Mr Derek Spencer: When my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State was in Leicester recently, speaking about a specific project, she said that it was up to the Leicester Members of Parliament to fight for the money. We are trying to live up to her injunction tonight. I apologise if we have taken her advice too literally and detained her rather longer tonight than she anticipated. Glenfield general hospital...
Mr Derek Spencer: Is my hon. Friend aware that I was charged £20 for my entry visa to India and that if it had been refused there would have been no right of appeal? Is he further aware that it was limited to the stated purpose for which the journey was made? Does he agree that our system confers greater rights on applicants than so some of those upon which the Labour party lavish such praise?
Mr Derek Spencer: Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the right to check on juries' antecedents was set out by the Attorney-General in the previous Labour Government and details can be found in The Times of 11 July 1978?
Mr Derek Spencer: Who is protecting the people? Yesterday the people of Leicestershire discovered that for themselves. They had only to walk into the county hall where they saw the local Labour group objecting to the use of video cameras in the shopping centre in the middle of Leicester. That is what is meant in so many town halls throughout the country in practical terms when the Labour party talks about...
Mr Derek Spencer: I am pushed for time and I cannot give way to the hon. and learned Gentleman. I pay tribute to the work of Customs officers, especially the investigation branch. As civil servants, their rates of pay, as they will ruefully disclose, do not match those of their brothers in the drugs squads in the police units. I saw their work at first hand in the case of Dye and others recently. They are a...
Mr Derek Spencer: rose—
Mr Derek Spencer: asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the latest security situation in Northern Ireland.
Mr Derek Spencer: Does my right hon. Friend agree that a mass resignation of councillors will only increase tension and make the job of the security forces more difficult?
Mr Derek Spencer: asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from the Leicester city council regarding the Housing and Planning Act 1986.
Mr Derek Spencer: Is my hon. Friend aware that the city council has put out a glossy magazine at the ratepayers' expense, entitled, "Estates for Sale"? It attacks the Act and gives council tenants the impression that their homes will be sold over their heads. Is that not a disgraceful publication, and does it not show that Leicester city council is at least working for the Labour party?
Mr Derek Spencer: Is my hon. Friend aware that in my constituency the trade was horrified to learn that the alliance wished to dismantle the MFA altogether? Is he aware that any such action would cost thousands of jobs in Leicester?
Mr Derek Spencer: asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations he has received on the effectiveness of the consumer protection provisions in the Estate Agents Act 1979; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Derek Spencer: Is my hon. and learned Friend aware that there are some estage agents who are still practising after they have been convicted of offences of dishonesty and are subject to a suspended sentence of imprisonment? Will he consider introducing legislation to place a duty on a court to report any such conviction to the Director General of Fair Trading, in order to give greater protection to the...
Mr Derek Spencer: My constituents who speculated in a vote for the alliance in the county council elections last year got their fingers badly burned when the rates were hoisted by 40 per cent. They are now horrified to learn that, apparently, the alliance stands for the dismantling of the multi-fibre arrangement, and that would cost thousands of jobs in my-constituency. Can we have an early debate, before the...
Mr Derek Spencer: asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the progress so far of Energy Efficiency Year.
Mr Derek Spencer: Does my hon. Friend agree that in Energy Efficiency Year it would be a great breakthrough if he were able to accept the proposals of the combined heat and power consortium in Leicester?
Mr Derek Spencer: asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the latest security situation in Northern Ireland.
Mr Derek Spencer: The sons of Leicester who are serving in two battalions of the Royal Anglian Regiment in Northern Ireland are daily showing their commitment to the security of the Province. Does my right hon. Friend not feel that their efforts would be helped if those who at present are obstructing the Anglo-Irish agreement withdrew that obstruction?
Mr Derek Spencer: asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what recent representations he has received about mobility allowances for sufferers of myasthenia gravis; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Derek Spencer: Is my hon. Friend aware that myasthenia gravis is a rare neurological condition which afflicts one in 30,000 of the population, and that most of them, such as my daughter, strive to lead normal lives, but the fluctuating nature of the symptoms makes it difficult sometimes for many myasthetics to claim mobility allowance to which, for most of the time, they feel they are entitled? Can my hon....