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Adam Price: Is there also a cultural and linguistic element—a language dimension—to human rights and, if so, should that be reflected in legislation?
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Julie Morgan: There certainly is a cultural and linguistic issue. That is one of the points that was made by the Wales equality reference group, which includes all the voluntary organisations that feed information to the Government. That matter should be addressed in the legislation.
That leads me on to the point that I wished to make about the equality and human rights commission. I would have been happier if an equality law had been introduced before the commission was set up, because a common law would have made some of the anomalies between the different strands much easier to tackle. However, the Government have said that there is not time to do that and that the commission will be introduced before there is an equality Bill.
It is important that we should have one body to deal with human rights and equality, because the situation at the moment is quite difficult. People cannot be split into different parts. At present, for example, a disabled woman could go to the Disability Rights Commission or to the Equal Opportunities Commission, and a black woman to the Commission for Racial Equality or to the Equal Opportunities Commission. That is confusing. If there is only one body, that body will be stronger, and I hope that it will be able to promote equality in a way that has not often happened up to now. Many of the current bodies have had to be reactive, dealing with issues as they arise, rather than promoting equality. I hope that the new body will be effective. With the new European Commission strands that we have to implement on sexual orientation, religion and age, it is important that we try to ensure that everyone in Wales has a life free from discrimination and that all are able to achieve their maximum potential. Setting up the human rights and equality commission is a great step forward—we welcome it—and I am pleased that things are being worked out with the CRE in order to bring it fully into the new commission.
The commission has particular Welsh implications; it is important that it dovetails with the Assembly, as the Assembly, too, will be promoting equality. We have made great achievements for women's representation in Wales; it is an area in which we lead the world—most obviously through the 50:50 split in the National Assembly for Wales. It is important that those Welsh elements are recognised when that UK-wide body is set up.
The Wales equality reference group has made some clear proposals on how to ensure that the Welsh Grand Committee represents people from Wales; that is not so easy, given that its members are appointed from throughout the UK. The Welsh commissioner's job should certainly be full time, and the Assembly should be involved in appointment. The language issue should also be recognised—a subject that has already been raised—as should the geography of Wales. The equality reference group feels strongly that, as a minimum, there should be offices for north and south Wales. The Assembly Government should be involved in that decision.
It has been proposed that the Assembly should receive an annual report on what the commission is
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doing, and that the Assembly should have the opportunity to be involved in the commission's work.
Mr. Hain: May I reassure my hon. Friend that the appointment of the commissioner for Wales will be made by agreement with the National Assembly for Wales? I am sure that that many of the things that she has pointed out will be carried forward. It would not make sense for the commission to operate in isolation from the Assembly's own equality-positive policies.
Julie Morgan: I thank the Secretary of State for that reassurance.
The Queen's Speech raises some huge issues. Some already have been discussed at length. I am aware that many minority groups and Gypsy travellers are concerned about identity cards, and I hope that those fears will be addressed by the Government during the passage of the legislation.
I see a lot of hope and optimism in my constituency for people's economic well-being. I also see that, for those who have not been paid much attention in the past, the Government are trying to create a fairer society and trying directly to put the aspirations of ordinary women and men in their plans. I strongly commend the Queen's Speech.
10.54 am
Mr. Llwyd: The hon. Member for Cardiff, North (Julie Morgan) criticised the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire for not referring to the child care aspects of the Queen's Speech, to the equality agenda generally and to matters to do with paternity and maternity, issues with which I fully agree but on which I will not dwell today. I suspect that the hon. Gentleman agrees, but I do not want to ruin his credibility by coming to his aid.
Lembit Öpik: I do not want detain the Committee, but it seems self-evidently obvious that every member of the Committee supports child care. For the record, I agree with those sensible, proactive aspects of the Government's policy, but I did not feel it necessary to say so. On reflection, however, given the present Government, the hon. Gentleman is probably right to underline such things.
Mr. Llwyd: Equally, I shall resist the temptation to criticise the hon. Lady for ignoring the 10 home affairs Bills, some of which have far-reaching implications for civil rights, and move on.
I welcome the reference to the commissioner for older people and I hope to join discussions on that at some point, although I suspect that that will not happen overnight. As I said when I intervened on the Secretary of State for Wales, I am disappointed that there was nothing about dealing with the housing crisis in Wales, which affects not only rural areas, but urban areas. Young people are unable to live in their own communities. The Government could at least have adopted a suspension of the right-to-buy Bill, as a small step forward. Ultimately, we need a proper strategic approach from the Assembly, together with legislation from this place to tackle the problem.
I hope that the issue will not become a political football. I suspect that it will not, although it did in times past. We are all touched by the problem now,
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from Neath to Bala, Newbridge and elsewhere. It behoves us to work together to find solutions. The Chancellor mentioned assistance for first-time buyers, by which I think he meant that there would be new structured mortgages, with part equity, and so on. That is all to the good and I am fully in favour of such proposals.
Mr. Touhig: On the draft Bill to which the hon. Gentleman refers, there has been a bid from the Assembly for the 2005–06 Session, although no decision has been taken on what might be included in that Session.
Mr. Llwyd: I am grateful to the Under-Secretary for that.
We would have liked a housing and local government finance Bill. We are also in favour of local income tax and believe that council tax, as it is now structured, is spinning out of control altogether. I know that there has been some help recently, but how much difference that will make at the end of the day I do not know—I suspect that it will have something to do with the parliamentary calendar. The mere fact that money must be brought in sporadically means that the system is not working.
Mr. Hain: I very much welcome what the hon. Gentleman said about housing, because we are all affected, on a cross-party basis. Wales has become prosperous and benefited from higher housing prices, but that has left young couples and those trying to get on the housing ladder in a difficult predicament. As the hon. Gentleman implied, we must be imaginative and consider encouraging different forms of ownership, which might mean part rental or part ownership, or other such schemes. I welcome any suggestions from Plaid Cymru on how we can best solve the problem.
Mr. Llwyd: I am extremely grateful to the Secretary of State for those comments. We would like certain areas to be designated as areas of housing pressure, where the right to buy council houses would be suspended. We would also like a land trust unit to be established, with the power and resources to assist in setting up community land trusts. There is one such trust in its infancy in Gwynedd, near where I live. We would also like value added tax on house repairs to be scrapped, part ownership, and so on. Several councils in Wales have spare land that could be designated for local people to build affordable housing on. I shall take up the Secretary of State's invitation to discuss such matters at length on another occasion.
We would have liked a devolution finance Bill, to put the allocation of Government money between different parts of England and Wales on a statutory basis and make it fairer, replacing the Barnett formula, which has been a long-standing problem in Wales.
We would like a community safety Bill, which has been mentioned, to help the community to complement antisocial behaviour orders with social work and other assistance. Such a Bill would help to prevent the antisocial behaviour of some young people from developing into long-term criminal behaviour. I
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see from the Government's recommendation that there will be action on that front, which I welcome. We would also have liked an income tax top rate of 50 per cent., a green tax commission, a tax on aviation fuel, the exclusion of nuclear weapons from local government expenditure, the abolition of tolls on the Severn bridge and the restoration of the link between pensions and average earnings. I welcome the draft consumer credit legislation, for which my hon. Friend the Member for East Carmarthen and Dinefwr (Adam Price) has been calling for some time.
I should like to mention my concern about the overall drift of the Queen's Speech. One of the least edifying aspects of modern government is the use of spin. Nowadays, we have the relentless repetition of phrases, which is intended to make us all assimilate them, even subliminally. We are talking about the £32 billion of cuts that the Conservatives may or may not make.
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