Mr Robert Hicks: I remind my right hon. Friend that, at the Dublin meeting of the European affairs committees of national Parliaments, it was agreed unanimously that all documents, regulations and directives emanating from the Commission should go to national Parliaments at least four weeks before the Council of Ministers takes any decision on the provisions contained in those documents. Will my right hon....
Mr Robert Hicks: I welcome this opportunity to raise the urgent need to unify the Liskeard school and community college on a single site. It is always gratifying to know that the Minister answering an Adjournment debate is familiar with the local geography. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment, the Member for Hornchurch (Mr. Squire), has kindly agreed to stand in for...
Mr Robert Hicks: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next expects to meet the Foreign Minister of Yemen to discuss Anglo-Yemeni relations; and if he will make a statement. [13964]
Mr Robert Hicks: Given the nodal position occupied by Yemen and its potential for development, should not the United Kingdom Government be showing more interest in, and giving greater encouragement to, the numerous Yemeni political development and economic programmes? In particular, would not the exciting Aden port redevelopment and free port project be a worthwhile starter?
Mr Robert Hicks: I beg to move amendment No. 10, in page 137, line 34, at end insert 'in relation to distributions made on or after 5 December 1996'.
Mr Robert Hicks: The purpose of amendment No. 10 is to clear up any confusion that may have arisen over the date of implementation of the proposed new arrangements for the tax treatment of certain distributions where a company purchases its own shares. I must emphasise that I have no quarrel with the Government's proposals for such a change in tax policy. The genuine confusion, and with it a suggestion of...
Mr Robert Hicks: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives the United Kingdom Government propose to take to promote the middle east peace process; and if he will make a statement. [9250]
Mr Robert Hicks: Although I welcome the Hebron agreement, does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that it would still be sensible to defer ratification of the Euro-Mediterranean association agreement between the European Union and Israel until all the objectives of the Oslo accords timetable have been met?
Mr Robert Hicks: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce the commencement of the design and other preparatory work for the A38 trunk road improvement scheme between Carkeel and Stoketon Cross; and if he will make a statement. [8782]
Mr Robert Hicks: Is my hon. Friend aware that that much-needed road improvement will help to provide access to the Broadmoor Farm business park and that, when Caradon district council considered the application, it was obliged by the Highways Agency to impose a condition that will not allow that exciting development, with a job creation potential of 2,500, to go ahead until the new road is complete? Surely,...
Mr Robert Hicks: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Royal Navy submarine school will move to HMS Raleigh, Torpoint; and if he will make a statement. [357]
Mr Robert Hicks: While welcoming the proposed move to Torpoint, may I emphasise the urgent need for that decision to be implemented sooner rather than later, not least to ensure the continuation of HMS Raleigh as a major training establishment and to help offset the adverse effects that have undoubtedly resulted for the area as a consequence of the changes in our United Kingdom defence requirement?
Mr Robert Hicks: While the hon. Gentleman was watching his television monitor in his office, he may have missed the reference to assurances that have been given by Cornwall county council, the promoter of the Bill. The hon. Member for North Cornwall (Mr. Tyler) confirmed earlier that, following discussion, the county council has agreed to seek a voluntary access agreement with the landowners and commoners of...
Mr Robert Hicks: May I clarify my remarks, which are on the record? I said that no local amenity or recreational groups, organisations or societies, to the best of my knowledge, have expressed their opposition to the provisions in the Bill.
Mr Robert Hicks: I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. The Bill's provisions are modest. The Bill is essentially about land management and conservation. Its principal proposal is to establish a Bodmin moor commoners council on a statutory basis. All other objectives in the Bill relate to the functions, work and operations of the council. The Bill does not seek to deal with the wider...
Mr Robert Hicks: In view of my hon. Friend's experiences with the Dartmoor Commons Bill, I am pleased and relieved to tell him that the two petitions that were lodged against the Bodmin Moor Commons Bill have been withdrawn because the promoters have been successful in reaching an accommodation with the petitioners in respect of horse riding. Although this Bill's objectives are limited, they are of real...
Mr Robert Hicks: Perhaps my hon. Friend was not here when I responded to a similar intervention from my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North (Mr. Greenway). As a result of an accommodation agreed by the Bill's promoters— Cornwall county council—the questions of access for horse riding are covered. The promoters initially tried very hard to accommodate the issue of pedestrian access. My hon. Friend the...
Mr Robert Hicks: I am glad to be able to give the hon. Gentleman that assurance. Nothing in the Bill in any way reduces the existing rights of access. The fact that the two sets of petitioners have withdrawn their respective petitions as a consequence of accommodations agreed by the promoters shows that the petitioners are now satisfied that there will be no depletion of existing rights.
Mr Robert Hicks: The hon. Gentleman knows that the great majority of land historically and euphemistically referred to as commons is in private ownership. The House should be addressing the fundamental point that nothing in the Bill in any way reduces the existing practices—if the hon. Gentleman does not like my use of the word "rights"— concerning pedestrian access. I shall turn to the powers of the new...
Mr Robert Hicks: I respectfully point out to my hon. Friend that I was born and bred on Dartmoor—indeed, my mother still lives in the Dartmoor national park. National parks legislation is national legislation. I f6rget the date of the original national parks legislation—
