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Mr. Hague: My right hon. Friend is right; the economic outlook is very good. The increased provision for regional selective assistance that I have set out today reflects the new momentum that is behind the inward investment effort. That is evidenced by the 30 per cent. increase in applications for regional selective assistance to which I referred. Set against the background of a lower taxed and more lightly regulated economy than is the case throughout most of the rest of Europe and the steady growth of the United Kingdom's economy as a whole, the outlook is very promising.
Mr. David Rendel (Newbury): The Secretary of State has told us that Government funding for local authorities in Wales next year will amount to 88 per cent., that the increase in Government funding is about 2.1 per cent. and that the increase in local authority revenue spending altogether is to be 3.1 per cent., leaving out of account relief spending and capital spending for the moment.
Does the Secretary of State accept that those three figures alone--merely for local authority revenue spending--imply an average increase of well over 10 per cent. in council tax, which will mean that the people of Wales, rather than the Government, will have to pay for the increases in spending on education and other services of which he is so proud? Does he accept that that will mean that the people of Wales will lose further confidence in the new unitary authorities which are to be set up on April fool's day next, which will turn out to be an expensive and unpopular April fool joke?
Mr. Hague:
The position is as I have stated it to be. The actual council tax levels for next year will be set by local authorities. The figures that I have given today imply that authorities should raise a slightly larger proportion of their total revenue locally, but that is a marginal change, which will still leave a great differential between council tax levels in Wales and those in the rest of the United Kingdom.
Mr. Walter Sweeney (Vale of Glamorgan):
I thank my right hon. Friend for including in his statement on road spending provision for preparatory work on the new road link with Cardiff international airport. That will be very good for the economy of the Vale of Glamorgan. I also thank my right hon. Friend for following the 11 per cent. increase in last year's police budget with a further 5 per cent. this year. The Vale has already been given 14 extra police officers this year; they are much needed, and very welcome.
Finally, I thank my right hon. Friend for the extra provision for education and health. Would not the Opposition's demands for even more spending carry more weight if, instead of advocating the spending of millions of pounds on a building for politicians, they wanted to spend money on children and patients?
Mr. Hague:
My hon. Friend is right, and I am grateful for what he has said. He rightly draws attention to the preparatory work on improved access to Cardiff international airport, which I know is important to his constituency and to the local economy; he also identified the importance of improved provision for education and health.
The health spending that I have announced today should enable 27,000 more out-patients and 46,000 more in-patients and day cases to be treated next year. It should also enable 100 more medical staff to be employed in the health service as a whole. As my hon. Friend said, that is a much better way in which to spend the taxpayers' money than setting up a new talking shop in Cardiff.
Mr. Ted Rowlands (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney):
Why is it so splendid and vital to cut direct taxation nationally, but then decide to increase direct, compulsory council tax, as the Secretary of State has done?
Mr. Hague:
There is no connection between any national tax changes and the size of the Welsh block, which is determined by a formula: it is 6.02 per cent. of changes in the amount for comparable English programmes. If I were to provide a different amount in local government revenue support next year, I would have to find it from other components of the Welsh block--or vice versa. Those who call for more revenue support for local government must be prepared to say where it would come from in the rest of the Welsh block, or to say--as Opposition Members so far refuse to say--that the total amount to be provided is not the right amount.
Mr. Andrew Hargreaves (Birmingham, Hall Green):
Does my right hon. Friend accept that, as one who is unaccustomed to attending the House for statements about Wales, I feel that the higher spending that he has announced--I believe that he mentioned extra spending of as much as £100 per head on health, which is £100 more than is spent in the rest of the country, particularly Birmingham--will strike my constituents as inexplicable?
Nevertheless, does my right hon. Friend agree that that spending demonstrates the advantages to Wales of membership of the Union, and the disadvantages that would ensue should Labour's policies for Wales be implemented?
Mr. Hague:
I assure my hon. Friend that the differences are explicable. There are greater problems in public health in Wales than in many other parts of the United Kingdom. For instance, the proportion of people with limiting long-term illnesses is significantly higher in Wales, which justifies continued higher expenditure.
My hon. Friend is, however, right in saying that the higher expenditure shows the benefits of Wales being part of the United Kingdom. We should do nothing to endanger the part that it plays in the United Kingdom, and in this United Kingdom Parliament.
Mr. Barry Jones (Alyn and Deeside):
Will not the fledgling unitary authority of Flintshire begin its life in a
Mr. Hague:
As I have explained, it is important to choose between different priorities. The below-average provisional SSA increase for Flintshire is due mainly to decreases in its share of secondary pupil numbers and updating of the financial database, which determines the relative weight of each service within the calculations. Naturally, I shall take account of the views of local authority associations on all the figures that I have announced, and make my final announcement in January.
I shall look at the point that the hon. Gentleman has raised, but I reiterate that we are choosing between many competing priorities. I believe that I identified the right priorities in my statement.
Lady Olga Maitland (Sutton and Cheam):
May I welcome the generous increase in resources to train young people, which will enhance their future job prospects? Does my right hon. Friend agree that it would be a cruel trick if those young people ever became victims of the social chapter and a minimum wage, which would devastate their job opportunities and their chances for life?
Mr. Hague:
My hon. Friend is right. By the end of the next financial year, 8,500 young people will have started modern apprenticeship courses in Wales, which is an encouraging sign for future job prospects and skills in the Welsh economy. We would do no favour to young people in Wales or elsewhere in the United Kingdom if we adopted job-destroying measures, such as a minimum wage or the social chapter, which would deny rather than improve prospects for a whole generation.
Mr. Donald Anderson (Swansea, East):
Is the Secretary of State content with the fact that discretionary educational grants in Wales have virtually dried up, with the result that many professions are now no longer available to working-class children?
Mr. Hague:
I have explained to the House my overall priorities within education. I have increased the total provision for capital spending on local authority schools as well as the provision for further and higher education funding councils, so the hon. Gentleman can see that I am increasing resources for several educational areas. It is impossible to spend as much as we would like on every aspect of education at the same time.
Mr. Dafydd Wigley (Caernarfon):
Does the Secretary of State realise that, despite his smiling face and silver tongue, he cannot hide the central con in his statement? He pretends that great priority is being given to education, but the increases do not reach primary and secondary education in the state sector, which is the most critical area for most people.
Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that, once community care is taken out, Government support will increase by only 1.8 per cent.? The Government's figure for inflation is 2.5 per cent., and teachers' salaries are likely to rise by 3 per cent., so, even if educational
spending is to stand still, council tax needs to rise by 15 to 20 per cent. The fallacy of this statement is that the people of Wales will pay just to stay where they are in respect of education.
Mr. Hague:
The overall increased capital provision for schools will feed through across the state sector. We must be clear about that. As for the total revenue settlement, the increase in total standard spending gives authorities room to make substantial increases in educational provision. Naturally, I look to local authorities to continue to improve their efficiency, just as central Government are improving theirs.
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