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WALES
The Secretary of State was asked--
Llanelli/Dinefwr NHS Trust
1. Mr. Denzil Davies (Llanelli): How many representations he has received to date about his proposal to abolish Llanelli/Dinefwr NHS trust. [41413]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Win Griffiths): My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have received almost 2,500 pre-printed letters on this subject, as well as several petitions containing approximately 12,000 signatures. We have also held meetings to discuss the matter with hon. Members and others.
Mr. Davies: There has been much talk of consultation on the proposals. How does my hon. Friend propose to consult the citizens of Llanelli, who use the trust's services, and are satisfied with them? Perhaps we may look forward to a focus group or two--or a citizens jury, even--or perhaps we may have a one citizen, one vote referendum in Llanelli. Or is the reality that all this chatter about consultation is a charade and that the Welsh Office is determined to drive through the proposal without any regard for the views of my constituents?
Mr. Griffiths: My right hon. Friend will know that I went to Llanelli to discuss the proposals when they were still at the gestation stage. The project team is currently holding meetings throughout the area to consult people on the development of the final proposal. As a consequence of the trust reconfiguration, I expect the accident and emergency services at Prince Philip hospital to be strengthened, and the MRI scanner there to be used more effectively and efficiently. At some stage in the consultation process, I shall be happy--in addition to all the other things that we do through our representative democracy--to visit Llanelli and see whether the proposals to improve the service have people's support.
Mr. Allan Rogers (Rhondda): My hon. Friend will be aware of the extreme disquiet in the northern part of the Bro Taf area about the proposals. I thank him for meeting me and others on a number of occasions. At one of those meetings, he promised that he would let those who were critical know the composition of the group that will be set up to examine the changes. Until now, we have heard nothing. We do not know who is involved. The nurses and other people involved at that level of operation have heard nothing about the proposals that are coming forward.
Mr. Griffiths: I shall ensure that my hon. Friend and others, and certainly staff in the health service, are well
aware of the work of the project team. Staff should already be well aware of it. The team's job is to make proposals which can show that the reconfiguration will benefit people living in the area.
Mr. Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley): Does the Minister agree that hardly anybody is in favour of the abolition of the trust? There have been more visits by the Lord Chancellor to B and Q than there have been sightings of people in favour of the abolition of the Llanelli/Dinefwr hospital trust.
Is it not time that the Minister started to concentrate on the health of the people of Wales? We had to wait almost four months longer for publication of the health Green Paper than did England and Scotland. Tomorrow, we expect to learn that waiting lists have increased in Wales, as they have in the rest of the United Kingdom. Would it not have been far better to divert the £686,000 wasted on the publication of the devolution proposals in Wales and the £300,000 set aside for publicising the Welsh assembly when it is established next year to front-line services to help the people of Wales to get a better health service?
Mr. Griffiths:
For a start, I have visited Llanelli far more times than any Lord Chancellor has ever visited B and Q; that was about the level of the hon. Gentleman's whole question.
We have already put £9.5 million into the health service to deal with winter emergencies, which was very successful. We have another £25 million, most of which is to go towards reducing waiting lists so that, by this time next year, they will be at the very least back to the level at which they stood when we entered office, and as part of a programme to continue to reduce them. Our public health Green Paper was produced absolutely on schedule--as I promised the hon. Gentleman it would be--and was generally welcomed in Wales. The reconfiguration of trusts will produce savings to the tune of £10 million, which will be spent on patient care, so that patients in Llanelli and elsewhere in Wales will receive a far better health service.
2. Mr. Barry Jones (Alyn and Deeside):
If he will make a statement on the prospects for the aerospace industry in Wales. [41414]
The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Ron Davies):
Earlier this year, the Government demonstrated their support for the aerospace industry with the grant of launch aid to British Aerospace. That public-private partnership will secure more than 2,000 jobs throughout the United Kingdom and will provide a significant boost to British Aerospace at Broughton in my hon. Friend's constituency. I am therefore confident that prospects for the industry are extremely good.
Mr. Jones:
I thank my right hon. Friend, his Department and his Ministers for the support that they have given to the industry in my constituency. Does he agree that the £123 million given by the Government to Airbus in my constituency means that it looks as though the next century will be greatly successful? Does he know that my constituents working for Raytheon Jets are
Mr. Davies:
I shall certainly look carefully at the case my hon. Friend puts to me. When I visited the Raytheon facility with my hon. Friend, I was impressed by the attitude of both management and unions and the way in which they have come together in partnership. The partnership between management and unions at Raytheon and the public-private partnership that is largely responsible for the success of the British Aerospace project demonstrate that partnership is the way forward. I am confident that the two successes in my hon. Friend's constituency show the value of that approach. I am personally confident that it is good for my hon. Friend's constituency, good for Wales and good for Britain as a whole.
Mr. John Wilkinson (Ruislip-Northwood):
In addition to the good news about launch aid for the A340 500 and 600 aircraft in Broughton in north Wales, in the constituency of the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mr. Jones), is it not welcome news that the pre-contract agreement between British Aerospace and Boeing allocates several hundred million pounds-worth of work to British Aerospace--it is to be hoped including at Broughton--in the event of the Royal Air Force procuring the C17 heavy lifter, provided that the strategic defence review confirms that procurement?
Mr. Davies:
Military procurement is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence, but I am conscious that the hon. Gentleman has shown a close interest in the project and I am grateful for his support this afternoon.
3. Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones (Ynys Mon):
What representations he has received on the future of European structural funds for Wales. [41415]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Peter Hain):
We have received numerous representations stressing the importance of structural funds for Wales.
Mr. Jones:
Does the Minister recognise that, unless something happens very quickly, Wales could well be at the back of the queue when up to £1 billion of objective 1 money is secured? Does he realise that, with the Chancellor and the Foreign Secretary battling for Scotland, and the DTI battling for South Yorkshire, Merseyside and Cornwall, Wales could lose out altogether? What assurances can he give that Wales will not lose out? The credibility of the Welsh Office is at stake on this matter.
Mr. Hain:
I do not recognise any of the points made by the hon. Gentleman. I put it to him, in the friendliest possible fashion, that he should be working with the Welsh Office. The Secretary of State has met Commissioner Wulf-Mathies twice; I have met her once. We have made all possible representations throughout the system. Wales's case is well recognised and understood,
Mr. Ted Rowlands (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney):
Can my hon. Friend confirm press reports that he and fellow Ministers are deciding to adjust the assisted area status map in Wales as part and parcel of the case that he will make to Europe? If so, has he any assurance from Europe that, if such adjustments were made, we would obtain objective 1 status?
Mr. Hain:
As my hon. Friend knows, the assisted area status question is separate from--although parallel with--the question of structural funds and NUTS 2 boundaries. We are reviewing the entire situation. I do not believe that the press reports that my hon. Friend mentions are accurate, but we are considering the best way of reconfiguring the assisted area map to ensure that Wales achieves the maximum benefit.
Mr. Michael Ancram (Devizes):
Can the Minister confirm that any adjustment to the assisted area status map could have a beneficial effect on applications for objective 1 status for other parts of Wales? Does he accept that Conservative Members are very keen for Europe to give proper support to the most hard-pressed parts of Wales? Can he assure the House, however, that, in anything that he does, he will not risk giving up existing assistance without a categorical assurance that he will receive from Europe a balancing assistance in return; that he is not risking throwing out the baby with the bath water; and that, ultimately, Wales will end up better off overall?
Mr. Hain:
For once, I welcome the right hon. Gentleman's constructive question on this matter, because he is obviously as aware as Ministers in the Welsh Office of the delicate balance that must be achieved. We do not want Wales to lose out in any way, but we want to ensure that such aid as can be attracted in is focused on those areas, not neglecting the valleys or west Wales, which suffered very badly under the Conservative Government of which the right hon. Gentleman was a member.
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