Stephen Timms: The Secretary of State is aware of the difficulties in which several local authorities—including mine—find themselves, arising from the fact that the capital financing element of the SSA reflects notional, not actual, borrowing. Disappointingly, that anomaly has not been addressed; that part of the SSA for Newham has fallen this year. Can the Secretary of State hold out any hope that his...
Stephen Timms: Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
Stephen Timms: Was the right hon. Gentleman not a Whip on the Finance Bill when the measure was passed in 1981?
Stephen Timms: I very much welcome the debate, and I agree with what the hon. Member for Norwich, North (Mr. Thompson) said about the desirability of avoiding party point scoring on this important subject. I welcome the opportunity to draw attention to and celebrate the improvements in standards achieved by the three secondary schools in my constituency in the past year, as a good deal could be learned from...
Stephen Timms: My point is that the individual we are talking about has, as chair of Newham education authority, presided over the very programme that I have been describing, which has focused wholly on raising standards in our schools. It is beyond dispute that the programme has produced impressive results, but it must continue, because there is still more to be done. I conclude with a brief comment on...
Stephen Timms: There is a sense of unreality about today's debate. On the one hand, we have the Chancellor's sunny claims about the wonderful state of the economy and our being the enterprise centre of Europe; and there are statistics that can be called upon to support that version of reality. On the other hand, however, there is the growing fear that what we have today is just another pre-election boom...
Stephen Timms: rose—
Stephen Timms: I was unable to seek the Minister's permission because of the early start of the debate. I hope that I shall nevertheless be allowed to speak briefly.
Stephen Timms: I accept your guidance, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and am grateful for this opportunity to participate in the debate. I reiterate the grave concern felt in east London about the scale of the deficit facing the East London and the City health authority. An exercise is being conducted within the authority to identify savings to bridge the gap in funding. We expect to be told the outcome of the review...
Stephen Timms: I am following with great interest the important points that my hon. Friend is making. He mentioned unsatisfactory answers from the Department of Health. Did he notice an answer that the Minister gave me this week? I asked about the amount of private capital that had been committed so far to health service schemes and to the private finance initiative. I was told that the information was not...
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many pupils with hearing impairments are being taught in mainstream schools. [37271]
Stephen Timms: I am aware of the Minister's close personal interest in this matter. In the light of that, does she agree that we need data on the numbers and experiences of youngsters with disabilities in mainstream schools so that we can ensure that mainstreaming is working effectively for them? Should not such data be collected by the Government?
Stephen Timms: During Nelson Mandela's visit to London last week, the joy and celebration surrounding the President were palpable. We can be proud of the welcome that our communities gave to a man who restored many people's faith in politics. The welcome for President Mandela in Brixton was warmer than ever, but he saw there a side of modern Britain that I suspect the Government would rather he had not...
Stephen Timms: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the level of fraudulent charging for international calls to premium rate telephone services available outside the United Kingdom. [36074]
Stephen Timms: Did the Minister read an article in the Scottish Sunday Mail a week ago, which documented a number of cases of people who had received large bills for calls to overseas premium rate services that they were adamant they had not made and no one else had access to their telephone lines to make? Does the Minister agree that British Telecom's approach—that those people are all lying or are...
Stephen Timms: I wish to speak to amendments Nos. 142, 143, 144 and 145, which are in my name. The distinction that the Bill draws between programme services and additional data services in the licensing of digital television multiplexes is unnecessary and unhelpful. The further requirement that multiplex operators will be obliged to ensure that at least 90 per cent. of their capacity comprises what are...
Stephen Timms: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that excellent point. That service is exactly the type of innovative and imaginative new service that we will see growing up very rapidly. We must ensure that the regulatory framework allows the potential of digital television to grow and prosper. My amendments are not prescriptive or restrictive, and they do not set a minimum level for additional...
Stephen Timms: I support the new clause. As my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) said, in Committee the Minister's position on quality was initially somewhat confused, but in discussion it became much clearer. He was pressed by Opposition members of the Committee on that point and, in response, said that, in his view, the Bill did allow the ITC to apply quality criteria by...
Stephen Timms: Two months ago, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury addressed a conference on the private finance initiative in the health service. Apparently, without a hint of irony, he stood before the delegates and said: Many of the hospital managers here today can testify that PFI has meant that their own local scheme has finally been able to get off the ground. There were looks of blank...
Stephen Timms: I understand that that is not the reason. Perhaps the Minister will be able to give us more: information. I am interested to know why that is the case. At the moment, none of the projects is going forward. Before saying a little more about the PFI in the health service, I wish to make some general comments. The PFI is in trouble, and not only in the health service. It seems that no Sunday...