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Children in Care
3. Ms Julie Morgan (Cardiff, North): What discussions he has had with the First Secretary about children in care in Wales. [108911]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. David Hanson): My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with the First Secretary, and I have had discussions with Jane Hutt, the Assembly Health and Social Services Secretary, about children in care. Following the publication yesterday of the North Wales child abuse report, we will, of course, be discussing with the Assembly, in the coming weeks and months, the report and the recommendations that it contains.
Ms Morgan: I thank my hon. Friend for his reply. Will he assure the House that every means will be used in the legislative process to ensure that a children's commissioner for Wales is set up; that the commissioner's remit will cover every aspect of children's lives, and all children, including children in care; and that the necessary legislation will not preclude any children in Wales?
Mr. Hanson: I welcome my hon. Friend's commitment to a children's commissioner in Wales and her campaigning work on that. She knows that the Labour party went into the Assembly election with a commitment to establish a children's commissioner, as did other parties. We now await considered Assembly deliberations on the role and scope of the children's commissioner.
In due course, the Government, through the ministerial task force, will examine the Assembly's recommendations and those of Sir Ronald Waterhouse. I hope to make an announcement shortly.
Mr. Robert Walter (North Dorset): The House was appalled yesterday at the report by Sir Ronald Waterhouse. As a member of the Select Committee on Health looking into abuse of child migrants, I know from personal experience how harrowing it is to take evidence from the victims of child abuse.
The House will welcome the tight deadline set for locating the 28 missing child abusers, but can the Under-Secretary assure the House that, if those individuals have not been located by the deadline, he will make available the extra resources needed to carry out a search? Can he also assure the House that, if the abusers are employed in local authority child care posts, he will not tolerate any concealment or cover-up by those authorities--as happened in Clwyd--to protect the interests of insurance companies?
Mr. Hanson:
As the hon. Gentleman is aware, the Department of Health and the National Assembly today issued a list of names to local authorities and health authorities in England and Wales, to ensure that, by 5 pm tomorrow in the case of the Department of Health and by 5 pm on Friday in the case of the National Assembly, all those names have been checked against employees. That has been done to protect children who are potentially at risk because those people may be working in local authorities and health authorities. Matters of resources are for the Department of Health and the National Assembly, but the hon. Gentleman can be assured that the Government intend to protect children. We will take the necessary action vigorously, and we will ensure that the recommendations are examined vigorously also.
4. Mr. Ted Rowlands (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney):
When he next expects to meet the First Secretary to discuss the financing of the health service in Wales. [108912]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. David Hanson):
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State regularly meets the First Secretary to discuss a range of issues affecting Wales, including health matters, and I have regular meetings with the Assembly Health and Social Services Secretary. The issues discussed, of course, include the funding of the NHS in Wales, but any decision on the allocation of health funding within Wales is a matter for the National Assembly.
Mr. Rowlands:
When my hon. Friend meets the First Secretary, will he underline the deep concern felt in north Glamorgan about the state of our acute health services and the fact that we have not been able to make key consultant appointments? Is he aware that Bro Taff is claiming that it has a projected deficit of £18 million and therefore cannot make such improvements? Given the large amount
Mr. Hanson:
My hon. Friend raises important points. I will ensure that his strength of feeling about deprivation and allocation of resources is conveyed to the Health Secretary, Jane Hutt. I can tell him that the resource increases are significant. This year in Wales, the national health service will receive £2.8 billion, a 7 per cent. increase of £182 million over resources last year. That reflects real commitment by the Government, matched by partnership with the Assembly.
Mr. Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire):
Will the Minister discuss with the First Minister or the Health Secretary in the Assembly the prospect of holding a review of bed spaces in Wales, in line with the review being held in England?
Mr. Hanson:
I shall certainly draw that issue to the attention of the Assembly Secretary for Health and Social Services, but I stress that it is a matter for the National Assembly, which has to make the decisions. That is the position.
Mr. Denzil Davies (Llanelli):
Will the Secretary of State examine the crazy system of financing health authorities in Wales, whereby the authorities are deemed to have large deficits, which have arisen through providing health services? They are told to wipe out their deficits, but they can do that only by wiping out health services. Will the Secretary of State reconsider that system and institute a root and branch investigation into it?
Mr. Hanson:
My right hon. Friend makes important points. The Government's commitment to increasing health expenditure in Wales and elsewhere in the United Kingdom has been made to ensure that we provide better public services at the sharp end. I shall discuss my right hon. Friend's point with the Assembly Secretary for Health and Social Services.
5. Mr. Elfyn Llwyd (Meirionnydd Nant Conwy):
What representations he has received on the railway services available in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [108913]
The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Paul Murphy):
I have received no representations on railway services in Wales. However, I have regularly discussed transport in Wales with the First Secretary and the Assembly Cabinet.
Transport generally is a matter for the National Assembly, although railways remain the responsibility of central Government, working closely with the Assembly on matters affecting Wales. I am keen to continue dialogue with the Assembly and Cabinet colleagues to determine how best to meet the transport needs of Wales.
Mr. Llwyd:
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that reply. One of the National Assembly's duties is to prepare
Mr. Murphy:
That is not quite right. Under the Transport Bill, which is going through the House, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions will accept that the Assembly has an interest in those matters. The Assembly will be consulted on the appointment of a member of the Strategic Rail Authority, which, in addition, will be compelled by law to consult the Assembly on its strategies. Nothing prevents the Assembly from discussing, or spending money on, the infrastructure of transport in Wales.
We can best deal with the problems of the railways in Wales through partnership between central Government and the National Assembly.
Mrs. Betty Williams (Conwy):
Will my right hon. Friend press the case for travellers between Holyhead and London? We are confronted daily with poor stock, bad punctuality and the attendant problems of such a service. The service has been neglected for far too long and I encourage my right hon. Friend to press our case strongly to the First Secretary of the National Assembly.
Mr. Murphy:
I understand my hon. Friend's points. I have travelled on that line on several occasions, and I fully accept her case. The Assembly is committed to investing £500,000 next year in the north Wales coast rail service to improve line speeds.
6. Mr. Gareth Thomas (Clwyd, West):
What recent discussions he has held with the First Secretary on the level of unemployment in Wales. [108914]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. David Hanson):
My right hon. Friend meets the First Secretary on a weekly basis to discuss a range of issues, including the level of unemployment in Wales. I am pleased to note that, between the general election and December 1999, the seasonally adjusted count of claimants of unemployment-related benefit has fallen from 81,800 under the Conservative Government to 59,200 under the Labour Government. That is a fall of more than 27 per cent.
Mr. Thomas:
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that response. Do not those figures reflect the Government's success in implementing the new deal and the working families tax credit, and encouraging sustainable growth and low inflation? Does my hon. Friend accept that the minimum wage has had a major impact on Wales? Far from creating more unemployment, it has had a genuine impact on, and is of real benefit to, many ordinary people in Wales.
Mr. Hanson:
Unemployment is at a 20-year low. In my hon. Friend's constituency of Clwyd, West, unemployment has fallen by 17 per cent. since the general election. The Government are making great strides to help create jobs and a climate for employment in Wales. The minimum wage is a valuable component, which ensures that people in Wales have decent pay. I am pleased to tell
Mr. Simon Thomas (Ceredigion):
Does the Minister agree that objective 1 resources are one of the best ways to create well-paid jobs in a constituency such as mine? Will he therefore join the First Minister in Wales and bust a gut to make sure that objective 1 money is additional to the Welsh block grant?
Mr. Hanson:
I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his first Welsh Question Time. He is aware of the situation, as we discussed it extensively during his by-election. There is a process, and the Government are following it. He will have to wait and see, but objective 1 was secured by the Government and it will deliver real employment prospects for the people of Wales. Discussions and consideration have been undertaken.
Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham):
Given that unemployment has risen in Wales by 4,000 relative to the same quarter last year on the International Labour Organisation count, and that Business Strategies predicts an increase in unemployment of 7,000 consequent on the Government's stupid and malicious energy tax, when will the Minister abandon his smug complacency and own up to the massive damage that is being inflicted on the Welsh economy by their tax and regulatory policies?
Mr. Hanson:
On 1 May 1997, 81,800 people were unemployed. In December 1999, the figure was 59,200, which is a fall of 27 per cent. Labour government is working, the people of Wales are working and investment is being brought in. The Conservative party, which would scrap the new deal and is just about content to have the minimum wage, would damage the economy of Wales dramatically.
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