When she last met non-governmental organisations to discuss the delivery of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. [14146]

What assessment she has made of the requirements for aid in Afghanistan in readiness for the winter. [14147]

If she will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. [14148]

The United Nations estimates that there are 6 million people in need of food aid in Afghanistan. The House will recall that prior to 11 September the World Food Programme was supplying food aid to 5 million Afghans. After 11 September all international workers were withdrawn from Afghanistan and deliveries stopped for 13 days. Thereafter, deliveries steadily improved and were interrupted only briefly when bombing started on 7 October. Targets were met up to 13 November and delivery systems inside the country also held up.

I thank the right hon. Lady for the nature of that reply and the help that she is giving the House. According to Oxfam, however, three quarters of all trucking routes into Afghanistan remain suspended. Despite her best efforts, targets are not being met. I was interested in what she said to the Select Committee on International Development yesterday about the Americans not taking the humanitarian issue as seriously as this Administration do. If that is true, what can be done urgently to address that problem?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that question. I am afraid that Oxfam is simply wrong again if it is saying that three quarters of the routes are suspended. The report that I have just given the House is the accurate one.

Does the Secretary of State accept that, this winter, refugee camps will have a key part to play in distributing food aid? The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was meant to have opened 15 camps by now, of which I understand only one has been opened. How many will be opened and how soon, how soon will they reach full capacity, and what is the Department doing to expedite the opening of the remaining camps?

The hon. Gentleman may recall that when the UN issued its appeal shortly after the crisis began, it predicted 1.5 million new refugees in addition to the nearly 4 million long-standing refugees that are in Iran and Pakistan. In fact the volume of movement has not been nearly so great. It is about 100,000, coming over in trickles, so there are some new camps, but the numbers are nothing like those that were predicted as needed. Obviously, the food and support need to follow the people. They have tended to stay inside Afghanistan but have often moved out of the cities. They are internally displaced, rather than crossing borders in big numbers. There are supplies for refugees; our biggest problem remains inside Afghanistan.

The Secretary of State has said that 10 days supplies are all that remain; that clearly is not enough. Will she regret, with me, the delay in sending in the troops, which is indeed very regrettable? Does she agree that they should have a peacekeeping as well as humanitarian role, to ensure that food aid is delivered according to her timetable?

I agree that the figure of 10 days' supply is a bit worrying. Supplies from one of the major Pakistan routes have now resumed but we need to do better. If we continue to have difficulties in crossing that border, we really will get into serious problems. I agree with the hon. Lady that we need agreement on the new transitional Government for Afghanistan and then some international forces to stabilise the situation, so that Afghanistan may receive better humanitarian support and start the job of reconstruction.

I am sure that the Secretary of State will welcome with me the appointment of Mark Malloch Brown, head of the United Nations Development Programme and the senior Briton in the UN family of organisations, to head the regeneration of Afghanistan, confirming that, in our view and that of the UN, this is not just about short-term aid but about the rebuilding of a failed state—probably over many years—in Afghanistan.

I do of course welcome the appointment of Mark Malloch Brown. The job of UNDP is co-ordination and he will be doing that. Perhaps even more importantly, yesterday there was a conference in the US, attended by my permanent secretary among others, where Colin Powell and Paul O'Neill strongly committed the US to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and to sticking with Afghanistan until it had the chance of a better future. That we must all do, and learn the lesson of the previous error, when, after the Russian withdrawal, everyone turned their backs on Afghanistan. That was how the tragedy of today came about.

Will the Secretary of State insist that international organisations work with Afghan aid and development workers? The International Development Committee heard evidence from representatives of the World Food Programme that there is food and medicine in its warehouses and that it has, magnificently, managed to keep the polio immunisation programme going, but as the routes into Afghanistan open up, it is important that international agencies do not swamp the country and neglect the good work done by the locals throughout these difficult times.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. In East Timor, international organisations brought in too many international workers and did not use enough East Timorese—the people who had to take over and run their own country. Afghans have performed superbly since 11 September, when all international workers were withdrawn, and they very bravely kept the delivery systems going in the face of great attacks. That work needs to be honoured, and as we get back into the country, the Afghans who have done so well need to be kept in senior positions both to continue the humanitarian effort and to start the reconstruction of their country.

My right hon. Friend will be aware of media reports of houses collapsing because humanitarian aid was dropped on them. There are also reports of aid packages being sold in marketplaces rather than being given out. What does she intend to do to prevent that happening?

The only aid dropped by air up to now has been the United States "hearts and minds" parcels, if I can call them that. They contained jam, crackers and peanut butter, and I do not think that they were heavy enough to cause houses to collapse. I am happy to say that the UN World Food Programme has done a splendid job, continuing to supply massive quantities of food—enough to feed 6 million people—to a mountainous country with poor roads. It has done so without using airdrops, although they may be necessary in areas that will become inaccessible because of the winter.

The right hon. Lady is rightly concerned that the civil/military liaison in Afghanistan is not working well. We have continually been told that the bombing in Afghanistan will bring a quick end to this campaign and open up humanitarian corridors before the winter. [Interruption.] The Secretary of State has not admitted that, despite the apparent collapse of the Taliban in many parts of Afghanistan, the delivery of humanitarian aid remains extremely difficult in many areas. [Interruption.] Does she agree that we need a substantial deployment of troops, backed by an explicit UN resolution to secure aid to Afghanistan?

Order. There is far too much noise in the Chamber, particularly from hon. Members at the back. The hon. Member for Cunninghame, South (Mr. Donohoe) is nodding, but he is one of the noisiest. It is extremely unfair to the hon. Member asking the question and the Minister answering for her Department.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

May I say what an enormous pleasure it is for Labour Members that my right hon. Friend, a doughty fighter for humanitarian aid throughout her career, is in her post at this crucial point in history? She will recall campaigning with me to raise the proportion of GDP that we spend on aid to the 0.7 per cent. that was urged on us for many years. I have not seen a great shortage of money in the Chancellor's pockets of late. Indeed, one of the problems has been underspending of the money that we have agreed. She would have enormous support if she were to make a strong bid to up that percentage of GDP.

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for his comments and I shall ensure that they are drawn to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor. As he probably knows, we have just started the process of the next comprehensive spending review. I should like to tell my hon. Friends that, if any Department is having any trouble spending its budget, mine is certainly not having such trouble and I could help out.

Does the Secretary of State regret accusing America yesterday of turning its back on the world, when in fact it was the largest donor of aid to Afghanistan even before 11 September? Does she accept that, at this stage, nothing would give the Taliban greater comfort than to hear of a rift between the US and the UK?

I heard the hon. Lady on the radio this morning and I think it laughable to suggest that inaccurate reporting in our media of an accurate report that I gave the Select Committee will help the Taliban to avoid collapse in Afghanistan. That really is a bit silly. In response to the hon. Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry), the Chairman of the Committee and a member of her party, who asked whether it is a worry that the US is the smallest contributor of aid among the OECD countries, I told the Select Committee that I thought that that was regrettable, that there was a chance that the whole world, post-11 September, would be more committed to development, and that there did seem to be a problem with the US, a country made up of diverse nationalities, in that it turned inwards and was rather insular. I stand by all those remarks.

What assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Angola, with particular reference to children. [14149]

Children and other vulnerable people are bearing the brunt of the continuing conflict in Angola. Some 42 per cent. of Angolan children are underweight for their age, fewer than half of them go to school and under-five infant mortality there is the second highest in the world. The UK has contributed £56 million in development and humanitarian aid since 1993 and we continue to work through UN agencies, NGOs and our contribution to EC assistance. The urgent need, however, is to bring the war to an end.

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. The statistics that he gave show how awful the situation is for children in Angola. Unfortunately, there are no television cameras to record the misery that can be seen there. Having recently visited Angola on a trip with UNICEF, I ask my hon. Friend to consider what we can do to support projects in the southern half of the country, where there is less conflict and they can have the maximum effect. We can then show the children and people of Angola what can be done with good governance.

I say to my hon. Friend and to my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Wyre (Mr. Dawson), who was also a part of that UNICEF-supported visit to Angola, that I very much agree with his point about the need to demonstrate in that country the benefits of peace and stability. We are this year contributing almost £3 million in humanitarian aid through a range of NGOs, which will, in particular, benefit refugee children and their families. As my hon. Friend will be aware, in Luanda, we have the urban poverty programme, which is helping with water supply, micro-finance and child care. However, the fact remains that peace is the necessary precondition for progress in this relatively wealthy country, which has oil. If the Government could direct those resources more towards poverty reduction, the country would have a better prospect for the future.

Does the Minister agree that we now need an international coalition against poverty, whether it is Angola or Afghanistan? We would have far greater clout in such a coalition if we could reach the 0.7 per cent. target. It is in all our interests to engage with colleagues in Congress in the United States to ensure that it is outward looking and that it seeks to improve on the rather poor 0.1 per cent. of gross national income that it devotes to development aid. If there is to be a coalition against poverty, it must engage all the richest nations in the world.

I endorse all the points made by the hon. Gentleman, Indeed, it seems that a coalition on precisely those points is developing between him as Chairman of Select Committee on International Development and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. The events of the past two months have given all of us—particularly America—pause for thought on the importance of international development in the new world order. There is now a better opportunity in that country to advance the arguments made by the hon. Gentleman than there has been for many years.

My hon. Friend is aware of the shocking conditions in 13 transit camps in Angola; even by the appallingly low standards of that country, conditions are particularly bad for thousands of people and their children. The Angolan Government have promised to close the camps by the end of the year and move those people to better conditions. The ambassador in Luanda is trying hard to pursue the matter with the Government. Will my hon. Friend bring every pressure that he can muster to bear on the Angolan Government on that vital issue?

We certainly shall. As my hon. Friend is aware, a team from the Department for International Development was recently in Angola as part of a review mission. On that occasion, it pressed the precise point made by my hon. Friend—the need to ensure that the Government of Angola honour their commitment to close the camps, which are clearly in an appalling condition.

If she will make a statement on her recent meeting with the Presidents of Uganda and Rwanda. [14150]

My recent meeting with the Presidents of Rwanda and Uganda was fruitful in reducing tension between the two countries. The two Presidents talked through the causes of the rising tension, then signed an understanding committing them to discourage dissidents from organising in each other's country and to undertake not to interfere in each other's internal affairs. They agreed to set up mechanisms to monitor the implementation of the agreement, with the UK acting as a third party. The Prime Minister joined the talks for a time. The agreement has begun to be implemented and tensions are already reducing.

As the Secretary of State will be aware, peace in the Congo is vital to the stability of Rwanda and Uganda; indeed, the refugee crisis in north-western Tanzania would be exacerbated if the conflict took root. Can she assure the House that she is looking carefully at discussions on aid to Rwanda and Uganda to help encourage their Presidents not to allow their tensions over the Congo to get out of hand?

I share the hon. Gentleman's concerns. If we are to get better development in Africa, we need to resolve a lot of conflicts. The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country as big as western Europe, is sucking in six neighbouring countries. A mineral-rich country, if properly governed, could be an engine of growth and development in Africa; it is essential to implement the Lusaka peace accords.

In considering the great problems in Rwanda, will my right hon. Friend explain what other help is being given to east African countries like Tanzania, which has a huge refugee problem arising from the disturbances in Rwanda and, of course, in Burundi?

As my hon. Friend said, Tanzania has many refugees—300,000, I think, or something similar. A desperately poor country is playing host to lots of refugees because of the conflict in Burundi in particular and instability in the great lakes region in general. Tanzania has recently being doing well on reform; its completion date for debt relief is due to go to the boards of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank today and is likely to be approved. Despite its refugees burden, Tanzania, I am glad to say, is moving forward; the United Kingdom is supporting it in its big reform efforts.

Does the Secretary of State not share our concern about the recent United Nations report which said that the increase by the Government in aid to countries like Rwanda and Uganda was being used to ensure that those countries did not spend money on the services that the Government should properly be funding, and asked whether those savings were being mis-spent on funding warlike approaches? Is there not a genuine concern that UK taxpayers' money is being misused for war? What is the Secretary of State going to do about that?

I am glad to inform the House that there is no such concern. The House should be proud that after—[Interruption.] It is difficult to hear what is being said in the Chamber. After the terrible genocide in Rwanda, during which nearly 1 million people were killed in the course of a few months by machete, under orders, and the UN was withdrawn rather than acting to protect the country, there was a massive refugee exodus and the country was left with nothing.

What plans are being considered to rebuild the infrastructure of Afghanistan following the present conflict. [14151]

We are closely involved in planning for the future of Afghanistan. As well as supporting Ambassador Brahimi's efforts to establish a broadly based transitional government, we are working with the international community on reconstruction. Repair of the country's infrastructure will be an important part of this process. A document setting out the UK's contribution to an emergency recovery plan for the first 100 days has been placed in the Library.

I thank my hon. Friend for his reply. I am sure that my right hon. and hon. Friends on the Government Front Bench were as shocked as the rest of the House to learn that, in the conflict, Afghanistan did not have one functioning hospital. Does my hon. Friend agree that the international community should now commit itself early on, through the UN, to specific projects, including hospitals, to help rebuild Afghanistan, retain hearts and minds and shame all the warlords who reduced their own country to rubble?

I agree with my hon. Friend entirely. The re-establishment of a health system within Afghanistan, where life expectancy is 44 years, is an urgent priority, as is the re-establishment of a system of education so that at least half the next generation can have the opportunity to receive the education that they deserve. In the long term, that will make the greatest contribution to the re-building of the country. [Interruption.]

rose—

Order. The House is far too noisy and it must come to order.

About 50 per cent. of the people of Afghanistan are under 18, and about 60 per cent. of that age group die from preventable diseases. What steps are being taken, if there is a new infrastructure—this follows on from the question of the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Paul Farrelly)—to get to Afghanistan the medicines, supplies and vaccines that the population requires and which we take for granted?

A great deal of effort is already under way to ensure that essential medical supplies get into the country. As we heard in answer to an earlier question, the polio vaccination programme—overseen by UNICEF—has continued during the current difficulties. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that continued effort must be made to ensure that we meet the health needs of the Afghanistan population, which has suffered enormously.

My hon. Friend will be aware that many educated and skilled Afghan people have fled from the conflict over the past 20 years. They are living throughout the world, and many are in the UK. What steps is my hon. Friend's Department taking to assist the return of these people to help in the rebuilding of their country's infrastructure?

The most important contribution that we can make to addressing my hon. Friend's question is to work to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan. The sooner the reconstruction process can begin, and the sooner people who have fled the country—many of whom are educated, as my hon. Friend mentioned—see that there is a future and a prospect for their country, the greater will be the chance that they will commit themselves to returning to the country of their birth so that they can take part in helping to rebuild it.

What actions her Department is taking to reduce the sex trade in young girls in the Ivory Coast. [14152]

We are working with our European partners and the International Labour Organisation to try to address this serious problem, which affects several west African states, including the Ivory Coast. It was also discussed at the recent EU-Africa summit, which has set up a taskforce to take action.

In view of the Victoria Climbie case, what further action is being taken at United Kingdom airports to prevent sex slave children from being brought into the country?

The Victoria Climbie case, dreadful though it was, did not directly involve sexual exploitation. We have signed up to all the relevant conventions and we are working with the Home Office to ensure that action is taken against people who engage in this appalling trade. The European Union is negotiating a new framework agreement that will oblige all member states to make trafficking for sexual exploitation a specific criminal offence. The sooner we can get that into law, the more we can do to prevent that appalling trade.

If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 21 November.

This morning, I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further meetings later today.

I wonder whether the Prime Minister knows of the case of a single mother in my constituency who needed a hysterectomy—[Interruption.] I do not know what Labour Members find so funny about a lady needing a hysterectomy. She had to move her young children from a village school to London schools while she was in hospital, but the operation was cancelled only a day before it was due to take place. Does the Prime Minister have any idea of the distress and trauma that she and her children suffered? That is only one out of 1,000 operations that are cancelled each week under his national health service.

The NHS performs 5.5 million operations every year, but of course I understand the immense pain and suffering caused to anyone whose operation is cancelled. For precisely that reason, we are introducing measures to provide that if an operation is cancelled for non-clinical reasons—for example, because there are not enough surgeons or beds—it will be performed within a specified period elsewhere. That is a change from the previous Government's policy.

In a week when the Government's target of half of all pupils achieving five A to C grade GCSEs has been met a year early, will my right hon. Friend congratulate Aldercar community school in my constituency and its staff and pupils? The percentage of pupils who achieve such grades there has increased by 36 points in the past four years. That makes it one of the schools that has improved most in the country. Will he encourage other schools to follow its example to try to persuade every pupil, even their large numbers of statemented pupils, to enter for qualifications? Even in such difficult days abroad, does he agree that there is some good news at home?

It is important that the target of 50 per cent. of pupils achieving five good GCSEs has been met. I believe that Tony Cooper, the head teacher at the school that my hon. Friend mentioned, was secondary head of the year in 2000. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh"] It is amazing how well informed I can be. He is one of a growing number of head teachers throughout the country whose results have improved significantly. Results in some of the new specialist schools have improved by 15 per cent. or 20 per cent. Taken with the primary school results, that represents a significant step change, which we must maintain and develop further.

One of great successes in the war against terrorism has been this country's role in holding together the coalition with the United States. Will the Prime Minister reaffirm that Britain and the United States remain as one in pursuing our objectives, namely, the removal of the Taliban, bringing bin Laden and al-Qaeda to justice and delivering humanitarian aid? Will he confirm that there is full agreement on how to pursue those objectives?

Yes, I am happy to confirm that. There is complete agreement on the military objectives of removing the Taliban regime, which I am pleased to say is largely now achieved, and making sure that we pursue and hunt down the terrorist network of al-Qaeda, on which we have made considerable progress. There is complete agreement on making sure that we get the humanitarian aid into Afghanistan, which is absolutely vital; and on the political and diplomatic front, because there will be a meeting next Monday of all the various ethnic groupings in Afghanistan. That is a huge step forward. People would not have thought it remotely possible a short while ago. I also commend the attitude of the Northern Alliance in that regard. Many people feared that it would not join such a broad-based grouping, but clearly it is doing so.

Families of troops up and down the country are obviously concerned about husbands and wives who may be on deployment. Will the Prime Minister, making it clear that some are already on deployment and possibly in action, confirm that the number of troops on stand-by remains the same as last week, that no decision has yet been taken on whether or when they will deploy and that any such decision will also be made in full consultation with the United States?

Of course it will be made in full consultation with the United States. The troops were put on 48-hour stand-by for a purpose. Perhaps it is just as well that I say this, because it may be the reason for some of those incorrect stories arising. The situation in Afghanistan is obviously developing day by day. Two weeks ago, people would have been surprised at where we are today. In fact, they would have been astounded at the progress that has been made. A lot of people did not believe that the military strategy would succeed as fast as it did. They then worried that the Northern Alliance, having secured its victory, may, for example, run amok in Kabul or commit atrocities in different parts of the country. That has not happened.

Will the Prime Minister join me in recognising the considerable efforts being made by airline staff and those in associated industries to deal with the aftermath of 11 September? Does he recognise that much needs to happen to alleviate the pain of that industry? Will he give us assurances that all is being done to assist? Will he take the time to visit those hard-working staff at Gatwick, who would be pleased to see him?

I appreciate the concerns of my hon. Friend's constituents at this time. Our airline and aviation industry, in common with industries round the world in that sector, has obviously experienced difficult times. We believe, however, that the European Commission is right to say that there should be no general bail-out of companies and it is important that all countries stick to those rules.

When there are so many acute shortages in so many specialist staff areas of the health service, does the Prime Minister not think it ridiculous that many doctors who have served the health service with distinction for years, if not decades, are unable to apply for specialist consultant posts because they qualified in a non-European Union country?

There is an issue here, and, as a result of examining it over time, the Government are already considering changing the rules that allow registrars then to train for a further period that allows them to become consultants. It arises because of the way that the rules have been applied rather than racism in the national health service, as has been suggested in certain quarters. That is an unfair charge to make. It is important, however, that we ensure that the rules are changed so that there can be obvious transparency about how people can qualify fully as consultants.

The review is certainly welcome, but the Prime Minister rules out racism. Did he not hear the remarks on that very issue made on radio only this morning by the Secretary of State for Health? As the figures show, a vastly greater proportion of white doctors than non-white doctors achieve consultant status in the health service. Many of those non-white doctors qualified in the EU. There is an issue to address with urgency. The Health Secretary thinks so; surely the Prime Minister should give the House an undertaking that he will investigate and legislate.

I think that what the Secretary of State for Health said was that we must look at any charges that were made very carefully.

After his no doubt healthy breakfast, did the Prime Minister have a chance to read the leader in The Guardian? Does he agree that affordable designer casualwear should be available in supermarkets throughout the country?

I probably study Guardian editorials less than my hon. Friend does. As for designer wear, I am afraid we must abide by the rules set out in the court proceedings. That is regrettable, but obviously we study these matters very carefully.

In 1997 there was a surplus of nursing home places in Gloucestershire; now there is a severe shortage. Whom does the Prime Minister blame for the crisis? [HON. MEMBERS: "You."] Does he blame his own Government's regulations, or does he blame the Lib-Lab pact that runs Gloucestershire?

That is a bit of an open goal, given that the last Government massively cut the number of beds in the national health service and elsewhere. In respect of nursing homes, as the hon. Gentleman knows, the Government have provided a great deal of extra money for the NHS to deal with social services. [Interruption.]

In the light of unfortunate remarks made by a certain gentleman called Mr. Nigel de Gruchy, what message has the Prime Minister for the thousands of committed classroom assistants in my constituency and around the country—and for other staff who give valuable support to teachers, enabling them to deliver the results of which we have spoken today?

As well as the increase in the number of teachers, there has been an increase of, I think, about 44,000 in the number of classroom assistants in the past few years. They do invaluable work in our classrooms. They are part of the changing pattern of teaching provision in our schools which will allow us to secure more teachers but also more classroom assistants and more information technology assistance. That in turn is part of the creation of a modern environment in which schooling can best take place. Classroom assistants play a vital role in the process.

May we now have an answer to the question put by my hon. Friend the Member for Tewkesbury (Mr. Robertson)? Nursing homes are closing all over the country because of new Government regulations, and as a result patients are blocking hospital beds when they could be cared for better elsewhere. Chase hospital in Bordon, in my constituency, is consequently in danger of losing beds. Does the Prime Minister agree that that is unacceptable, and will he look into it?

I certainly will, but let me say this to the right hon. Gentleman. It is true that some private nursing homes are closing; as they will tell the right hon. Gentleman, that is largely because of their worry about the level of fees. [Interruption.] Regulation has been mentioned, and it is true that some of them raise issues relating to the minimum wage; but I thought the Conservative party had changed its position on that. As for other regulations, they concern standards of care in nursing homes, and were supported by both parties in the House.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000, which was introduced by the Government, can make a significant difference to the lives of Britain's 6 million carers, but that many carers are not aware of their rights under that Act? Will he do everything in his power to ensure that local authorities undertake the assessments, which they are required to conduct, and do what they can do to help Britain's 6 million carers?

We are engaged at the moment in putting together an information campaign that allows carers to know exactly what they are entitled to. Incidentally, all the provisions of the Act will come into force in Wales as well, or they did do on 1 July. We totally understand that it is one thing to provide those rights for carers, but that unless they are aware that they have them and of how to exercise them, it will be a futile exercise. It is for that reason that we are making sure that they have the information that they need.

The chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority said of investors' confidence in the Government:

"tremendous damage has been done by Stephen Byers' actions".

No, I do not, for the reasons that I gave the last time the right hon. Gentleman asked that question. I believe that it was absolutely essential that we stopped pouring billions and billions of pounds of public money into a company that was effectively bust and that was not being managed adequately. For that reason, we believe—this is the difference between us—that whereas he would pay the shareholders an additional £1 billion from taxpayers' money—

indicated dissent.

Oh yes, that is the position of the Conservative party. We believe that that money is better spent on the railways.

But it was the right hon. Gentleman's Government who appointed Sir Alastair and who described him at that time as a "highly respected figure". Sir Alastair is also supported by investors on both sides of the Atlantic, one of whom, a head of an American investment fund, said:

"We would now be unwilling to invest in any enterprise"—

Rubbish.

Oh yes. He has said they would be unwilling to invest in

"any enterprise regulated by the Government, because we couldn't be sure they would live up to their commitments".

If we followed the path that the right hon. Gentleman has set out, I assume that he would have carried on simply putting public money into Railtrack; alternatively, he would have us pay the £1 billion to the shareholders. I am afraid that in the end there has to be a simple choice: do we carry on putting that money in or do we say, "Enough is enough—we cannot put in any more money"? We have to restructure that industry in order to ensure that the money that goes in actually gets to improve the railway system.

We are now clear about the Prime Minister: he would rather stand by a Minister than those thousands of investors who have lost money. Those investors are not fat cats, they are pensioners and people who work on the railways. What does he say to Mrs. Lloyd—[Interruption.] Labour Members do not care. Mrs. Lloyd lost all the money that she invested in Railtrack, money which was meant to be used to help a sick relative. She has written to the—[Interruption.]

Order. I have told Mr. Donohoe before that he should not shout across the Chamber. I have told him before, and he will not do it again. It is out of order.

The Prime Minister must tell the House what he will say to Mrs. Lloyd, who has written to him five times about her lost investments and who has not received an answer. She is a lifelong Labour supporter, but she will not vote Labour again because of what this Government have done to her. In her letter, she writes:

"Stephen Byers is a real con man who will say anything and do anything and hopes to get away with it."

The right hon. Gentleman has just made it clear in his answer that he would indeed back the claim of the investors. He has asked about an investor, so let us discuss the matter, because he has just accepted that he would back the claims of the investors that the Government should reimburse them at the level of the original share price at the time of privatisation. That would amount to a sum of money of more than £1 billion.

Will my right hon. Friend join me in welcoming the news this week that the courts are increasingly making use of antisocial behaviour orders? What about people in my constituency of Hall Green—and, I dare say, in many other places—who are denied the relief from persistent harassment, intimidation and distress that these orders provide? What should they do when their local authority, and/or the police, persistently fail to use the powers that Parliament has given them?

Antisocial behaviour orders have a very important role to play, and almost 500 have been granted up and down the country. Any resistance to their use by police and local authorities would be unfortunate, as there is nothing worse for people than to live on estates or difficult streets with those who engage in petty theft or drug dealing. The antisocial behaviour order can play a real role in reducing tensions and disorder in local communities. I urge them to be used, in my hon. Friend's constituency and elsewhere.

Will the Prime Minister please tell me why the latest Department of Health figures show that the number of people in this country waiting more than 18 months for treatment has increased from two to 208?

The increase, as I understand it, is limited almost entirely to a certain number of trusts. [HON. MEMBERS: "Where are they?"l Each of those trusts is being given a dedicated team to reduce the 18-month waiting list. However, the hon. Gentleman did not point out that the latest figures show that the number of patients waiting three months has fallen. Overall, waiting lists have fallen, which means that hundreds of thousands of people are waiting a shorter time for treatment. [Interruption.] I am sorry, but waiting lists since the Labour party came to power are down, not up, as are waiting times. Down too, for example, are cardiac waiting times and the time it takes to refer patients for cancer treatment.

Is my right hon. Friend aware of the collapse of Atlantic Telecom, which has caused severe difficulty for thousands of telephone subscribers, particularly businesses which are heavily dependent on the telephone? Will the Prime Minister take action to ensure that the lines, and specifically the existing telephone numbers, of the businesses concerned are protected before the service is withdrawn in four days time?

I understand that my hon. Friend is meeting the Minister for E-Commerce and Competitiveness at the Department of Trade and Industry later today to discuss the concerns of Atlantic Telecom's customers. I also know that Oftel is having discussions with Atlantic's administrators. This is a serious problem, because it can affect many business customers and other people. My hon. Friend the Minister also met the Director General of Oftel yesterday. I hope very much that we can have a smooth transition to a new company, responsible for the new business, but it has to be sorted out with the administrators and Oftel as well as with my hon. Friend the Minister.

Is the Prime Minister aware of the serious damage done by the repeated press reports, which are obviously officially inspired, about the differences between him and the Chancellor of the Exchequer? There is one detailed report that the Chancellor used bad language—[HON. MEMBERS: "Oh!"]—and stamped his feet after a private meeting. If the Prime Minister is not prepared to say where these reports come from, can he at least give us an assurance that he is not picking on the Chancellor for not being as enthusiastic about the euro as the Prime Minister himself?

One thing is for sure—I knew that we would get to Europe one way or another. I am glad that the hon. Gentleman asked that question, because it gives me the opportunity to say that according to the OECD, we are predicted to grow at the fastest rate of any G7 country. We have the lowest inflation in Europe and the highest employment rate of any of our major competitors. We have the largest share of foreign direct investment in the European Union and we have halved youth unemployment. That is down to the work of the Chancellor, and he has done that work better than any Conservative Chancellor anyone can remember.

In view of the very high rate of asthma in my constituency, will the Prime Minister look at yesterday's report on lung diseases from the British Thoracic Society, showing that they kill even more people than heart diseases or cancer, and occur at nearly twice the European average? Will he ensure that we tackle those diseases with as much determination as we tackle heart disease and cancer by offering medical treatment and preventive measures such as action on air pollution and smoking?

I should like to make one point about the British Thoracic Society's report, which compared Britain with other European countries. One would not realise it from the coverage this morning, but the report was based on data from 1970 to 1998. The number of people dying from lung cancer has actually fallen by 1,500 in the past few years. Some 60,000 people were helped last year to stop smoking, and access to cancer specialists is faster than before. However, my hon. Friend is right to say that there is a great deal more to do. In particular, far more research needs to be done, which is why the Government are funding a multi-million pound research programme specifically into the issues he raised.

Is the Prime Minister aware that many Conservative Members greatly admire his handling of the current world crisis? However, is he also aware that if we had in place a common foreign policy, it would not be the Prime Minister travelling the world but probably Romano Prodi? If we had in place a Euro-army, the Prime Minister would almost certainly have much less control over his British forces, currently on stand-by. Will he confirm that he will abandon completely all further moves towards European integration?

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind words at the beginning of his question, but his intervention sums up the problems of Conservative Eurosceptics. First, the hon. Gentleman said that we should not have a common foreign and security policy, but we have someone in the European Union who is already in charge of the common foreign and security policy—Mr. Solana.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that a report in the Daily Record claimed that service men and women on stand-by for Afghanistan have no suitable clothing for the winter that they would endure there? Will he investigate that claim and, if it is true, do all he can to alleviate the problem?

I will examine the claim, but many such claims are made and when they are investigated are found to be absolutely baseless. I assure my hon. Friend that the British troops, who are among the best trained and equipped of any in the world, will be properly equipped for any mission that they may undertake in Afghanistan.