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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Jonathan Evans): Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will tell us whether, on the basis of his researches, he is at least prepared to accept that all the information from the inspectorate suggests that the gap between the performance of Welsh students and that of English students has narrowed considerably during the life of the present Government. Perhaps he will also confirm that, when his party was last in office, the gap widened.
Mr. Griffiths: It is certainly true that the chief inspector has been very effective in ensuring that schools in Wales are given the advice, guidance and support they need in order to improve, but all that has been achieved very much despite, rather than because of, what the Government are doing. We need only speak to a cross-section of teachers in Wales to discover that that is their view.
Is it not strange that the enterprise centre of Europe--that, we are told, is what Britain is--seems to have been so badly managed by Conservative Members that the national debt has doubled since 1990?
Mr. Richards:
A moment ago, the hon. Gentleman said that the local government settlement in Wales was too low, and that services had been cut. Will he tell us how much higher the settlement should be in the next fiscal year--1997-98--to become fairer?
Mr. Griffiths:
When we have the opportunity to open the books in the Welsh Office, the right hon. Gentleman will be able to study, from his armchair--I do not know whether he still has his public house in Ystradgynlais--
What is the Government's record? In primary schools in the 1990s, there have been unrelenting increases in the number of children taught in classes of over 30. At the last count, at least 74,000 children--25 per cent. of primary school pupils in Wales--were being taught in such classes. That is an increase of at least 16,000 since the last election.
In further and higher education, the good news of expanding numbers has been soured by reductions in spending per student. In 1997-98, the Further Education Funding Council for Wales and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales will have their budgets cut by £1 million and £6 million respectively. Perhaps it is no surprise that nine of the 26 FE colleges are in deficit this year, and that it is predicted that 15 will be in deficit the year after next. Welsh higher education is also reporting cuts in critical areas. In Swansea, Cardiff, Newport and the university of Glamorgan, engineering and science courses are being dropped, at the very time when efforts should be made to encourage more participation to meet the need for skilled engineers and technicians when the LG investment in Newport comes on stream.
Again, the good news about the expansion of modern apprenticeships and the increase in the numbers of technicians is tempered by reductions that have been made in the Welsh Office's employment and training budget during the lifetime of the present Government, from £152 million in 1992 to £136 million in April this year. The sad fact is that, despite some progress in the past four years, Wales has a smaller share of 17 and 18-year-olds in full-time education than any other OEDC country except Turkey.
It is, perhaps, even sadder that, according to recent studies commissioned by the South and Mid Glamorgan training and enterprise councils, between 15 per cent. and 25 per cent. of school leavers within two years of leaving school have spent much of their time out of education, training or work of any kind--the so-called status zero. The Prime Minister himself said that our education system was failing 80 per cent. of our pupils; yet, after 18 years of Tory rule, the historic long tail of failure has hardly begun to be tackled.
By recognising the realities of Tory failure, we are not selling Wales short but facing the challenge of being prepared to tackle the unresolved problems of the Government's rule. The decline must be halted, and the key will be the extent to which the prospective Labour Government can forge new partnerships in Wales. We will place immense importance on the transition from the Welsh Office to the Welsh Assembly, where we can have a rational, national debate about the making of policy, which does not happen under the Government, where priorities chop and change at the behest of the Secretary of State with little or no debate.
One Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Wirral, West (Mr. Hunt), was committed to partnership with Europe. Another, the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood), wanted to avoid it like the plague. The present Secretary of State just follows the
twists and turns of the Prime Minister. The current Secretary of State placed great importance on the role of the Countryside Council for Wales, while his predecessor sought to diminish it. There is no debate about these issues. They depend on the whim of the Secretary of State of the day.
All the historically strong European economies have strong regional institutions. Amazingly, the Secretaryof State extols the virtue of Wales's links with Baden-Wurttemburg, Catalonia, Lombardy and Rhone-Alpes without seeing the strength of their regional government as an essential part of their economic success.
Mr. Wigley:
I have been listening with interest to the way in which the hon. Gentleman is developing the argument with regard to the role that the Assembly will play, particularly in education. If there is an incoming Conservative Government in five years' time, and if they want to pass legislation to extend nursery vouchers to affect primary or even secondary education, how will the Assembly proposed by Labour deal with that? The Scottish Parliament will have law-making powers, whereas the Assembly that Labour proposes for Wales will not, and it will have to live with legislation passed by right-wing Tory Governments.
Mr. Griffiths:
I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman takes such a dismal view of the future. We feel that there is no need to be troubled by those issues. We look forward to a future in which a Welsh Assembly can act as a democratic dynamo, inspiring participants from all the social partners and all parts of Wales to develop with Assembly Members and the Welsh civil service national strategies for jobs and wealth.
The Secretary of State is also developing the social partner concept--
Mr. Griffiths:
The Secretary of State calls it gibberish, but I note that on the Welsh Development Agency board are people who represent local government, trade unions and business in Wales. Perhaps he does not understand what the term "social partners" means.
We look to the sub-regional committees of the Assembly to focus on their parts of Wales and bring together the development agencies, higher and further education institutions, TECs, local authorities and representatives of local trade and industry to pursue commonly agreed objectives for sustainable economic development.
Mr. Richards:
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr. Griffiths:
No. I have given way to the hon. Gentleman once, and I want to complete my speech to allow others to speak.
An essential part of the process will be the regional education and training forum, bringing together Welsh Office and Welsh Assembly Members and officials, LEAs, higher and further education institutions, TECs, development agencies and employers to raise educational and skill standards, which are so necessary in any successful, advanced, modern economy.
We need a highly trained and adaptable work force to get the right inward investment and to develop our home-grown companies to broaden the base of our economy. Our emphasis on the need for a learning society in Wales in which the knowledge and skills of all people are extended in a process of lifelong education cannot be overstated. We must offer education opportunities for all people. Ours is a commitment to a universal high-quality education. We believe that every child deserves to go to a successful school.
As we approach the new millennium, we want a Wales in which well educated citizens contribute to a healthy and wealthy economy that offers continuing opportunities for self-fulfilment to all, not just the privileged few. Educational excellence is Labour's aspiration for the people of Wales in the 21st century. I look forward next year to Labour's aspirations being implemented by a Government headed by my right hon. Friend the Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Blair), whose declared priority is "education, education, education".
Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Janet Fookes):
I have to notify the House, in accordance with the Royal Assent Act 1967, that the Queen has signified her Royal Assent to the following Acts:
Horserace Totaliser Board Act 1997
Land Registration Act 1997
Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) (Amendment) Act 1997
Telecommunications (Fraud) Act 1997
Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997
Local Government (Gaelic Names) (Scotland) Act 1997
Northern Ireland Arms Decommissioning Act 1997
Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997
Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997
Planning (Hazardous Substances) (Scotland) Act 1997
Planning (Consequential Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1997
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