Mr Eddie Loyden: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent representations he has received regarding reform of the regulatory system for the privatised utilities. [19450]
Mr Eddie Loyden: Can the Minister really claim that the regulators have been forceful enough in making those companies—which are near-monopolies—respond to their first responsibility: to provide a good service to consumers? Most of the so-called efficiency in those industries is gained by scrapping jobs. That is one reason why the employment figures in this nation are so high.
Mr Eddie Loyden: The Leader of the House will of course know that the assessors will be revisiting the wreck of MV Derbyshire in the next few days, and will probably be there for about 40 days or more. Will the right hon. Gentleman give an undertaking that as much information as possible will be given to the Derbyshire Families Association about the return of the assessors to this country, and that the...
Mr Eddie Loyden: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 18 February. [14760]
Mr Eddie Loyden: Does the Prime Minister agree that we owe a debt to those people who fought in the second world war and who, in their working lives, created the wealth of this nation, and that they should be treated with the greatest respect? Is he aware that in my constituency two elderly people's homes are to be closed? The age of the people in those homes ranges from 70 plus to the 90s. Does that reflect...
Mr Eddie Loyden: I have only a few minutes to make my case, and the issue that I want to raise is as important as the Ford decision. Merseyside Members of Parliament will know that the economy of the area has been based for the past century and beyond on the port. Think of the factories along the dock road in the last century—Tate and Lyle, Silcocks, the British American Tobacco company—and the host of...
Mr Eddie Loyden: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 4 February. [12534]
Mr Eddie Loyden: On several occasions, and again today, the Prime Minister has told the House that the economic policies pursued by his Government have been responsible for inward investment and job creation in Britain. How does he square that claim with the fact that 1,300 jobs at Ford on Merseyside, as well as many others, are threatened? Is it not time that the Prime Minister woke up to the fact that jobs...
Mr Eddie Loyden: Instead of spending public money on building the proposed royal yacht, will the Prime Minister consider using that money to kick-start the shipyards of this country so that our shipyard workers can get back to work to build ships in which our unemployed merchant seamen can sail?
Mr Eddie Loyden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from the Centre for Policy Studies concerning the future funding of the national health service. [10357]
Mr Eddie Loyden: Will the Minister confirm that a pamphlet recently issued by the Centre for Policy Studies, the author of which was a special adviser to the former Secretary of State for Health, now the Chancellor of the Exchequer, proposed that future policy on the NHS should involve the introduction of top-up fees and vouchers? Does not that show that it is now undeniable that a Conservative Government...
Mr Eddie Loyden: I doubt very much that the House will be convinced by the Minister's remarks. It was brought home to him by my hon. Friends that the Government undoubtedly were guilty, but he made no reference to the fact that the ombudsman found that the Government were responsible and made no attempt to argue the Government's case. Why has the Minister ignored the pleas from Opposition Members to meet the...
Mr Eddie Loyden: The Leader of the House may be aware that I was at Hillsborough on the fateful day of the tragedy. Will he arrange to hold a debate in the House as soon as possible? Many people, including the families of the Hillsborough victims, have not had a fair deal in the courts. I invite the Leader of the House to view tonight the film on that subject, or ask the Attorney-General to do so, so that...
Mr Eddie Loyden: I do not wish to defend the Bishop of Liverpool—he is quite capable of doing that himself—but if the hon. Gentleman was as involved as the Bishop of Liverpool in the interests of the people of Liverpool, he would understand the bishop's compassion for the unemployed, for example, in whom he has taken a great interest over the years. I do not believe that the bishop is a card-carrying...
Mr Eddie Loyden: Does not the right hon. Gentleman accept that what he has said this afternoon will be seen as cant and hypocrisy by many people? Over the past 17 years, this Government have waged war against organised labour. If the right hon. Gentleman is indeed suggesting that all employers are acting humanely, he should revisit the Liverpool docks, and many other industries in which there has been a...
Mr Eddie Loyden: rose—
Mr Eddie Loyden: Have any of the organisations that will be on the return voyage to the wreck voiced any objection to the DFA being part of the team?
Mr Eddie Loyden: indicated assent
Mr Eddie Loyden: I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow (Mr. Dixon) on securing this debate on the Floor of the House. His comments show the understanding in the House among those who either have worked in the shipbuilding industry or, like myself, were seamen. I first became involved in the MV Derbyshire case in the 1980s, through one of my constituents, who lost her husband in that...
Mr Eddie Loyden: I appreciate the assistance that the Leader of the House has given in the past in respect of MV Derbyshire. The view is widely held among hon. Members of all parties that the families affected by that tragedy have not received a fair deal from the Government. It came as a shock to learn that the marine technologists who made the first visit to MV Derbyshire are being precluded from joining...