Miss Bernadette Devlin: ...-Clark. Who, very shortly after the fall of Lord O'Neill of the Maine, emerged as the white hope of liberalism? The same Major James Dawson Chichester-Clark. He, in turn, by one vote in the Parliamentary party, saved us from the shrewd Right-wing politics of Mr. Brian Faulkner. When Major James Dawson Chichester-Clark was promoted to his Lordship, Lord Moyona of Castledawson, the next...
Stuart Bell: This is the first occasion that the Cleveland child abuse crisis has been brought to the Floor of the House other than through parliamentary statements and questions. I have taken the opportunity of raising the matter on an Adjournment debate because of the deep concern that my constituents feel at the turn of events following the publication of the consultants' statement in The Guardian. It...
Mr Jeff Rooker: I am grateful that the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science is present to respond, but as I have already told the Minister and his Department, the services for children with special educational needs are provided by the health authorities. That is an important point to stress. In 1987 there were about 134,000 children with special educational needs in our schools....
Liam Fox: ...of crucial importance to rural communities in the United Kingdom. It is instructive to see how the Labour Benches are emptying. Opposition Members were screaming about employment prospects for one group in the community earlier today and beating their breasts about the perils of unemployment, yet they do not see fit to stay to defend the jobs of the rural community which remain under...
Liam Fox: ...labelled "emergency", "urgent", "soon" or "routine". That was how GPs always rationed care in the health service, but in many cases it was not explicit. However, GP fund holders can decide which groups of their patients can be seen more quickly than others, and surely GPs are better placed than bureaucrats in health boards to decide whether a group of patients in a specialty should take...
Liam Fox: ..., especially renal complications, which now cause the second largest bed occupancy in the national health service. We must be very sensitive with the tests and make sure that we do not exclude groups who should be on invalidity benefit; but, likewise, we should not go too far in the other direction. When we bring in the tests, we must consider not only mechanical function—many...
Mrs Anne Campbell: ...contractions. Sadly, the baby was stillborn four days later, at 20 weeks' gestation. A post-mortem revealed that the cause of the premature, pre-viable delivery was infection with the bacterium group B streptococcus. That bacterium causes virulent uterine infection, but it is treatable and, if caught at an early stage, it can be treated with antibiotics. At a follow-up appointment with...
Liam Fox: ...the region to the refugees themselves. The position is complicated by the fact that the refugees are scattered—we are not entirely sure where they all are—and by the fact that seven disparate groups are currently fighting. It is not as if we were negotiating with one group, and it is not as if the refugees were in one place. First, we must get our refugees to a safe place; then we...
Liam Fox: There have been no recent consultations over the establishment of an international association for non-governmental organisations. A number of NGO groupings already exist within the European Union and the United Nations system, as well as for British NGOs.
Liam Fox: ...) not only for his contribution, but for his extreme courtesy in getting his timing so impeccably correct. I should like to start by discussing the actions of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, which, if the House will forgive me, I will refer to as CMAG for the rest of the debate. The group's representatives visited Nigeria on 18 to 20 November to continue their assessment of...
Liam Fox: ...period, although the United Kingdom was not primarily involved in that area. Our aid to Rwanda is of a humanitarian nature, and we should remember that people in Rwanda—regardless of which ethnic group they belong to—may be starving. Our primary objective in Rwanda is to deal with its humanitarian needs.
Liam Fox: ...problem. We have already provided substantial aid and we are willing to do more. The problem that the Tanzanian Government identified was not a matter of need as such, but of access to many refugee groups. The Government are constantly looking at that problem. We have an open dialogue with Tanzania and if the Tanzanian Government ask for specific help, we shall certainly consider it.
Liam Fox: .... My right hon. and noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development held discussions with the Nigerian authorities at the highest level, most recently during the Commonwealth ministerial action group visit in November. We remain extremely concerned about the human rights situation in Nigeria, and the lack of progress towards the restoration of democracy in that country.
Liam Fox: ...and informal education services. In our poverty reduction project in Cochin, India, the provision of safe havens for street children in poor areas is a priority for this identified vulnerable group. Several specific recommendations were made in the consortium's briefing paper. I should like to deal with them, because both the hon. Lady and my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset raised...
Liam Fox: You, Madam Speaker, would not, I am sure, allow me to trespass on Home Office territory. On the first part of the hon. Gentleman's question, we fully support the Commonwealth ministerial action group position and regularly reinforce that message to Nigeria. It calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners, including Chief Abiola; the restoration of a democracy in which all can...
Liam Fox: ...have the right to raise not only council tax but business rates. When it raises income tax, or its "guaranteed amount", as the White Paper calls it, Ministers may smile, because there is only one group that is guaranteed on a residency basis not to pay that tax—Ministers legally deemed to live in London. It is fine for everyone else in Scotland to pay the tax, but not for Ministers. The...
Jim Cousins: ...of what constitute good practice and good conduct, as the case that I bring to the House's attention today illustrates all too clearly. As I speak today, I bear in mind the words of Professor Liam Donaldson, now chief executive of the NHS regional executive in the Northern and Yorkshire region, who pointed out clearly some of the dilemmas facing doctors and medical staff when they seek to...
Liam Fox: ...and so it had to accept anything that Tasplot demanded. Tasplot, as many of the owners of the quarry mysteriously have done, went into receivership in 1992, owing over £800,000. After much action group lobbying, the quarry was registered as dormant under the Planning and Compensation Act 1991. An appeal against that registration was rejected by the then Avon county council, which...
Liam Fox: ...who is to reply, who has responsibility for Scottish farmers, should tell us why we in the United Kingdom will not support Scottish farmers but, as EU taxpayers, we are subsidising every other group of farmers in the Union. In Scotland alone, the costs are £7.6 million for cattle passports, £8.3 million in new Meat Hygiene Service charges and £12 million extra in charges for abattoir...
Jeffrey M. Donaldson: ...prison. In 1997, we had at least three serious lapses of security at the Maze prison. The first was the discovery of an IRA escape tunnel in March; the second was the escape of the IRA prisoner, Liam Averill, in early December; and the third was the murder of the Loyalist Volunteer Force prisoner, Billy Wright, on 27 December. Those incidents represent serious breaches in security at the...