| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Rev. Martin Smyth: The hon. Gentleman has emphasised deprivation and the restrictions on resources in caring for the aged. Does he share my concern about problems in north and west Belfast in caring for children, because of cuts, not replacing staff and pressure on social workers who deal specifically with child abuse--of which there has been a high percentage in that area?
Dr. Hendron: I thank the hon. Gentleman for his comments and I agree with him wholeheartedly. He and I could talk for nearly a week on sexual abuse and deprivation, which are extremely important subjects.
I have already referred the subject of my next comments to the Minister. A report is to be issued in the next 10 days. About three years ago, the hon. Member for Belfast, North (Mr. Walker) and I approached the then Minister about deprivation in west and north Belfast. As a result, an economic working group was set up with the support of the Government. A report was commissioned by either the Industrial Development Board or Making Belfast Work. The report has been sitting on someone's desk for the past six months--I understand that it is not on the Minister's desk but somewhere at the IDB. Why has the report not been published? Perhaps there will be many red faces when the facts are known, because it will be appreciated just how minimal the funding or the allocation of resources for north and west Belfast is.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Malcolm Moss):
As usual on such occasions, we have had a wide-ranging debate. I shall try to answer as many questions as I can--it says here "in the time available", but I understand that some hon. Members are pressed for time and may have to leave. In the time-honoured tradition of junior Ministers when they wind up, I shall be writing to hon. Members about matters that I cannot answer directly now.
I begin with a few words on the general economic outlook in Northern Ireland. The latest figures show that the Northern Ireland economy has grown relatively faster than the national economy. Over the year to March 1996, the seasonally adjusted number of employees in employment in Northern Ireland rose by 1.6 per cent. to 576,010. Seasonally adjusted unemployment has fallen in
eight of the past 12 months and, at May 1996 stood at 85,600, or 11.1 per cent. of the work force. However, that is a decrease of 2,700 on May 1995.
Public expenditure in Northern Ireland in the financial year 1996-97 will be in excess of £8 billion. That is equivalent to almost £5,000 for every man, woman and child. It is a clear indication of the Government's continuing commitment to the provision of a wide range of high-quality public services for the people of Northern Ireland and it includes an extra £25 million for industrial development.
The IDB has reported its best ever net jobs gain for a 12-month period since statistics have been recorded. Net employment in IDB client companies increased by more than 1,600. The underlying strong growth in client companies is further reflected in the fact that in the period April 1995 to March 1996, the IDB attracted record inward investment totalling £432 million, with a significant number of new companies choosing to locate in or adjacent to disadvantaged areas.
A number of hon. Members mentioned the possibility of encouraging IDB inward investment into their own constituencies. Clearly, the policy will be to spread it as widely as possible to make sure that disadvantaged areas get their fair share. However, the IDB does not direct companies; it can only give guidance. If we had more gross investment, we could no doubt spread it more evenly across Northern Ireland.
I was interested to learn that Cookstown, which is a deprived area, is to benefit from significant inward investment. It brought a smile to my face, because I am told repeatedly that investors will not invest in locations that do not have excellent road communications and motorways, but Cookstown is in the middle of the Province, and one could not say that it has the best road communications of any town in the Province.
Mr. William Ross:
With the greatest respect, there is a perfectly good road from the main east-west routes down to Cookstown.
Mr. Moss:
I suggest that the hon. Gentleman shares that information with the hon. Member who represents Cookstown, who is always telling me that the roads are not adequate.
There was also significant growth in tourism last year. Total visitor spend exceeded £200 million in 1995 and will see an extra £3 million increase over the next three years.
Inward investors who have located in Northern Ireland have specifically complimented the road system, telecommunications and the potential to create links between industry and the universities. In terms of location advantages, they found Northern Ireland operating costs to be significantly lower than anticipated, even when electricity and transport costs are included.
I deal now with some specific questions and start with those asked by the hon. Member for Barnsley,Central (Mr. Illsley)--the Opposition spokesman--who mentioned BSE. His questions were mirrored by those from other hon. Members. The first question related to young bulls. The problem that he highlighted is unique to Northern Ireland. There is a special problem, because
some 6,000 young bulls on 200 farms are intended for a specific market--the Dutch market. I am delighted that last Friday the Government announced a scheme to slaughter those animals and compensate their owners. I believe that the scheme was widely welcomed. It is essential that the animals are slaughtered as quickly as possible, and I hope that we can rely on the patience and co-operation of farmers to ensure that the scheme runs smoothly. However, I take on board the comments made today, and they will be passed on.
The hon. Member for Barnsley, Central and others mentioned the problem of possible reductions in compensation payments, especially for steers and heifers. I shall certainly pass on their concern to Baroness Denton, and I assure the House that she will be using her influence to mitigate any possible reductions in compensation levels.
The hon. Member for Barnsley, Central and others also raised the question of special status for Northern Ireland. The European Union ban applies to the whole of the United Kingdom beef industry. The Government's principal objective is to have the ban lifted in its entirety, and all our efforts are being concentrated on that objective. From evidence provided not only this evening but on other occasions, we know that the Northern Ireland beef industry enjoys a very special reputation and is organised in a unique way. We are confident that once the ban is lifted, Northern Ireland will meet any requirements and perhaps meet them in a short time scale.
The Opposition spokesman also mentioned electricity prices in Northern Ireland. It is more expensive to produce and distribute electricity in Northern Ireland than in most regions of Great Britain, because our power stations are smaller, the spinning reserve margin is higher and customers are on average more dispersed. The most effective way to keep energy costs down is through the promotion of competition and the pursuit of efficiency in production transmission and the use of electricity. As the hon. Gentleman pointed out, the Government are providing £60 million over three years from April 1996 to assist Northern Ireland customers. The Government will continue to encourage both efficiency and competition.
The Director General of Electricity Supply is currently engaged in the first electricity price controls review since privatisation and his proposals will take effect from1 April 1997. In January this year, he published a consultation paper on the introduction of greater competition and consumer choice in the electricity market in Northern Ireland, and he plans shortly to issue a further paper outlining his definitive proposals. It is for the director general and not the Government to consider a reference to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, as requested by the hon. Member for Barnsley, Central.
The hon. Gentleman also asked about the fire authority. I suspect that he was referring to the funding of a new command and control system for the Northern Ireland fire brigade which was flagged up in a newspaper recently. Fire authority funding in Northern Ireland has increased from £16 million in 1985-86, to £32 million in 1991, to more than £42 million for the coming year. I am satisfied that the fire authority has sufficient resources to provide a new command and control system and that there is no threat to the ability of Northern Ireland's fire brigades to respond to fire calls.
The hon. Member for Barnsley, Central and almost every other hon. Member who has spoken tonight mentioned health funding. I recognise that there are some difficulties, but we should consider them in the context of the overall Northern Ireland block.
The Government have increased the resources available to health and personal social services next year to some £1,580 million. That represents a real--terms increase, thus honouring the Government's commitment to give real increases to the health service. That pledge was made at Cabinet level and certainly by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State. It represents a real--terms increase of 0.8 per cent. on 1995-96. As we spent more last year, the increase was only 0.2 per cent. in real terms, but that must be considered in the context of an impressive 57 per cent. real--terms increase since 1979-80.
That settlement included a requirement from the Department of Finance and Personnel to the health service to find 3 per cent. efficiency savings. I discussed that with all the trusts and boards, and we concluded that it would be extremely difficult to find 3 per cent. efficiency savings, but that savings of 1.5 per cent. were possible. Instead of being prescriptive, we agreed to guidelines of 1.5 per cent. efficiency savings and 1.5 per cent. cuts in services. Although we have not yet finalised all contracting, some boards have managed 2 per cent. efficiency savings--more than the anticipated 1.5 per cent.
I have allowed the boards and trusts to remain flexible. To a certain extent, I am pleased with the way in which they have addressed their problems. I do not yet have all the final contracting. Once I have that--and I am pressing boards and trusts to reach a final resolution--I intend to meet them to review the position.
The right hon. Member for Lagan Valley(Sir J. Molyneaux) referred to in-year money. I am flattered that he assumes that I can secure any, but the man responsible--my right hon. Friend the Minister of State--is not too far away. Perhaps some pleadings should be addressed in his direction, but we shall be considering the overall position and preparing our case for next year, as next year's public expenditure round is about to start. We shall have information relating to the impact on this year and our plans for next year.
I should also point out that there has been real growth in certain services. Additional resources have been provided, including £2 million for renal services, particularly dialysis, just under £1 million for additional drugs for cancer patients and £1.1 million for neurology. I have allocated money to the proper implementation of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995--a matter that the hon. Member for Belfast, South (Rev. Martin Smyth) has raised with me previously. We also included in the budget this year an extra £12 million for community care.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |