Policy Achievements (Hansard, 10 May 1984)

§ Mr. Nicholas Edwards

For details of progress made between May 1979 and May 1983 I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 28 April 1983 at columns406–410. Progress made in implementing the Government's policies for Wales since May 1983 is summarised as follows.

Industry and Employment

The Welsh Development Agency has continued its work of improving the industrial infrastructure of Wales and encouraging business growth and development. In the financial year 1983–84 over 130 advance factories, comprising over 600,000 sq ft of industrial floorspace, were completed. The agency has continued to make excellent progress in finding tenants for its factories: 1983–84 was the third year in succession that the agency allocated around 1½ million sq ft of factory space. During the year tenants were found for nearly 300 factories with the firms involved expecting to provide eventually over 6,000 jobs. About 60 per cent. of the factories the Agency has provided in the Welsh steel closure areas have now been allocated. In 1983–84 nearly £6.4 million was invested by the WDA in 83 Welsh-based companies. Further progress was made in reclaiming derelict land. During 1983–84, 45 schemes financed by the WDA were completed and some 500 acres of land reclaimed. At the end of the year work was continuing on another 37 projects supported by the Agency which will eventually rehabilitate another 800 acres of derelict land. During the last 12 months the agency has also developed a number of new initiatives in its investment and small business activities. Two new schemes, the seed capital fund and variable interest rate loan scheme, were introduced. The WDA's business agents and executive secondment initiatives, both designed to help small business development, have also made significant progress.

Last year, on 1 April, I established the new inward investment unit, WINvest. During WINvest's first year of existence, a significant level of inward investment from overseas has been secured, including major investment by Comdial and Shape from the USA and the Sharp Corporation from Japan. In W1Nvest's first year of operation 19 new projects by overseas companies 422W promising over 2,500 new jobs have been secured. In addition there were 10 expansion projects in Wales by existing overseas companies which promise over 300 new jobs and will safeguard 2,000 existing jobs.

Announcements during 1983–84 of new projects in Wales have also included projects by the Slimma Group, AB Electronics Ltd, Avana and Steinberg and Sons Ltd. Provisional figures for 1983–84 show that 237 offers of Section 7 Selective Financial Assistance amounting to over £48 million were accepted for projects in Wales. These involve a total investment of about £420 million and are expected to create or safeguard over 19,000 jobs over the next three or four years.

During the year steps were taken towards the establishment of WINtech. an organisation which will provide a stimulus to technological development in new and existing industries in Wales.

In the past year two further enterprise zones have been formally designated in Wales, at Flint and various sites around the Milford Haven waterway; the statutory consultations are under way towards the designation of a second zone at Swansea which will represent a small extension to the lower Swansea valley zone which was designated in July 1981. Encouraging progress is being made in all zones.

One of the 6 freeports announced by the Government will be located at Cardiff.

Of last year's minimum age school leavers in Wales who were unable to find jobs only 172 were still awaiting the offer of a place on the youth training scheme by Christmas and of these 114 were being considered for places. The Manpower Services Commission have set a target of about 23,000 places for the scheme in 1984–85, some 17,000 of which will be employer sponsored.

By the end of December 1983 there were 250 approved places at the information technology centres operating at Kelsterton, Wrexham, Caernarfon, Neath, Llanelli, Cardiff, Pontypridd and Blaenau Gwent. Negotiations are proceeding for centres at Newport and Pembroke Dock which will provide a further 60 places.

Some £27.5 was allocated to urban programme initiative, including over £10 million for the new urban development grant for 1984–85. Within the £17.3 million allocated for the traditional urban programme, 100 new schemes have been introduced into the programme, at a cost of £8.6 million. Of this, around £6.8 million has been allocated for nursery factory units, workshops and related industrial and commercial projects. In addition, £1.8 million has been committed for new environmental improvement schemes and other schemes to alleviate social problems.

Since the introduction of the urban development grant scheme in April 1982, 27 projects have been approved for UDG. In total, some £10 million in UDG is being paid to trigger a total investment of over £65 million. Twelve of the approved projects will involve the construction of 800 housing units and UDG of some £2.3 million will be paid to trigger a total investment of over £25 million on these projects. The possibility of UDG support has also been a key element in bringing forward imaginative proposals for major redevelopment in Cardiff docklands and consideration is now being given to a UDG application related to a total investment of some £50 million.

In the financial year 1983–84 the Development Board for Rural Wales completed a further 36 factories. Existing factories provide around 5,500 jobs and, when the present 423W construction programme, including the 1984–85 programme for its area excluding Newtown which I approved in February 1984, is complete and all factories fully occupied there will be over 7,300 job opportunities.

During the period the board approved grant of £515,825 for 32 projects, creating or safeguarding 614 jobs and made grant payments of £175,000 under the mid-Wales development grant scheme. Under the rural building conversion grant scheme, grant of £42,350 was approved for 12 projects and payments of £8,900 were made.

In the period 1 April 1983 to 31 March 1984, the Wales tourist board approved 79 grants totalling £1,993,468 for tourist projects under section 4 of the Development of Tourism Act 1969. The board will have £1.8 million available in section 4 assistance in 1984–85.

Some £45 million in commitment to Wales under the European regional development fund has been announced since May 1983, including £12 million in June 1983, £11 million in October 1983 and a record tranche of £22 million in January 1984. A total of £10-5 million has also been allocated from the fund under special programmes designed to help small firms in Clwyd, Gwent, south Glamorgan and west Glamorgan in recognition of the problems caused by the decline in steel-making. Following discussions during this period, the European Commission has also been able to agree that henceforward applications for regional fund assistance may be considered from those parts of mid-Wales which are not designated as assisted areas but which benefit from the scheme of aid which was announced on 28 June 1982. This means that 98 per cent. of the Principality is, in population terms, now eligible for assistance under the fund.

Agriculture and Fisheries

The Government have continued the policy of support for the agriculture industry. Some £95 million has been paid to Welsh farmers under the sheepmeat regime since its inception in 1980 and £6.9 million under the suckler cow premium scheme introduced the same year. The Government has secured EC agreement to a major extension of the United Kingdom's less favoured areas so that 80 per cent. of all agricultural land in Wales is now eligible for special rates of capital grants and for hill livestock compensatory allowances. Since May 1979 some £108 million has been paid out under both the national and EC capital grant schemes. Statutory measures have been introduced to conserve the Cardigan bay scallop fishery.

Roads

Since May 1983, work has been completed on the A48 Carmarthen southern bypass, costing £16.7 million, the A5 Llanfair PG bypass costing £8 million, and the A5/A55 Bangor bypass, costing £26 million. At present there are five major projects under construction, including the A55 Hawarden bypass and A55 Colwyn Bay bypass, estimated to cost over £220 million; when completed, these will provide 26 miles of new trunk road.

Water

The achievements of the reconstituted Welsh water authority, which I appointed in April 1982, are now apparent from the accounts for 1983–84 and the very small increase in charges for 1984–85 agreed by the authority in February 1984. The authority have also embarked on a structural reorganisation which will lead to further cost savings.

In 1983–84 I allocated £2.8 million to the Sports Council for Wales for the development of sport. The 424W national outdoor pursuits centre for Wales at Plas Menai on the Menai straits was opened by the Sports Council in 1983 and was in full operation during the summer of 1983.

Education

The Manpower Services Commission, in conjunction with my Department and the Department of Education and Science, have been developing pilot schemes under the technical and vocational education initiative. Clwyd county council's proposal was finally accepted and became operational in September 1983. It has been decided to extend the initiative from September 1984 and proposals from Gwent, Gwynedd, mid-Glamorgan, Powys and west Glamorgan county councils have been provisionally accepted.

Appointments to the school curriculum development committee, made jointly by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science and me, were announced in November 1983. The committee has since established a sub-committee to focus on the interests in Wales. The membership of this committee for Wales was announced in March 1984.

The Education (Grants and Awards) Act 1984 will enable me to introduce a new scheme of education support grants payable to local education authorities.

I made available a sum of £0.3 million which has been added into the advanced further education quantum for 1984–85 specifically to expand courses designed to improve the supply of qualified manpower in information technology. I have accepted the advice of the Wales advisory body for local authority higher education on the distribution of this sum to boost the information technology initiative in the fields of computing, electronic engineering and production engineering (IT applications) supporting 75 additional places at degree and diploma/ certificate levels.

I have extended the scheme of direct grants for in-service teacher training introduced last year in two ways. It now embraces certain teachers in further education establishments who are involved in preparation for vocational training and adds science to the eligible courses for school teachers.

I have also made available £100,00 for adult continuing education. This will enable me to recruit a PICKUP agent in order to promote post-experience vocational updating courses and to make a towards a programme of local collaboration on training which is being run jointly with the Manpower Services Commission.

Welsh Language

Financial support for a wide variety of language related projects has increased annually since 1979. For 1984–85 grants totalling £941,000 have been offered for Welsh language education projects under section 21 of the Education Act 1980 and £1,056,200 has been made available in support of projects undertaken by voluntary organisations.

Housing

A major impact has been made on the state of the older Welsh housing stock. In the year to 31 March 1984, as a result of our renovation grant initiative, grant approvals exceeded £127 million; grant expenditure was about £100 million. The first enveloping scheme in Wales is nearing completion and I have approved five other schemes relating to 684 houses. I expect more authorities to seek approval for enveloping schemes later this year.

By 31 December 1983 the number of public sector tenants in Wales who had applied to buy their homes under 425W the Housing Act, 1980 had increased to over 57,000. Sales completed by landlord authorities had increased to almost 33,000.

The Government have continued to encourage Welsh local authorities to pursue the various options for low cost home ownership which are open to them. In 1983–84, four authorities reported the sale of land to private builders for the provision of starter homes; twelve authorities entered into the licensing or partnership schemes with private builders; thirteen authorities reported improvement for sale schemes and three authorities had small "homesteading" schemes to sell unimproved dwellings for improvement by the purchaser.

The Housing Corporation, through housing associations, has continued to make a valuable contribution to the housing stock in Wales; not only by new building and rehabilitation but also in the provision of homes and hostels for those with special needs. In 1983–84, the Housing Corporation spent over £48 million most of which was attributable to special needs. Of this, £10 million has been expended on new initiatives such as improvement for sale, leasehold schemes for the elderly and shared ownership schemes.

Health

I am making available another 2 per cent. growth in the recurring revenue resources of district health authorities in Wales in 1984–85 including provision for the second year of a three year programme to eliminate major inequalities in the relative funding of authorities. The annual reviews of health authorities' performance continue to develop and now include a requirement that minimum efficiency savings amounting annually to 0.5 per cent. of recurring revenue allocations are to be re-invested on continuing care services for mentally ill, mentally handicapped and elderly people. This should lead to some £2.7 million of additional investment in these services in 1984–85.

From 1 April health authorities have taken over the responsibility for programming and funding their own capital schemes, although they will not receive a significantly larger proportion of capital funds until the programme of major schemes which started before this date, and which will continue to be centrally funded, diminishes.

I have initiated projects to improve regional services. A third main renal dialysis centre will be commissioned at Morriston hospital, Swansea and the main centres will be supplemented by pilot schemes in Carmarthen and Bangor. Cardiac surgery is to be increased to 1,100 operations per year at the University Hospital of Wales and there will be an expansion of the bone marrow transplantation service. A new burns and plastic surgery unit, to replace the one at Chepstow, is to be developed at Morriston hospital, Swansea.

I propose to implement in the Health Service in Wales the principles of the NHS management inquiry, building on the new health management units to promote sensitive and responsive care and more effective and efficient use of resources.

I have set up a survey group assisted by a catalyst team to look at ways of improving the care of newly born children and their mothers in Wales and thereby reducing the causes of perinatal mortality.

Provision for the personal social services rose between 1978–79 and 1982–83 by some 5 per cent. more than would have been needed to keep pace with inflation. The cash 426W provision for personal social services has been increased to £110.1 million for 1983–84 and to £116.4 million for 1984–85.

Grants made to voluntary organisations active in the health and personal social services have increased from £0.5 million in 1978–79 to over £0.95 million in the last financial year. In addition funds are being made available in 1984–85 to voluntary organisations for the provision of more intensive schemes of Intermediate Treatment and to help voluntary organisations and community groups active in assisting families with young children.

During the first year of operation of the 10-year strategy to develop community-based services for mentally handicapped people, I have approved schemes up to a full year value of £2.5 million and sought the submission of comprehensive long-term plans to implement the strategy in each county area.

Construction work has recently started on a purpose built artificial limb and appliance centre at Rookwood hospital to replace existing facilities in Cardiff.

In conjunction with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services and other Health Ministers I have introduced legislation to provide for the independence of family practitioner committees from district health authorities. Subject to the enactment of that legislation, I will be establishing independent 17PC's in Wales on 1 April 1985.