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Transport Policy
3. Mr. Donald Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he intends to issue his transport statement; and what arrangements will be made to canvas opinion in Wales before doing so. [280]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Gwilym Jones): We intend to issue our new policy statement within the next few months. It will take account of the many representations we have received during the transport debate.
Mr. Anderson: Again on the subject of accountability and fooling the electorate, does the Minister accept that his party labours under special disadvantages in Wales because the Secretary of State--in whose name the statement will be issued--does not represent a Welsh constituency and because his party has been almost wiped out in local government in Wales? Rather than imposing a statement on the people of Wales, would it not be proper to consult widely among those who do their best to represent the people of Wales?
Mr. Jones: That was a pretty poor supplementary question from the hon. Gentleman, who may be frightened to debate the transport policy statement when we issue it. I invite him to take his chance then.
Mr. Alex Carlile: In preparing the statement, will the Minister take into account the strongly expressed opinions of more than 6,000 of my constituents that the Welsh Office should replace the "junction of death" at Sarnybryncaled on the A483 near Welshpool with a roundabout, following five fatalities and numerous serious injuries at the junction? It is time for action--will the Welsh Office act?
Mr. Jones: I thank the hon. and learned Gentleman, whose concern I well appreciate, for that question; it was most appropriate that he informed me of his intention to raise this important matter here. Reports from our agents, Powys county council, have informed us of two accidents
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at the junction. As a result, we are taking forward work involving changes to the layout and new signing, and we are requiring an investigation to be held into the desirability of a roundabout at that location.
Mr. Llwyd: Does the Minister realise that the minimum passenger requirement for the north Wales to Crewe service will now be three services a day as opposed to nine, as at present? What kind of transport policy is that?
Mr. Jones: It is a new, much better transport policy, because there has never been a minimum requirement before now. We have debated that matter in relation to the south Wales railway line, where private operators have provided more than the minimum number of services that they were set. The new operators will be looking for opportunities to improve and expand transport services in a way that has never been done before. British Rail has merely presided over a decline for the past 60 years.
Mr. Hanson: Will the Minister consult local authorities and the Department of Transport on the desirability of assessing the need for a rail link to Manchester airport, something for which many local authorities in north Wales and, indeed, England are now pressing?
Mr. Jones: I welcome that suggestion, and I look forward to the new rail operators--who have a much more open and positive approach to such possibilities--taking that forward. Prism, the new railway operator in south Wales, is looking at the possibility of a link to Cardiff international airport.
Voluntary Sector
4. Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met representatives of the voluntary sector in Wales to discuss future development of the sector. [281]
Mr. Jonathan Evans: I met representatives of the Wales Council for Voluntary Action on 21 August and addressed its annual general meeting on 26 September.
Mr. Michael: I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. Is he aware of the increasing demands on the voluntary sector in Wales and of the complications arising from local government reorganisation? Is he aware, for instance, that the Welsh Office guidelines provide for strategic development bids of up to £200,000--in the case of South Glamorgan county council--against bids from the voluntary sector of £4 million? What can he do to provide some stability both for local government and for the voluntary sector, given the increasing demands on both?
Mr. Evans: Through the Welsh Office, the Government have been providing significant sums to Welsh organisations. We provided about £24 million in direct and indirect grants to the voluntary sector in 1994-95; I have not yet had the figures collated for the current financial year, but I do not expect them to be all that different. In fact, I am well aware of the concerns outlined by the voluntary sector in particular about no certainty in relation to what the funding arrangements are,
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as a result both of the devolving of significant funds to local authorities and of local government reorganisation. That requires a partnership approach, on the part of local government as much as on that of the Welsh Office.
Mr. Richards: Is my hon. Friend aware that the Labour-dominated Conwy county council is planning to discontinue its funding of the Wales Council for Voluntary Action? Will he bear that in mind during the local government settlement and will he examine closely the financial irregularities of the council, which is fast gaining a reputation as the Lambeth of north Wales?
Mr. Evans: I am greatly concerned to hear that information. Most Members of all parties recognise the work that is done by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action and would wish to see it supported by local authorities. I note, for what it is worth, that in a paper produced by the hon. Member for Cardiff, South and Penarth (Mr. Michael), shadow Minister for the voluntary sector, it is asserted that his party's policy is that voluntary organisations should be essential partners. That message should also be learnt by local government.
A55 Road Building Programme
5. Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received about the decision to fund the A55 road building programme across Anglesey through the private finance initiative and to delay the commencement until the autumn of 1998. [282]
Mr. Hague: Since the decision to progress the scheme under the private finance initiative was announced on 10 July 1996, 26 representations have been received.
Mr. Jones: Is the Minister aware of the great concern on the island about the decision to progress the scheme under PFI and to delay the commencement of the road building programme until autumn 1998--a delay of about 18 months? Is he also aware that that means that the people of Anglesey have to ask the Secretary of State another question. He says that he is seeking private finance, but how much confidence can that inspire, given that public money had already been allocated for the scheme? He told us that he had seen contractors about a possible initiative. How many of those contractors expressed an interest? Does he expect the people of Anglesey to put up with two more long summers of delays on the road? Can he do anything to bring the start date forward?
Mr. Hague: I expect strong interest from the industry in this major construction project; it is too early to say precisely how much, because it has not yet been advertised. The most important point is not the start date but the completion date. As the hon. Gentleman will know, because he has been advised of it already, the completion date for the whole scheme right across the island, under design, build, finance and operate will be approximately the same as it would have been under the more conventional financing route.
I share the determination of people on the island to ensure that the road is built and improved, as almost everyone agrees that it should be. We have a way to do
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Health Authorities (Funding)
6. Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many health authorities in Wales have registered their concerns about the level of their funding in the current financial year. [283]
Mr. Gwilym Jones: On 16 October, my right hon. Friend met all five health authority chairmen in Wales and they briefed him on many matters, including the current financial position.
Mr. Ainger: Does the Minister share the view of one senior health service executive in Wales that the current financial position and the position that the service will face next year are horrific? Does he accept that trusts and hospitals throughout Wales face a stark choice this year--and possibly next, if his Administration are still there? The health service faces serious underfunding coupled with an overspend, and the only choice that trusts and hospitals have is to cut patient services. Does the Minister accept, as the Secretary of State apparently does, that there is a financial crisis in the health service? What does he intend to do about it this year?
Mr. Jones: Yes, this Administration will still be here this time next year. No, I do not accept the premise that the hon. Gentleman put forward on behalf of an anonymous health service employee in Wales. None of the health authorities in Wales--except Dyfed Powys, and he well knows the arrangements that I have already put in hand for that--projects a cash overspend.
Mr. David Evans: Is the Minister aware that in 1979, under the last Labour Government, all capital projects were abandoned because the International Monetary Fund was running our affairs and all hospitals were closed, thanks to the National Union of Public Employees and the Confederation of Health Service Employees? Is he further aware that nurses' pay fell by 23 per cent. because inflation was running at 26.9 per cent? Is that what the nation can expect if that lot over there ever come to power?
Mr. Jones: Yes, yes and yes. The Opposition deserve to be reminded--my hon. Friend is right to point it out--that the only Government in our history to cut spending on the national health service was the Labour Government of the 1970s. Such is the regard that the Opposition try now to profess in a different way. Anyone with doubts about whether they would still treat the NHS in Wales as a political football should look at how they do not give sufficient priority to our schools in Wales.
Mr. Gareth Wardell: Following the Calman-Hine report on cancer services and the submission to the Minister of a report by Professor Cameron of the University hospital of Wales, can the Minister tell us from
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which trusts health authorities should cease purchasing cancer services and to which trusts those contracts should be moved?
Mr. Jones: As the hon. Gentleman knows perfectly well, those are matters that are taken, and will be taken, forward by the health authorities as commissioners and by the relevant trusts. That process will continue.
Mr. Morgan: Do not those reports of deficits and overspend constitute an open-and-shut case of Government dishonesty in their financial dealings with the NHS? Why do the Government persist in cooking the books by getting all the health authorities and trusts to carry over their deficits into the next financial year, thereby lumbering the next Government with the problems of this one?
Mr. Jones: There is no question of lumbering the next Government because there will be a Conservative Government. We think long about all our responsibilities and seek to take forward the proper arrangements with the hospitals and health authorities to ensure that their finances are managed in the best possible way and that, as far as possible, they are spent where they matter--at the bedside.
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