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ECONOMICS SHORT DEBATES ON TOPICAL ISSUES 31 July 2001 DOES THE LAW COLLUDE IN DECEPTION? Roger Cloet Advertising leaflets print their sales pitch in large type and their Terms and Conditions of Sale in very small type. Similarly, advertisements on TV flash up a notice along the bottom of the picture giving a few words of warning or restrictions. These notices are important to purchasers because they are legally enforceable, but, because of the small print, they are seldom read and understood. It seems as if the law is colluding to allow the advertiser to deceive the customer into overlooking the legal contract into which he is entering.
Members of the audience pointed out that there were often included such statements as "Your statutory legal rights are not affected" and that the Sale of Goods Act provided protection to the purchaser. The commercial situation was changing much quicker than the law could be revised and this would continue with the extension of telephone ordering using credit/ debit cards and purchasing over the Internet.
SHOULD BBC TELEVISION BROADCASTING HOURS BE LIMITED TO ASSIST YOUNG CHILDREN TO LEARN TO CONVERSE? Brenda Beaton Teachers of pre-school and reception classes of young children of 4 or 5 complain that these children have a very limited vocabulary and find it difficult to understand instructions. It is suggested that this is partly due to the lack of conversation between the children and their parents (generally their mother). It is known that such young children learn their own or a foreign language quickly if they converse. They also develop a private language with other children which adults cannot understand. Mothers consider it unsafe to let the children out of the house unsupervised nowadays and tend to let the children sit in front of a TV set whilst they work. The children then hear, but cannot converse with, adults talking about adult subjects, or cartoon characters. They therefore get no conversational practice in subjects of value to such children. The proposal was that the public service (BBC) channel should not broadcast before 2 p.m. to allow mothers to converse with their children whilst doing house work. An amendment was proposed to the proposition: that all TV programmes should raise the standard of their programmes for children.
A wide-ranging discussion took place. It was asserted that American children and adults were fluent speakers even though their TV programmes were just as unsuitable for children. It was not stated whether American children spent as much time passively watching TV as it was alleged English children did. It was suggested that advice on the subject should be given to mothers at pre-natal classes. The proposal was considered unrealistic because of the alternative TV channels available.
DOES THE USA WANT SADDAM HUSSEIN TO REMAIN AS DICTATOR OF IRAQ? Ghazi Sabir-Ali From their actions during and after the Gulf War, it seems as if the USA wants Saddam to remain: they did not continue the invasion of Iraq to reach Baghdad; they have not indicted him as a war criminal; they did not bomb his palaces; they have not effectively limited oil sales which finance his government. Three reasons for US policy were proposed: His forces provide a shield against an Iranian invasion of Saudi Arabia The US can use him as a `bogey man' to frighten the smaller Gulf states and to persuade them to buy arms, export oil and provide bases for US troops. The US is scared of fragmentation of Iraq into three states the Kurdish, the Shiite and the Sunni areas if Saddam is removed. The Iraqi people understand these motives for the US but cannot understand why the UK, which established Iraq in 1923 and supported it, now supports the US policy.
It was claimed that, at the time, world opinion supported the policy of not advancing to Baghdad. The importance and friendliness of Turkey and Israel to the US was emphasised. Both these states fear Iraq: the Turks because of the Kurdish population in Turkey, and the Israelis because of Iraqi long-range weapons. It was suggested that the overthrow of Saddam would result in a friendly Iraqi state with a useful quantity of oil for export. Iran is moving towards democracy now, so may be less of a threat. The Iraqi people should remove Saddam if they wanted to, but this was not considered possible. An attempt to do so in 1993 failed. There is no government-in-exile representing the opposition in Iraq. The role of the CIA was considered in Iraq to be to support Saddam, but suggested outside the country to be to overthrow him.
THE ROLE OF TOWN AND PARISH COUNCILS SHOULD BE ENHANCED Councillor Peter Oakley (Keynsham Town Council) Local Government has been re-organised several times over the last 20 years, from county and borough councils, to Avon County Council and now to Unitary Authorities like B&NES. At present there are two White Papers about further re-organisation: one on Modernisation of Local Government and the other on Rural Local Government. The first proposes either a Mayor or a Leader with a Council, or a Mayor with a Chief Executive. B&NES have decided to have a Leader and Council. Area committees may also be introduced but their relationship with parish councils is unclear at present. The second proposes some devolution of duties from the Unitary Authority. Past experience makes parish councils wary, because decrepit equipment was devolved without the finance to repair it, resulting in an increase in the parish precept; this must not occur in any future change, the money must follow the equipment.
It was considered that the existing structure was too slow to act, the quality of the Councillors was poor because they are not paid and trained, and, as B&NES was a `hung' council, officers could get their own way too easily. A Mayor was preferred. Existing Councillors need to take command of the officers. MPs are mostly ex-Councillors, getting their training in local government. There are few engineers or business men amongst them, they are mostly teachers, lawyers and trade union officials. More MPs and Councillors with business experience are required. It was suggested that the major services carried out by local government for central government, such as education, social services, police and emergency services, should become nationally run by the ministries responsible for them, leaving local government to run local matters paid for by the Community Charge. Donald Lovell
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