Dr Alan Glyn: The hon. Member for Clackmannan (Mr. O'Neill) maintains that the Soviet fleet is largely bottled up in the Kola peninsula by weather conditions. He must surely accept that it can be moved at any time and must be taken into consideration with the whole of the Soviet naval forces.
Dr Alan Glyn: Having removed the difficulty of doctors using different areas, can my right hon. and learned Friend envisage a system in which the number of vacant beds is made available to doctors, so that, instead of having to ring round and ask hospital after hospital whether there is a vacancy, they will know immediately? When will the self-governing hospitals come in? Is it possible to advance the...
Dr Alan Glyn: I support this Bill, because it enshrines in legislature some form of basis for the security services. [HON. MEMBERS: "That was last week's Bill."] I believe that the most important point is that there is a lifelong confidentiality for people who work within that service, which is essential.
Dr Alan Glyn: rose—
Dr Alan Glyn: Intelligence is a jigsaw and even after 10 years the jigsaw might be completed with seemingly innocuous information which could nevertheless be important in the jigsaw.
Dr Alan Glyn: Nowhere in the Bill can I see continuity of supply. If supply is cut off, a person's deep freeze or refrigerator or other appliance dependent upon electricity will not work. Is there any means by which he may be compensated for any loss he may have sustained?
Dr Alan Glyn: Is my hon. Friend aware of the severe power cuts in Windsor—which lasted, with short intervals, for two days—and of the fire? When he has consultations with the chairman, will he please ask for a proper explanation of why the cuts occurred for so long and how such cuts can be prevented in the future?
Dr Alan Glyn: In view of recent events, will my right hon. Friend consider having a debate on international terrorism and on how best countries can combine to combat this terrible threat?
Dr Alan Glyn: Like my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen and Stourbridge (Sir J. Stokes) said, I always enjoy these debates because they give us an opportunity to look forward into the coming year and at the effects that the Government's proposals may have on us. The Government's programme is a continuation of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's policy of moving our nation from the bottom of the...
Dr Alan Glyn: I should like to pay tribute to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence and his colleagues for the excellent colour and quality of the Estimates. Defence consists of strategy and tactics. Strategy is the ability to estimate the strength of one's enemy now and in the future. Tactics are through NATO and the flexible and dual response and the retention of Trident. We all...
Dr Alan Glyn: I endorse everything that my hon. Friend the Minister has said in paying tribute to the armed forces in general and to their high standard of discipline. Discipline rests with the leadership of the officers and with providing the men with the right conditions, and in Windsor there is a difficulty. When the Victoria barracks were demolished, a smart guard continued to go to the castle, and...
Dr Alan Glyn: Colouring in petrol was introduced for the services during the war, but it never had any practical effect.
Dr Alan Glyn: First, I congratulate the Chairman and the Procedure Committee on their work now and over the years, as this measure has taken a very long time. In 1966, the order was debated, but not moved. I and my colleagues then tabled early-day motions entitled "Opportunities for Back Benchers" from 1971 to 1984 when the experiment was introduced. It was unfortunate that it was only an experiment, as I...
Dr Alan Glyn: Am I correct in saying that this is the first time that this Order is being made permanent rather than experimental, and that it will be incorporated, as it is on the Order Paper, in the Standing Orders?
Dr Alan Glyn: I was in Budapest at the time, and while the treaty was being signed between the Russians and the Hungarians, Russian troops were advancing—we saw them.
Dr Alan Glyn: Does the hon. Gentleman advocate that religious education should become part of a core curriculum?
Dr Alan Glyn: rose—
Dr Alan Glyn: The hon. Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick), among others, raised the matter of certain British prisoners of war who were tortured and murdered during the war. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this issue should be dealt with expeditiously because it is giving rise to long-drawn-out discussions in the press? The sooner that we deal with it, the better.
Dr Alan Glyn: I endorse every word said by my hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood), although I am not so much affected. We do not have the infrastructure or the facilities for roads—particularly roads—and schools, and we shall doubtless feel the effects of the construction in other constituencies. On several previous occasions major decisions have been overturned by the Secretary of...
Dr Alan Glyn: I congratulate the hon. Member for Woolwich (Mr. Cartwright) on representing his constituency interests so well. I should like to take up many of his points during my speech, because I have considerable sympathy with them. We now have a professional and efficient regular Army. However, the necessity for conventional forces has become more important — we hope because the dangers of atomic...