Mr Gordon Wilson: Unlike the hon. Member for Stirling (Mr. Forsyth), I do not intend to speak for long. I remind him that one of the reasons why we shall vote against the motion is that it is unfair and unjust. It is the job of a parliamentary Opposition, with different constituencies, to oppose measures that we consider to be deeply damaging to our electorate. To some extent, I was surprised to listen to the...
Mr Gordon Wilson: Is not the real indictment of the Secretary of State that after eight years he can rejoice in the unemployment figures that we have heard? He is so complacent about the situation that he relies solely on grasping the straws of short-term prospects. When will he do something about the Scottish economy, because under his care and that of his predecessor it has rotted away?
Mr Gordon Wilson: Since the top management of British Steel is notoriously anti-Ravenscraig and anti-Scottish, what guarantee will the Minister give that, in the event of privatisation, the first act of the newly privatised corporation will not be to close Ravenscraig steelworks and thus take away Scotland's indigenous steel industry?
Mr Gordon Wilson: Is the Minister aware that young people between the ages of 18 and 25 who are on the job training scheme are effectively being disbarred from entry into community projects? Does he intend to do anything about that?
Mr Gordon Wilson: asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will outline those Government economic policies which are designed to stem the loss of population in Scotland through external migration.
Mr Gordon Wilson: I had some difficulty in hearing that answer, but I suspect that it was not worth very much. Does the Minister accept the predictions of the Registrar General for Scotland that over the next 50 years the Scottish population will decrease by about half a million, or 10 per cent., because of adverse economic trends? Does the hon. Gentleman agree that that is the disastrous result of English...
Mr Gordon Wilson: Is this not yet another case of a company in Scotland being closed down to facilitate company strategy elsewhere to the disadvantage of a Scottish work force? What industrial strategy do the Government have to deal with such cases?
Mr Gordon Wilson: asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he intends to take to maintain investment and employment in Dundee following termination of the Dundee project.
Mr Gordon Wilson: Is the Minister aware that the Dundee project, which is a major investor, comes to a close at the end of this year and that there is considerable worry in the city about what will happen after that event, in terms of the level of cash and the degree of attention that the Scottish Development Agency will give to the city? Does he not realise that unemployment is still at about the 15ยท5 per...
Mr Gordon Wilson: Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the rate of disconnections for short-term debtors has exploded considerably during the past six months, both to electricity boards and to gas boards? I think that there has been about a 40 per cent. increase in the number of those in debt to the electricity boards.
Mr Gordon Wilson: I have been one of those who from time to time have referred to the extraordinary delay in what is a highly complex area. Because the report has been in existence for some time it may not have taken account of the worrying development that, with the use of plastic credit cards, there is an upsurge of debt throughout Scotland. In my constituency work many more debt cases are coming my way....
Mr Gordon Wilson: In relation to the proposed instalment decree, will any guidance or direction be given to sheriffs or Court of Session judges in relation to the appropriate instalment to be paid, or will it be left for them to decide at their own discretion? It may well be, of course, that it would be very difficult to get any degree of regularity in payments from one court to another. It may depend,...
Mr Gordon Wilson: As the hon. and learned Gentleman will appreciate, under the late and much lamented small debt procedure which had the great advantage of flexibility there was a going rate at which sheriffs would tend to grant an instalment decree and refuse a request for an open decree for those representing the creditors. However, would the hon. and learned Gentleman look further at the proposition of the...
Mr Gordon Wilson: I had some experience of the small debt court. The Solicitor-General has obviously been deprived of such experience. However, does he realise that a big court could take 150 cases in a morning, mostly heard in the absence of the parties? The time available to the sheriffs for that purpose is limited and I cannot imagine them welcoming means tests. It is entirely different from consistorial...
Mr Gordon Wilson: Laziness.
Mr Gordon Wilson: I appreciate the hon. Gentleman's point, but what the Bill involves in relation to collection already happens in relation to non-payment of rates. The unfortunate factor is that if someone defaults on payment and poindings and sales are carried out, the costs are borne by the debtor.
Mr Gordon Wilson: When did the Minister contact Conservative Central Office with the request for it to issue an immediate disclaimer?
Mr Gordon Wilson: I welcome the changes made by the Government through these amendments. It would be wrong for a husband and wife to be treated in a different way from persons living together, and the Government have rightly accepted the arguments that were presumably made in Committee. I have tabled amendment No. 166. I suspect that at this late stage of the proceedings, especially now that the other...
Mr Gordon Wilson: I took the point that the Government have improved on the situation through their amendments. I presume that the names of the persons who are allegedly living together will still appear on the register, as with husband and wife, although there will be no statement of whether there is liability.
Mr Gordon Wilson: I was right to agree that the Government have chosen the correct mechanism to follow, although I disagree with the principle. It is always difficult coming in on Report, after matters have been exhaustively discussed in Committee. Although I do not press my amendment, I put down a marker, and express my opposition to joint and several liability, when the liability should be personal if the...
