Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he plans to extend the legal protection afforded to police officers assaulted in the workplace to other public sector workers; (2) if he plans to establish a new offence of assaulting a public sector worker in the course of their duty; and if he will make a statement.
Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to improve the protection of public sector workers against violence in their workplace.
Brian H Donohoe: Can the Minister say why the Government have changed their position from that set out in the White Paper published on 6 July 1999, which stated that the matter should be transferred from strategic health authorities to local authorities?
Brian H Donohoe: Although the Bill is in part to be welcomed by the House, because in many cases a complete overhaul is needed, I am opposed to slipping in the fluoride issue on the basis of an amendment made in the Lords. This issue divides all parties in this House, and as someone who has passionately opposed fluoridation for many years, I want to make my contribution on the basis of some simple aspects of...
Brian H Donohoe: As I said earlier, I am not willing to go down the road of the sanctity argument. I am advancing the simple argument, which my hon. Friend cannot dispute, that fluoride is not added to the water supply to improve its quality. That is the case that I want to argue.
Brian H Donohoe: I shall move on because I am conscious of the time. I intervened on the Minister to ask why the Bill makes no mention of local democracy playing its part; indeed, the Government have presented no arguments in that regard. The White Paper "Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation", which was published on 6 July 1999, states: "And to ensure that the extent and validity of that public support is...
Brian H Donohoe: Local authority representatives are democratically elected, and I charge them with this responsibility. I expect the Government, on the basis of the White Paper, to allow local authorities to be the agents that determine whether fluoride is added to the water supply. No one else should be given that job.
Brian H Donohoe: I cannot because I have little time and I am about to sum up. I want to conclude by asking the Minister why a particular part of the Bill refers to Scottish Water. As you pointed out in an earlier ruling, Madam Deputy Speaker, it will not cover Scotland, so why does that provision refer to Scottish Water? I want the Minister to answer that question this evening, given that this legislation is...
Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to change regulations to ensure that anyone who sails a boat at sea has first participated in adequate safety training; and for what reasons there are no training requirements in place for those taking boats under 25 feet out to sea.
Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will change her policy on the termination of the collection and analysis of the Home Accident Surveillance System statistics.
Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether she plans to establish a new Government accident recording system to ensure and improve the safety standards of home and leisure products and activities.
Brian H Donohoe: Is the Minister aware, in respect of what she presents as statistics, that she is using surveys relating to 16 to 19-year-olds, when it is 14-year-olds who are most at risk? In taking cannabis, those young people are 60 per cent. more likely to damage their brain. Have the Government taken that into account in making these proposals to the House?
Brian H Donohoe: May I refer my hon. Friend to a letter written by the Secretary of State on 6 November, which states: "We are in sympathy with the amendment to the extent that we are resolved that local authorities should play a major part in reaching decisions"? Why does she accept that regional health authorities should undertake consultation but not local authorities, given that local authorities are...
Brian H Donohoe: Will the Minister give way?
Brian H Donohoe: When he next expects to meet the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss his proposal to disperse civil service jobs.
Brian H Donohoe: I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. On the Lyons review, what mechanism is being put in place to monitor performance on the transfer of jobs? Will he especially address the fact that in the west of Scotland, including Glasgow, there is a deficiency of civil service jobs? In north Ayrshire, we maintain a level of unemployment that is 1 to 1.5 per cent. above the national average, and...
Brian H Donohoe: What more does the Prime Minister intend to do about the scourge of AIDS in the world, given that the statistics in Africa are now reaching epidemic proportions? We need to put more effort into that campaign.
Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many drivers were disqualified from driving as a consequence of accumulation of points on their driving licence for speeding in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002.
Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action the Government are taking to protect people from being defrauded by people purporting to represent the Canadian Lottery.
Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were found to be fraudulently claiming the disability living allowance in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002.