Welsh Grand Committee
Monday 13 July 1998
(Merthyr Tydfil)
[Mr. Barry Jones in the Chair]
11 am
The Chairman: Before I call the first question, I am sure that members of the Committee would wish me to express our gratitude to Merthyr Tydfil county borough council for agreeing to host this first sitting of the Welsh Grand Committee in the valleys of south Wales.
I should particularly like to thank the chief executive of the council and his staff, as well as the Welsh Office, for the thorough and efficient arrangements that they have made for today's sitting. Members will be aware that I propose to suspend the Committee informally for lunch at 1 o'clock for about 45 minutes.
I remind the Committee of the rules for the use of the Welsh Language. Members are free to move from one language to another as they choose, provided that those who propose to speak in Welsh give the Chairman notice in English of their intention to do so, at the latest when called to speak or to put a question; and that points of order are raised only in English. I know that colleagues will also bear in mind the normal courtesies when intervening in speeches. I shall keep my fingers crossed that there is no repeat of the problems that occurred, through no one's fault, in Carmarthen. Will members of the Committee please ensure that their headsets are tuned to channel 2? To avoid interference, please keep the headsets away from the microphones, which are operated automatically.
We come now to questions to the Secretary of State for Wales. As the Standing Order allows only 30 minutes for this business, I appeal to right hon. and hon. Members for brief supplementary questions and brief replies.
Oral Answers to Questions
The Secretary of State for Wales was asked
Trends in Employment
1. Mr. Dafydd Wigley (Caernarfon): If he will make a statement on trends in employment in manufacturing in Wales during the past 12 months.[48379]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Peter Hain): The number of employee jobs in manufacturing in Wales increased by 6,100 2.9 per cent. between March 1997 and March 1998 to a total of 214,000 21.8 per cent. of all employee jobs.
Mr. Wigley: I thank the Minister for that answer. I also thank the officers of Merthyr Tydfil county borough council for the welcome that we received. It gives me great pleasure to be here as I spent my political apprenticeship in the former chamber of Merthyr Tydfil county borough council and I still have the political bruises to show for it.
Is the Under-Secretary satisfied that the trend in recent months from the end of the period that he quoted shows that the increase in manufacturing jobs is being maintained? I ask that question in view of the widespread redundancies in Wales, including those at the old Ferodo factory and the Dynamex factory in my constituency. Such job losses are associated with the overvalued pound, the great difficulty being experienced by manufacturers in exporting and the competition from having their prices undercut by imports. Given that Hoover employed about 5,000 people in this town when I lived here but now employs fewer than 1,000 is the Under-Secretary satisfied that the future for manufacturing jobs in Wales is secure? What is the policy of the Welsh Office on the value of the pound?
Mr. Hain: I am certainly satisfied that the future of manufacturing in Wales is secure. Our new economic agenda, which we shall be discussing later, addresses that point centrally. We are concerned about the high rate of the pound; there is no question about that. Furthermore, the pressure on manufacturing, and especially on its export component is severe, which is why we are closely monitoring the situation.
Mr. Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley): There have been two continuous quarters of decline in manufacturing in this country, as a result of which it is now technically in recession. Given the recessions that are taking place in other countries I am thinking particularly of the Asian economy and the introduction of regional development agencies throughout the rest of the United Kingdom the competition for inward investment in Wales will be more severe than ever. Manufacturing plays a vital part in that inward investment. What new initiatives does the Under-Secretary plan to introduce to ensure that Wales continues to receive its fair share of inward investment, particularly in manufacturing?
Mr. Hain: The new economic agenda "Pathway to Prosperity" is packed full of new initiatives. It also describes how the new powerhouse, the revitalised Welsh Development Agency, will be given as one of its priorities support for increased opportunities for manufacturing. Manufacturing is crucial to the future of Wales; we have a larger proportion of manufacturing than any other part of Britain.
Health Care (South Wales)
2. Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley): What action he will take to improve standards of health care in the valleys of south Wales.[48380]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Win Griffiths): We are committed to a crusade for excellence in every national health service provision at every NHS facility. That crusade will be pursued with vigour in Wales. I expect the development of local authority health groups, with health service and local government involvement, to focus on health care and health promotion for the communities that they serve. I shall continue to pursue initiatives to encourage the recruitment of doctors and dentists, together with other primary and community health action to encourage best practice and innovation. There will be further developments with the establishment of healthy living centres. Our "Better Health Better Wales" Green Paper will be followed by an action plan for Wales and by specific demonstration projects in deprived areas, which are aimed at improving standards of health and health care.
Ann Clwyd: There is genuine anxiety in Cynon valley about the composition of the health group. As my hon. Friend will know, there is already anxiety there about local authority arrangements. We are linked with Rhondda-Taff Ely, an arrangement that Cynon valley considers unsatisfactory, because it does not have a sufficiently strong voice of its own. It would be catastrophic if those arrangements were replicated for health groups. Will my hon. Friend either give Cynon Valley a voice of its own, independent of Rhondda-Taff Ely, or ensure that Cynon valley's voice can be heard loud and clear within the proposed arrangement?
Mr. Griffiths: I believe that I can give my hon. Friend such an assurance. Although there will be a local health group for the local authority area of Rhondda-Cynon Taff, in the consultation that is currently taking place, we are considering how, within the larger local health groups, there can be informal groups of doctors and other health care professionals for smaller areas within the local health group area. In addition, doctors in Cynon valley will still have budgets and, therefore, a prime say within the local health group on how money should be used to commission health care in Cynon valley.
Mr. Lembit Opik (Montgomeryshire): Having conducted some undercover research of my own on the health service, with the aid of a paraglider and a hard Welsh mountain, I congratulate the NHS on my recovery. Will the Under-Secretary assure us that consultation such as those to which he refers in south and mid Wales are genuine? If the case put by local people is sufficiently strong, will he genuinely try to modify the proposals in the interests of the people that we represent?
Mr. Griffiths: I made it clear when I launched the consultation on trust reconfiguration, to which I assume the hon. Gentleman refers, that if better proposals than ours are presented, we shall listen to them carefully. However, I cannot examine one area in isolation from the rest of Wales. Through the exercise, we are trying to form a rational approach to strategic development of services in Wales, through which I believe that we can save between £7 million and £10 million. All of that money can go directly into patient care.
Child Care Strategy
3. Mr. Martin Caton (Gower): What representations he has received following the publication of the national child care strategy for Wales.[18381]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Win Griffiths): Following the successful launch of the child care strategy for Wales on 22 June, several hon. Members tabled parliamentary questions, and I have met my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, North (Ms Morgan). The Welsh Office has received a small number of inquiries. The strategy was published for consultation, and I hope that we shall receive many comments before the closing date of 31 August.
Mr. Caton: I thank my hon. Friend for that reply and welcome the strategy. Understandably, it largely reflects the approach of the White Paper of a couple of months ago. Are the spending plans in the Welsh strategy proportionately equivalent to those for the English proposals and, more importantly, is my hon. Friend confident that the resources will be adequate, particularly for the provision of decent quality child care in our more deprived communities and our more sparsely populated areas?
Mr Griffiths: I reassure my hon. Friend that while the strategy is part of the overall United Kingdom child care strategy, we shall develop it specifically to meet Welsh needs. We have already substantially increased the funding available this year and we will get a proportionate share more than £14 million of the national lottery new opportunities fund. I assure my hon. Friend that the available resources will be sufficient to provide quality child care in all parts of Wales.
Rhuddlan Borough Council
4. Mr. Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd): If he will make a statement on the financial position of Rhuddlan borough council following local government reorganisation.[48382]
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