friend. I have seen that Greenwich council has withdrawn its false statement that failure to pay the charge may deprive people of their right to vote. This will be interesting, because Greenwich council ratepayers will have to pay the costs of Greenwich, which fought the Government over an accurate leaflet that we wished to distribute.
Dame Jill Knight
To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Thursday 18 May.
The Prime Minister
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Dame Jill Knight
When considering the most recent pronouncements by the doctors, is it not relevant to recall that they have opposed every reform to the Health Service that has been mooted in the past 40 years? Does my right hon. Friend recall that in June 1955, when the Government wished to stop the spread of drug addiction and sought to ban the use and manufacture of heroin in Britain, the British Medical Association behaved in exactly the same way as it is behaving today—worrying patients and sending furious letters to Members of Parliament?
The Prime Minister
As my hon. Friend says, it is true that the BMA has tended to oppose many of the major reforms of the Health Service; many of us remember the limited list, for instance.
I remember that there were some clinical reasons for the particular case that my hon. Friend mentioned, but that matter was successfully resolved. I must point out that, although the BMA has opposed reforms, usually it has eventually operated them and they have tended to become part of the unchangeable traditions of the National Health Service. We look forward to receiving the same sort of co-operation once the reforms are in practice, when we are sure that the BMA will welcome them and say that it does not know how it could ever have done without them.