Commander Charles Donaldson: Is my right hon. Friend aware that, whatever opinion the regional hospital board has reached, it is not the opinion of the chairman and members of the Border Area Hospital Board, nor indeed of the vast majority of my constituents and those who also live in Berwickshire, apart from Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles? Is he aware that this general hospital is in such an isolated position that staff...
Commander Charles Donaldson: Although the hour is late and we are approaching midnight, I make no apology for raising on the Adjournment matters relating to the depopulation in the Border counties of Scotland. I do so not only on behalf of the three counties which are encompassed by my constituency—Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles—but, in part, on behalf of the surrounding area, with particular reference to Berwickshire...
Sir William Anstruther-Gray: Thank you, very much, Dr. King. Just to finish the point, if speeches are 20 minutes each, only 12 of us will be called, and if speeches should be as long as 30 minutes—and I seem to remember having heard the hon. Member for Glasgow, Govan (Mr. Rankin) himself on occasions speak for 30 minutes—then only four Members on either side of the Committee will have a chance to speak at all. I...
Mr John Mackintosh: ...just because Border development affects my own constituency so closely but also because the subject is interesting as a planning problem in its own right. It is the hardest planning problem in Scotland. The depopulation of the eastern Borders has gone on faster than in any other part of Scotland, including the Highlands. The population of Berwickshire, for instance, dropped by 10 per cent....
Mr Hector Monro: The hon. Member for Woolwich, East (Mr. Mayhew) has been a little unfair to the smaller companies. In his criticism of what he called the least deserving lobby, he failed to understand in how serious a position the smaller companies find themselves. It was not a matter of more money for shareholders but of a television service or no television service. In constituencies such as mine and that...
Mr David Steel: ...the question of the future of Border development. I wish at the outset to congratulate the hon. Member for Ayr (Mr. Younger) on his appointment, not just as an Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, but as Under-Secretary of State for Development, with that specific name, which is particularly welcome. I hope that in office he will take an early opportunity to visit the area which we are...
John Home Robertson: ..., but I am relieved that I still have the Floor. When those debates were taking place only four months ago, none of us realised that by now there would be a mass desertion from school dining halls and a threatened collapse of an entire catering service, which provides school meals and meals-on-wheels in one region in Scotland. I refer to the Borders region. The Government gave education...
John Home Robertson: I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh Central, (Mr. Cook) for the way in which he moved the new clause and for his kind references to my constituency, where the provisions of the Bill are likely to cause severe problems and create acute pressures on the limited housing stock that is at present available to let. I spoke on this matter on Second Reading. I was not...
John Home Robertson: Perhaps that was retaliation against the famous incident when a former mayor of Berwick-upon-Tweed was charged with an offence in Roxburghshire, but we had better not go into that. The existing taxi licensing legislation contains a serious anomaly which perhaps only came to light when the English borough of Berwick introduced a licensing scheme covering the area that it controls, which...
John Home Robertson: My hon. Friend's point it partly relevant, although a significant number of the large components to which he refers are coming by sea. I was referring to the transport of gravel, cement and similar materials. My constituency is a typical rural area. Its industries include quarrying, agriculture, fishing, forestry, saw mills and paper manufacture, all of which produce relatively bulky and...
John Home Robertson: We have just heard the hon. Member for Perth and East Perthshire (Mr. Walker) staking a claim for the Conservative domination of North Tayside. He suggested to the Minister that the new Member for North Tayside in the next Parliament, whoever he is, will have to be provided with a helicopter to cover his constituency. The hon. Gentleman may have one qualification—only one—as a...
Mr Archy Kirkwood: ...that I shall have to become accustomed to the difficult choice between following the Financial Secretary or the hon. Member for Livingston through the Lobby. It is a choice between the red devil and the deep blue sea. I can say with confidence that my colleagues will follow the lesser evil and proceed through the Lobby behind the red devil, the hon. Member for Livingston. You, Mr. Walker,...
Mr David Steel: I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood) on his initiative in securing this Adjournment debate, even though, like the Minister, I had planned to be elsewhere. I wish to reinforce my hon. Friend's general comments and to outline the way in which the proposals will affect my constituency. Whereas my hon. Friend spoke of a substantial shift from the...
Mr David Steel: I thank the Minister for that blinding flash of insight into the financial affairs of Scotland. I seriously thank him and the Secretary of State for Scotland for the courteous hearing that they gave to me and to my hon. Friend the Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood) in Selkirk, and for rearranging the capping limit for the Scottish Borders council. However, will the Minister...
Sam Galbraith: ...subject—indeed, it is unusual for me to speak on it—I shall not take long in replying. However, I have enjoyed listening to the various aficionados speak so briefly on the issues before us, and I shall try to deal with one or two of the points raised. The hon. Member for Angus (Mr. Welsh) asked about the disabled. He has a long and reputable history of support for, and of speaking in...
Michael Moore: I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood) for encouraging me to participate in this debate, and to the Minister for his willingness to hear from the three Members who represent south-east Scotland and Northumberland, which have been badly affected by economic developments over the past 12 or 18 months. It has been a dreadful year. We face the...
Michael Moore: The hon. Gentleman has made a valid point. There are a number of reasons why inward investors are attracted to particular areas, including tax regimes and the available incentives. There is also the question of numbers, to which I shall return in due course. Like the hon. Member for Shettleston, I am glad that the Secretary of State will respond to the debate. I urge him to use his influence,...
Elliot Morley: The table shows the number of animals slaughtered because they reacted to the tuberculin test broken down by county for England, Scotland and Wales for the years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999,2000 and 2001. A figure by county is not available for Northern Ireland and the relevant figures for each year are shown. All figures are produced from the State Veterinary Service IT support system. The...
Elliot Morley: The table shows the number of herds affected by new confirmed incidents of bovine TB broken down by country for England, Scotland and Wales for the years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. A figure by county is not available for Northern Ireland and the relevant figures for each year are shown. A new herd incident occurs when a herd which was previously TB free either had cattle...
Michael Martin: Before Members take the Oath or affirm, I remind the House that the support provided to Members by way of allowances for staff, travel and other purposes will not be available to Members who have not taken the Oath or affirmed before the date of the Queen's Speech, next Tuesday. The only exception will be Members who, before that date, have sent me a letter informing me that, for health or...
