Louise Ellman: I accept my hon. Friend's comments. I note that Opposition Members have nothing whatever to say about such an important subject, which is very strange. Instead, they condemn this Government, who have done far less in attacking any motorist than they did during their long and despicable period in office. Public transport is of course of great importance to communities and societies; it is...
Louise Ellman: I thank my hon. Friend for his comments. Regional development agencies are essential for bringing together the private, public and voluntary sectors to examine the economic, environmental and transport needs of regions. That is the way in which sustainable, new employment can be developed to fulfil the differing needs of the different regions. I also note with regret that the Opposition are...
Louise Ellman: What assessment she has made of the United Kingdom's public information programme on the millennium bug. [101269]
Louise Ellman: How does my hon. Friend see the public information campaign progressing between now and the millennium period? How does what has been done in this country compare with what has happened elsewhere—for example, in the United States?
Louise Ellman: What assessment he has made of the number of people benefiting from the working families tax credit in Liverpool, Riverside. [101773]
Louise Ellman: I welcome my hon. Friend's answer. It is clear that the working families tax credit, together with employment opportunities, allows individual families a way out of poverty and boosts local economies at the same time. What additional support may be available through child care support offered by the Government? Can my hon. Friend make an assessment of the implications for my constituents in...
Louise Ellman: Is the hon. Gentleman aware that, following the Rogers report, the Labour Government's policy is already being enacted in Liverpool? The regeneration company Liverpool Vision—in which the regional development agency works with the local authority and the private sector—has already begun its work. Perhaps he will thank the Government for giving Liverpool city council additional financial...
Louise Ellman: Does my right hon. Friend accept that the benefits of the working families tax credit in areas such as Liverpool go alongside the benefits of employment opportunities provided by, for example, Government regeneration programmes and the ability of the Merseyside objective 1 area to spend £850 million of European funding, especially on business support? Does he recall that the working families...
Louise Ellman: How does the Prime Minister intend to increase and publicise the Government's considerable successes in regeneration and employment in inner-city areas such as Liverpool?
Louise Ellman: I thank my hon. Friend for the £700,000 spent on accident and emergency at the Royal Liverpool hospital, which virtually eliminated long trolley waits over the Christmas period. I also look forward to the completion of the new medical assessment unit at the hospital. That is being built, at a cost of £1.4 million, to support the work of the A and E services. However, does my hon. Friend...
Louise Ellman: What new measures he plans to introduce to assist entrepreneurs to set up new businesses. [111535]
Louise Ellman: Will my hon. Friend meet me and others to discuss proposals for a community-based investment fund in Toxteth, Liverpool? Does she agree that every possible effort should be made to support entrepreneurship in the inner city?
Louise Ellman: I support the Bill because it requires a plan to change the quality of life of the most vulnerable and to tackle key aspects of fuel poverty, especially energy conservation, which is critical. It also raises the equally important issue of fuel tariffs. It could improve quality of life by granting the basic right to warmth to millions of people who are deprived of it. It could improve health,...
Louise Ellman: The problem is national and should be tackled nationally, but measures should often be implemented locally. We have to monitor the results of actions taken and the regional level is important in that. The utilities and their regulators should have to report to regional forums so that they have to face up to their responsibilities. I support the Bill because it is about action and drawing...
Louise Ellman: What plans she has to make quangos accountable to elected regional and local bodies.[116385]
Louise Ellman: Does my hon. Friend agree that it is entirely unacceptable for the Government to announce plans to make quangos accountable to devolved government in Scotland and in Wales, and to the proposed devolved government in Greater London, when he has no answers on what is to happen to unaccountable quangos in the English regions?
Louise Ellman: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Louise Ellman: Am I correct in believing that the right hon. Lady at one time advocated the total removal of responsibility for education from local authorities? Is she still of that opinion? Would she like the Bill to include provision to achieve that removal?
Louise Ellman: The Bill is about reviving local government and local democracy after a Tory onslaught that continued for 18 years. It is difficult to take seriously any comments made by the Opposition, given that they were part of that onslaught, and given that we heard again this evening—in reply to a question from me to the right hon. Member for South-West Norfolk (Mrs. Shephard)—that they still...
Louise Ellman: rose—