Mr Peter Jackson: I congratulate the hon. Member for Harborough (Mr. Farr) on the admirable and lucid way in which he has moved his Amendment. He has dealt with the matter comprehensively and there is little that one can say in support. I shall not repeat what he said. I intend to make one or two additional points in support of the Amendment. First, I should like to draw attention and to spell out in some...
Mr Peter Jackson: I am glad to have that correction. I take the hon. Gentleman's point that, as regards the method of culling pups, the matter will be covered satisfactorily. I take my other quotation from the report of the Nature Conservancy's Consultative Committee—and this is the operative sentence— For adults, or for pups at longer range, only a high-velocity rifle as used for red deer is suitable....
Mr Peter Jackson: Before my hon. Friend sits down, will he explain to the House why he thought it proper to reject the advice given to him by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland? I quoted the report on grey seals, and——
Mr Peter Jackson: I apologise. May I briefly draw my hon. Friend's attention to the fact that he was given advice by expert witnesses from the Ministry of Agriculture which he chooses to ignore. I reported the conclusions of that advice.
Mr Peter Jackson: On a point of order. Am I right in thinking, Mr. Speaker, that you have not selected Amendment No. 3?
Mr Peter Jackson: asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will advise returning officers to restrict the distribution of the electoral register to bona fide political organisations.
Mr Peter Jackson: I appreciate my hon. Friend's difficulties. He will recall that I was present on the occasion to which he refers and made a particular contribution. Is my right hon. Friend aware of the consequences of doing nothing? Certain parents are reluctant to enter their sons and daughters on the register, particularly when they are identified as being only 18 years old. Is it possible to withhold that...
Mr Peter Jackson: asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will consider providing additional financial assistance for the construction of farm buildings where such buildings are subject to stringent planning requirements, as in national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty.
Mr Peter Jackson: I accept the terms of that reply. However, will my hon. Friend endorse the views of my right hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale (Mr. Greenwood), in the admirable publication "Farm Buildings and the Countryside", that large farm buildings increasingly dominate our small-scale landscapes? Is he aware that grant or aid is only 25 per cent. and will he consider increasing it in areas of...
Mr Peter Jackson: I have read carefully the statement by the promoters and I am aware of the dimensions they give, but they give no indication of what the depth of the leats will be.
Mr Peter Jackson: Would the hon. Gentleman not concede that he is putting the dilemma in a mistaken way and that the alternative is not taking good agricultural land, or even marginal land or open moorland, but the solution is desalination, barrages and ground-water? These are surely the alternatives which we should be considering tonight and which no one has so far mentioned.
Mr Peter Jackson: Would not the hon. Gentleman agree that the recreational value of this proposal would be absolutely nil because of, for example, the height and situation of the reservoir? In other words, would he agree that there would be no recreational spin-off from this proposal?
Mr Peter Jackson: Will the hon. Gentleman allow me——
Mr Peter Jackson: Mr. Peter M. Jacksonrose—
Mr Peter Jackson: asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportions of abortions performed in 1969 under the Abortion Act on Sheffield women have been in National Health Service hospitals, private homes in Sheffield, and private homes in London; and what are the corresponding figures for Leeds and Liverpool.
Mr Peter Jackson: While I appreciate the terms of my right hon. Friend's reply, may I ask him to confirm that there are wide disparities between, say, London and Newcastle, on the one hand, and Sheffield, Leeds and Liverpool, on the other hand, in that the number of terminations in the last three areas is far less than, for example, in Newcastle? Having confirmed that, would he not also confirm the view of the...
Mr Peter Jackson: I am happy to support my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, West (Mr. Dickens), and congratulate him on the able way in which he argued his case. I endorse, also, what has been said by the hon. Member for Orpington (Mr. Lubbock). As a fellow member of the Parliamentary Civil Liberties Group, I regard what is now happening as a serious invasion of privacy. I, along with many other hon....
Mr Peter Jackson: This is a problem which I think will grow in future, because I am informed by the town clerk that in future the register is to be kept on punch cards and it will be possible for an advertiser to ask for a list of 18-year olds, which can be abstracted from the register straight away.
Mr Peter Jackson: Before he sits down, would my right hon. Friend reply to my question about the supplying of the absent voters list? I am very much concerned about the use of the register by Tracing Services Limited and other debt collection agencies. Is there any instruction given to returning officers about whether this information is to be supplied to enquirers?
Mr Peter Jackson: I am following the right hon. Gentleman's argument carefully, but, for the sake of balance, he would be forced to agree, would he not, that on an examination of the long-term effects, which I agree should be made, it may well be proved that there is no long-term damaging effect?
