Roseanna Cunningham: Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
Roseanna Cunningham: As the other Member of Parliament representing Perthshire, may I add my voice to those who have called for the stone's ultimate return to Scone, where it of course belongs? When that great symbol of Scottish nationhood is returned, will the Secretary of State also consider the return of some of the realities of our nationhood?
Roseanna Cunningham: I join the Secretary of State in expressing admiration for Lord Cullen, and for all his work over the summer in respect of the inquiry. There are a great many recommendations which will undoubtedly gain widespread support. Notwithstanding the Secretary of State's statement, I must ask whether he personally agrees that the case for a total handgun ban has been made over the summer, and that to...
Roseanna Cunningham: rose—
Roseanna Cunningham: I am now entirely puzzled. As I recollect, 50 per cent. automatic remission was brought in in 1993 for those whose sentences were four years or shorter. That policy has operated between 1993 and 1996. Will the Secretary of State's new proposals change that? Our clear understanding from everything that has been said is that the proposals will change that policy and that the Government are...
Roseanna Cunningham: I was somewhat entertained by the speech given by the hon. Member for Mid-Staffordshire (Mr. Fabricant). It was an interesting history of some aspects of the Labour party's voting record in the House. What it had to do with today's debate, however, is another matter entirely. I also noticed the repetitive nature of some of his comments, which suggested that he ran out of substance a...
Roseanna Cunningham: I shall cite one American academic who considered attempts right across the United States. The Secretary of State referred to such a disposal—
Roseanna Cunningham: I was saying that there has been academic consideration of projects in the United States, as there presumably has been of those in England and Wales. I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman is aware of the projects in England and Wales, which are on his doorstep. As I was saying, the Secretary of State referred to disposal such as electronic tagging in connection with reducing the number of...
Roseanna Cunningham: I am aware that there are to be pilot schemes in Scotland; I am pointing out that the pilot schemes in England and Wales will not be completed until March 1997 and that, with the Scottish scheme estimated to cost £1.5 million, it seems ridiculous to commit ourselves to spending such a large sum without having seen the results of the English and Welsh pilot schemes. Saving money is supposed...
Roseanna Cunningham: My hon. Friend is right to ask that. Many of the changes in the Bill are being proposed without any proper study or any real consideration of their effectiveness. That is a worrying aspect of the Government's approach to criminal justice. As I have said in previous debates, there are three prisons in my constituency—more than in any other Scottish constituency. The hon. Member for Falkirk,...
Roseanna Cunningham: I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Banff and Buchan (Mr. Salmond) on securing this debate, and on his speech. Before I come to the specific issues he raised, I want to mention briefly a matter that has been a constant source concern and complaints in my constituency: the management of Blackford estate. It is not a highland estate, so it shows that these problems are not confined to...
Roseanna Cunningham: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 19 November. [3148]
Roseanna Cunningham: With regard to yesterday's meeting in Brussels, and the beef ban, is the Prime Minister aware that the National Farmers Union for Scotland is openly accusing the Government of straightforward prevarication in their refusal to proceed with the selective cattle cull, and that that gives rise to a very real apprehension that the Government are simply trying to stoke anti-European feeling in...
Roseanna Cunningham: Does the hon. Gentleman seriously suggest that hon. Members from other Opposition parties never make political moves in the House?
Roseanna Cunningham: I want to take up some of the points made by the hon. Member for North Tayside (Mr. Walker). I was interested in his assessment of the contents of his constituency mailbag. I represent the neighbouring constituency, and I must advise him that the contents of my constituency mailbag suggested precisely the opposite to his. Of course, it may be that people write because they know the views of...
Roseanna Cunningham: The hon. Gentleman is correct. I have a larger urban concentration than does he, although half my constituency is non-urban. I get the impression that my constituents overwhelmingly favour a total ban, but I have always accepted that people in my constituency who do not favour one may feel that writing to me would not necessarily result in the change of mind that they want.
Roseanna Cunningham: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for drawing attention to that, because he must then accept that we have heard, in several different ways, the expressed will of the people of Scotland about the issue. It cannot be contradicted that people in Scotland want the ban, which is why I find some of the comments of Labour Members astonishing. I do not think that I have heard more tortuous logic...
Roseanna Cunningham: I have given way enough. I rose only to make a few comments.
Roseanna Cunningham: Very well.
Roseanna Cunningham: I fail to see what that has to do with the debate on this amendment. I am busy in the Committee considering the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Bill.