| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Legal Profession (Tax Treatment)
36. Mr. John M. Taylor: What discussions he has had with the Treasury concerning its proposals to change the tax treatment of the legal profession. [28104]
Mr. Hoon: It would not be appropriate for me to comment on any discussions that may have taken place within Government.
Mr. Taylor: I sincerely hope that, despite that smokescreen of an answer, the Minister argued with the Treasury that the tax changes will have a discouraging effect on young practitioners and new entrants to the profession. Did he make that argument?
Mr. Hoon: The hon. Gentleman knows that my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary announced the proposal well in advance of any Budget determination, precisely so that the professions could be consulted, and so that any representations made about the effects of the proposal could be considered. The hon. Gentleman is surely aware that such representations have been made, and I am sure that my hon. Friend will take them into account.
Mortgage Repossessions
37. Mr. Kidney: What assessment he has made on the basis of the last 12 months' figures of the trend in mortgage repossession cases being filed at court and possession orders being made. [28105]
Mr. Hoon: The trend is downwards. In 1997, fewer mortgage possession actions were issued and fewer possession orders made than in each of the previous two years.
Mr. Kidney: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for pointing out that the figures are down. Nevertheless, every repossession represents a personal tragedy, and the figures are still shamefully high compared with previous periods under a Labour Government when the number of mortgage repossessions was tiny. Will he confirm that that shows the need to manage the economy properly to avoid periods of boom and bust, so that people are not thrown out of their homes as a consequence of the mismanagement of the economy? Has not Labour promised to talk to the mortgage industry about more flexible mortgages, and will he confirm that that may be a way forward to avoid such tragedies happening again?
Mr. Hoon: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his suggestions. Ministerial colleagues with direct responsibility for housing matters are considering those questions as part of the detailed housing comprehensive spending review that is being undertaken by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions with the Department of Social Security. I assure my hon. Friend that the outcome of their considerations will be announced to the House in due course.
Public Records
38. Mr. Baker: What steps he is taking to make available in the Public Record Office documents between 20 and 30 years old. [28106]
Mr. Hoon: Our proposals for freedom of information, set out in the White Paper, "Your Right to Know", will enable more records to be released before they are 30 years old. There will be a legal right of access to official documents of any date, except where disclosure would cause harm to specified interests or would be against the public interest. Whether disclosure would cause harm will be a matter for an independent commissioner.
Mr. Baker: I welcome that response and the Government's work on freedom of information. May I commend to the Minister a Bill that would reduce the period from 30 years to 20 years and that was afforded the luxury of three minutes' discussion on 30 January? I hope that the Government will see the merit of that Bill and help it through on 27 March.
Mr. Hoon: I have had the considerable advantage of reading the hon. Gentleman's proposals. Of course, they will be considered carefully.
Law Centres
39. Mr. Goggins: What plans he has to improve the funding of law centres. [28107]
Mr. Hoon: Law centres are primarily funded by local authorities. In addition, nine law centres currently receive
grants under the Legal Aid Act 1988, and all law centres employing appropriately qualified solicitors can be paid through the legal aid green form scheme for the advice and assistance they provide. In August 1997, following changes approved by Parliament, the Legal Aid Board extended its pilot for the provision of advice and assistance by not-for-profit advice agencies, to allow the funding of salaried lawyers at law centres.
Mr. Goggins: I thank my hon. Friend for that answer, which clearly demonstrates the complex way in which law centres are funded. In view of the need for impartiality and, in poorer areas, the growing need for access to free
legal services, will he consider reverting to the original idea? Is he prepared to fund law centres directly from his Department?
Mr. Hoon: I cannot commit the Department to funding the entire costs of law centres, but I hope that my hon. Friend will be pleased to hear about a number of developments. In particular, the green form scheme will be replaced with fixed-price contracts by the end of 1999. The Government intend to introduce contracts generally for publicly funded legal services once the necessary legislation is in place. It will be open to law centres, along with other suppliers of legal services, to seek contracts. I am sure that that will improve their funding position.
Human Rights Bill
3.31 pm
Mr. Ian Bruce (South Dorset): On a point of order, Madam Speaker. Yesterday, the Home Secretary made a statement on the amendments that were to be made to the Human Rights Bill. Today, along with other hon. Members, I received a letter from an organisation called PressWise, which has as its patrons three Ministers--one at the Department of Social Security, one at the Department for Education and Employment and one at the Northern Ireland Office--decrying such amendments to the Bill. Have any of those three Departments asked to make a statement on control of the press, as it is most confusing when the Government give us one message and we get another in the post?
Madam Speaker: I have not been approached by any Minister seeking to make a statement today.
School Buses (Safety)
3.32 pm
Mr. Malcolm Bruce (Gordon): I beg to move,
- That leave be given to bring in a Bill to introduce safety regulations for school buses; and for connected purposes.
Safety measures introduced in recent years have helped to reduce dramatically the number of fatalities and serious injuries on our roads, in spite of the substantial increase in traffic. The numbers killed have dropped from more than 5,500 per annum in the first half of the 1980s to around 3,500 per annum today. The numbers seriously injured have fallen from around 75,000 to around 45,000 per annum. They are still too high, but there has been a considerable reduction. The total number of injuries, however, has remained about the same, so we have reduced the severity of accidents rather than their absolute number by a combination of technology and road safety measures, with which the Bill is primarily concerned.
The specific record for buses shows a fairly static pattern, but, as all hon. Members will know, the worst accidents and near misses tend to be widely publicised and cause a great deal of public concern and dismay. To a greater or lesser extent, in recent years the Government have taken action on the issues on which I am focusing attention, but there is now clear scope for a consolidating Bill to strengthen and extend safety measures.
I think that everyone--not only hon. Members but the public--is aware, either by visiting north America or by seeing them on television or at the movies, of the highly distinctive north American school buses, which are black and orange-yellow with flashing lights. The north American experience may not be entirely appropriate for the UK, but I believe that we can learn from it.
School buses should have clear and prominent markings. Currently, school buses are required to display a black and yellow sign depicting two children. I argue that those signs are not very prominent, and that they are not always removed when the bus is not on school business. Buses are also allowed to use their hazard flashers to indicate that they are picking up or setting down, but there is little evidence that many do.
I therefore suggest in the Bill that buses must be more prominently and distinctively marked. Even if signs are removable, they should be impossible to miss. Buses carrying schoolchildren should be unmistakeable. Additional warnings and road safety rules should apply when buses are picking up or setting down. For that reason, prominent and distinctive flashing lights, mounted front and rear, should give a clear warning that a bus is stopping, stationary or moving off, and also in which direction it is travelling.
When lights are flashing, it should be illegal to overtake a school bus. The reasons for that seem to be clear. Although it is preferable to encourage children to wait for
the bus to move off, leaving clear vision, the fact is that very often children getting off a bus attempt to cross the road quickly, when they may be hidden from view by the bus itself. I therefore believe that a prohibition on overtaking would reduce the accident risk in those circumstances. I argue also that traffic approaching from the opposite direction should be required to slow down to no more than 20 mph and be prepared to stop.
I can testify that--according to the police on duty at the time--in the past two or three years, one fatality in my constituency might have been averted had those regulations been in place and enforced.
In the past couple of years, another experiment has been conducted in my constituency which has been largely successful. Variable speed limit signs have been installed outside Kintore primary school, on the A96--which is the main Aberdeen to Inverness road. When children are arriving or leaving the school in the morning, at lunchtime and in the afternoon, the signs are changed from 30 to 20 mph. At those times, buses and cars are parked outside the school.
I have myself observed--I was there last Friday--that most traffic does observe the limit; everyone is much more alert to the possibility of children leaving the school; and the school crossing patrol and children have more safe opportunities to cross the road. The Government also believe that the experiment has been broadly successful and will be encouraging its wider use where appropriate, taking account of local factors.
There has been a long campaign in the House, after some tragic and widely publicised accidents, to ensure the fitting of seat belts in school buses. The Government have introduced regulations requiring the fitting of seat belts in minibuses registered after 1988. It seems reasonable to rule that only minibuses that are capable of being safely fitted with seat belts may be used as school buses, and that seat belts should be so fitted.
It is extraordinary that other buses are subject to no such regulation. Indeed, there is no requirement for seat belts in coaches and buses, and children can even travel standing on buses. It is reasonable eventually to require safety restraints for all our children, as advocated by BUSK--the belt up school kids campaign.
I have discussed the proposals in the Bill with those at ROSPA--the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents--who told me that they represent a significant contribution to school bus safety.
I believe that the improvements that we have had--which I have welcomed--in recent years have been piecemeal and remain incomplete. It really is time to consolidate and to make it clear that there is no compromise in our determination to adopt practical measures to make school buses safer.
I accept that no rules will legislate for the idiots or for the negligent: there must be no let-up in vigilance and road safety campaigns that make everyone aware of the dangers. Children must continue to be warned to take every care when crossing the road, whatever regulations are in place. A couple of weeks ago, a truck failed to observe the speed restrictions in Kintore and came within inches of killing the school crossing patrol. Not surprisingly, she has now terminated her employment.
I do not believe that these regulations are a guarantee of absolute safety--I do not pretend they are--but if they were in place, they would reduce risk, accidents and casualties. We must create a culture of care. We must monitor closely how the regulations are working, and we must enforce them. A spokesman from ROSPA told me that a number of the changes introduced in recent years have simply not been monitored to see how effective they are, and how they can be enhanced and improved. I would argue that we need to bring all the measures together.
I am pleased to say that my Bill has attracted support from all parties in the House, and I commend it to the Government and the House. I hope it will lay the foundations for greater safety for school buses and for our children on their journeys to and from school for now and for the coming years.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |