Dr.
Francis: The hon. Gentleman makes an important and telling
point. Everyone recognises the importance of science, and the
Chancellor of the Exchequer constantly reminds us of it, so I agree
with the hon.
Gentleman. I am
confident that the Leitch message arrivedin Wales even before
the report was published. The Welsh Assembly Government commissioned
the Graham report into part-time higher education and study—Dr.
Heather Graham is the leading figure in the Open university in Wales.
The report emphasised our ageing population and declining birth rate,
and the growing need for part-time, flexible learning and work-based
learning for adults. I
welcome the fact that Jane Davidson, the Welsh Assembly Government
Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, commissioned Sir
Adrian Webb, formerly vice-chancellor at the university of Glamorgan,
to undertake a particular, specific study of how the Leitch report will
apply to Wales. I also welcome the fact that the adult learning body,
the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education for Wales, NIACE
Dysgu Cymru, is holding a major conference next month on skills,
demography and the Welsh economy, which will look specifically at the
Leitch report. It is heartening that the conference will address the
wider policy implications resulting fromthe level of change
necessary from both a Welsh and global perspective.
The Welsh Assembly Government
were urged by the Bevan Foundation in a recent publication titled,
“Setting the Agenda”, to adopt the target of an 80 per
cent. employment rate, mirroring the aspirations of the Department for
Work and Pensions. That can only be achieved by addressing all the
barriers to learning, whether they are to do with family, finance, or
culture. As many hon. Members will know, many of the barriers apply
specifically to the 350,000 carers in Wales who wish to return to
education, learning or work.
“Setting
the Agenda”, the Bevan Foundation’s document, which was
launched at the Welsh Assembly last month, stated
that “improving the
skills of the least well qualified young people should be a top
priority within public policy for the next
term.” I had
some professional experience of addressing the issue of widening access
to education over the past three decades, particularly at Swansea
university and in the development of the Community university of the
Valleys. I am gratified that that work is progressing. It is being led
by my former colleagues at the department of adult continuing
education. I am also gratified at the progress of Swansea
university’s Burton centre, and that the vision of a Richard
Burton youth theatre at Port Talbot is being developed by the local
authority and the university.
If ever there were a global
vision delivered locally, it was by the iconic inspiration of the late
Richard Burton. The recently unveiled memorial described him as,
“Seren Cymru, seren y byd”, meaning, “a star of
Wales and a star of the world”. He was a locally nurtured talent
and he strode the world stage. He never forgot the deep local roots
that nurtured him. Those talents are still there, and we need to
nurture them. Jane
Davidson, in the document “Learning Country” , eloquently
stated that “high
quality lifelong learning liberates talent, extends opportunities,
empowers communities, provides better jobs and skills to enable people
to prosper in the new economy and creates a sustainable future for our
country.” Nearly
a decade ago I visited the university of Wisconsin, an old, radical,
land grant university in the mid-west of the United States. Its ethos
was not unlike that of the university of Wales: “prifysgol y
werin—the people’s university”. It had, and still
has a strong commitment to widening access. I believe that we need to
reaffirm those organic links in the new global Wales that is already
with us. Perhaps we need a new university of south-west Wales with four
campuses, just like the inspirational four campuses in the north-west
of South Africa, with a brand new university campus in Pembrokeshire,
which for so long has deserved and been denied that
opportunity.
Mr.
Llwyd: I am listening carefully to the hon.
Gentleman’s speech. What is his view on a federal college, or
university, teaching through the medium of Welsh, which is increasingly
being debated—or hoped for—in some
circles?
Dr.
Francis: It is a worthy proposal. One would need to
measure the demand for it, and I suspect that, once established, the
demand would be met. There needs to be a debate on such a proposal in
the Welsh Assembly Government and perhaps here in the Welsh Grand
Committee. When we
look at the global skills challenge for Wales, the issue is not the
narrow institutional advantage, but the wider community advantage.
There is an old 19th century saying from the days of the great radical
Henry Richard: “Trech gwlad nac arglwydd—the land is
mightier than the lord”. Like all good Welsh sayings, it has
many layers of meaning. Universities would do well to reflect on its
significance and apply it to their relationship not only to the world,
but to the community on their doorstep.
I understand
that the Secretary of State for Wales will be visiting my old
university—Swansea—next month. I hope that he will
consider some of the issues that I have raised this afternoon in
relation to the Leitch report, and that he will convey our good wishes,
and mine in particular, to my former colleagues and students,
especially those in the Community university in
Banwen. 2.32
pm
Mark
Williams: It is a privilege to follow the hon. Member for
Aberavon (Dr. Francis), who chairs our Select Committee on Welsh
Affairs effectively and with great distinction. I want to concentrate
on three or four specific matters, some of which have not been
mentioned in the debate so far.
First, let me consider the
Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Bill, which will be
debated in the main Chamber next Monday. The Bill puts in place the
bare bones of a system to offer assistance to vulnerable groups, but we
still know very little about the way in which it will work. In a
written answer to one of my questions, the Under-Secretary of
Statefor Culture, Media and Sport, the hon. Member
forSt. Helens, South (Mr. Woodward) stated that
440,000 households will be eligible for assistance in Wales. That is a
significant figure—more than one in three households. However,
it transpires that many of those who qualify for assistance will still
have to pay a fee. That sounds a little less like assistance and more
like a business transaction.
I do not denigrate digital
switchover in any way; I welcome it. It is a great opportunity and
provides a great deal of choice. However, isolated communities in parts
of rural Wales will be hit by the measure. Currently the analogue
signal is poor, but watchable. After switchover, there is no guarantee
that households will have any signal at all. During an Adjournment
debate, I raised the point that I was disappointed that the Government
had not set themselves a more ambitious target of not just matching
current analogue coverage but achieving universal coverage. There are
about 30,000 households in Wales to which the switchover will make no
difference at all. I would like to know what the Government have to say
to those households.
Digital switchover is a
Government social policy so it stands to reason that the Government
should match the cost, yet the BBC will be forced to pay for the
assistance scheme through its licence fee payers. Many poorer families
face significant outlays. Every single TV will need to be converted or
replaced, yet the clock is ticking down fast towards switchover, with
digital-only broadcasts beginning in Wales in the summer of 2009. When
an announcement on the scope of those systems and the assistance fund
is made, it must give real assistance with the cost of updating
hardware and offer more than just a remote call centre advice service,
which seems to be, sadly, the order of the day at the
moment.
Mr.
Roger Williams: My hon. Friend rightly points out the
Government’s lack of ambition in expanding coverage for those
people who cannot currently get television reception. Surely there is
also an issue here
for people in Wales who wish to have Welsh language television, but
cannot receive it at the moment. Should the Government address that
issue, too, and try to ensure that everybody who lives in Wales has the
right to have Welsh language
television?
Mark
Williams: That issue becomes even more important in the
context of public service bulletins and party political broadcasts in
the run-up to the National Assembly elections. It is a particular
problem in north-east Wales and it needs addressing. I thank my hon.
Friend for raising that point.
In the Queen’s Speech,
Her Majesty
stated: “My
Government will put victims at the heart of the Criminal Justice
system, support the police and all those responsible for public
safety.” She
had much to say about the probation service, with which Liberal
Democrats would disagree. Last week, my hon. Friends the Members for
Brecon and Radnorshire and for Montgomeryshire and I met the
Dyfed-Powys police authority. Its members expressed serious concerns
about the development of their proposals for community support
officers. I know that they have also met Ministers to discuss
seriousbudget shortfalls and to draw Ministers’
attention to the fact that Dyfed-Powys looks likely to miss
outon community support officers due to poor communication
from the Home Office.
As the Minister knows,
financial prudence on the authority’s part has left Dyfed-Powys
with no new funding for the desperately needed community support
officers next year. There is a real eagerness, not least because of the
rurality of our area, to get those community support officers in place,
but there is a funding problem. I know that the Minister acknowledges
that it is a serious problem, and I think I am right in saying that he
spoke very recently to the Dyfed-Powys police authority. I hope that
his meeting was positive because we need to secure extra policing for
rural areas, and the issue needs to be resolved.
A major omission from the
Queen’s Speech, as far as my constituents are concerned, is a
marine Bill. I know that it is a hugely complex issue and that
extensive consultations have gone on, but many of my constituents,
especially those involved in eco-tourism, will be keen for a marine
Bill to be on the statute book. We are waiting for decisions on whether
exploratory drilling for oil and gas can be licensed by the DTI in
Cardigan bay. Many Members know that it is an area protected under EU
special area of conservationstatus. It has a unique bottle
nose dolphin and seal population, yet the DTI seems intent on granting
licences. A marine
Bill in this Parliament could have created marine-protected areas in
which such development was excluded. It could also have devolved
offshore planning consents in Wales to the National Assembly so that
Wales could take a real lead in encouraging its huge potential, which
was mentioned earlier today, for generating clean, renewable energy
offshore. We remain disappointed that such a Bill has not been
introduced; it is a major omission. I know that the Government have
intentions about the matter but it has been promised since
2002.
Finally, a
good many people, certainly in my constituency, are waiting for an
announcement tomorrow with a great sense of trepidation. They are the
post office masters and mistresses, especially in rural areas. Today
the Government have announced that 600 cash machines are to be placed
in deprived areas. They have met demands there with a great deal of
urgency. The Minister knows as well as I do the great importance of the
issue for the rural communities of Wales. It is poetic to talk like
this, but post office closures mean ripping the heart out of rural
communities. We must address that. The rural subsidy, in some shape or
form, will be reduced, and rural Wales will bear the brunt of some of
the cutbacks. That will affect our
communities.
Mr.
Llwyd: I agree with every word that the hon. Gentleman is
saying, but can I remind him that, earlier today in questions, there
was a lot of talk about social exclusion? Here, in one fell swoop, is a
means of excluding many thousands of people—not just in rural
areas, but in urban settings as
well.
Mark
Williams: The hon. Gentleman will excuse me for my rural
bias. He is right: the issue affects all communities across Wales. It
is simply a matter ofthe Government acknowledging that they
have a responsibility to make renewed efforts to get the Link machines
into post offices and get the business back there, so that small
businesses operating on the margins can prosper. Let us not
underestimate the important social role, as yet
unquantified—perhaps impossible to quantify—of post
offices in our communities. It will be a terrible indictment of the
Government and the House if we do not stop what is
happening. 2.41
pm Nia
Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab): I welcome the priority given in
the Queen’s Speech to a stable economyand I welcome our
Government’s commitment to maintaining low inflation, sound
public finances and high employment. I also welcome the dramatic fall
in unemployment in the Llanelli constituency since Labour came to power
in 1997. In contrast with the high unemployment in the 1980s and early
1990s, we now have rates of 2 per cent. to 3 per cent. However, there
is a lot of concern and worry owing to the threat of
globalisation. The
automotive industry, for example, is operating in a fiercely
competitive world. Workers in such industries have frequently made
enormous efforts to improve the profitability of their factories. They
have made personal sacrifices and shown tremendous loyalty, Despite
their best efforts, they remain fearful of companies taking work away
to countries where wages are so low that they cannot compete. In the
face of such threats, it is vital that we do not become complacent
about the current low levels of unemployment. We need to look
continually to the future and to prioritise attracting new investment.
We need to ensure that establishments such as the new Technium in
Llanelli are used effectively to draw in quality jobs. We have
enterprising and innovative companies such as Minaero in Llanelli,
which are at the forefront of aeroplane cabin design. We need to
provide the conditions in which such companies can flourish and take on
and train young people.
My
constituents are concerned about job losses not only in the private
sector, but in the public sector. Colleagues in MOD Llangennech are
currently working hard to save jobs there. Recently, there has been an
announcement about closing the Environment Agency laboratory in
Llanelli and proposals on the future of Her Majesty’s Revenue
and Customs, which imply the possible closure of the Llanelli tax
office. Without
repeating all that my right hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen said
about the future of HMRC in Wales and the importance of local
front-line services to maximise the effective collection of taxes, I
shouldlike to focus on some issues that are common to the MOD,
the Environment Agency and HMRC. It is environmental madness to move
more jobs southwards and eastwards. We already know about the problems
of congestion, pollution and shortages of affordable housing in the
south-east. The same problems that affect south-east England are now
beginning to affect Cardiff and even Swansea.
Furthermore, there are skills
shortages in the south-east. That is crucial for the future quality of
these services. It is much more difficult to recruit and retain staff
in the public services in places where so many more exciting
opportunities are luring young staff away. On investigating the
possible transfer of jobs from MOD Llangennech to Oxfordshire, it has
become apparent that there are considerable recruitment and retention
problems in Oxfordshire. What the MOD, the Environment Agency and HMRC
have in Llanelli is a committed, stable and well qualified work force,
and I dare say that the picture is similar throughout Wales. They
appreciate the quality jobs they have, and they tend to stay and
provide loyal service. Purely in terms of providing the best quality
service, it makes sense to keep such jobs in west Wales.
There is a
fundamental principle at stake, too. We know how difficult it is to
create equality of economic opportunity and to combat the great
inequalities in income. The idea of objective 1 funding is to help
areas that, often for reasons of peripherality, offer fewer economic
opportunities. The Welsh Assembly Government have recognised the
importance of devolving jobs to locations outside Cardiff, but I am
worried that there are still great disparities between the wealthy
areas concentrated largely in parts of south-east and north-west
England, and parts of west Wales where a predominantly low-wage economy
continues.
Mr.
Don Touhig (Islwyn) (Lab/Co-op): Is my hon. Friend aware
that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has a number of
agencies located throughout the United Kingdom, although too few in
Wales, and that it spends £9,900 per person on accommodation,
whereas in Islwyn, where we have beautiful wooded valleys and silver
streams full of fish, accommodation costs only £1,600? Does she
agree that it is important to keep banging the drum for Wales as a good
place to locate jobs presently in the south-east and in
London?
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