Mr Terry Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how often and on what dates during the last year she has met Mr. Paul Barron, Vice President of Alstom Transport UK, to discuss the future of the Alstom factory at Crashwood Heath in Birmingham; and what the outcome of these discussions was.
Mr Terry Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the target period of time is for the passport service to deal with applications for passports; and what their performance was in the most recent period for which this information is available.
Mr Terry Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to bring about the level playing field in regulations affecting companies and industrial and provident societies, to which he referred in his letter of 31 July to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill.
Mr Terry Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what response he has given to the statement published in October by nine members of the Royal Commission on Long-Term Care.
Mr Terry Davis: As my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Mr. Smith) said in an intervention, this debate is a lot of fuss about nothing. It was significant that in his opening speech the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin) built his argument not on any analysis of Government or EU policy, but on the admitted ambitions of some people in Germany and elsewhere to have a European army. I...
Mr Terry Davis: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. We entirely agree on this issue, although he means the WEU Assembly, not the WEU—we tend to confuse the two. The WEU has been integrated into the European Union, but there is a role to be played by a body of some kind—perhaps not the WEU Assembly, as I do not pretend that the WEU and its Assembly were perfect organisations. There is a great need for...
Mr Terry Davis: But given that it is more than two years since Members drew the Government's attention to the risk of conflicting judgments by two courts based on the same facts affecting human rights, when will they get to grips with the issue?
Mr Terry Davis: I congratulate the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Atkinson) on taking the initiative to arrange this debate. I also want to thank him for his work as leader of the Conservative group in the Council of Europe Assembly. On behalf of the Socialist group in the Assembly—Labour members from this country and the nearly 200 socialist representatives from the 44 member countries in the...
Mr Terry Davis: Is there any other Labour party, Socialist party or Social Democrat party anywhere else in Europe that supports the British and American approach to dealing with Saddam Hussein?
Mr Terry Davis: What is the Government's best estimate of how many Iraqi civilians will be killed or injured if there is a war?
Mr Terry Davis: Who is better placed to decide whether Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction: President Bush or Hans Blix?
Mr Terry Davis: Before that, will the Foreign Secretary give way?
Mr Terry Davis: The Foreign Secretary has referred to the informal discussions that took place between the five permanent members of the Security Council before resolution 1441 was passed. He has said also that no member of the Security Council put forward any objection or amendments to the resolution as it was going through the Security Council. But is it not correct to say that during those informal...
Mr Terry Davis: I share the scepticism expressed about the motives of President Bush, but we have been asked in this debate to focus on the Prime Minister's belief that Saddam Hussein has developed weapons of mass destruction and what should be done about it. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have made it clear that the Government have two aims: first, to ensure the return of United Nations...
Mr Terry Davis: When did my right hon. Friend and her Department become aware of what she has described as a theoretical commitment by the Football Association to continue to use Wembley even if the plan for a new stadium fell through?
Mr Terry Davis: Is the £300 million intended to deal only with delayed discharges from hospitals or also with delayed admissions from the community?
Mr Terry Davis: The appropriate response to the first point made by the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard) is that the proposals simply do not transfer the whole of the Western European Union into the European Union. The WEU has a range of responsibilities, including the Petersberg tasks, which are being transferred to the EU. However, it has other responsibilities—I refer...
Mr Terry Davis: The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point. I recognise the importance of his comments and accept that forces cannot be used twice in two separate theatres. To pretend otherwise would be ridiculous and deceitful, so I entirely accept his point. However, the new arrangements do not change that situation. NATO can have more than one crisis to deal with. [Interruption.] I should like to finish my...
Mr Terry Davis: As leader of the delegation to the Council of Europe Assembly and the Western European Union Assembly, I should like to raise three issues, all of which affect the European Union and either the Council of Europe or the WEU. I believe that I probably have the support of members of all parties in the delegation for doing that and for the views that I shall express. One issue is the charter of...
Mr Terry Davis: The answer is that we should make it possible for the EU to subscribe to the ECHR. I would support that as would all members of the delegation, I believe. However, that does not mean that we should have a separate convention and charter, each of which is separately legally enforceable. I regret that some Members of the European Parliament are pressing for that precise provision.
