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Mrs. Gillan: If the hon. Gentleman will forgive me, I should like to make a little progress. I am sure that he will make his own speech, and will press the case for a project that he has championed relentlessly. I should like to hear from the Minister what progress is being made on it.
While preparing people and the business environment for the recovery, we must also ensure that we do not erect barriers—tariff or non-tariff—to new ventures.
It is essential that we examine the recently published Welsh language legislative competence order, to which the Secretary of State referred, and which is a matter of concern to some businesses in Wales. Conservatives have a proud record on the Welsh language, and are committed to its growth. Every piece of legislation that has strengthened the language has been Conservative-led, including Lord Roberts’s excellent Welsh Language Act 1993. Many businesses are already making enormous strides to provide information in Welsh, and we must encourage those efforts through a culture of shared responsibility rather than heavy-handed bureaucracy. We must ensure that the devil is not in the detail of the LCO, which should be examined closely both across the House and, as the Secretary of State reaffirmed, more widely.
Some may question our call—I think it is a joint call—for closer scrutiny of the order, but we must ensure that there are no unnecessary burdens on business, and that the good will towards the language is maintained at this time of enormous economic difficulty. We must put the interests of the people and businesses in Wales—especially in these tough economic times—at the heart of any decisions on linguistic policy.
I am also concerned about the way in which the LCO will be scrutinised. I hope that the Secretary of State will devote some of his time to examining the way in which the scrutiny process will develop. There is some concern about the possibility that the House and the Welsh Affairs Committee will start to scrutinise the order while recommendations for change are being made in the Assembly. I hope to have a meeting with the Secretary of State to discuss whether, instead of conducting our investigations in parallel, we could conduct them sequentially, so that we can be sure that the document being examined by the Select Committee here is the one recommended by the Welsh Assembly Government.
Transport, education, energy, electronic communications, tourism and, perhaps most of all, not creating unnecessary barriers or burdens for business should help to position Wales for the upturn. We share a common aim in wanting to help families and businesses in Wales to come through the current financial difficulties. I hope that the Secretary of State will work closely with the Welsh Assembly Government and with his colleagues to ensure that Wales is in the best possible position to take advantage of the upturn when it comes. We need forward thinking and strategic planning. I think that by looking at our longer-term goals as well as dealing with our short-term problems we can ensure that Wales comes through these difficult times with the means to succeed in the future.
I want to end on a positive note for St. David’s day. I think we in Wales will have our “we can do” moment: I believe that our businesses and people can work hard, and that we can create the right climate for inward
investment—and I look forward to having the opportunity, on another occasion, of being able to read out all the job gains and inward investment coming into Wales, rather than having to spend time concentrating on the job losses and the businesses that have gone.
Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Michael Lord): Order. Before I call the next Member to speak, may I remind the House that Mr. Speaker has placed a 12-minute limit on Back-Bench speeches, and that that starts now?
2.55 pm
Dr. Hywel Francis (Aberavon) (Lab): I wish to make a contribution to this debate from two perspectives: that of an individual Member—for Aberavon—and that of Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee. The perspectives and priorities are much the same—they follow those outlined by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales—and they are clearly about the economy, both local and global; nothing is more important to the people of Wales.
In my constituency, manufacturing—in particular, steel—is the dominant sector. In my roles as a member of the all-party steel and cast metal group, and secretary of the steel union community parliamentary group, I have had regular meetings with Ministers, unions and Corus, as well as my local authority. I have been impressed by the fact that there is a universal desire to retain both the steel industry and, equally importantly, the skills within that industry. I particularly congratulate the Welsh Assembly Government and the Secretary of State for Wales on the work that they have done through the Welsh economic summits, and, more widely, the steps that they have taken to establish the ProAct and ReAct initiatives. I am also looking forward to the local economic summit that will be launched in Neath-Port Talbot very soon, and I know that similar initiatives are taking place across Wales, which is most welcome; my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen) is taking a leading role in his local economic summit.
In the course of evaluating the impact of the economic downturn on my constituency, I have visited several small businesses. I recently met the management and work force at two important small companies: Excel and Rhino Engineering. They are both cutting-edge manufacturing companies which are appreciative of the information and guidance being provided by the Government, and particularly the circular letter that the Secretary of State for Wales recently sent to Members, copies of which have been passed on to many businesses in my constituency. The two companies have also benefited from significant contracts for the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics to be held in London.
Looking cautiously to the future, I have been struck by Tata’s continued expressions of support for local communities in my constituency and the backing that it has given to the Corus steel plant, as well as by the fact that it is seriously examining the possibility of developing the new Margam drift mine—a project that, as one would expect, has strong support from the National Union of Mineworkers and other local unions.
Again looking to the future, it is encouraging to see that employers’ organisations such a the EEF and UK Steel and unions such as Community are looking beyond the current difficult circumstances, talking up the need
for greening the economy, what they call a nuclear renaissance and its links to steel, and ultra-low carbon steel-making, turning theory into what they call practical reality.
Turning to the work of the Welsh Affairs Committee, which I have the privilege of chairing, I should at the outset pay tribute to all its members and staff for their sterling work over the past year. Its work load has virtually doubled in the recent period, and I am pleased to announce today that over the past year we have succeeded in getting significant improvement in staff support to take account of this increased work load.
Our annual report, which will be published tomorrow, outlines the growth and range of our activities. The Committee’s profile has also been raised both here in Westminster and in Wales, and on balance, we should welcome that. One kindly journalist compared my Committee to that benign institution the Commonwealth games. One Assembly Member generously suggested that we should serve on only one Select, or any, Committee—on just our own Committee—a suggestion that I found helpful.
One hon. Member, a great supporter of our Committee and one-time member of it—the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd), to whom I sent a message earlier today; I understand that he is on his way to Cardiff—gave some advice on how I should run my Committee. He suggested that I should crack the whip. I am grateful for his advice, but that is not my style and I do not think it the style of any Chairman of a Select Committee. We work by consensus and consent—a more inclusive approach. Ours is not the style or the language of the slave-driver.
Albert Owen: Was my hon. Friend as disappointed as I was, as a member of that Committee, to read those comments from the leader of Plaid Cymru in a national newspaper? If somebody has suggestions or ideas for a Select Committee, writing to the Chairman is the normal convention.
Dr. Francis: I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will read the account of what my hon. Friend has just said. We have had an interesting discussion about the matter, and I reported that to my Committee.
Although in some quarters we may be approaching the notoriety of the committee of public safety in revolutionary France, I am more of a Gramsci than a Robespierre, although I think that Robespierre had his merits.
The work of the Committee in the past year has focused, as it will in the coming period, directly or indirectly on the economy in recognising the need for an outward-looking, global Wales, rather than a fortress Wales.
Julie Morgan (Cardiff, North) (Lab): My hon. Friend says that his Committee has generally been concentrating on the economy. May I say how pleased I am that he is undertaking an investigation into the Legal Services Commission’s plan to cut jobs in Wales, which will of course affect the economy because of the number of jobs that would be lost?
Dr. Francis: I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention and congratulate her on the sterling work that she has undertaken on this matter.
As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State mentioned, we have undertaken a globalisation inquiry and a cross-border inquiry. Both these reports highlight heavily the importance for the long-term economic future of Wales of the need to establish higher-level skills, as the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan) rightly said. In our globalisation report, we recognise the central importance of universities and colleges in building the knowledge economy, and the need for that to be done at local, national and international levels. We were particularly impressed with the role that universities are already playing in this field in Wales by contributing to their local economies. Much could be learned in some respects from more advanced developments, such as the Mondragon co-operative university, in the Basque country; Xiamen university, which I am delighted is twinned with Cardiff university; and other, similar initiatives.
In our recently published report on cross-border public services in relation to further and higher education, we highlighted the vital issues, which have already been mentioned, of the funding gap, the research profile and UK science policy.
Daniel Kawczynski: I am grateful that the hon. Gentleman is talking about the cross-border issue. He probably knows that the Royal Shrewsbury hospital loses £2 million a year as a result of the different tariffs that it is paid by the Welsh Assembly. I hope that his Committee has looked at how English hospitals are losing out.
Dr. Francis: We have made some observations on that matter. We have not done anything about roundabouts in Shrewsbury, but I am sure that we will come to that issue as well.
The message of the two reports was very clear. With all due respect to the importance of widening access—I spent a quarter of a century in universities trying to achieve that—the whole question of student finance pales into insignificance when we are dealing with the core question of the funding of universities for proper teaching and research. Unless that question is addressed, we will not be able to build the knowledge economy of the future and thus safeguard quality jobs for all our communities.
We made several key recommendations, especially on science policy and research, which can be influenced by the Welsh-UK Government partnership. I hope that we will be able to emphasise that in the future. I am delighted that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills has recently visited Cardiff university, and he has agreed to come to my constituency in the autumn to visit Glamorgan university’s hydrogen centre and Swansea university’s Technium centre and the new science campus, which will be based largely in my constituency.
On the theme of the knowledge economy and creating new, sustainable jobs for the future, my Committee has begun its inquiry on digital inclusion, and we will visit Bangor university to see how higher education is addressing the social and economic challenges facing us. We may also need to consider seriously the role of broadcasting within that inquiry, given the impact of digitisation on
the Welsh economy and the democratic deficit. Lord Carter’s interim report, “Digital Britain”, which was published in January, is a matter of concern for us all, not least because as a reserved matter broadcasting is a concern for my Committee.
Finally, I shall turn to my Committee’s new responsibility to undertake pre-legislative scrutiny of LCOs emanating from the Welsh Assembly Government. After 18 months of hard work and much learning by everyone, we have established a pattern of work that is now functioning reasonably well. We have excellent working relationships with Welsh Assembly Government Ministers, Assembly Committees and the Wales Office—I see a wry smile on the faces of the two Ministers on the Front Bench.
We are about to undertake work on two important LCOs, and I am somewhat dismayed that so far no mention has been made of an important LCO on carers. It is to the credit of the Welsh Assembly Government and the Assembly Member for Llanelli, Helen Mary Jones, who initiated this particular LCO, that this is coming before us. We should recognise and respect the right of the Welsh Assembly Government to prioritise its policies and propose legislation. This particular LCO—I declare an interest as a vice-president of Carers UK and the sponsor of the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004—will affect nearly 1 million people in Wales, so it is a matter of some consequence.
I have said publicly, and will repeat, that we will undertake our work thoroughly and, in the words of Erskine May, “in an expeditious manner” and in partnership with our colleagues in the Assembly. I have already had meetings with Dr. Dai Lloyd, the Assembly Member whose committee deals with the carers’ LCO, and with Mr. Mark Isherwood, the Assembly Member whose committee deals with the Welsh language LCO. At 5 o’clock this afternoon, I will have a meeting with the Culture Minister, Mr. Alun Ffred Jones, and in a few weeks I shall meet Meri Hughes, the chair of the Welsh Language Board. I am delighted to announce that, on the same day, she will also be prepared to meet all Welsh MPs here in the House.
Mr. Deputy Speaker: Order. The hon. Gentleman has had his due time.
3.10 pm
Mark Williams (Ceredigion) (LD): Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. May I begin by associating Liberal Democrat Members with the profound comments that we heard from the Secretary of State and the shadow Secretary of State on the loss of Ivan Cameron? All of us, and especially those of us who are parents, will appreciate that there is nothing more sorrowful than the loss of a child in such sad circumstances. Our condolences go to the Leader of the Opposition and his family.
It is a privilege to follow the hon. Member for Aberavon (Dr. Francis). I say this as an opposition MP, but he is an excellent Chairman of our Select Committee and his pursuit of a consensual style is to be admired. I shall add to what he and the Secretary of State have said about the ingredients for the future and especially the importance of higher education and the skills agenda. We need to develop the Welsh skills base, so that businesses both large and small are supported. In particular, I shall speak from a rural perspective about small businesses.
As we have heard, the report on the cross-border provision of higher education identified some of the positive steps that have been taken. However, it also alerted us to some of the great issues of concern, the clearest and starkest of which is the funding gap of some £61 million. The House does not need to be reminded that Wales has some of the finest academic institutions in the world, but if the present level of funding is not maintained or increased, there is a great danger that we will fall behind in an increasingly challenging global market. That would make it more difficult for Welsh institutions to compete for research funding which, considering our relative size, is already disproportionately low. A lack of research funding will inevitably make it more challenging for Welsh universities to keep top academics, and the knock-on effect will be that it will be harder to attract new students.
Moreover, we have to compete internationally as well as in the UK context. The Committee took evidence from Professor Merfyn Jones of Bangor university, who pointed out that international students contribute well over £100 million annually to the Welsh economy through the payment of fees and through spending their money locally. Concerns have been raised with me, most recently by the vice-chancellor of Aberystwyth university, about the mismatch between the length of visas and the duration of some of the courses that overseas students wish to undertake.
I do not mean to patronise the Welsh Assembly Government in any way, but our report found that, in developing the work force development fund, they could learn some lessons from Train to Gain. It was felt that Train to Gain was far better at promoting itself than the work force development fund. We took evidence from Summit Skills, the sector skills council for the building services and engineering sector, and were told that many employers simply did not know that the work force development plan existed—the Welsh Assembly Government had not advertised it at all.
The Leitch review has demonstrated the importance to the future skills base of reskilling and upskilling. Learning is a lifelong process now, and not something that happens only between the ages of four and 16. In that context, I know that the Welsh Assembly Government will assert—I mean no criticism, as we have heard the same assertions from the Secretary of State—that £68 million has been spent on the ReAct and ProAct schemes. That is welcome but, like the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan), I find it hard to reconcile that with the 7 per cent. cuts that have been made in further education in Wales. As one of my colleagues in the National Assembly, Jenny Randerson, remarked, we should no doubt praise the admirable further education college in the north-east that is now in receipt of £60 million a year, as that is more than the Assembly budget for further education across the entirety of Wales.
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