Lord Rotherwick: asked Her Majesty's Government: What steps they intend to take to remove illegal economic migrants.
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, in the eight years leading up to 1997 there were 59,000 illegal immigrants unaccounted for. Last year alone 76,000 illegal immigrants were refused entry. Can the Minister say what impact these illegal immigrants have on the National Health Service, the housing shortage, schools and crime? If he is unable to do so, can he say what steps he is taking to address the matter?
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, perhaps I may ask the Minister about wild deer. I am a farmer and also manage park deer and wild deer. Is the noble Baroness aware that there are more freely roaming deer around than ever before--certainly more than was the case 25 years ago? They roam not just through forest and woodland. They are the muntjac that come into our gardens. Has the Minister considered the implications...
Lord Rotherwick: rose to ask Her Majesty's Government what are their policies on promoting general aviation, including revised planning guidance. My Lords, I am delighted to be able to speak on general aviation tonight. It is very timely in the light of the two government consultation papers, Noise from Civil Aircraft and The Future of Aviation. I should like to thank the noble Lord, Lord Macdonald of...
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, will that significant increase of 6.6 per cent enable those community hospitals which were closed to be re-opened?
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, does the noble Lord consider it cruel for a fox to be shot and take two weeks to die through being infected by that shot?
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for giving way. Does he not agree that replacing hunting with drag hunting would be like replacing tennis with ping-pong?
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, like many noble Lords I declare an interest as someone who lives and works in the countryside but no longer hunts or rides. My local hunt meets a couple of times at my home, and that is a time when all members of the public are welcomed to my home and have access to all parts of my land. It is a time when the lowliest can speak to the highest. That is not something which one finds...
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, the Minister said that the primary objective of the rural task force is to eliminate foot and mouth disease. He also said that the Government would soon inform the general public of the areas of the countryside to which they could return safely. However, that would exclude livestock and pastures. I am anxious that that advice should include areas frequented by wild deer, as...
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, is the Minister aware that the members of the Federation of Zoological Gardens of Great Britain--namely, the zoos and wildlife parks, which receive somewhere in the region of 13 million visits from tourists each year--will, according to that federation, be in a cash crisis by April of this year? Is the noble Lord also aware that 45 per cent of the members of that federation are...
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, the number of people who live below the poverty line is increasing. Indeed, national statistics for the past five years show that the percentage of the population below the low-income thresholds, which vary with mean income, rose slightly during that period. Shall we be surprised to hear soon how the Government will reverse that trend?
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister. The Minister said that the Government would correct this error as soon as was convenient. My only comment is that this is yet another instance of the Government legislating in haste and having to amend at leisure. It has taken seven months. We do not oppose the making of this amendment order.
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, may I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, on selecting this subject for debate. As the noble Baroness said, the care and the education of our young children are very important. This is a timely debate. The report on early years education which was published last December and the follow-up report which was published in May this year, together with the response from the...
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, this is an uncontroversial regulation which serves, in these days of global commerce, to make sure that throughout the EC registered designs are treated in the same way. Registration of designs protects businesses from having their goods and logos copied by unscrupulous pirates who produce cheap and usually inferior copies of high value or well-known products. The regulation is in...
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, each year, hundreds of thousands of people come into this country from abroad, some of whom have little or no command of English. What are the Government doing to ensure that such people can learn English and communicate with the rest of us within the UK?
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, will the Minister quantify the injection of private moneys into specialist schools?
Lord Rotherwick: asked Her Majesty's Government: How many police investigations are under way under the Terrorism Act 2000 with a view to deporting terrorists.
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his helpful Answer. Will he join me in applauding Syria on its recent action? It has extradited to Egypt Refaie Ahmed Taha, the terrorist behind the shooting of 28 British and foreign tourists in Luxor in 1997? Are the Government considering whether they should follow the example set by Syria in extraditing terrorists even if they may face the death penalty...
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, could not the law be wrong where a terrorist, who may have killed women and children in another country, can gain entry to our country under asylum laws, live in the sanctuary of our country and be paid for by taxpayers?
Lord Rotherwick: My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Baroness, Lady Sharp of Guildford, for initiating this important debate. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Maginnis of Drumglass, on his excellent maiden speech. As a former Army officer who served in Northern Ireland, I am deeply impressed by his reputation and gallant record. He served in the Ulster Defence Regiment and later as an MP for Fermanagh for 18...