To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with local education authorities in Wales regarding the provisions affecting Wales in the Education (Schools) Bill.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will make a statement on the future of Her Majesty's inspectorate of schools in Wales.

The provisions in the Education (Schools) Bill relating to the inspection of schools and information on their performance were trailed in the citizens charter and the charter for parents in Wales, copies of which were sent to all local authorities in Wales as well as to a wide range of bodies representative of education interests. My officials have met representatives of the local education authorities to discuss various aspects of the new proposals and there has also been correspondence with the Department.

Does the Minister accept that education in Wales owes much to the professionalism and the independence of the Welsh schools inspectorate, and that there is widespread hostility among both teachers and parents in Wales to the possible privatisation of that service? Most importantly, why is the latest report on schools inspectors in Wales gathering dust on the Minister's desk? The House has a right to know why he is suppressing that report.

Of course the inspectorate is highly respected in Wales, but the hon. Gentleman will know that it was never geared to carry out inspections with the frequency that we expect will result from the provisions of the Education (Schools) Bill and that we envisage in the parents charter. What Labour Members say makes it sound as though they do not want parents to know what the schools that their children are attending are like.

That is a disgraceful statement. Was not the citizens charter supposed to be all about open Government? The Minister has now said that he will not even publish the report. Is that because the report does not substantiate the proposals in the Education (Schools) Bill, which is nothing more than English ideology that the Government are transmitting to Wales? Why is the Minister slavishly following the English example when the Secretary of State for Scotland is not doing so? His right hon. Friend is sustaining and expanding the Scottish inspectorate, so why is the Minister emaciating ours?

The hon. Gentleman is talking a lot of nonsense. His concentration on the consultants' review is ridiculous. Labour Members should consider what is said in the parents charter about inspection of schools in Wales. It is as a result of that charter that we have to take steps to change the inspectorate.

How often are schools in Wales inspected by HMI and what change in that frequency is my right hon. Friend seeking to achieve?

I cannot give my hon. Friend a precise answer to that question, but the inspection of a school in Wales is a fairly rare occurrence, taking schools as a whole. The 58 inspectors spend only 65 per cent. of their time inspecting and the other 35 per cent. advising. Again, I urge the House to consider the fact that we expect inspections of individual schools to take place on a four to five-yearly basis.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will state the number of male and female unemployed in Wales for 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990 and to the present date.

In December of each of the years set out in the hon. Gentleman's question, the figures are 97,800, 79,900, 64,100, 72,900 and 95,600 respectively for male unemployed. For female unemployed the figures were 38,600 in 1987, 31,600 in 1988, 21,700 in 1989, 21,000 in 1990 and 26,000 in December 1991.

Will the Secretary of State, with the Prime Minister, accept responsibility for the deplorably high level of unemployment in Wales? They both go about the Principality boasting about their actions in terms of foreign investment in Wales. They should be reminded that the major investors coming into Ogwr borough, and Bridgend in particular, were Ford of Bridgend, which was brought in under Jim Callaghan's Labour Government, and the Japanese company, Sony, which was also brought in by a Labour Government. It was the Labour party and a Labour Government who created investment into Wales before the present Prime Minister was even elected to this honourable House. If anyone should be boasting, it is those of us in the Labour party. The sooner the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister come to the Principality, the better: let the voters there decide who should have the credit for what is happening in Wales and also what should be done to the Conservative party in view of the deplorable levels of unemployment to be found in Wales.

I am delighted that the hon. Gentleman has given me the opportunity to report to the House the latest figures for inward investment. The calendar year just finished, 1991, brought new record levels of inward investment to Wales from overseas and the rest of the United Kingdom. I am delighted to report that those new levels consist of 183 projects recorded by Welsh Development International, promising about 17,000 jobs. These are the highest figures ever.

Will the Secretary of State note that unemployment in my constituency of Brecon and Radnor has doubled in the past 12 months? Will he refute the Prime Minister's suggestion that inward investment has come into Wales as a result of lower personal taxation? Will he agree that inward investment is due to the activities of the Welsh Development Agency, some of the lowest wages in Britain and high levels of skills, and that it is the quality of the Welsh work force as much as anything else that has brought inward investment into Wales?

I find this very interesting. I have been concentrating on a report of the Select Committee on Welsh Affairs on Inward Investment into Wales. I thought that the hon. Gentleman was a signatory to the report. I have read carefully the reasons given for the record levels of inward investment that has come into the United Kingdom, including Wales. The Select Committee reported that overseas companies saw the attractions of the United Kingdom—a number of factors are set out—as including, in particular, a favourable tax regime. Has the hon. Gentleman decided to change his mind?

Does my right hon. Friend agree that one of the best hopes for the future of south Wales is completion of the Cardiff Bay Barrage Bill, which opposition from so many Labour Members has put in jeopardy?

Yes. I hope that the Opposition will get their act together on the Bill and recognise that it represents enormous investment in Wales and something that will put Cardiff and Wales generally on the world map in a very big way.

The Minister's answers are evasive. They do not go to the heart of the questions. I remind the Secretary of State of the haemorrhaging that has taken place, resulting in a severe loss of jobs in Wales for which he bears a heavy responsibility. I refer to just a few examples. At Ferranti in Bangor, there have been 250 job losses, which would be equal to about 2,500 jobs in eastern Wales. Nearly 500 jobs have been lost in the steel industry at Shotton in less than a year. As for apprenticeships in British Aerospace in Clwyd, more than 100 people may not be offered jobs by that great company because of the Government's failed economic policies. We have also lost jobs in the cement industry and there are question marks over the Point of Ayr colliery. Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that since the beginning of the recession unemployment in Wales has increased by more than 38,000, and that during that period he has brought forward not one new policy to help the economy? He should be ashamed.

I am pleased to announce this afternoon that since the last Welsh Question Time, there have been 13 new industrial projects—supported by £6 million of regional selective assistance which had been announced—500 new jobs and the safeguarding of 300 others. I am pleased also to announce a total of more than £6.5 million industrial investment by a further four companies, either expanding, modernising or setting up operations in Wales. I believe that Wales continues to be less severely affected by the recession than the United Kingdom as a whole, but it cannot possibly shield itself from the recession both in the United Kingdom and in the rest of the world.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received on the conduct of children's homes in Gwynedd.

Representations have been received from a former employee of Gwynedd county council and from hon. Members.

The Minister will be aware that certain allegations have been made about incidents in homes in Gwynedd, and in other parts of Wales, during recent months. He will also be aware that Gwynedd has set up an inquiry into those incidents. Is he satisfied with the conduct of that inquiry? Will he ensure that, when the inquiry is completed, its findings will be published for the benefit of all concerned in Gwynedd?

An inquiry has indeed been set up by Gwynedd county council, but I understand that it is currently suspended because of police investigations. Obviously, I cannot comment on the inquiry because of those investigations. I hope that Gwynedd county council will listen carefully to what the hon. Gentleman has said about publishing a report of the inquiry; I certainly expect it to publish one.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement about the Minister of State's recent visit to Kuwait and Bahrain.

I led a trade mission to Kuwait from 5 to 13 November, which gave Welsh companies the opportunity to develop trade links. Twelve companies took part, several of which obtained firm orders, while other business is in the pipeline. While in Kuwait, I represented the United Kingdom at the extinguishing of the last oilwell fire. I also visited Bahrain, where 26 Welsh firms were represented by the Welsh Office and 10 other Welsh firms had exhibition stands, along with a large British contingent exhibiting at the Rebuild Kuwait '91 trade fair.

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the evident, tremendous and burning success of his mission. Could he give us any information on what that mission might represent in terms of increased business, especially for small and medium-sized businesses in Wales?

All the companies either represented by the Welsh Office or exhibiting in the two Gulf states were small or medium sized. We secured orders worth £150,000 during the visit, and there are good prospects for further orders of about £800,000. I hope that additional trade will flow from the mission in the longer term.

The Minister used the word "extinguishing". Shall we not, before long, see the extinguishing—after 13 years—of the three Conservative Governments who have managed to create the current situation in Wales, where gross domestic product per capita is lower than in any other region? After those three Conservative Administrations, Wales—alas—is now the poorest region in Britain.

Order. The question is about Kuwait.

It is indeed, but it is also about trade between Kuwait and Wales.

They will vote for a fourth Conservative Government, because since 1979 the record of the current Government and their predecessors in regard to Wales has been excellent. We have transformed the Welsh economy. We have increased the number of businesses in Wales, VAT registrations are up by 25 per cent., production industries are up by 60 per cent.—twice the United Kingdom average—and the number of self-employed people has increased by 60 per cent. as well.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will indicate how many hospitals in Wales have applied for NHS trust status.

The Pembrokeshire national health service trust will become operational on 1 April 1992. Last month I announced that applications had been invited from 14 units for NHS trust status in April 1993.

Will the Secretary of State explain to me, and to my puzzled constituents, what is the point of Powys health authority's applying for trust status, given that the entity which now constitutes the health authority would also constitute the trust? Will he also tell us what the cost of a transfer to trust status would be? A Welsh Office official was unable to answer that question at a recent conference in Llandrindod Wells. Finally, will the right hon. Gentleman explain what the trust could do that the district health authority, under its present management, could not?

There has been a positive move towards NHS trust status in Wales. It now seems likely that 65 per cent. of acute services could be trust-based by April 1993. Powys health unit has been invited to prepare an application for trust status in April 1993. Like the unit in Pembrokeshire, it has done that because it believes that it can satisfy the Secretary of State on four points: first, that such a move would show benefits for patients; secondly, that it would improve management capability; thirdly, that clinicians would be involved in management; and, fourthly, that the trust has a future of financial soundness. Only if it had been clearly demonstrated to me that trust status would involve a positive move in that direction would I allow such status to be assumed. There is, of course, no question of allowing any trust to leave the national health service.

In view of the clear directive contained in the document "Caring for People" that the Government expect health providers to set up NHS nursing homes, will the Secretary of State give a commitment that there will be health providers in Wales, and that trusts will establish such homes?

It is very much for the providers to determine the future picture. I believe that, in regard to care in the community, we in Wales are leading the way. Many other parts of the United Kingdom view our progress with some envy. As the hon. Gentleman will know, the local joint authorities—including the local authority, the health authority and the other key partners—are currently drawing up local plans for delivering services to the local community.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the national health service management reforms, with the forthcoming trust status and record amounts of money being spent on the health service in Wales, will enable the health service there to build upon its success of treating record numbers of patients?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. If one compares 1979 with today, 34 per cent. more in-patients are being treated in Wales, and the number of day cases is up 227 per cent. Record numbers of patients have been treated, with record funding. I pay tribute to all those who work in the national health service in Wales for having achieved these outstanding results.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many dwellings for general needs housing were completed in the Monmouth constituency by Monmouth borough council and by housing associations in 1981 and 1991.

In 1981, 67 social housing units were completed. There are 108 under construction at the moment.

I am grateful to the Minister, although he has not answered the question that I asked. I asked him how many houses had been completed in 1991, and I will tell him the answer. The local authority completed nil houses in 1991. Housing associations completed 33. The people of my constituency are appalled that Monmouth borough council has millions of pounds tied up from the sale of council houses and cannot use that money for housing. Will the Minister use his powers to enable local authorities to provide houses for homeless people, whether through local authorities or housing associations, jobs for redundant construction workers, and new business contracts for the building companies which are going bankrupt?

The hon. Gentleman is wrong. Local authorities can use 25 per cent. of their right-to-buy receipts for capital purposes and 75 per cent. for redemption of debt on housing revenue account, and in Wales we have a special offer whereby local authorities which sell land for low-cost housing may use 100 per cent. of receipts for capital purposes. I am sorry that local authorities throughout Wales, whose total debt on housing revenue account amounts to £1.1 billion, redeemed only £14 million of that debt last year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new initiatives he intends to introduce to increase the rate of new house building in Wales.

A wide range of measures has been introduced, including shared ownership, plots for sale, partnership schemes and flexi-ownership.

What would the Minister say to a constituent of mine whose business has been wrecked by the Government-created recession, whose home is to be repossessed this week because the Government's rescue scheme is too late and inadequate, and whose family face bed-and-breakfast accommodation because the local council has no council houses to offer because the Government have cut council house building in Wales by 90 per cent? Who is to blame? Is my constituent right to feel embittered against the Government?

The hon. Gentleman must recognise that we face a world recession. It is taking place in France, Germany and the United States. There has even been a reduction in Japan. We have the benefit of a Conservative Government who will put the battle against inflation at the head of their priorities for dealing with the recession. I am confident that we shall see the end of the recession in the next few months.

The Minister's reply is arrogant and insulting. It takes no account of the massive rise in homelessness, of the mortgage repossessions in all our constituencies and of record waiting lists. Welsh local authorities have almost half a billion pounds in capital receipts. Why will not the Minister release that money, which could be used immediately to start building 100,000 new homes in Wales? He should take responsibility for doing so or accept responsibility for his party's vote at the next election, when Labour will be returned.

As I said in answer to the previous question, local authorities can use 100 per cent. of their receipts if they sell land for low-cost home ownership. The hon. Gentleman's authority—Neath—has a debt of £25 million on its housing revenue account, yet last year it did not redeem a penny of it. Only a few months ago, Neath borough council complained that it did not have enough money for housing. In 1990 and 1991, it did not apply for any money from the top slice programme—for enveloping, for group repair and area renewal, for the homelessness reserve, for the reserve for private or defective dwellings or for priority estates. The hon. Gentleman should ask Neath borough council why, when money has been available, it has not applied for anything in the past two years.

rose—

Does the hon. Member have a supplementary question?

No. I wish to give notice that, because of the disgracefully inadequate—

Does the hon. Gentleman wish to give the Minister notice of an Adjournment debate?

That is precisely what I am trying to do, if I may. I wish to give notice that, because of the Minister's disgracefully complacent answers, I intend to raise the crisis of housing in Wales on the Adjournment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he intends to take to support the mall business sector in Wales and to encourage its expansion.

We shall continue to place a high priority on supporting the small business sector by a wide range of programmes of assistance implemented through the Welsh Development Agency, the Development Board for Rural Wales, training and enterprise councils, local enterprise agencies and the Welsh Office.

May we have a pause in the ministerial litany of self-praise and complacency to recognise the reality of the interest rate burden, the impact of stop-go, the abandonment of research and development, the neglect of training and education and the fact that, because of Government policy, the nightmare of bankruptcy and failure is faced daily by those who run small and medium-sized businesses in Wales? With the threat of the election staring Ministers in the face, will the Secretary of State stop being complacent and persuade Cabinet colleagues to change their policies to ones that will create opportunity and stability for our business community in Wales?

The hon. Gentleman seems to be excelling in gloom and doom today. My reply to him is the same as the one that I gave the right hon. Member for Llanelli (Mr. Davies), in which I said that VAT registrations had increased by 25 per cent. since 1979. The hon. Gentleman referred to the problem of high interest rates. Yes, they are a problem, but we have had to impose them because of inflation. As inflation is low, the prospects for the future are good, especially if the Government are returned to office. We are the tax-cutting party; Labour is the tax-increasing party. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister was absolutely right to describe it as a "spend, spend, spend" and "tax, tax, tax" party.

Does my right hon. Friend accept that, in particular, the tourist industry and many other small businesses in my constituency, which are dependent on flexible working hours, part-time arrangements and appropriate salaries to match, would be devastated by the Labour party's minimum wage policy?

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. The tourist industry employs 90,000 people in Wales on the basis that my hon. Friend described. I can think of nothing more destructive than the Labour party's proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many men and women, full and part-time, were in employment in Wales and Mid-Glamorgan in (a) June 1979, (b) June 1987 and (c) the latest date for which figures are available.

The figures on the basis requested by the hon. Gentleman are not available for Mid-Glamorgan or for part-time male employees, but for Wales, taking September 1991 as the date for which the latest figures are available, there were respectively 618,000, 498,000 and 501,000 male employees in employment. For the same dates, there were 250,000, 225,000 and 246,000 female employees in full-time employment and 165,000, 184,000 and 213,000 in part-time employment.

Does not the Secretary of State feel any remorse about those figures? They show that male employment has gone down massively, that there are some additional jobs for female workers—full and part-time—but that the overall picture is one of deficit, despite the record investment based on the quality of the Welsh work force. Is the right hon. Gentleman prepared to say whether he thinks that before the next election these figures will improve, or will they get even worse?

I regret that the seasonally adjusted figure went up by 700 to 121,600 last month, but I remind the hon. Gentleman that in January 1986, the figure was over 170,000. Since 1986 there has been a remarkable reduction, especially in the figure for the long-term unemployed. In January 1986, that figure was 78,014. It has now fallen 60 per cent. to 31,207, but, of course, there is still work to be done. However, I hope that the hon. Gentleman will recognise that earlier today I announced record inward investment figures for Wales, and we have every right to be proud of those figures.

Does the Secretary of State notice that 12 months ago every vacant job in Wales was chased by nine unemployed people but that by last month 13 unemployed people were chasing each vacancy? Over the same period, small countries such as the Netherlands and Portugal and, indeed, larger countries such as West Germany and Japan, had a reduction in unemployment, so it is not merely a worldwide factor. Will he accept responsibility for the reduction in job opportunities in Wales and for the increase in unemployment? What is he going to do about it?

I was pleased about the lower rate of increase last month and I very much hope that that will be the trend. Of course, there are problems, but we are far better able to negotiate those problems than we were. I believe that Wales is much better placed to ride out the worldwide recession than it has been and I can give the hon. Gentleman this pledge: I and my ministerial colleagues will continue to do everything that we can to attract investment to Wales. We have had remarkably good figures over the past year and we are determined to beat them in 1992.

Has the right hon. Gentleman overlooked the job losses at Port Talbot steelworks—a great steelworks under immense pressure because of the recession engendered by his Government—and the continuing loss of jobs in the south Wales coalfields? Should not the right hon. Gentleman now apologise for the false promises that he made in 1991? Does he accept that his comment that the Welsh economy was extremely healthy smacks of the complacency of the do-nothing Government of which he is a member? His Government's record on the Welsh economy will lead to the loss of the seats of his two ministerial colleagues.

The hon. Gentleman's cracked record does not seem to recognise that we are now in the age of disks. I am afraid that the Labour party is still in the 1960s and 1970s. I very much hope that we shall never see a return to those bad old days.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what proportion of secondary school children in Wales are educated through the medium of Welsh.

The latest figures for 1990–91 show that about 15 per cent. of secondary school pupils in Wales are being educated in Welsh-speaking schools.

Did my right hon. Friend see the survey in The Sunday Times which showed that some Welsh-medium schools offer excellent education—some of the best education in the whole of the United Kingdom? Is not that a tribute to the quality of education within them?

I agree with my hon. Friend and with the comments in the article to which he referred. The Welsh-medium schools provide a first-class education and I am happy to tell my hon. Friend that Welsh is being taught in eight out of 10 primary schools in Wales and in nine out of 10 secondary schools.

To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions for inciting racial hatred there have been in each of the past two years; and if he will make a statement.

In 1990, there was one prosecution for an offence under part III of the Public Order Act 1986 and in 1991, there were four such prosecutions. In 1991, proceedings were commenced in a further case, but they have not yet been concluded.

May I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for that answer. Although regretting the need for such prosecutions, may I congratulate him on the vigour with which he prosecutes those who peddle such odious doctrines?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. "Odious" is the word for the publications that infringe the Act. I wish that it were possible to bring more of those who are responsible for them to justice, but, as my hon. Friend knows, because he makes a close study of such matters, it is often impossible for the police to identify those who are responsible.

May I first associate myself with the words of the hon. Member for Hendon, South (Mr. Marshall) with whom I fully agree? That the Government are now taking action is appreciated. Will the Attorney-General please assure the House that such action will also be taken against people who do not normally reside here, such as Louis Farrakhan—if by mistake he or anyone like him is allowed in—if they come to this country to try to stir up racial hatred in this decent land?

The hon. and learned Gentleman is friendly in his remarks. He should know that it is not the Government who take action in these matters, but the Attorney-General. They are extremely important matters. The hon. and learned Gentleman will know that I recently had the privilege of giving the Sir George Bean memorial lecture in which I set out in some detail to the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women the basis for my approach to such matters. It may be helpful to me to put a copy of that lecture in the Library.

To ask the Attorney-General how many representations he has received since the beginning of December which have been critical of his reaction to Sunday opening of stores.

Including letters addressed to other Ministers and transferred to me, the answer is about 2,000. Substantive replies have been sent in almost every case.

Does the Attorney-General accept that the many letters protesting at his view about Sunday trading, as expressed in the House, suggest that the matter should be reconsidered by the Government, especially as the approach appears to be inconsistent and hypocritical? On Sunday trading, the Government say that there is a risk that the European Court might rule against us, so they take no action. On the environmental impact assessment directive, the European Commission sent a letter before action had been taken, accompanied by a personal letter. The Government said then that although they have been told that they are in the wrong, they will do nothing about it. Surely European laws should be either obeyed or disobeyed. It should not be a matter of pick and choose, as the Government please.

It is a pity that the hon. Gentleman did not listen to my last answer. If he had, he would have heard me say that it was for the Attorney-General to enforce the law, not the Government. The answer on this subject that I gave in November made it perfectly clear that the decision is mine and nobody else's. I think that those letters show a wholly understandable sense of frustration, but the House of Lords, before which an appeal is pending, has shown uncertainty about whether the provisions of the Shops Act 1950 remain part of our domestic law. Accordingly, the House of Lords referred the issues to the European Court of Justice so that the House of Lords could answer that question. I keep the matter under review, as I must, but in the circumstances I am not persuaded that the public interest requires me to take the necessarily large number of actions up and down the country.

Action was taken on the poll tax.

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will contrive to listen to what I am saying on this complicated matter. My jurisdiction is limited to taking action in the public interest. Local authorities have a separate and specific jurisdiction conferred on them by the Act, and the course that they take is a matter for their judgment. The environmental assessment aspect is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, the relevant Minister.

Can my right hon. and learned Friend give us any estimate of the time that will elapse before the European Court gives its judgment on the matter.? Can my right hon. and learned Friend take any action to shorten that period and clear up what is a highly unsatisfactory situation, whatever view one takes on Sunday opening?

I agree that it is unsatisfactory. The Government have asked the European Court at Luxembourg to expedite its hearing. The best that I can say is that we shall receive the answer to the question that the House of Lords has asked in forthcoming months—I hope that the number involved will be few, not great.

What is the Attorney-General's authority for saying that he cannot rely on Crown privilege in relation to cross undertakings for damages? Is not it crystal clear that the Government are willingly in collusion with those stores that are using salami tactics bit by bit—before Christmas, between Christmas and the new year and after the new year—and which so handsomely contribute to Conservative party funds? Surely, circumstances have now changed and any reasonable Attorney-General would respond accordingly.

I have not troubled to inquire whether any firm has contributed to the Conservative party—[HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."] It is a matter of total indifference to me, as it should be to the hon. Member for Swansea, East (Mr. Anderson). If he chooses to use the word "collusion", and apply it to me in that context, he is attributing dishonourable conduct—he should be ashamed of doing so.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend consider advising local authorities—which still seem to be unaware of their present powers on which they can act—and circulating information to them to tell them that if they want to come down on Sunday traders, the statute book in Britain already gives them that authority?

I understand my hon. Friend's point, but the section is entirely clear and I think that all local authorities are aware of its provisions, which place the primary duty of enforcing the Shops Act 1950 on them. There is no shortage of advice available to local authorities to enable them to decide whether, in uncertain circumstances, it is politic for them to seek to start proceedings, whether criminal or civil. That is for local authorities to decide, and it is not for me to offer them advice.

Does the Attorney-General agree that the defence of using the treaty of Rome in relation to breaches of the Shops Act 1950 is pretty flimsy and slender? As the European Court delays are providing a valuable premium for some people and holding up injunctive relief in this country, should not further representations be made to the European Court to deal with the problem as an injunctive matter so that certainty is quickly returned to the courts of this country?

We certainly want to know the answer and the House of Lords, which is dealing with an appeal in the B and Q case, also wants to know the answer. The hon. Gentleman is a distinguished and experienced solicitor. I do not know whether he wishes to reconsider what on earth he means by saying that it is a flimsy excuse: either it is part of the law, or it is not. So long as there is uncertainty about the matter, that must have a bearing on whether enforcement proceedings are taken by the Attorney-General up and down the country in a necessarily very large number of cases. I explained to the House in November that I do not consider that the public interest lies in my taking that very large number of proceedings up and down the country in those circumstances. Whether local authorities take the same view in their own jurisdictions is a matter entirely for them.

To ask the Attorney-General what progress he has made in identifying the total cost of the "Spycatcher" litigation.

The total cost to the Government to date, excluding the contempt proceedings and officials' time, is calculated at £2,221,503.

As the Solicitor-General said, that excludes officials' time, so the figure must be that much higher. Is it not outrageous that so much British taxpayers' money should have been spent trying to suppress a book which in part told us about the treacherous activities of the security services in trying to undermine the democratically elected Government of Harold Wilson? Will the Solicitor-General assure the House that similar treacherous activities will not take place when the next Labour Government are democratically elected under my right hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn (Mr. Kinnock)?

Whatever one thinks about the activities of the author, he was a former member of the security services. These cases have the very valuable result of getting a clear decision from the House of Lords, upheld in this respect by the European Court of Human Rights which took nothing from that decision, that such former members owe a lifelong duty of confidentiality.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what additional resources will be made available to improve health care for vulnerable groups in Iraq.

I have recently approved an additional allocation of over £1 million in aid for vulnerable groups in both the north and south of Iraq. Last week, I approved a further £345,000 for the British Red Cross. On 8 January I called for a high-level meeting of donor countries to respond to the United Nations latest humanitarian appeal. That has been favourably received.

Has the Minister seen the statement made at the weekend by the Red Cross stating that without aid, the whole of Iraq faces massive starvation? Has she seen the Quakers report which states that tens of thousands of children are in jeopardy and thousands will die because of the lack of essential medicines? Is it not now time to lift the economic sanctions that are killing people, including children, in Iraq and to inject a huge amount of those essential medicines which are in short supply there?

First, I pay tribute to the British Red Cross and the many non-governmental organisations which have provided help in Iraq supported by money from the Government. We shall continue to support them, as my main answer to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) made clear. However, with regard to the hon. Gentleman's request that we should lift sanctions, I am afraid that he is way out of line. The needs of the Iraqi people can be met by the release of $1.6 billion of oil which would finance the purchase of essential humanitarian supplies to relieve that suffering. We continue to help in the meantime, and at a diplomatic level, we are working extremely hard to have Security Council resolutions 706 and 712 implemented. When that is achieved, the problems referred to by the Red Cross and the Quakers report will be substantially minimised.

In paying tribute to those excellent voluntary organisations whom the Government have grant-aided to help vulnerable groups in Iraq, does not my right hon. Friend the Minister agree that Saddam Hussein has ensured the continuing torment and lack of help for his people, particularly for the southern Shias in the marshes?

My hon. Friend is right. Saddam Hussein continues to ignore the needs of the Iraqi people, particularly those in the south who have had less publicity than the Kurds in the north. Both need our help, but the help that they should be given is by their own Government, by the full implementation of resolutions 706 and 712. We are doing our best to make progress in the talks so that the Iraqi people will get the benefit of the export of Iraqi oil in the near future.

Is it not clear to the Minister that we should be concerned, as my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) has stated, about the plight of the people of Iraq and the starvation that is being caused? Is it not the case that as long as Saddam Hussein rules that country—as long as that brutal and murderous despot continues in power—there will be absolutely no solution for people in that unhappy state?

The hon. Gentleman knows that I believe that the Iraqi people will be safeguarded for the long term and enable the international community to give long-term development aid to that country only when Saddam Hussein is no longer at the helm in Baghdad. It is a very serious situation. The humanitarian groups have done extremely well. Bearing in mind the £45 million which this country has given since April, I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we will continue to play our part. However, their only true relief, as everybody in the House and in the country knows, is for Saddam Hussein to be replaced.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Minister for Overseas Development will attend the conference from 31 January to 1 February 1992 for European parliamentarians on action on world population, sponsored by the British parliamentary group on population and development.

I much regret that I will be unable to attend that conference because of my forthcoming visit to southern Africa. My noble friend the Earl of Caithness has agreed to attend in my place. My officials will play a major role in support to European action on world population. I look forward to the conclusions of the conference with considerable interest.

The House is sorry that the Minister cannot attend the conference. All European Members would have liked to pay tribute to the splendid work that she and the Government have done for overseas development. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the ever-growing problem of street children is a consequence of overpopulation? Does she consider that some new initiative is needed to stem police brutality in countries such as Brazil—where there are 10 million street children—Guatemala, Mexico and other countries? Would my right hon. Friend feel able to lead a crusade with other European countries to put pressure on the Governments of central and south America so that every child there has a home, food, clothing and education and is not allowed to fall prey to the worst excesses of human nature?

I agree that the situation for street children not only in Brazil and Guatemala but in certain other countries is extremely serious. That is one good reason why we have been supporting several nongovernmental projects in the region and why we have made representations to presidents and other leaders about the state of children in those countries. It is difficult to provide advice on population planning in some Catholic countries, but I am pleased at the progress that we are beginning to make. The more children who are born by choice and not by chance, the better, as we said in August of last year when working our our programme.

Although it is understandable that the Minister cannot be in two places at once, will she assure the House that her noble Friend will make a strong contribution to the conference? Does she agree that some of our overseas development programmes have been vitiated by the rise in population in some of the countries concerned?

I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that my noble Friend will make a very strong statement of Government policy, even though I wish that I could do it myself. Of course the increasing population in some countries is harming the progress that they could otherwise make on development issues. However, it is good to note that because the contraception prevalence rate has increased considerably since 1985 in countries such as Bangladesh and a number of African countries, we are beginning to make more progress. By spending more resources on this matter, as I intend to do, having tripled our programme in the past 10 years, I believe that we shall make still further progress, with the help of education, too.

Although I fully understand why my right hon. Friend cannot attend the conference of Parliamentarians, will she tell the House now whether the Government support the recent call by Mr. Robert McNamara for a global commission on population in preparation for the 1994 United Nations conference on population? Secondly, are the Government currently involved in giving advice or assistance to the Russian republics and to other east European republics?

In answer to my hon. Friend's first question, we believe that the UN conference on population in 1994 will he an important focal point and that all possible work to support it should be carried out. We have not yet concluded whether that work should be in the form suggested by Mr. Robert McNamara or be carried out in other ways. Nevertheless, we shall support such work.

In so far as the population of Africa, and especially that of Somalia, is clearly at risk from internal conflict and where the aid agencies cannot deliver any assistance because of that conflict, is it not time for the British Government to urge the United Nations to take a more interventionist and far stronger role in resolving those disputes?

Having visited homes for abandoned children in Somalia a couple of years ago, I can well understand concern not only about young children in that country, but about all its people. That was why, when meeting the United Nations new Secretary-General, Dr. Boutros Ghali, last Monday, I took the opportunity to suggest to him the need for more action in Somalia. James Jonah's visit on behalf of the secretary-general looks like producing some suggestions, but we shall continue to fund British non-governmental organisations that are providing relief in Somalia in the form of both food and medicines. We hope that there will be peace soon so that we can do still more effective work.