§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Clwyd, South constituency, the effects on Clwyd, South of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [150914]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyAs this question was originally addressed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, my response relates to the effects of Government policies and actions on industry and the economy. Such effects are not normally measured by reference to constituencies, so it is not practicable to give information in the form requested. However, prior to the transfer of functions to the National Assembly on 1 July 1999, a range of all-Wales policy initiatives and other actions taken by my Department will have impacted on Clwyd, South and its residents. Details of these are set out in the Welsh Office departmental reports for 1998 (Cm 3915) and 1999 (Cm 4216), copies of which are in the Library.
Part of my hon. Friend's constituency is included in the west Wales and the valleys area, for which the Government secured objective 1 status at the Berlin European Council in 1999. Subsequently, in the July 2000 spending review, we made available additional funding, outside the Barnett formula, for the Welsh structural funds programmes. This also included provision for objective 3, which applies in the parts of Clwyd, South not covered by objective 1, and objective 2 which also applies in some parts of Clwyd, South.
Our new Assisted Areas map for the UK, which was formally approved by the European Commission in July 2000, also includes tier 1 coverage for that part of my hon. Friend's constituency which falls in Denbighshire.
§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Clwyd, South constituency, the effects on Clwyd, South of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [150913]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyAs this question was originally addressed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, my response concentrates on the effects of my Department's policies and actions on health services prior to 1 July 1999, when responsibility for their provision transferred to the National Assembly for Wales.
Because of the way in which health services are organised, it is not practicable to provide information which is specific to my hon. Friend's constituency. The timing of financial and statistical exercises also means that some of the figures quoted relate to periods ending shortly before or shortly after 30 June 1999.
In October 1997, an additional £2.2 million was made available to North Wales Health Authority, over and above its financial allocation for the year, to provide enhanced patient care. The authority's basic allocation for 1998–99, at £381.3 million, represented a year-on-year cash increase of £14.2 million. This was further enhanced 292W by £4.1 million in April 1998 to address waiting list issues, and £2.6 million in November for dealing with winter pressures.
Between annual counts taken in September 1997 and September 1999, the number of directly employed NHS nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in the area of the North Wales Health Authority increased by 267.4 in full-time equivalent terms. Over the same period, medical and dental staff increased by 29.8.
Health services in the Clwyd, South constituency will also have benefited from a range of important all-Wales policy initiatives which were developed between May 1997 and June 1999. These included:
Delivering Care—Meeting Need—a comprehensive package of measures for primary and community health care (1997);Putting Patients First—which promoted a series of reforms for the NHS in Wales, such as the abolition of the internal market and GP fundholding, and the introduction of new structures such as Local Health Groups and Health Improvement Programmes (1998);Better Health, Better Wales—a strategy for improving public health (1998);Quality Care and Clinical Excellence—a programme for clinical effectiveness (1998);Reconfiguration of NHS Trusts—a programme of mergers which reduced the total number of NHS Trusts from 29 to 16 (1999).