Mr Ralph Howell: Will my right hon. Friend give way?
Mr Ralph Howell: Given the success of workstart, under which the state saves at least £30 a week for every person who is employed, why has the system not been made universal?
Mr Ralph Howell: May I say how much I approve of many of the measures contained in the statement? However, I consider it to be a half-measure, rather than the major reform that is required to solve the awful problem of unemployment. Can my right hon. Friend tell the House how much he thinks the measure will save, or will it cost more? It seems that the training and extra £10 are based very much on the North...
Mr Ralph Howell: Will my hon. Friend now answer two questions that I have asked him in several letters? The first question is: what was the purpose of the request for members of Lloyd's to give numbers? What use could his Committee possibly make of those numbers? The second question is: what possible use can the Committee make of the new headings under winch he asks us to record our underwriting?
Mr Ralph Howell: Does not the Treasury have a responsibility to ensure that the SIB is carrying out its functions in an effective manner? I also have a constituent with problems in that area, and I feel that ultimately it is the responsibility of the Treasury to see that the body is doing its work properly.
Mr Ralph Howell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 17 February.
Mr Ralph Howell: In view of the Government's excellent record of and commitment to safeguarding the value of pensions, is it not remarkable that last night the Opposition voted against uprating? Is this not a case of fine words and weasel actions?
Mr Ralph Howell: May I remind my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister of the excellent and far-sighted speech that he made a year ago—[Interruption.]—at the Carlton club—[Interruption.]—in which he suggested that the unemployed might be offered work or even required to work? May I thank him for setting up the North Norfolk action pilot scheme, which has proved a great success and is already saving...
Mr Ralph Howell: Does my right hon. Friend agree that if everyone in agriculture opted for organic farming the country would either starve or have to import vast quantities of food over and above what it imports today? Is she still of the opinion that we have been successful in reducing our cereal crop by 11 per cent., or 2 million tonnes, when the whole of the European Union has reduced its harvest by only...
Mr Ralph Howell: Does my right hon. Friend regard the fact that the harvest fell from 22 million tonnes to 19 million tones—11 per cent.—in 1993 as success or as failure? Bearing in mind the heavy imports of foodstuffs into this country, what will be the implications for the balance of payments?
Mr Ralph Howell: The hon. Gentleman talked about new ideas and I agree with much of what he has said. However, I disagree with him when he talks about full employment. He seems to suggest that if we have better management—whether by one party or another—we can achieve full employment, but that is not on. We need a fundamental rethink greater than the one we had when Beveridge introduced his report 50...
Mr Ralph Howell: Will the hon. Gentleman explain what the Opposition would do to solve the problem? They are very good at telling us what we have done wrong. He has already said that unemployment is terribly wasteful, and I agree. I am sure that he agrees that most unemployed people desperately want to work. Does he agree that we should set up a voluntary workfare system, because thousands of unemployed...
Mr Ralph Howell: Is the hon. Gentleman implying that we are likely to make some changes to the welfare system in the near future, but that he would insist on everything carrying on as before? If not, would he mind telling us what changes he would like to see?
Mr Ralph Howell: I am extremely interested in the hon. Gentleman's remarks. Does he subscribe to the idea of the right to work? Does he recognise that if we could institute a workfare system in this country it would, over time, eliminate unemployment? I should be interested to know whether he supports that idea.
Mr Ralph Howell: The hon. Gentleman is one of the most radical thinkers in this House. Surely he is making a mistake by saying that the scheme that I have advanced for so many years would be so expensive. No one knows, because no one knows what percentage of the unemployed would take up the option. If there were a 100 per cent. take-up, and it was voluntary, I accept that the scheme would be expensive, but if...
Mr Ralph Howell: I believe that Beveridge envisaged about 7·5 per cent. unemployment. He called that full employment.
Mr Ralph Howell: May I try to correct the impression that I gave? I believe that unless the present system is fundamentally changed, the problem will continue to worsen. No political party and no system, other than a completely different one from the present system, could stop the problem increasing. If we tackle it in the fundamental way that I have described—I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's...
Mr Ralph Howell: We are trying to solve the problem of unemployment. There is only one answer to it, and that is working. If the state were to be the employer of last resort, everyone would have the right to work and there would be no question of unemployment. If that work were available for anyone who did not have a normal job, there would be no more compulsion in accepting it than there is in holding down a...
Mr Ralph Howell: It seems that we are now having a bit of an auction as to who has the greater regard for Beveridge. Surely the hon. Gentleman must appreciate that one of the cornerstones of Beveridge's proposals for the unemployed was that unemployment benefit could not be paid indefinitely and that, after either three months or six months, that benefit should cease and work be offered. If a young person...
Mr Ralph Howell: The hon. Gentleman is totally out of touch. When this matter is discussed in the media, I get many letters from unemployed people who are desperate to take up the £2·50-an-hour jobs that I have suggested. Whenever this matter has been discussed at election time in my constituency, my constituents have criticised me and said, "You have been talking about this for years. Why on earth can we...
