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New Deal (Young People)
2. Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham): What discussions he has had with his colleagues at the Department for Education and Employment about the impact on Wales of the new deal for young people. [94074]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. David Hanson): I have held several discussions with a range of organisations involved in the Government's welfare to work agenda in Wales and plan to meet my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Employment, Welfare to Work and Equal Opportunities shortly.
Mr. Bercow: I congratulate the Minister on his appointment, wish him well in fulfilling his responsibilities and thank him for his initial answer. Given that the new deal for young people costs £11,333 per job, making it 25 times as expensive as previous job schemes, that three quarters of those who have joined the scheme in Wales since January 1998 have so far failed to find jobs and that unemployment in Wales has just risen by 10,000, what discussions does the hon. Gentleman intend to have about securing the better value for the money that the Secretary of State has begged his Cabinet colleagues to provide?
Mr. Hanson: I thank the hon. Gentleman for his welcome. This is a great opportunity for me to come back from the silence of the Whips Office to speak in the House. The hon. Gentleman is really saying that he does not approve of the new deal. I hope that he will come with me at the next opportunity to meet the 13,000 people in Wales who have received employment under the new deal to tell them that he intends to scrap that scheme. Some 9,400 people under 24 have secured jobs and there has been a 51 per cent. fall in 18-to-24-year-old unemployment since the new deal began. If he intends to scrap the scheme, he should be honest and say so. We believe in the scheme, and it is valuable for the people of Wales.
Mr. Ted Rowlands (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney): I also congratulate my hon. Friend on leaving the Whips Office. One modest pleasure at the moment is that Labour Welsh Members are Whipless. I support my hon. Friend
in his remarks about the new deal in our area. It has offered real opportunities in skills training and for jobs. The new deal should be supported by targeting directed money from objective 1 funding. Does my hon. Friend agree that objective 1 needs to be used to create sustainable employment and real training opportunities rather than, as we fear, being scattered to the four winds and chopped into little pieces? If that happens, the funding will not have the impact that we need it to have on the Welsh economy and our gross domestic product per capita.
Mr. Hanson: My hon. Friend made two valuable points. First, the new deal is about training and skill development, as well as job creation. It is valuable for people to have new skills and new development. The people whom I have seen on the new deal have benefited tremendously from those opportunities. The second point about objective 1 is that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I want the maximum use of that funding. We need to produce top-quality schemes that integrate Government programmes to ensure that we have wide-ranging skill development, long-term jobs and sustainable development for the valleys and for west Wales as a whole.
Welsh Assembly Decisions
3. Mr. Simon Hughes (Southwark, North and Bermondsey): What arrangements are in place for the reporting of the decisions and resolutions of the Welsh Assembly to the United Kingdom (a) Government and (b) Parliament. [94075]
The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Paul Murphy): No such arrangements are required by the Government of Wales Act 1998. However, the memorandum of understanding between the United Kingdom Government and the devolved Administrations provides for the exchange of information generally, and in particular for the devolved Administrations to notify legislative measures to the UK Government when they are proposed and when they are adopted.
Mr. Hughes: The London Welsh team is happy to congratulate the new Government team, at the same time as it commiserates with the team on the pitch on Saturday.
If the Welsh Assembly or any of its Committees made a decision or passed a resolution that the Government's failure to allocate British money to match objective 1 money was hindering private investment and therefore not achieving the best deal for the valleys and west Wales, what could Members of this House do to make sure that the Government deliver for Wales and its Assembly?
Mr. Murphy:
I begin my thanking the hon. Gentleman for his reference to the Welsh rugby team. The House understands what a tremendous task it faced and how well the team did over the past few weeks.
I assume that the hon. Gentleman's question is as much about objective 1 funding as about the arrangements in the House. I told the House a few minutes ago that the Prime Minister's statement was extremely important in setting the scene. There are opportunities in the House to discuss those matters as we go forward. With regard to the private sector, I have met the Confederation of British
Industry in Wales, which is anxious to ensure that it takes part in the schemes that will start flowing next year, when the plan is approved by Brussels. As on many previous occasions, the private sector can start planning for that. The CBI has told me that it will do so, and I am sure that it will.
Mr. Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd):
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the key issues in Wales are jobs, objective 1, health and education, and that that agenda is being marginalised by the schoolboy antics of the Opposition parties in Wales, which tabled two censure motions in a four-week period, one of them dealing with what the Agriculture Minister in Wales puts into her digestive tract? Can my right hon. Friend tell me what steps he is taking, in co-operation with the First Secretary, to get back to the real agenda in Wales?
Mr. Murphy:
I agree with my hon. Friend about the priorities in Wales. In my discussions with the First Secretary, we shall emphasise them. I also agree with my hon. Friend that, in a fledgling democracy, it is important to get people's confidence in the Assembly. I am not convinced that events over the past few weeks have succeeded in doing that.
Mr. Crispin Blunt (Reigate):
The Select Committee on Defence has just come back from Washington, where it is much easier to obtain information about the British Ministry of Defence than it is in London. That illustrates the point of my question. How can there be a satisfactory exchange of information between the Welsh Executive and the United Kingdom Government if there is no legal underpinning to the requirement of each for confidentiality?
Mr. Murphy:
There is plenty of opportunity for liaison between the UK Government and the Assembly. I said earlier that I regularly meet the First Secretary. There are provisions in the memorandum of understanding, which sets the scene, and in the accompanying concordats, to ensure that there are proper arrangements between the Assembly and the UK Government.
4. Mr. Martyn Jones (Clwyd, South):
What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health about the pay, recruitment and retention of NHS dentists in Wales. [94076]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. David Hanson):
I have had no discussions with the Secretary of State for Health on those issues. When considering the annual pay settlements for NHS staff, the pay review bodies will take evidence from the Assembly, along with the Department of Health and other devolved Administrations.
Mr. Jones:
I welcome the Prime Minister's statement that everyone in the UK will have access to NHS dentistry. Will my hon. Friend therefore meet his
Mr. Hanson:
Like my hon. Friend, I welcome the Prime Minister's announcement of greater access to dentists throughout the United Kingdom. I have had discussions with my colleagues in the Assembly, who are keen to take forward plans for improved dental services in Wales. That is in marked contrast to the failure of the previous Tory Government to provide adequate dental services throughout Wales and the United Kingdom. People in Wales will have access to NHS services, thanks to the Assembly and the support of central Government.
Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex):
Does the hon. Gentleman agree that one of the principal problems with dentistry is the number of new dentists entering the service? Will he tell the House what steps he is taking in Wales, and what steps the Government are taking elsewhere, to encourage more people to enter the dental profession, and thus to serve the large number of people who do not have access to dentists?
Mr. Hanson:
The UK Government are taking steps to encourage the provision of additional dentists for the community at large. The Assembly is responsible for that matter in Wales and it has earmarked additional funds of £10 million to ensure that there is greater access to dental services. Under devolution, the situation is complicated: the Assembly is responsible for the day-to-day executive decisions and will take forward its own policies, and the UK Government seek to improve access to dental services as a matter of priority.
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