I gather from that rant that the hon. Gentleman is not entirely in favour of my position on those issues. I caught at least part of it, about the DNA database. Let me explain why it is an important policy for the country and for fighting crime. As a result of the DNA database, we can now match samples, sometimes several hundred and even several thousand a month. Consequently, we are solving murders, rapes and some of the most serious burglaries and assaults. It is essential to use new technology, such as CCTV and other things, to ensure that we make our country safer. The idea that, by doing that—and thereby, for example, solving some of the unsolved murders from years ago—we are creating a police state shows how far the Liberal Democrats are out of touch with reality.
My hon. Friend raises a crucial issue for the country. It is interesting that his constituency in the Wirral shows that it is not simply a problem of London and the south-east. We have to do three things: invest more in social housing, which we are doing; improve the availability of shared equity schemes, since I think that they will be of great help, especially to young couples buying their first home; but also make available land for development. The simple truth is that, unless we are prepared to make more land available for development and build the homes that people need, prices will be even higher. It is obvious that many young couples are finding it a tremendous struggle to get their feet on the first rungs of the housing ladder, but we cannot solve that unless we are prepared to make the difficult decisions about housing supply.
May I associate myself and my Friends on these Benches with the remarks already made from both Front Benches about those who have given their lives for our freedom? May I also ask the Prime Minister whether he is going to come to the opening of the new Assembly to mark the new regime that is going to come into order on 8 May? That is a firm date that is not going to be changed, because the people of Ulster—not any of his Ministers—have set it in stone. Although it will be the birthday of his hard-working Home Secretary, I am not asking him to come and celebrate that in Northern Ireland. I am asking him to join the Northern Ireland people to mark the fact that that part of the United Kingdom is going to have a Government in the same way as Wales and Scotland have. It is his duty as Prime Minister to be there, after all the work that he has done on this matter.
It is not absolutely universal, in my experience, that people actually want me to visit that particular part of the country, but I thank the right hon. Gentleman very kindly for his invitation. Certainly, we have it well in mind.
The point that my hon. Friend makes is correct, in the sense that the winter report that I mentioned a moment ago shows that the number of cancelled operations has gone down in the past few years by about 30 per cent., and that the rates have hugely improved for people being seen quickly for cancer treatment and in accident and emergency departments. It is also true—this is something that even the Conservatives apparently do not realise any more—that we need to make changes and reforms in the way that the health service works. The report published today by Professor Darzi shows clearly that, as a result of the changes in the NHS, we are moving towards a system in which more care is done in the community and in which the number of day cases has risen by about 1.5 million a year. People can now often get day-case surgery when previously they would have had to spend days in hospital. We are therefore having to change the health care system; that is inevitable. If we manage to carry on making these improvements, by the end of next year the constituents of my hon. Friend and others will have a maximum wait of 18 weeks for diagnostic, out-patient and in-patient treatment, with an average wait of eight weeks. That will be a fundamental change from what we inherited in 1997, when people often had to wait 18 months or more just on the in-patient list.
Following the Prime Minister’s last answer on housing, is he aware that official figures show that, over the 10 years of this Labour Government, average earnings across Britain have gone up by 41 per cent., while average house prices have gone up 169 per cent.—more than four times as much? Is not the truth that, for the millions of people in terrible housing debt, and for those who are not even able to get on to the housing ladder at all, one fundamental thing has not changed—
It is correct to say that living standards have gone up, and that house prices have gone up significantly. I agree with that, but the answer, as I said a moment ago, is that we must be prepared to release more land for development and to do more brownfield development, which this Government are doing. With the greatest respect to the hon. Gentleman and to the Liberal Democrats, we cannot have a situation in which the Liberal Democrats say that there should be more housing, while locally opposing every development that is proposed. In the end, they, like the Conservatives, have to understand that if the Government want to deal with these problems, hard decisions have to be taken, and the truth is that we take them.
That surcharge is paying for a whole range of victim and witness services. It is providing some £3 million for witness care units, and some £3 million for independent domestic violence advisers. If victims feel more comfortable about giving evidence in court, they will be more likely to secure the convictions of those who are guilty. One reason why we have significantly lowered levels of domestic violence is the fact that we are giving more support to people who need to bring such cases to court. The surcharge, although controversial at the time of its imposition, is yet another example of a difficult decision that was fully justified.
Is the Prime Minister aware of the widespread hospital closures throughout Wales? Is he also aware that the British Medical Association in Wales has called for an independent review of the working of the Barnett formula to establish whether Wales is being short-changed, as many of us believe it is?
While the Prime Minister ponders that, may I echo what was said by the right hon. Member for North Antrim (Rev. Ian Paisley) and warmly invite him to visit Wales as many times as he can between now and 3 May? His presence there will dramatically affect voting patterns.
The hon. Gentleman says that we have been cutting NHS investment in Wales. Actually, we have increased NHS investment in Wales enormously. Ten new hospital schemes are coming to Wales, and waiting times have shortened. People receive vastly improved treatment and receive it faster, and they receive it precisely because of the investment that a strong economy has allowed us to deliver. The truth of the matter is that the policies of the hon. Gentleman’s party—well, the leader of the Welsh Nationalist party wants to form a coalition with the Tories, does he not? [Interruption.]
indicated dissent.
Yes! I remember now! The hon. Gentleman wants to join in a ragbag coalition with the Tories. Well, if he thinks the people of Wales believe that the Tories are better than us at running the national health service, it is he who will be worried on 3 May.