HC Deb 14 December 1992 vol 216 cc2-7
3. Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all those individuals who hold two or more positions on quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations in Wales.

The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. David Hunt)

I shall arrange for the list of 47 names, out of the total of over 1,200 public appointments, to be published in the Official Report.

Mr. Llwyd

We are assured by the Secretary of State that politics have no part in the appointment of people to quangos in Wales—and that goes presumably for the new chairman of the Gwynedd area heatlth authority, the former Tory party chairman in the Caernarfon constituency, and for the late lamented Mr. Grist and others. I could name several hundred of them in Wales. Given this insidious system, is it not time that the Secretary of State introduced an element of positive discrimination so as to introduce some form of legitimacy into this terrible system in Wales?

Mr. Skinner

Why did Dafydd Thomas go to the House of Lords then?

Mr. Hunt

That famous saying—the Lords is not a quango—will presumably go into the Official Report. I am not too sure whether it was in order.

Of course appointments are made on merit. Instead of sniping from the sidelines, it would be helpful if the hon. Gentleman suggested names of individuals whom he thinks are suitable for public office. I shall, of course, consider them in the usual way.

Mr. Richards

Will my right hon. Friend tell the House whether some individuals are appointed to two or more non-departmental bodies purely because that generates cohesion between various bodies? Does that not lead to a greater understanding between non-governmental bodies and ultimately to better government in Wales?

Mr. Kinnock

It takes two to quango.

Mr. Hunt

I hope that that is not in the Official Report.

The House has decided previously that an individual may sit on more than one of those bodies in Wales. It has decided, for example, that the chairman of the Development Board for Rural Wales should sit also on the board of the Welsh Development Agency. My hon. Friend rightly reminds the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) of those important facts.

Mr. Alex Carlile

Does the Secretary of State agree that, whenever possible, political patronage is best avoided? If so, what is his policy on advertising for people wishing to be appointed to public bodies? Will he start to advertise, to draw on the widest possible selection?

Mr. Hunt

Yes. We have advertised and, as I told the Select Committee, we are placing composite advertisements in Welsh newspapers asking people to come forward to be considered for public office. I take this opportunity to thank the hon. and learned Gentleman, who is one of the Members of Parliament who submit the names of suitable individuals. I have been able to respond by appointing them to public office.

Mr. Dickens

May I ask my right hon. Friend, on behalf of all the wonderful ladies of Wales, to state what action he or his Department is taking to ensure that more Welsh ladies serve on such bodies?

Mr. Hunt

My hon. Friend has hit on an important point. Of the appointments that we make to public bodies in Wales, 18 per cent. are women. I have clearly said that I would like the target to be 30 per cent., and I hope to achieve that by 1996.

Mr. Barry Jones

Why does the right hon. Gentleman appoint persons from the Wirral to quangos in Wales? Will he concentrate on being the Secretary of State for Wales rather than the Secretary of State for the Wirral? Why does he appoint people to quangos in Wales when at the same time he plans to take away assisted area status from Deeside and to prevent the expansion of Deeside industrial park, which is adjacent to the Wirral?

Mr. Hunt

The assisted area review is another matter. As to appointments, I understand that in preparation for Labour winning the general election, the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mr. Jones) and the right hon. Member for Islwyn (Mr. Kinnock) had a little list of people who would be suitable for appointment. If they will share that little list with me, it might help—I might well be able to appoint some of those persons to public office. By keeping that list quiet, the hon. Gentleman does himself and his right hon. and hon. Friends no good at all.

Mr. Ron Davies

Does the Secretary of State really understand the contempt and derision that he is bringing on the Welsh Office by the way in which he exercises his patronage over public appointments, especially as neither the right hon. Gentleman nor his party has a mandate from the people of Wales? Nevertheless, the right hon. Gentleman appoints Conservative party hacks. Is it not clear that quangos produce neither more effective nor more efficient administrations than democratic structures? Does the right hon. Gentleman accept that it is time that all such matters were made subject to proper democratic control and scrutiny through a Welsh assembly?

Mr. Hunt

Democratic accountability lies in this Chamber, and it is evidenced by the fact that the hon. Gentleman raised those questions with me—[Interruption.] I say to the Opposition Back Benchers who shouted at me that Labour has not denied the existence of that little list. I should like to see it, so that I can consider appointing people from Wales, irrespective of their party affiliation—which I always endeavour to do.

Following is the information:

List of individuals holding two or more appointments on public bodies in Wales.

J. D. Allen CBE 1. Chair, Housing for Wales.
2. Deputy Chair, Land Authority for Wales.
Dr. H. R. Bichan 1. Chair, Welsh Industrial Development Advisory Board.
2. Member, Court of Governors, UC North Wales.
Dr. W. B. Clee 1. Member, Welsh Committee on Drug Misuse.
2. Member, Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs.
A. G. Cox 1. Member, Cardiff Bay development corporation.
2. Member, Higher Education Funding Council.
Prof. G. C. Crompton 1. Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
2. Member, Public Health Laboratory Service Board.
R. Cuthbertson 1. Member, Health Promotion Authority for Wales.
2. Member, Gwynedd district health authority.
E. Glyn Davies 1. Chair, Development Board for Rural Wales. As Chair of DBRW Mr. Davies also sits on the Welsh Development Agency (ex officio member).
2. Member, Wales tourist board.
T. G. R. Davies 1. Chair, Wales Youth Agency.
2. Member, Sports Council for Wales.
Prof. B. C. Dimond 1. Member, Mid Glamorgan family health services authority.
2. Member, Mental Health Act Commission.
Prof. Sir H. Duthie 1. Member, South Glamorgan DHA.
2. Member, Committee for the Welsh Scheme for the Development of Health and Social Research.
R. Ellis 1. Member, Welsh Health Common Services Authority.
2. Member, Housing for Wales.
A. Evans OBE 1. Chair, Hill Farming Advisory Committee for Wales.
2. Member, Food From Britain Council
R. G. Gee 1. Member, Development Board for Rural Wales.
2. Member, Court of Governors, St. Davids UC Lampeter.
E. M. W. Griffith CBE 1. Chair, Glan Clwyd District General Hospital NHS Trust.
2. Chair, Countryside Council for Wales.
3. Member, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.
R. M. Howells 1. Member, Agriculture Advisory Panel for Wales.
2. Member, Hill Farming Advisory Committee for Wales.
B. H. R. Hudson-Davies 1. Member, Cardiff Bay development corporation.
2. Member, Powys DHA.
G. D. Inkin OBE 1. Chair, Cardiff Bay development corporation.
2. Chair, Land Authority for Wales.
G. L. Jones 1. Chair, West Glamorgan FHSA.
2. Member, Land Authority for Wales.
Dr. M. Gwyn Jones 1. Chair, Welsh Development Agency.
2. BBC National Governor for Wales. (sits on S4C Authority)
3. Member, Court of Governors UC Swansea.
T. Jones 1. Member, Agriculture Advisory Panel for Wales.
2. Coleg Normal Board of Governors.
Dr. M. R. Keen 1. Member, Welsh Committee on Drug Misuse.
2. Member, Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs.
R. W. S. Knight 1. Member, Land Authority for Wales.
2. Member, Board of Governors Cardiff Institute of Higher Education.
R. K. Lacey 1. Member, Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales.
2. Member, Urban Investment Grant Appraisal Panel.
Councillor P. J. Law 1. Member, Welsh Language Board.
2. Member, Gwent FHSA.
Mrs. C. E. Lewis 1. Member, Development Board for Rural Wales.
2. Member, Health Promotion Authority for Wales.
I. R. Lloyd 1. Member, South Glamorgan FHSA.
2. Member, Swansea Institute of Higher Education Board of Governors.
Mrs. F. M. Lynch-Llewellyn 1. Member, Ancient Monuments Board for Wales.
2. Member, Snowdonia National Park Committee.
D. G. Margetts 1. Member, Powys DHA.
2. Member, Further Education Funding Council for Wales.
J. Morgan 1. Member, Development Board for Rural Wales.
2. Member, Court of National Library of Wales.
I. Phillips 1. Member South Glamorgan FHSA.
2. Member, Welsh Committee for Postgraduate Pharmaceutical Education.
R. Pratt 1. Member, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Committee.
2. Member, Agriculture Advisory Panel for Wales.
E. Rae, OBE 1. Member, Development Board for Rural Wales.
2. Member, Welsh Language Board.
R. E. M. Rees, CBE 1. Chair, Agricultural Advisory Panel for Wales.
2. Member, Meat and Livestock Commission.
R. P. V. Rees 1. Member, Land Authority for Wales.
2. Member, Welsh Development Agency.
3. Member, Board of Governors, University of Glamorgan.
Prof. A. Richens 1. Member, Gwent FHSA
2. Member, Standing Medical Advisory Committee.
Dr. Brynley Roberts 1. Member, Library and Information Services Council.
2. Member, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.
Prof. N. R. E. Robertson 1. Member, South Glamorgan DHA.
2. Member, Welsh Scheme for the Development of Health and Social Research.
Mrs. P. Ryan 1. Member, Curriculum Council for Wales.
2. Member, Further Education Funding Council for Wales.
Prof. P. S. J. Spencer 1. Member, Board of Governmors, Gwent College of Higher Education.
2. Member, Medicines Commission.
3. Member, Standing Pharmaceutical Committee for England and Wales.
4. Member, Welsh Committee for Postgraduate Pharmaceutical Education.
G. Stanley Jones 1. Member, Court of Governors of UC Aberystwyth.
2. Chair—appointed as member, elected by membership—Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Prof. E. Sunderland 1. Member, Welsh Language Board.
2. Member, Court of National Museum of Wales.
Dr. D. J. Temple 1. Member, Welsh Committee on Drug Misuse.
2. Member, Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs.
B. K. Thomas 1. Member, Cardiff Bay development corporation.
2. Member, Countryside Council Wales.
M. Wallace OBE 1. Chair, Further Education Funding Council.
2. Member, Welsh Industrial Development Advisory Board.
Sir F. Donald Walters 1. Chair, Llandough Hospital NHS Trust.
2. Dep Chair, Welsh Development Agency.
3. Member, Development Board for Rural Wales.
D. S. Williams 1. Member, West Glamorgan FHSA.
2. Professional Member, Rent Assessment Panel for Wales.
Prof. P. Williams 1. Chair, Housing Management Advisory Panel for Wales.
2. Member, Housing for Wales.

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