Mr Andrew Bennett: I am sure the hon. Member for Halesowen and Stourbridge (Mr Stokes) will accept my apologies for not following him in his line of thought. I am sure the House found his speech an entertaining interlude. I support the pleas of the hon. Member for Derby, North (Mr. Knight) that something should be done about crossbows and it should be done quickly. I support my right hon. Friend the Member for...
Mr Andrew Rowe: ...adept at learning the skills needed in our modern society? Will he also confirm that worrying skill shortages are developing? Will he assure us that the YTS is being used imaginatively to bridge those two concepts?
Malcolm Rifkind: ...of course rationalisation designed to make the best possible use of manpower and facilities throughout the college of education sector as a whole, including those colleges— Craigie and St. Andrew's — which are not otherwise directly affected by the organisational changes. I shall review the position again next year in the light of progress made. I must make it clear that, if...
Mr Andrew Bennett: ...London allowances, nor do they favour differential rates for different subjects. These are extremely contentious areas and the Government want to pretend that this is only an interim measure to bridge the gap across the present problems. They are foolish to bring in new proposals which cause a great deal of anxiety and suspicion. I am worried by the Minister's reference to peripatetic...
Andrew Mitchell: ...research and discovery and the opening up of marvellous new medical cures and treatments, the demands and the need for funding medical care are increasing and will continue to increase. How we bridge that gap and how we increase the amount that we spend as a country on health care is a matter which exercises all hon. Members on both sides of the House. It is not a matter which I propose to...
Andrew Smith: ...freedom. In Committee I was the fortunate beneficiary of what the Secretary of State put to me as the Oxford, East question, which was whether the polytechnic lecturers on one side of Magdalen bridge enjoy some benefits of academic freedom while not having tenure because dons on the other side of Magdalen bridge enjoy tenure. The Secretary of State put it forward as the Oxford, East...
Ian McCartney: ..., an accident caused by the illegal dumping of a hazardous substance. Yesterday evening I was notified of a horrific accident involving five children of constituents of mine living in the Marus bridge area of Wigan. Jamie and Carmelle Anderson, aged 14 and 7, Darren Cook and Andrew James, aged 14, and Simon Young, aged 13, were engulfed in a fireball after a metal drum containing a lethal...
Andrew Smith: ...representatives of the people of Northern Ireland be involved in the allocation of the money that the Secretary of State will be announcing? Will the Government grasp this opportunity of building bridges between the communities in Northern Ireland by responding positively to that call?
Mr Andrew Bennett: ..., over the years, some by-elections have been affected by dramatic Government action, taken because they thought that it might influence the by-election result. I seem to remember that the Humber bridge had some connection with a by-election. Will my hon. Friend take into account the fact that the date of the by-election could be significant in saving the Settle to Carlisle line? I am sure...
Mr Andrew Bennett: ...diversion of the footpath through the Wildlife and Countryside Act and the highways legislation rather than by a private Bill. The next footpath is at Malton where the proposal is to take down the bridge at the level crossing because it is not safe. Again, local procedures could have been used rather than resorting to a private Bill. It is a cumbersome process for local people who want to...
Mr Andrew Bennett: ...of safety. I do not want people to be injured, but since British Rail is creating the problem it is reasonable that it should find some way of getting under or over a crossing by an underpass or a bridge unless it can demonstrate that the crossing is not used. If people do not use it, legislation exists to close it and British Rail does not need this statutory power. It is not an...
Andrew Smith: ...financing of community care is chaotic to the point of imminent breakdown. Oxfordshire illustrates that well. I was interested that the Under-Secretary of state should praise the Oxford region bridging scheme. If the situation in Oxfordshire is good, I dread to think what it is like in the rest of the country. If things are so marvellous in Oxfordshire and if there is bridging finance, why...
Andrew Mitchell: ...homes and environment to do so. That is partly a housing matter, of course. We need continued growth in the development of sheltered homes for the elderly and of bought sheltered housing, such as Bridge Housing in my constituency, which can offer great security to older people without penalising their capital. This is not a trouble-free area, as escalating service charges have shown, but I...
Mr Tam Dalyell: ...the House will examine those matters seriously along the lines that he suggested. I pay tribute to the way in which British Rail and Scot Rail conducted the centenary celebrations on the Forth bridge, the southern end of which is in my constituency. It was done with dignity, credit and aplomb and that should be recorded here. As an hon. Member who is sponsored by the National Union of...
Mr Ron Leighton: ...is supposed to bring confidence to Hong Kong. How does it give confidence to those on the lower deck to tell them that it is necessary to give out lifebelts, but only to a few of the chosen on the bridge? This move will encourage everyone to think that they should have a passport; lack of confidence is thereby engendered as a self-fulfilling prophecy. As for the inane idea that giving...
Mr Andrew Bennett: ...It is supposedly a Roman road but as any old track was attributed to the Romans in the past, I suspect that it is, in fact, medieval. Until the 1950s, it was a metal road that ran from the Miners' bridge at Betws-y-coed to Pont-y-Pant at Dolwyddelan. In the 1950s, a substantial flood severed the road a little less than a mile from its start. As a result, it was impossible for the farmers...
Mr Andrew Rowe: ...it unpeopled. The congestion that will be caused by using Waterloo as the central terminal for the cross-channel traffic will mean that the hon. Gentleman will be dodging his way across Waterloo bridge among a horde of pedestrians.
Andrew Welsh: ...is the caring face of a Government who delay implementation of community care and starve the system of money for vulnerable groups such as elderly and disabled people? What is the Minister doing to bridge the financial gap between social security benefits and the costs of community care, or between revenue support grant and the costs of community care for local authorities? If the Minister...
Peter Bottomley: ...tonnes of unnecessary lead, which falls on our faces, is breathed in, falls on our food and is a potential development hazard, especially to children. Last night I was privileged to give the St. Andrews lecture at Holy Trinity church in Barnes. I discussed the idea that we could do a great deal more to improve the environment if we halved the distance between our homes and our places of...
Mr Andrew Bennett: ...can take place and people can be persuaded. Everyone accepts that a walk across the railway track is not particularly safe and that it would be far better to put a tunnel underneath or a bridge over the top. But that is expensive, so instead of putting in one for one, British Rail proposes to put in one bridge or tunnel for two previous crossings.
