Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made towards free and fair elections in Romania.
Andrew Mitchell: Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind the concern expressed, not least by the Church, which, after all, fired the revolution in Romania, about the unfairnesses to opposition parties? Will he make it absolutely clear to the Romanian authorities that continuation of reconstruction funds, and in particular know-how funds, will be dependent upon the election being seen as fully free and fair?
Andrew Mitchell: What about the husbands?
Andrew Mitchell: I shall not detain the House for more than five minutes because many of the points that I wanted to make have already been made. But it would be remiss of me not to start by congratulating the hon. Member for Mid-Staffordshire (Mrs. Heal) on her maiden speech. I too had the pleasure, along with many of my colleagues, of visiting her constituency recently. Her eloquent and elegant comments,...
Andrew Mitchell: No; my time is very limited. Having made those points of principle, I shall now deal briefly with some specific points. I hope that Treasury Ministers will consider whether the Bill may prove too restrictive. There is some discrimination—as my hon. Friend the Member for Billericay (Mrs. Gorman) pointed out—against small businesses and smaller employers, who will not have the time or the...
Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what discussions he has held with the organisation, Parents for Safe Food, with regard to its allegations concerning the safety of British meat.
Andrew Mitchell: I thank my right hon. Friend for that helpful and detailed statement, which will be reassuring to the many consumers who have been alarmed by much of the speculative comment in the press in recent days. Will my right hon. Friend give the House the absolute assurance that to protect the interest of the consumer, he will base his policy on the best medical and scientific advice from independent...
Andrew Mitchell: Has my right hon. and learned Friend had a chance to consider the sad and moving story that appeared in the Nottingham Evening Post last Friday about Colin Jago, a schizophrenia sufferer, who slipped so tragically through the community care net? Will he have a look at that story to see whether any lessons can be learnt for our policy on care in the community?
Andrew Mitchell: It is always a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Fermanagh and South Tyrone (Mr. Maginnis), and on this occasion it is a pleasure to echo the eloquent tribute that he paid to the security forces in Northern Ireland. I am amazed that there is such a sparse attendance for such an extremely important debate. There have been some vintage speeches from both sides of the political divide and...
Andrew Mitchell: I have no doubt that my hon. Friend is right about the role of the Gurkhas, although it would be imprudent of me to speculate on their future role in isolation from other changes that may be made. We must recognise that much greater costs may be associated with developing our mobile forces than hitherto. Such costs are part of the restructuring that will result. It has not been clear from...
Andrew Mitchell: My hon. Friend mentions the changes that the Boundary Commission makes from time to time to the names of our constituencies which he regrets. Whenever I have had the pleasure of listending to one of my hon. Friend's speeches, he has referred to my constituency as "Gelding". I am grateful for this opportunity to remind him, before he mentions my constituency and perhaps makes an inadvertent...
Andrew Mitchell: Does my hon. Friend agree that the remarkable speech the other night by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer follows that statement by the Prime Minister? It is a remarkably constructive and helpful contribution to the development of the EC and of Europe more widely.
Andrew Mitchell: I must point out to my hon. Friend that the popularity of the Liberal party has sunk so low in the opinion polls that the party is considering employing the services of Jacques Cousteau to see whether anything can be done to resuscitate it. Is my hon. Friend aware that the reason why no Liberal Member is here is that Liberal Members are engaged in a futile but brave attempt to save their...
Andrew Mitchell: I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the excellent agreement, and, in particular, on the attachment of China and India to it. At a more mundane level, will he bear in mind the importance of continuing to encourage local authorities such as Gedling to look for ways of setting up a system of reclaiming domestic fridges and large industrial freezer units which contain damaging gases which...
Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is taking to improve road safety for children.
Andrew Mitchell: Are not my hon. Friend and his Department to be congratulated on the recent initiative, particularly in view of its co-ordinating measures? In pursuing that, will my hon. Friend bear in mind the great importance of using parent-teacher associations in schools to promote road safety? They marry the interests of parents in looking after children and the interests of schools. Those are the two...
Andrew Mitchell: Will my right hon. and learned Friend confirm that two members of the England World cup football squad first acquired their footballing skills under YTS? Will he further confirm that the same opportunities for young people to develop their world-class football skills will be available under youth training?
Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what initiatives are being taken to promote a better quality of care for patients.
Andrew Mitchell: Is not my hon. Friend's response an eloquent testimony to this Government's commitment to the National Health Service at a time when an aging population and welcome medical advances mean that there is a great deal to be done? Is not that a contrast to the capital-cutting, hospital building programme-cutting Labour Government who used to be in power?
Andrew Mitchell: Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind the two great tests that his statement has passed? First, it will give parents an answer to the objective question "How is my child doing in school?" and, secondly, he has clearly listened and responded to the hard-working and professional teachers, who have given him and his colleagues advice on how to handle this matter. He has shown that he has heard...