Mr Anthony Fell: Is it possible to break down the total amounts? Can they be broken down into areas or even counties? If so, what is the amount for Norfolk or East Anglia?
Mr Anthony Fell: Does the Minister recall that some of the local authorities on the East Coast had a very heavy burden to bear because of the "Eleni V"—that was not all through the fault of the Government—but the authorities have not yet received one penny in reimbursement for all this trouble? Will he ensure that when the payments are due to be made they will be made quickly in respect of the local...
Mr Anthony Fell: On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. At the beginning of your statement you said that the hon. Member concerned had a very important constituency engagement and that was why he was not in the House. The way in which our standards are declining is dreadful. The first duty of any hon. Member is in Parliament and nowhere else.
Mr Anthony Fell: Will the Minister consider the situation at a hospital much nearer to his own constituency, to wit, the St. Andrew's hospital at Thorpe, Norwich, which is now in great trouble and is, I understand, taking in no more patients?
Mr Anthony Fell: Will the Secretary of State tell us the exact position of workers who have necessarily been laid off because of the dispute? What is their legal position? How would it be altered if a state of emergency were declared?
Mr Anthony Fell: Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker—
Mr Anthony Fell: On a new point of order, Mr. Speaker. As you know, I am not trying to get in on this at all. Therefore, perhaps it is relevant that I should ask you this question. The statement that we have heard affects every hon. Member in many respects. Therefore, I ask for your assistance. If there is an hon. Member still trying to get in, it would be very helpful if you could call him.
Mr Anthony Fell: Is the Minister aware that the most important matter is the prevention of such accidents? Are there enough pilots to go round to make pilotage compulsory on tankers in most of the areas around the British coasts?
Mr Anthony Fell: Will the Secretary of State ask the Minister who will be winding up the debate to find out precisely what the situation is with regard to the repayment of expenses incurred by the local authorities at East Anglia since that time? I am not sure how much has been paid or whether anything has yet been paid.
Mr Anthony Fell: From the point of view of the Department, the incident was handled well at the beginning. The clearing up of the beaches went splendidly, although there was some delay at Lowestoft, but the difficulty was in decision-making, as the hon. Gentleman so rightly said. The difficulty was the days spent in waiting for decisions.
Mr Anthony Fell: An interesting matter emerged from the"Eleni V"incident which do not think was discussed in the report. It was that if the oil is buried under about 8 feet of sand it is never seen again. During the war, oil was buried and nothing has seeped through.
Mr Anthony Fell: The Minister will recall that I asked his right hon. Friend to find out what had happened to the compensation to Yarmouth, through the Norfolk county council, for the money expended by it on the"Eleni V"disaster.
Mr Anthony Fell: I had not intended to take part in this debate. I asked for certain information and it has just been given to me. I am grateful to the Minister for giving me this information, but I find it astonishing that he should be keeping Norfolk county council —[Interruption.) I am sorry. The Minister was so summary in his answer that he did not say anything about Norfolk county council asking that...
Mr Anthony Fell: I heard about the consolidation of claims, but I assumed that it referred to consolidation by the Norfolk county council of the claims made by the various district authorities. When was this great meeting, when the county councils came together and decided that everyone would wait for the slowest authority? It seems such an extraordinary procedure that it is almost unbelievable. I do not...
Mr Anthony Fell: I am grateful for that promise.
Mr Anthony Fell: I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I imagine that the voice from the Government Front Bench which was heard to say"You are pushing it too far"when my hon. Friend the Member for Honiton (Mr. Emery) intervened was not referring to you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, but to my hon. Friend and to me. I do not intend going any further than this. I wanted an answer of a reasonable kind. Now that the Minister...
Mr Anthony Fell: Nevertheless, will the Minister continue to rely on the use of detergents, which have been shown to have some effect, until such time as there is something really effective to replace them?
Mr Anthony Fell: What is the Home Secretary saying that the British people will get as new programmes from the Open Broadcasting Authority, set up entirely by him, which will have no requirement to keep a proper balance in terms of range, variety or subject matter, and which it seems will have no limits on its functions? Is it to be entirely concerned with the fourth channel or may it stray to tell other...
Mr Anthony Fell: Not named by the Home Secretary.
Mr Anthony Fell: That does not mean a thing.