Mr.
Hain: I agree with my hon. Friend and pay tribute to the
way in which she has championed the Tower workers. The way in which the
work force have come together to make it a viable pit is a fantastic
example to us all. Yes, the Margam pit provides a good future for coal
mining in that part of Wales, including my constituency. My hon. Friend
has often made the point that the skills at Tower are a vital asset. It
is important that there is a seamless transition from Tower, whose
reserves will soon be exhausted as she says, to new pits. The skills
must be transferred, because they could otherwise be lost forever to
that part of the Welsh economy at a time when the coal price is going
up and there are fantastic opportunities for clean coal in the
future.
Dr.
Francis: My right hon. Friend will be aware of the
uncertainty that currently surrounds the future of the steel industry
in my constituency and throughout Wales. Does he agree that the steel
industry is of strategic importance to the Welsh economy? Does he also
agree that everything should be done to reassure steelworkers that the
Government will support them to ensure that their current terms and
conditions, particularly the pension rights of past and present
workers, are
protected?
Mr.
Hain: I will certainly work with my hon. Friend to ensure
that that is the case. There has been a takeover bid from Tata, the
Indian conglomerate, and a similar bid from a Brazilian company. Both
are reputable companies: I know that Tata has a good reputation for
looking after its work force and is not an asset-stripping operation.
It is important, however, that we work to ensure that the prospects of
Corus in Port
Talbot, Llanwern and elsewhere in the UK are protected in the takeover
process, especially with regard to
pensions.
Mrs.
Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham) (Con): We must also
bear in mind the Allied Steel and Wire workers, who are still
dissatisfied with the position in which they are left.
I agree with the Secretary of
State that Airbus and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space company
are a fantastic operation. We can give cross-party support to their
wing operation in north Wales. I believe it is very important and I was
therefore delighted to welcome the announcement of the investment
earlier this week. How is the investment divided between the Bristol
site and the north Wales operation? There is talk that investment in
the Bristol operation is far greater than in north Wales. I would be
comforted to know that a significant amount of the investment is coming
to Airbus in north Wales.
Mr.
Hain: As the hon. Lady knows, there is a seamless link
between Filton and Broughton as they take the future of Airbus forward.
The combined investment by the Department of Trade and Industry and the
Welsh Assembly Government is critical to Broughton’s future, as
is its link with Filton.
Mr.
Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con): Does the
Secretary of State agree that the proposals of Her Majesty’s
Revenue and Customs to reorganise its offices in Wales will lead to the
near-decimation of the tax office network in rural west, mid and north
Wales, which will lead to the loss of hundreds of jobs and have a
severe economic impact on those communities? Will he update us on his
discussions with his colleagues at the Treasury about those plans,
which fly in the face of the aims of the objective 1
programme?
Mr.
Hain: My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for
Wales is meeting the Paymaster General in January to discuss precisely
that issue. We are concerned that there is an impact on the objective 1
labour market and the hon. Gentleman is quite right to identify that.
On the other hand, I am sure that he will also support the reforms that
are being introduced at HM Revenue and Customs, because it is important
that resources be transferred from back office costs to the front
line—not just in that area but more particularly in health and
education. That is what we have embarked on—making sure that we
get a public sector and a civil service that is fit for purpose and
that the resources are put where they are absolutely needed—in
hospitals and schools, in housing and transport, and in other
front-line services. Clean
Neighbourhoods and Environment
Act4.
Alun
Michael (Cardiff, South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op):
What discussions he has had with the First Minister on
the implementation of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act
2005.
[108134] The
Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Peter Hain):
My right hon. Friend played a central part in putting the Clean
Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005
on the statute book. It will tackle a whole raft of problems that blight
local communities and make people’s lives a
misery.
Alun
Michael: I am grateful for that reply. Tackling damage to
the local environment through local crime reduction partnerships will
be a key part of the responsibilities of the police and the local
authorities in every part of Wales. Will my right hon. Friend press
Ministers at the Home Office and in the Welsh Assembly to ensure that
the new powers in the Act are used quickly and effectively to tackle
that blight on so many local Welsh communities? Will he encourage the
Assembly—in cases where the responsibility is the
Assembly’s—to bring such powers into effect rather more
quickly, so that the powers can be used by Welsh local authorities, as
I know those authorities wish to
do?
Mr.
Hain: I could not agree more with my right hon. Friend.
The powers now exist, as a result of his work. I notice, however, that
the Conservatives voted against the Act on Second Reading—an
astonishing fact, given that the Act is designed to tackle fly-tipping,
neighbourhood disturbances, litter, nuisance alleys, fly-posting,
graffiti, waste, nuisance vehicles and so on. The powers are important
for local communities that are often blighted by such activity. I agree
that the Assembly Government should put the measures in the legislation
into effect, and empower local authorities to act, and act quickly, on
behalf of local residents.
Want2Work
Project8.
Julie
Morgan (Cardiff, North) (Lab): What
discussions he has had with the First Minister on the want to work
project. [108139]
The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Nick
Ainger): My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I
have regular discussions with the First Minister on a range of issues,
including welfare-to-work initiatives such as Want2Work. I am pleased
that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend
the Member for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Hutton) was able to
visit south Wales two weeks ago. He saw projects in Cardiff and Merthyr
Tydfil that have helped economically inactive people back to
work.
Julie
Morgan: I thank the Minister for that reply. Does he agree
that the Want2Work scheme has been judged one of the most successful
voluntary welfare-to-work schemes in the world? Does that not
illustrate the success of the partnership between Labour in
the Assembly and Labour in Westminster, with the Assembly providing the
medical and the mentoring back-up, and Westminster providing
safeguarding of benefits while people who have a long history of
difficulty in being employed get back to
work?
Nick
Ainger: Yes, it is incredibly successful, and I am sure
that more can be done. As my hon. Friend will know, the Want2Work
project has been piloted in Neath Port Talbot, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil
and Rhyl. Twenty-one million pounds of European funding has
gone into it and it has helped more than 500 people in Wales to get back
into work. The aim is to engage with those on incapacity and disability
benefits to help them make the move into sustained employment, and
clearly it is working well. It is a model of the situation in which a
UK Government Department—the Department for Work and
Pensions—works directly through Jobcentre Plus with the Assembly
to tackle issues, locally, that can only be tackled in that way. In the
future I expect that the project will be rolled out throughout the rest
of Wales bearing in mind its success in the pilot areas.
Renewable
Energy12.
Nia
Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab): What discussions
he has had on measures in Wales to promote renewable energy.
[108143] The
Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Peter Hain):
This year’s energy review in the upcoming energy White Paper
will make plain our commitment to a massive increase in the proportion
of energy obtained from renewables: 20 per cent. by
2020.
Nia
Griffith: I congratulate the Secretary of State on
installing solar PV on his own roof. Evidence clearly shows that
incentives have an enormous impact on the uptake of microgeneration by
householders and that our industries are in their infancy—I have
a solar panel factory in my constituency and so does my hon. Friend the
Member for Wrexham (Ian Lucas). We are concerned that there should be
stability in the market so that they can plan for the future. What
talks has the Secretary of State had with officials from the Department
of Trade and Industry to ensure that there is continuity in the form of
grants available to householders for
microgeneration?
Mr.
Hain: My hon. Friend raises an important point, that if
there is to be a roll-out to households of solar panels, PV panels and
other forms of microgeneration, which I know she is enthusiastic about,
continuity of grant availability is needed, so that individual
householders can make a contribution to the fight against climate
change and save on their bills. Where I have responsibility for these
matters in Northern Ireland I have established a new fund for putting
free solar panels on the roofs of homes where low-income pensioners
living in social housing are on the basic state retirement pension. I
hope that such innovative policies will be adopted elsewhere in the
United
Kingdom. Mr.
David Jones (Clwyd, West) (Con): Does the Secretary of
State agree that in respect of renewable energy, the
Government’s focus at Westminster and in Cardiff has been
primarily on wind power, which a recent study by the Renewable Energy
Foundation determined was not as effective and efficient as previously
thought? Does he therefore agree that the Assembly and the Department
of Trade and Industry should give far more consideration to predictable
sources of generation, particularly tidal power? What assessment has
the right hon. Gentleman made of the proposed lagoon in north Wales,
off the coast of Kinmel bay, and of the proposal for a Severn
barrage?
Mr.
Hain: First, on the principle of wind power, it is the
most effective contribution to renewable energy at present. It is more
cost-effective in generating renewable energy and its technology is
better developed than tidal, marine current or wave power; therefore it
can make an immediate contribution of the kind that we need.
It is astonishing that the hon.
Gentleman is opposed to the Gwynt y Môr wind farm project, which
is 13 to 15 km off the coast of north Wales and will contribute about
750 MW, enough to power 420,000 homes. The Leader of the Opposition, at
whose altar the hon. Gentleman worships daily, described it as a giant
bird blender, although the right hon. Gentleman put a bird blender on
his own roof at home. The Conservatives need to sort themselves out on
wind power. They should back the Severn barrage and Gwynt y Môr,
which is the biggest renewable energy project anywhere in the United
Kingdom. If they are not backing that, and the right hon. Gentleman is
not, they are not serious about green, clean
energy.
Lembit
Öpik (Montgomeryshire) (LD): Is the Secretary of
State aware of the meeting that we held recently with the
Under-Secretary of State about making Wales the environmental capital
of the UK? Does he agree, notwithstanding some arguments of detail
about what technology is being used, that that is something that should
be approached on a cross-party basis?
Will the right hon. Gentleman
join me in thanking the Under-Secretary for trying to resolve a
particular problem with a piece of legislation that has prevented
Benji’s, a local company in my constituency, from repairing and
reselling products that would otherwise have to go into landfill,
thereby helping us to achieve our
goals?
Mr.
Hain: I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s
remarks, especially those about my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary. It
is good to see people working together to take forward clean, green
renewable energy strategy in Wales. I agree with the hon. Gentleman; I
would like Wales to be a world centre of excellence for renewable
energy and I hope that we can work together to achieve
it. Orders in
Council13.
Hywel
Williams (Caernarfon) (PC): When he expects
to announce the detailed arrangements for the consideration of requests
by the National Assembly for Wales for Orders in Council.
[108144] The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Nick
Ainger): The Wales Office, in conjunction with the Welsh
Assembly Government, is developing detailed guidance in relation to the
Order in Council process.
Hywel
Williams: I thank the Under-Secretary for that answer. We
are a little over four months away from the election, when the powers
will be enacted. Is not “working on” an insufficient
response to the uncertainty felt by many on both sides of this House,
and in Wales, about a substantial puzzle? I am a
member of the Welsh Affairs Committee, which I understand will have a
role in the process. Perhaps it is just me, but I am unclear as to what
I shall be doing.
Nick
Ainger: The hon. Gentleman says that he is a member of the
Welsh Affairs Committee. As he knows, I shall be appearing before it
next Tuesday. We have already submitted a memorandum to the Committee,
and I am sure that the evidence that I shall give will bring clarity
for him. It is not such a complex situation, but the Welsh Affairs
Committee does have an important role to play, particularly in the
pre-legislative scrutiny of Orders in Council. I am sure that we will
have an interesting session next Tuesday.
Mrs.
Cheryl Gillan (Chesham and Amersham) (Con): Is the
Minister not being very complacent? We are not discussing a cosy little
arrangement between the Under-Secretary of State and the Welsh Affairs
Committee; we are talking about the constitutional position of
legislation, powers passing from this House to the Assembly and the way
in which laws are scrutinised. It is a disgrace that at this stage,
only four months away from the election, the Under-Secretary is still
saying that he has prepared a memorandum here and is giving evidence
there, obscuring the whole process in smoke and mirrors. Is it not time
that this Government, whose Secretary of State for Wales said that the
Government of Wales Act 1998 settled the business of devolution for a
generation, told us how they are going to handle the constitution of
this country and the legislative process? This is a
disgrace.
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