Former MP for Sutton and Cheam
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister responsible for prisons most recently visited a prison, and what was the purpose of the visit. [19790]
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on her commitment to the Prison Service. She is the first Minister to visit all the prisons in England and Wales. Does she agree that, since the Prison Service became an agency, there have been considerable improvements? For example, the degrading exercise of slopping out has been abolished. There is now a much more constructive, but austere, regime. In...
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on current trends in the level of unemployment in Wales. [18861]
I thank my right hon. Friend for his reply. I extend my hearty congratulations on his recent engagement. I know that we all wish him the very best for the future. His announcement coincides with the excellent unemployment figures. Is he aware that, at 7 per cent., unemployment in Wales is far lower than unemployment in the European countries, such as France, Germany and Italy, and in Spain,...
What steps is my right hon. and learned Friend taking to monitor the serious build-up of weapons in Iran, far in excess of its national needs? Is he aware that the build-up is causing great concern in the Gulf states, which feel that their security is being threatened?
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the work of the Defence Export Services Organisation. [18035]
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on that excellent news. Does he agree that, put in a different way, that means that Britain's defence exports have increased by 50 per cent. in the past two years? Does he also agree that it is hard for any other sector or country to match that success story? There is another perspective, however. Does he agree that 360,000 jobs in the defence industry...
Does my hon. Friend agree that council tax rises by the Labour party are due to its usual financial mismanagement? Is he aware of the deep frustration felt by my constituents down south in my English constituency of Sutton and Cheam, who, unlike the Scots, do not receive the generous 40 per cent. support from the Government?
