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Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe and Nantwich) (Lab): The connection between politics and taxation is a direct one. Parliaments exist not only to collect taxes, but to decide the priorities for those who are involved in how those taxes should be spent. There is a direct relationship with elected Members, in terms of the decisions that are taken, that is emphasised by the fact that in a Parliament such as this, we are constantly presenting ourselves for re-election. We say to the electorate, "We want your taxes for these purposes. If we do not fulfil them, we shall offer ourselves for re-election and you may then decide whether we have fulfilled the programme that we offered you at the last general election."
It is therefore extraordinary that we should be debating, with the assistance of some extremely good reports by the European Scrutiny Committee, an arrangement that for a period of well over 10 years has not been audited properly and has resulted in the collection of considerable sums of money from the taxpayer. That money has been spent on a series of initiatives, some of which have rather strange priorities, but the Commission is still not capable of demonstrating in a clear or transparent manner how it controls its own finances. I asked my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, North (Mr. Henderson) a question about what he would do if a local authority could not demonstrate how it had spent taxpayers' money and which projects it had supported, for the simple reason that the principles of accountability are the same whether the organisation is local, national or international. It is extraordinary that year after year, we have debates, sometimes attended by very few Members of Parliament—although that fact is of practically no importance—in which we consistently agree that we
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need more transparency, better audit trails and more control over the way in which the Commission makes decisions. We decide, however, not to take action that week or the week after. We might even fail to take action in a few months' time, but people need not worry because we will do something eventually.
Mr. Hendrick : Is my hon. Friend not aware that the European Parliament has a Budgetary Control Committee? Indeed, even though the auditors have not signed off previous budgets, the European Parliament is made up of directly elected Members from this country and 24 other member states who can stop the budget in its tracks, and have occasionally threatened to do so?
Mrs. Dunwoody : I spent four and a half jolly years in the European Parliament, and I can assure my hon. Friend that not only do I know about the tricks and games of that Committee but I know that the European Parliament's powers, which could be used to control the Commission, are rarely used, because they are blunderbuss powers. There has been only one attempt to discipline the people in charge, so my hon. Friend's argument is singularly unconvincing.
Mr. Hopkins : Is not the reality that Ministers in Governments across Europe, and, indeed, in the European Parliament, do not want to kick up too much of a fuss for fear of being seen as non-communautaire and guilty of shaking the whole arrangement to pieces?
Mrs. Dunwoody: I am afraid that I cannot answer for any Minister, thank God. It is many years since I was a Minister. However, I would like to say something about one or two important matters.
I have listened carefully to my hon. Friend the Minister, and I accept that he and the Chancellor are strongly committed to the securing of a sensible arrangement. We should welcome the fact that they will not go above 1 per cent.—indeed, they should sing it from the rooftops as loudly as possible. Nevertheless, I have one or two questions for the Minister. If, for any reason, our position is not accepted by the other member states after the election, what will be the attitude of the United Kingdom Government? Will it be the same attitude adopted by the present Administration, who will not contribute a sum over the amount specified by the Chancellor? If so, how do we intend to maintain that position? Is it true that in moving to a different arrangement for the payment of regional funds we will insist that the community provide a buffer and a suitable amount of cash to ensure that UK regions that receive support will not lose it without a targeted and tapered programme?
Is it not possible for the Minister to say that if we are required, at the end of another 12-month period, to accept accounts that are not qualified or audited properly, a demand for extra money for a larger budget and a change in the way that the United Kingdom retains its rebate, we—the United Kingdom—will take action to protect the sums that are going into Community organisations?
It is all very well to say to the taxpayers of this country that, in comparative terms, we are dealing with a small sum of money. I noted in the papers before us the
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wonderful phrase that it is only 1 per cent. of budget, whereas, after all, the individual states are spending 48 or 49 per cent. more. Whatever the size of the budget, what happens to that money should concern us. We know that in certain cases, and certainly in relation to overseas development, money is not only squandered, but frequently lost. We know that in relation to many of the individual institutions, there is open corruption and frequently very little accurate accounting for the sums of money that are put into various developments. Beyond that, we also know that as a Parliament, for the first time in almost 800 years, we are being required to do something that would be unacceptable in any other sphere. We are being asked to tax the people of this country, to use that money by transferring it to a much larger organisation and to be unable to assure ourselves that those sums are being correctly, honestly and effectively spent. How long can that state of affairs be allowed to continue?
5.52 pm
Adam Price (East Carmarthen and Dinefwr) (PC): I beg to move amendment (a), leave out from "resources system;" to end and add
It is an honour to move the amendment in my name, and a rare privilege for Plaid Cymru and the Scottish national party. The issue is vital to West Wales and the Valleys, and we wanted to focus on the structural funds and regional policy. May I say to the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Mr. Tyler) that it is always difficult to knit an Opposition amendment into a paragraph that eulogises the Government, and I am sorry if I failed on this occasion. We thought it was important to give hon. Members an opportunity to divide on an issue that is of such great importance to our communities before the general election and before decisions are made. That is the intention of the amendment.
Regional policy is important not just to my community; it goes to the heart of the European Union that we are trying to create. Implicit in the Government's policy is the notion of the renationalisation of solidarity. Solidarity is an important component of the notion of European citizenship that we are trying to create. We are grateful to the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Mr. Spring) for pointing out that the spectre of Thatcherism, if not the spirit of Mrs. Thatcher, still haunts us.
In the experience of my community, European regional policy provided a valuable safety net through the terrible, devastating years of Thatcherism. It provided practical value to our communities in the form of individual projects, and was also a beacon of hope because it showed that another way was possible—that there was a different model for society and the economy, and that the neo-liberal model that was on offer at the time could at least be ameliorated by European regional policy, and we are grateful for that.
Mr. Spring:
The hon. Gentleman is rewriting history a little. Massive inward investment into Wales was secured in those years, particularly from the Japanese, which transformed the manufacturing base in south Wales, much to the benefit of the economy of Wales. I
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also remind the hon. Gentleman—I hope he has the generosity to accept this—that there was during those times a regeneration of the Welsh language and an acceptance of Welsh broadcasting that had not happened before.
Adam Price: If I were to respond, I would be going rather wide of the subject that we are debating. In the past few days, a report from Sheffield Hallam university showed that only half the jobs that were lost in heavy industry, mining and steel have been replaced through inward investment in manufacturing, so sadly they do not make up for the terrible policy of breakneck de-industrialisation under the Tories.
We were fortunate in those days that we at least had the safety net of European aid. That is why it is so important that we uphold the principle of an EU-wide regional policy. I have no appetite for the return of a Tory Government. I have no appetite for the present Government's dalliances with neo-liberal policies either, but I am certain of one thing: there is more economic security for our communities if we retain the principle of EU-wide regional policy.
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