Stephen Timms: I thank the hon. Lady for her congratulations and extend mine to her on her appointment. The Government's action on student support has been widely welcomed. The position on taxation of DLA has been made very clear and has been accurately reported. There are no plans to introduce taxation of those benefits. That remains the position. Her statement of the Government's position is correct.
Stephen Timms: Does my hon. Friend accept that parts of the Thames gateway might be properly regarded as peripheral? Will she reaffirm the Government's commitment to regeneration of the Thames gateway area? Given that the Thames gateway is divided between three regional development agencies, will she consider the proposal that one agency should be designated with a lead responsibility for that whole area?
Stephen Timms: Given the encouragement of the recent prisoner releases in Nigeria, what prospect does my right hon. Friend see for normalising aid links between Nigeria and the EU, and, indeed, her Department?
Stephen Timms: Will the Chancellor ensure that the welcome increase in public investment that he has announced is targeted where it is most needed, so that we can tackle effectively the legacy of social exclusion and unequal public services left by the last Government?
Stephen Timms: My right hon. Friend is well aware of the anxieties being expressed that there are not enough skilled people to do the work that must be done between now and the millennium. I welcome his reassurances this afternoon about the position in central Government Departments, but what is his assessment of the position on skills shortages in the wider public sector? Is there any evidence of a...
Stephen Timms: I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend's determination throughout the process to secure the whole link, to ensure that Britain is properly connected to the European high-speed rail network early in the new millennium. He spoke about services to Heathrow airport. That is a new element, and presumably those services will run through south London. Can he confirm that the developments and the...
Stephen Timms: I particularly welcome the publication of "Our Information Age: the Government's Vision", which is an excellent and very impressive statement of the Government's vision in the area. Is not the great disappointment that, in the framework of telecommunications that the previous Government put in place, we have not secured the widespread access to innovative and advanced telecommunication...
Stephen Timms: If he will make a statement on progress with his education action zone initiative. [40045]
Stephen Timms: Has my hon. Friend had an opportunity to study the bid submitted by the London borough of Newham for Eastleigh school and its feeder primaries in the south-west of the borough? If so, has he noticed the high level of private sector support for that bid? We have £250,000 from East London Partnerships, an organisation wholly funded by the private sector, and substantial contributions amounting...
Stephen Timms: The Government this week launched the new policy on tackling drug abuse, which has been widely welcomed, including by the hon. Member for Congleton (Mrs. Winterton), especially the announcement that the assets of drug dealers will be seized to fund anti-drugs work. How does that initiative fit into the Government's wider assault on social exclusion? Are not additional data required on the...
Stephen Timms: I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend's statement and the response of the hon. Member for Congleton (Mrs. Winterton), whom I welcome to the Opposition Front Bench. Does my right hon. Friend agree with the all-party group on drug misuse about the importance of starting drugs education at primary schools, building up young people's resistance to drug misuse at an early stage? She made...
Stephen Timms: When the last Government left office, was not unemployment still considerably higher than it had been in 1979? Youth unemployment was more than twice the overall level, yet there were large and growing skill shortages in key parts of the economy, particularly in information and communications technology. What steps will the Government take to ensure that the enormous new opportunities for...
Stephen Timms: What discussions he has had with Church leaders about the problems of highly indebted developing countries. [32510]
Stephen Timms: I am pleased to hear from my right hon. Friend that the Government are supporting the campaign, which has been backed by Church leaders and others, for a millennium-linked initiative on debt under the banner of the Jubilee 2000 campaign. Can my right hon. Friend tell the House what support he has gathered from other Governments for the welcome lead that he has taken on this issue?
Stephen Timms: I agree with the hon. Gentleman. I wonder whether he has noticed that some newspapers, including the Financial Times, are suggesting that it would be a good thing if only the first section of the link were built. Does he agree that that would be a disaster, and that the Government must ensure that when an announcement is made about taking the project forward there is full confidence that the...
Stephen Timms: When he last carried out a review of the mandatory spot tests for drugs in prisons. [30351]
Stephen Timms: My hon. Friend will be aware that some prisoners and former prisoners have alleged that the current mandatory drug testing regime provides an incentive for prisoners using cannabis to switch to heroin, to reduce the chance of being caught. Is that allegation being considered in the current review? Should we not as quickly as possible give prisoners access to voluntary testing and other help,...
Stephen Timms: How many representations he has received in response to the Food Standards Agency White Paper. [28753]
Stephen Timms: Are not the Government's proposals good news for all those producers and consumers who suffered so grievously from the series of regulatory failures followed by cover-ups which characterised the stewardship of the Conservative party? What assurances can my hon. Friend give on two specific aspects of the proposals—first, on the independence of the agency and, secondly, on public access to...
Stephen Timms: How many representations he has received from organisations concerned with drug abuse in response to the national lottery White Paper.[27606]