Mr Norman Fowler: Does my hon. Friend agree that the standards of the RUC are exceptionally high and always have been? Has not the problem with the RUC always been undermanning? How is the recruiting policy for the RUC going?
Mr Norman Fowler: I, too, welcome the Amendment although not entirely from the point of view mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough (Mr. Farr). It should be pointed out that there is now a significant gap in the arguments used in favour of Clause 3 on Second Reading. In moving the Amendment, my hon. and learned Friend the Minister of State said that the one purpose of Clause 3 was to enable...
Mr Norman Fowler: I do not agree, though I take the hon. Gentleman's point. The point I was trying to make was that this is a body which makes independent reviews of the spread and extent of gambling. I do not think that the hon. Gentleman will disagree with that. I slightly disagree with the hon. Gentleman's statement that the Churches' Committee wants to restrain and diminish gambling as much as possible....
Mr Norman Fowler: rose
Mr Norman Fowler: It seems a little churlish to quibble about this Lords Amendment because the Government have gone a long way upon the path along which they were pressed in Committee. I very much welcome it. I think that tribute should be paid to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for South Fylde (Mr. Gardner) who originated the discussion and proposal on the Clause. One reason why there has not been much...
Mr Norman Fowler: Would it not also be fair to point out that a sub-committee of the Penal Advisory Committee is examining the whole question of young offenders, so that it is unrealistic to say at this stage that the age for sitting in judgment on young offenders should be lowered? However, if the Committee comes forward with such a proposal, the Government will presumably not stand in the way.
Mr Norman Fowler: I shall not try to follow the speech of the hon. Member for Dagenham (Mr. Parker) too closely, but I must say that his proposal to nationalise betting shops is not altogether tenable in view of the Tote's lack of financial success. I wonder whether the huge resources that he hoped would be ploughed back into youth services would materialise. We have heard a great deal today about the...
Mr Norman Fowler: Might it not be that members of the Front Bench opposite are taking up the suggestion that the writ for the Lincoln by-election should be moved?
Mr Norman Fowler: asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he will seek powers to amend the system of control of advertisements administered by the Independent Broadcasting Authority.
Mr Norman Fowler: May I draw my right hon. Friend's attention to the action of the Independent Broadcasting Authority in refusing to accept an advertisement from the News of the World advertising a valuable series on industrial action in Britain? Can the right hon. Gentleman explain the logic of a system which prevents a newspaper advertising a series of articles of crucial national interest, which deserve a...
Mr Norman Fowler: asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he is now in a position to announce a decision on the introduction of an independent broadcasting council.
Mr Norman Fowler: Would my right hon. Friend accept that the aim of a broadcasting council is to provide not some kind of back-door censorship but a court of appeal for the public? Surely the time has come when the public's interest in broadcasting should be firmly recognised by the Government?
Mr Norman Fowler: I know that my right hon. Friend appreciates the importance of maintaining the morale of prison officers. Will he take it that one of the biggest boosts to prison officer morale was his refusal to negotiate with the self-styled prisoners' union during the summer, and will he confirm that that remains his policy?
Mr Norman Fowler: asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of robberies where firearms were used in England and Wales, including the Metropolitan Police area, in each of the three last years; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr Norman Fowler: Does my hon. and learned Friend agree that these are disturbing figures? Is it not a fact that there is an increase in armed crime not only in Britain but throughout Europe? Is not one of the facts of this situation that arms are very easy to obtain at present? Will the Government open talks with other European countries aimed at cutting down the supply of arms coming into Britain?
Mr Norman Fowler: While accepting what my right hon. Friend has said, may I ask whether this case does not show the serious inadequacy of the present law of compensation? Is there not an overwhelming case for the setting-up of an immediate and urgent review of the law here?
Mr Norman Fowler: While accepting and agreeing with what my right hon. Friend has said, may I ask him to recognise that the survey to which the hon. Member for Derby, North (Mr. Whitehead) referred was a limited one, including only 11 cases? Will my right hon. Friend refer to a much more extensive American survey, which showed that there was no extra risk from this kind of bicycle?
Mr Norman Fowler: I believe that the Press campaign over the last few days has been valuable in at least one respect, for it has concentrated the public's mind on one of the fundamental issues in immigration policy; namely, whether we need to have the same kind of checks in relation to countries with close ties with this country, where family links exist, as we do in our general immigration controls. I do not...
Mr Norman Fowler: I cannot give way. We must recognise that fact. It is all very well for hon. Members opposite to say that this should not be the case but we cannot deny the facts. We should now be concerned with the proposal put forward by hon. Members that we should be examining the whole question of citizenship, and we should examine it urgently and well. Another vital point about immigration control is...
Mr Norman Fowler: There is just one thing that I would like to say about the speech of the hon. Member for Swindon (Mr. David Stoddart). It must be right that a general allegation that the police are applying the law according to rank is of no service to the law or to the general public. It is an allegation, made in a general way, that would be indignantly denied not only by chief constables but by the Police...