Mr Simon Coombs: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what new initiatives he is planning to assist the middle east peace process. [18313]
Mr Simon Coombs: Does my right hon. Friend agree that, whereas Israel is a secure and mature democracy, alongside it, Lebanon is a country with a democratic tradition and a strong desire for a democratic future which is frustrated at the moment by the fact that, unlike Israel, which is secure militarily within its own borders, it has not one, but two, occupying armies in different parts of the country? What...
Mr Simon Coombs: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 6 March.[17575]
Mr Simon Coombs: Can my right hon. Friend confirm that the "basic pensions plus" proposals announced yesterday not only guarantee the value of the state pension, but offer the prospect of a much improved pension with a valid& of as much as £175 per week to a person on average earnings? Does that not contrast starkly with the Labour party's plan to cut the value of the state pension by £20 per week?
Mr Simon Coombs: Does my right hon. Friend share my disappointment that the Millennium Commission was unable to approve the bid by the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux for a linked computerised system which would have greatly assisted the association in providing information similar to that which we are discussing? In that context, can he say whether it will be possible to place "government....
Mr Simon Coombs: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what responses she has received to her strategy document "Success through Partnership: A Strategy for Tourism". [16708]
Mr Simon Coombs: Can my right hon. Friend confirm that 1995 was a record year for British tourism and that 1996 is likely to exceed that record when the figures are finally available? Does she agree that the proceeds of the national lottery are making possible a massive increase in our tourism infrastructure, whether it is the new railway heritage museum in Swindon in my constituency or the new Tate gallery...
Mr Simon Coombs: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current level of unemployment in Wales, relative to that in (a) the United Kingdom as a whole and (b) the European Union; and if he will make a statement. [9915]
Mr Simon Coombs: Is not unemployment now far higher in Germany than in Wales? Is that not a consequence of the fact that more and more German firms are relocating their investment to Wales because they recognise the advantages of doing so? Is it not also a fact that, for every German who will lose his job as a consequence, there is another who is beginning to wish that Germany had never signed up to the...
Mr Simon Coombs: Given that the level of cycling deaths is the lowest since records were first compiled in 1927, is it not entirely right and desirable that the Government should continue to encourage cycling on our roads? In that context, would it not be a good idea to revisit the question of cyclists being a danger to themselves by going through red traffic signals, as they are doing more and more frequently?
Mr Simon Coombs: I did not wish to suggest in what I said earlier that I had anything other than the greatest admiration for the work that had already been done. I merely wished to point out how much more difficult it would be to find further funding, as opposed to the fund-raising that had been done. A huge extra burden will fall on the people in the localities along the length of the canal and it will be...
Mr Simon Coombs: It is an immense pleasure to contribute to the debate on a Bill that I greatly welcome, because, for the past five years, other hon. Members and I have called for it. We debate the Bill against the background of the extraordinary success of the national lottery. The difference that lottery funding is making to the arts, heritage and sport is quite extraordinary and, dare I say it, beyond the...
Mr Simon Coombs: Yes, the Bill will bring the cheer of Christmas to many owners of historic houses, which, until now, have been threatened with dilapidation or closure. I want to contribute to the debate because of the importance of our heritage to tourism. Last year, 23.7 million foreign visitors came to Britain, no doubt for a variety of reasons, but their desire to see our heritage must have been one of...
Mr Simon Coombs: I welcome that intervention and assure my hon. Friend that there is every intention of providing a linking line from the main Great Western line to the museum, so that railway engines can be moved off the country's main railway network into the museum. It is also intended that a workshop will be created, where people will be able to watch engines being worked on by railway engineers—there...
Mr Simon Coombs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the contribution of the tourism industry to Ulster's economy in the past two years; and if he will make a statement. [7316]
Mr Simon Coombs: I am sure that my right hon. Friend will agree that those are remarkable figures and that he will join me in congratulating the Northern Ireland tourist board on its excellent work during the ceasefires to draw the Province's manifest attractions to the attention of the outside world. Can there be any more dramatic evidence than that presented by those figures of the need for peace to be...
Mr Simon Coombs: I welcome you to the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker. Just before you took the Chair, the hon. Member for Heywood and Middleton (Mr. Callaghan) was talking about the visit of the Select Committee on National Heritage to Plymouth, Massachusetts, which is very much a sister town to your own. As a young man still at school I took part in a debate whose terms were, "This House wishes that the...
Mr Simon Coombs: The hon. Gentleman asks me to plug a well-known Yorkshire fish restaurant. My next comment would have drawn attention to the fact that the ubiquitous Harry Ramsden's is well established in Cardiff bay. I am pleased to add that it will shortly open a new emporium in my constituency. The Cardiff bay development is recognised in south Wales as likely to lead to an enormous increase in the...
Mr Simon Coombs: I had a feeling that I would wake up at least one member of my audience.
Mr Simon Coombs: Yes. That is why I was at pains to stress that the wheel must be temporary. That should be clear in the minds of those who will give planning consent. Having said that, I welcome it. When hon. Members go on the Terrace in the summer they are overlooked by cameras from Westminster bridge; the fact that people will be able to look down on us from the considerable height of the wheel should not...
