HC Deb 31 January 1996 vol 270 cc966-74

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Mr. Cynog Dafis (Ceredigion and Pembroke, North)

I am grateful to the Under-Secretary of State for Wales, the hon. Member for Cardiff, North (Mr. Jones), for agreeing to participate in this all-too-brief debate on an issue of enormous global significance which is of particular relevance to Wales.

It is important to recognise at the outset how far-reaching a transformation is implied by the achievement of sustainability. The principles of sustainability, which are being elaborated at all levels of human society, have been accepted by the Government through their endorsement of the Rio documents and their participation in the process of the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development, which came about following the 1992 earth summit. I shall recall some of those principles.

First, there is a need for a radically different method of measuring economic success other than gross national product growth—what are called new economic indicators, bearing in mind environmental and social considerations. The second principle is to give resource productivity priority over labour productivity as a measure of progress, which implies major changes in taxation, and taxing pollution and wasteful resources instead of jobs.

Thirdly, there is a preference for the use of renewable resources over non-renewable resources. Fourthly, it is suggested that environmental considerations should be integrated into all decisions on development. Fifthly, the implementation of the proximity principle is recommended, encouraging more localised patterns of production, distribution and consumption. That is some transition.

The European Union recognises the validity of those principles in its fifth environmental action programme "Towards Sustainability" and in the very important White Paper "Growth, Competitiveness and Employment". In the second document, the EU argues that environmental sustainability and the solving of the unemployment problem must and can go together.

The Government have established bodies to advise them and to promote sustainable development. The round table has representatives from business and voluntary sectors. Indeed, last week the second report of the advisory panel on sustainable development, chaired by Sir Crispin Tickell, was published. It reviewed last year's recommendations and considered the next priorities. It is lucid and succinct yet forceful, and it merits very serious attention.

When those organisations were set up early in 1994, a special body on sustainable development was established by the Secretary of State for Scotland, but in Wales, under the former Secretary of State, there was nothing of the kind. To members of Plaid Cymru, who attach importance to Wales as a country in its own right, and do not think of it only as some kind of appendage to England, that was offensive.

Countries will succeed and contribute to the collective welfare of the global community in the extent that they tackle the sustainability issue seriously. It is as crucial as that. The indications are, however, that the Government of Wales—in effect the Welsh Office—is failing in its responsibility to put our country, for which it is responsible, on the road towards sustainability: the only basis for true and lasting prosperity in the 21st century.

That is not to say that nothing has been done or that nothing is happening in Wales. Indeed, I am happy to make that point. The Welsh Office organised two seminars—in November 1993 and May 1995—that were attended by representatives of various quangos, local government, the social partners as they are called, non-governmental organisations, and so on. Copies of the minutes of those seminars, which happen to have found their way to my desk, suggest that the seminars were useful enough, but the suggestion that a working group which could meet at regular intervals to discuss sustainable development seems to have come to nothing. I hope that the Secretary of State will at least support a permanent working group. I shall, however, describe a more radical proposal later.

The absence of any kind of permanent body, or any Welsh Office think tank on sustainable development, raises questions about the local Agenda 21 process in Wales. Local authorities, which are involved in reorganisation, are enjoined to consider sustainable development in producing their local plans. What kind of guidance are they being given by the Welsh Office? Without adequate guidance, how can an all-Wales Agenda 21 evolve? Perhaps the Under-Secretary could enlighten us on the matter.

The business in the environment initiative is being delivered in Wales by the Arena network to assist Welsh businesses in achieving greater environmental efficiency. Will the Minister tell us how the Arena network programme's progress is being monitored and how many businesses have participated in it? I imagine that many businesses in Wales, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, will not even know of its existence. That needs to change.

The Welsh energy project has been acknowledged inside and outside Wales as an important and useful initiative. It produced a five-point action plan for a pilot series of innovative sustainable economic development areas, business development initiatives, the creation of a network of local information centres—I know that that is happening—the encouragement of investment in energy efficiency and the growing worldwide environmental protection market, and the provision of help to local planning authorities. What monitoring is taking place to assess the extent to which the action plan is being successfully implemented?

Renewable energy, in view of the serious pollution and the climatic effects of burning fossil fuels, and of course the fact that those fuels are being depleted, is hugely important, as I tried to show when I spoke in the debate on the Queen's Speech. We in Wales have major resources which could provide significant and sustainable economic development and employment opportunities.

I quote the words of Mr. Mike Brooker, chairman of the environmental study group of the committee organised by the Prince of Wales, which held a very successful seminar entitled "Towards a Sustainable Energy Strategy for Wales", which I attended and by which I was very impressed. In his summary of the findings of that seminar, Mr. Brooker says: Delegates at the conference—representing industry, environmentalists, politicians and academics—concluded that, although there was a huge amount of complex and detailed information available, there appears to be no coherent strategy to embrace environmental, social and economic issues. Developing such a strategy is an essential pre-requisite to the future management of energy issues. There was general agreement about the need for change by all the stakeholders,"— forgive the word stakeholders— Government, Power Companies, Planners, Environmentalists Business, Industry and the public at large. The difficulty is creating a focus to establish strategy and precipitate local action. How can we create an Action Plan in Wales?.. Which organisation should oversee the strategy and create delivery at a local level? The Welsh Office should have something to say on that last question. Is the Welsh Office not the responsible organisation? What is it doing to ensure the creation of such a strategy? Is it not time—this is a practical proposal—to revitalise the Welsh energy project established in 1991 before the Rio summit, and update it in the light of the sustainable development agenda, which has moved ahead significantly since the project was established?

I am aware of the Aries project, which is supported by the Welsh Development Agency and the Development Board for Rural Wales and which receives European funding, on the economic development opportunities of renewable energy. The study was organised by an interesting little company in my constituency, called Dulais Engineering, which exports, among other things, photovoltaic equipment, refrigerators and medical equipment to Eritrea, and does other important work in relation to third-world economies.

I am aware of the Alt-Energy Wales project, which is funded from the European Union Altener programme. I hope that the Welsh Office will support the idea of creating an Aries Wales forum, which would provide a focus for stakeholders—there is that word again—and would provide information and assistance with preparing business plans and so on. Such a forum would help to energise the renewable energy scene in Wales.

All these matters should be considered in the context of an overall strategy covering planning issues, the encouragement of manufacturing and sourcing in Wales, training, research and development and so on. It should have targets for the contribution of renewables to total electricity supply and for reducing demand through improved efficiency. I understand that a reduction of as much as 20 per cent. is perfectly feasible.

One of the advantages of such a strategy, the drawing up of which would entail wide consultation, would be that the public at large would be able to understand the broad context in which individual developments occur. The singularly ill-informed public debate on wind energy, which is influenced more by misinformation than by enlightenment, shows that currently that is not so.

Crucially, an energy strategy should tackle offshore oil and gas resources. Currently, Welsh Office input into this enormously important and controversial policy is minimal. Perhaps the Minister will tell us what the Welsh Office is doing about it.

Sustainable development is not just about energy, although that is perhaps the central issue. I recommend to the Minister the very useful overview on the subject provided in Plaid Cymru's consultation document, "A Sustainable Development Strategy for Wales". He already has a copy, and I have been looking forward for some time to his response.

Other areas are considered in the document, and I ask a series of questions. First, what is being done to encourage the location and growth of environmental goods and services industries in Wales? By 2000, there could be a global market of $600 billion in that sector. Does it figure in the inward investment strategy of the Welsh Development Agency or of the Development Board for Rural Wales, or in Source Wales?

Secondly, on transport, what long-term thinking is in progress in view of the Government's intention to continue to increase fuel duty, the royal commission's recommendation to accelerate that increase and the possibility of a carbon tax? What would that imply for regional economic development in Wales? How are rural areas to cope or be compensated? To what extent should electronic communications supplant physical mobility? How should that affect investment priorities? How can we develop an integrated transport policy for Wales? How will train services be protected—enhanced, even—under privatisation? How is that affected by the fact that rail is not the responsibility of the Welsh Office? Should not that be changed? Thirdly, on farming, when will we have an integrated all-Wales agri-environmental scheme? Fourthly, and most important, how can we create employment through sustainable development? I refer the Minister to Plaid Cymru's excellent document, "100,000 Answers", in which 30,000 of the jobs described would be created as a result of environmentally linked activity. These issues cannot be tackled without a thoroughgoing strategic approach. Pace the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood), the Tory right's so-called economic instruments on their own would be not only inadequate but socially inequitable and damaging. The 17.5 per cent. VAT on domestic fuel showed that with startling clarity. We need a range of instruments and interventions, and we need them soon, because unless we tackle the issues, Wales will lag far behind instead of being, as it could and should be in this matter, in the lead.

I have seen reference in the Welsh Office documentation to the idea of a centre for sustainability in Wales. Perhaps the Minister can tell us what is happening to that proposal, which we would strongly support. Wales should aim to become a centre for sustainability. Placing Wales at the forefront of sustainable development should be the great millennium project for Wales—that and the achievement by 2000 of real democratic self-government. The Welsh Office, even though its masters do not share our enthusiasm for the latter project, has a responsibility now to lay the foundations for the first.

What kind of body should be responsible for driving the sustainable development process in Wales? It should, of course, be a powerful Welsh Parliament, but what about the interim? Should it be the Countryside Council for Wales? Sustainable development is about much more than the countryside. It is just as much about what goes on in the factories of Glamorgan, Gwent and Deeside. The new Environment Agency has a remit for sustainable development. We do not have our own agency in Wales, as Scotland does, although there is a Welsh regional structure. In any case, the agency's responsibility is primarily pollution control and waste disposal, and sustainable development goes way beyond that. Sustainable development is about integrating all aspects of life in keeping with its central principles, and the organisational structure in Wales should reflect that.

The Secretary of State for Wales should now set up a powerful working group for sustainable development, comprising representatives from the Welsh Office, local government, the new Environment Agency, the WDA, the DBRW, CCW, NGOs such as Friends of the Earth, and, indeed, the Prince of Wales's environmental trust for Wales—soon to be christened "Bro"—the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress, with higher education and research to provide the scientific and academic underpinning.

In the absence of a properly constituted democratic forum for Wales, only a powerful partnership such as that can provide the focus and resources for such a vital project. To set that process in motion would be to provide true leadership, and would mean that when a democratically elected Government or Parliament meets in Cardiff, with sustainable development as the first item on its agenda, it would already be up and running in Wales.

1.16 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Gwilym Jones)

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Ceredigion and Pembroke, North (Mr. Dafis) for raising the important topic of sustainable development and for the considerate and positive way in which he has approached the debate.

I am sure that we agree that this is an issue that should concern us all. Yet very often its importance can be lost through simply not understanding or realising what it means. In the words of the Brundtland definition, sustainable development is development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations to meet their own needs". That, perhaps, still provides the most succinct definition. It challenges us to recognise the needs of economic development with those of environmental protection. Both are important and both should be in harmony. Both need to be emphasised, but not at the expense of each other.

Sustainable development is not just a matter for Government: it affects, or should affect, everyone's life style. None the less, the Government have played a significant part in taking forward the challenge of the agenda that was set at the earth summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Two years ago, the Government published their national strategy for sustainable development, which not only set out the principles of sustainable development but looked ahead 20 years to identify problems and opportunities. The underlying principles include sound science, the precautionary principle, the polluter pays principle and the need to take account of the natural environment, especially non-renewable resources.

Central and local government, business, industry, the scientific and voluntary sector and, not least, individual citizens all have a role in carrying forward the strategy. To foster that, the Government established three independent bodies to promote sustainable development. The Government panel on sustainable development gives authoritative and independent advice to Government on a number of broad strategic issues. The United Kingdom round table on sustainable development draws in a wide cross-section of advice from the main sectors and groups who have a role in developing and carrying forward sustainable development, and the Going for Green initiative seeks to carry the message to individuals and local communities.

I note that the hon. Gentleman expressed a preference here—and in almost every other area—for setting up a separate Welsh forum or a Welsh version of Going for Green. I remind him that there are Welsh representatives on the round table and Going for Green, and the Welsh launch of Going for Green will take place in the spring.

As the hon. Gentleman said, both the Government panel and the UK round table on sustainable development have recently issued reports. Both reports are under consideration by the Government, and responses will be issued shortly. He will appreciate that I would not wish to anticipate the detail of the responses at this stage.

One of the major developments during 1996 will be the setting up in England and Wales of the Environment Agency, which will take up its responsibilities in April. It will build on the work of its predecessor bodies, Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, the National Rivers Authority and local waste regulation authorities. It will seek to protect and enhance the environment in line with the Government's commitment to sustainable development.

Greater integration will mean that the agency will be better placed than its predecessor bodies to consider the environment as a whole, to ensure a consistent approach to regulation and to provide a more streamlined service to industry and to the public. The Government will issue specific guidance to the agency about the objectives, and the contribution that it should make towards achieving sustainable development. Drafts of that guidance have been issued for consultation.

The Government are anxious that their strategy for sustainable development is continually updated and developed. Annual reports are published, reviewing achievements against previous commitments, and setting quantified targets and priorities for future years. The next annual report is due in March.

The hon. Gentleman rightly concentrated on the relevance of sustainable development in Wales, and on the actions that he considers should be taken to promote that concept in the Principality. I welcome his contribution in areas such as energy, transport and agriculture. If time permits, I shall return to those issues briefly during my reply.

As I have already said, the achievement of sustainable development depends on a large number of players, of which the Government are only one. That is as true in Wales as it is elsewhere. None the less, in the Welsh Office we recognise and welcome the role that we can play in Wales. We are of course paralleling and augmenting many of the United Kingdom initiatives that I have already described.

Each year since 1991 the Welsh Office has published "Environment in Wales" reports. They provide an overview of the state of our environment, record progress made towards meeting previous commitments, and look forward to the likely impact of new initiatives. As the hon. Gentleman said, the Welsh Office has also hosted two seminars on sustainable development. Their purpose was to draw together key Welsh organisations, and so to encourage an exchange of ideas. I hope that a further seminar will be organised soon.

The pivotal role that local government can play in achieving sustainability was accepted at the Rio earth summit. It was agreed that every local authority should produce its own local Agenda 21 to provide a framework for sustainability in its area. Many local authorities in Wales have already made progress on that front, and we have made it clear that we hope that the new unitary authorities will give priority to completing their local Agenda 21 documents.

Raising public awareness of the relevant issues is vital if we are to achieve the goal of sustainability. I therefore very much look forward to the official launch of the Going for Green campaign in Wales.

I am confident that Wales will fully share in the benefits of the new Environment Agency. A committee will be established to advise the Secretary of State on the activities of the agency in Wales, and I am sure that its new integrated approach to the environment will enable it to become a key player in bringing about sustainable development in Wales.

Last September my right hon. Friend announced his intention of publishing a White Paper for rural Wales, and immediately set in hand a wide-ranging consultation exercise to encourage and promote debate across the whole range of the Welsh Office's policies as they affect life in rural Wales. The response to the consultation was very good, and we are grateful to all those who took the opportunity to participate, including the hon. Member for Ceredigion and Pembroke, North. The House will understand that it would, of course, be inappropriate to refer now to the probable contents of the White Paper, which we expect to be published shortly. In the meantime, the hon. Gentleman may be confident that sustainable development will be at its heart.

I shall now say a little about particular environmental issues in Wales. Our rivers and coastline are an intrinsic part of the Welsh environment, which we must protect for this generation and future generations. Recent years have brought a considerable investment in improvements to our aquatic environment, and we are now seeing the results. Last year 89 per cent. of the identified bathing waters on the Welsh coastline met European mandatory standards. That compares, for example, with a pass rate of only 48 per cent. in 1986.

The National Rivers Authority deserves much credit for the achievements that we have seen in river water quality. The authority has worked closely with the water companies and with other sectors of industry, including agriculture, to tackle the various sources of pollution. As a result of that combined effort, the most recent figures published by the NRA show that 98 per cent. of Welsh rivers are now classed as of good or fair quality, including 89 per cent. classed as of good quality. That record of achievement is set to continue. Welsh Water alone intends to invest £650 million in its environmental programme over the next five years.

Increasing pressures for housing and development require even greater care in optimising the use of scarce land resources. Within Wales the Welsh Development Agency's land reclamation programme is the largest landscape improvement programme in Europe. Since its formation the agency has reclaimed more than 15,000 acres, and its aim is to reclaim all significant dereliction in Wales by the end of the century.

Some of Wales' most attractive new business sites are on reclaimed land—for example, Swansea enterprise park and Delyn enterprise zone. In addition, 80 reclaimed sites have been developed for housing, such as the former national garden festival site at Ebbw Vale. In those and in other cases, land reclamation, besides being positive in itself, also avoids the need to develop green-field sites.

Mr. Elfyn Llwyd (Meirionnydd Nant Conwy)

On the provision of housing, is it not incumbent upon the Government to make it more feasible, and more commercially and financially attractive, for properties in town centres to be carefully and tastefully refurbished, so that our built heritage can be looked after in that way, rather than making it difficult, as it is now, for that to take place, which creates more pressure on green-field sites?

Mr. Gwilym Jones

I think that the hon. Gentleman and I have similar outlooks in that respect. We both want to see the best use made of existing housing. We have put in a considerable investment—about £1 billion—since 1990, and in the coming year we shall invest another £180 million in renewing Welsh housing stock, but we should make the best use of existing stock. We are very aware of the pressures on other green-field sites, as I have described in connection with business uses.

The hon. Gentleman raised other specific points, and I well appreciate his concern for Project Aries, which represents a positive initiative to produce practical solutions to assist the development of renewable energy in Wales. The Principality has a range of renewable energy sources, such as hydro, wind, landfill gas and biomass, which could be harnessed to assist the economy and the environment, through lower emissions. I welcome the project's aim of involving key organisations and individuals interested in renewables, and to identify ways of reconciling differences between them.

The project is now coming towards its conclusion, but I am pleased to see that work in that area will be taken forward in the new ALT-INVEST project, which is intended to stimulate private investment for the most promising renewable energy source schemes. I imagine that the hon. Gentleman will wish to study that.

I am sure that we are all equally concerned that road building should be part of a sustainable transport policy. Decisions to proceed with new road schemes are taken only after careful assessment of all realistic alternative solutions to the problems identified. Every effort is made to avoid areas of natural beauty or scientific interest, and if that is not possible we try to minimise the effects.

Environmental impact assessments are undertaken for schemes costing over £1 million, and for all schemes affecting national parks, and areas such as sites of special scientific interest.

The Secretary of State's trunk road priorities and plans were published in "Roads in Wales: 1994 Review", which identifies three major strategic routes—M4, A465 and A55—on which resources will be focused. The document stresses that the A40 in Mid Wales and the A5 on the mainland are not to be developed as major routes for long-distance heavy traffic.

In the public transport sector, Wales has seen many improvements to its local rail services. South and west Wales have new links to the north-west, the midlands, the south coast and to London's Waterloo station, to connect with Eurostar services to the continent. There have also been improvements in local services in mid and north Wales. The Government's rail privatisation programme should see even more. Indeed, in being awarded the InterCity franchise into south Wales, Great Western announced its intention to provide extra services on that network.

Recently I announced the go-ahead for a range of transport measures, including new rail links to expand and improve rail services between Cardiff bay and the south Wales valleys, new bus priority schemes, and substantial cycle ways along both the north and the south Wales coasts.

All aspects of energy policy are clearly relevant to sustainable development. On the one hand, energy is an essential input to economic activity, while on the other, the production of energy can have major environmental effects through local pollution caused by emissions and through climate change caused by global warming. I have referred to actions related to carbon dioxide emissions from energy production, and we are also encouraging energy efficiency. The Government are actively promoting that policy in both the supply and demand sides of the energy industries. For example, new legislation will come into force this year requiring local authorities to identify means of improving the energy efficiency of residential accommodation.

In Wales, the NHS is working towards a 15 per cent. reduction in energy usage, and the Welsh Office has reduced its energy costs by 18 per cent since 1991. The Government are seeking to encourage new and renewable energy sources which have the prospect of being economically attractive and environmentally acceptable. Sustainable development, however, is an issue that goes wider than the environment. It is a matter of harmonising development and environmental protection. Development is needed, but it brings its pressures, and we are addressing such issues in Wales within—

Mr. Deputy Speaker

Order.