To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many patients have been refused emergency medical admission to a hospital in Wales in the last year because of beds being reserved for elective surgery. [18721]

Health authorities have confirmed to me that no one requiring emergency treatment has been refused admission to a hospital in Wales for the reason alleged by the hon. Gentleman.

I am delighted that the Welsh Office has taken so much trouble to find out that information, and I am delighted with the result. What I would now like from the Minister is a confirmation that the Welsh Office will guarantee that no one will be refused emergency medical treatment and that all such treatment will be given within a patient's locality. Will the Minister tell us that the Welsh Office will, instead of reducing the number of forms that it sends out, collect the relevant information so that it is not guilty of the mockery of issuing statements on which it cannot deliver, with the result that people have to travel longer and longer distances for emergency medical treatment?

I can confirm that it is the Government's policy that patients requiring emergency treatment should always take priority over those awaiting elective care.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what further measures he will take to encourage industrial development in Wales. [18722]

I shall pursue many policies to ensure a strong and vigorous manufacturing industry in Wales. They will include raising education standards; encouraging more engineers and apprentices and ensuring that the strengths of Wales for investment are understood at home and abroad.

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his help, but may I urge him and his Cabinet colleagues to redouble their efforts to help my beleaguered constituents who work for Raytheon in north-east Wales? Will be confirm that, together with the Welsh Development Agency, he stands ready with cash and grants for the Raytheon board if it is prepared to alter its strategy to close down that great factory? Does he also agree that such a closure would be bad for Britain and for Deeside? At the very least, the service station should be on track until the end of the century. Surely he will help my constituency, because Britain, Deeside and Wales cannot afford to lose that company. I urge him to help quickly.

I agree with the hon. Gentleman that that is an important industry and facility. As he knows, I shall do everything in my power to try to keep that company with us, but unfortunately the omens are not good. I agree that regional selective assistance and WDA money are available—as I explained to the company's executive management when they visited Wales recently—for suitable investment projects, should the company wish to develop that facility or to put it to a different use. I again urge the executive management to look at other ways in which they can use the talents of the people and the facilities available for other components, at sub-assemblies and for servicing. I shall continue to argue that case right up to day when the company finally implements its decision, in the hope that it will change its mind. Raytheon has a good work force, who deserve better.

I was glad to hear my right hon. Friend mention education in his original reply. Will he take all possible steps to ensure that there are plenty of young entrants to manufacturing industry, because he will know that some companies in south Wales in particular have complained about inadequacy in that respect?

I agree with my right hon. Friend. He will be pleased to learn that, following meetings at the local training and enterprise college, Panasonic now reports more interest in its job opportunities. We are working closely with TECs and others to ensure that there are more apprentices in manufacturing, as we require them. That also means better results at school, which, as Opposition Members will know, I am keen to encourage. I am pleased to say that the Minister with responsibility for education in Wales will shortly be able to announce to the House that the budget prospects for education in Wales are nothing like as bleak as those portrayed by the Labour party during the settlement.

What on earth does the Secretary of State for Wales think he is doing, siding with Shropshire and with the right hon. Member for Shropshire, North (Mr. Biffen) against the Development Board for Rural Wales when it is trying to attract work to Wales. Surely he realises that Shropshire has enough incentives, by virtue of its motorway link-ups, and that we are fighting against regions with objective 1 status, such as Merseyside, in trying to attract jobs to Wales. Does he not realise that his job is to stand up for Wales and to attract to Wales as many jobs as possible, from wherever they come, and not to side with authorities on the other side of Offa's dike?

That was synthetic anger if ever I saw it.

I assure the Secretary of State that my hon. Friend the Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mr. Jones) enjoys the full support of Opposition Front-Bench Members in his campaign on behalf of Raytheon, and we wish the Secretary of State well in any intervention that he can make on its behalf.

Like the hon. Gentleman, I am worried about the position arising from the RAF Valley decision. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary, the hon. Member for Cardiff, North (Mr. Jones), is in discussions with the Ministry of Defence, and we have asked the training and enterprise council to make absolutely sure that as many people as possible in that district either have the skills or can be trained to gain the skills, so that there is the opportunity of employment for them. Like the hon. Gentleman, I wish something to be salvaged by way of employment for local people, and my hon. Friend and I shall try to do that.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what developments there have been in respect of the sale of Welsh Development Agency land. [18724]

The WDA will be selling land and property currently valued at £180 million over two years. That will include 1,000 acres of land, much of it with development potential.

Will the Secretary of State comment on some correspondence that I have received from a local employer in Blaenau Gwent? He states:

"Estates which were to form the bedrock of the modernisation of industrial Wales, are to be handed over to a single landlord, who will by that fact, be empowered to determine the economic development of the area … Had such been the case when we were seeking to relocate we would not have"

Order. I must correct the hon. Gentleman. I think that he is not aware that we do not use quotations during Question Time. However, I think that he has asked his question. Perhaps the Secretary of State will attempt an answer.

How wise you are, Madam Speaker. I did understand the question.

Does the Secretary of State agree that the WDA's budgeted expenditure has never until this year been made conditional on land sales and European regional development fund receipts? Does he agree that he has perpetrated an outrageous act of book cooking on the people of Wales, which would shock his previous superiors at N.M. Rothschild and Sons, the merchant bank where he used to work—I am not sure whether it would have promoted him or sacked him—and that ERDF receipts can be harvested into the Welsh Development Agency's coffers only if they are stolen from the local authorities, at a cost of tens of millions of pounds every year to council tax payers in Wales?

That is another muddled effort from the hon. Gentleman. As he should know, the ERDF moneys are additional; they have nothing to do with the main argument between us. The hon. Gentleman is right to say that I expect the sales proceeds from those property sales to be used to finance part of the WDA's programme. He is also right to say that I want to step up the sales. It seems common sense to want to recycle the money—a green policy—and to ensure that the money is reused to good effect. There is no need to warehouse all the successful tenanted properties in the public sector when the money can be freed for something else. There is no book cooking—the matter is transparent and I have announced that policy many times to the House.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of hospital beds in Wales in each health authority; and if he will list the projected number for each of the next five years. [18725]

I refer the hon. Member to the latest information on hospital beds published in the 1994 edition of "Health and Personal Social Services Statistics for Wales", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

I hope that the Minister, when he addresses the health needs of local people, will pay attention to the King's Fund report, which recommended hospital closures in London, but whose authors, in the light of evidence of an increasing need for emergency care, have reviewed the process. They now see that there is a need in London and elsewhere for more hospital beds. I hope that the Welsh Office will not allow the health authorities to continue to close hospitals and to reduce the number of hospital beds unless it is clear that those beds are not needed.

indicated assent.

I am glad to see that the Minister agrees—perhaps there is some electoral advantage for the Conservative party in doing that.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has already stated the Government's policy on that subject. I can reassure the hon. Gentleman further by saying that my Department has a working group currently looking at accident and emergency provision throughout Wales. I believe that that will help to steer the health authorities in Wales towards ensuring that sufficient numbers of beds are available to meet the demand.

I support my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, Central (Mr. Jones)—even though he is a Whip—in his call for Cardiff royal infirmary to be kept open. As someone who has lived in Cardiff for a long time, may I say that when a hospital is threatened with closure, as Cardiff royal infirmary is, it develops a sort of planning blight? I was there at the weekend visiting a patient and I was shocked at the level of cleaning services resulting from management cuts. Will the Minister investigate levels of cleanliness? For example, the toilets in the ward that I visited had not be cleaned for three days. Such things should not happen in 1995 in our NHS. Will the Minister investigate that matter forthwith?

I can understand the hon. Lady's concern for hospitals in Cardiff as she is, of course, a resident of Cardiff. However, she makes a serious point about the hospital and I shall, of course, have my officials look into that problem as soon as I reasonably can. I am sure that the hon. Lady is aware that the University Hospital of Wales NHS trust is in discussion with the community health council in Cardiff.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received following the announcement of the nurses' pay award. [18726]

My right hon. Friend received 44 representations.

Is the Minister aware that, of the 23 trusts in Wales, only six have made any offer to nurses for their annual pay award, and two of those—South Gwent community and Bridgend—offered less than the 3 per cent. that they were supposed to have offered under the pay review agreement? Is he aware that representatives of nurses and doctors feel that local pay and performance-related pay will only set trust against trust, nurse against nurse and doctor against doctor? If we are to have a national health service that takes account of the needs of recruitment, particularly in peripheral trusts in Wales, do we not need a national health service with a national pay policy?

I do not agree that local determination of pay will set trust against trust or nurse against nurse. It will give local trusts the opportunity to be flexible and to reward staff according to local needs and local pay provision. Six trusts have already declared what they intend to do about nurses' pay and I hope that the other trusts in Wales will soon come up with their own proposals for their staff.

Will the Minister confirm that, under the local pay arrangements about which he is so keen, there will be yet another expensive tier of management, and that even more funds will be diverted from essential nursing services to inessential management activities? Does he realise that, in many cases, the bureaucrats are considering tying the nurses' 3 per cent. pay award to their acceptance of contracts with the trusts? For example, in one Welsh trust, nurses are being asked to forgo premium payments for night and weekend work, while in another trust sick pay and overtime have been targeted. Is it any surprise that the Government are neither believed nor trusted when they say that they believe in a truly national health service?

Local trusts will discuss the matter with local employees and decide what their remuneration will be. Unlike the Labour party, we do not believe in interfering at a local level. We believe in devolution of the right kind.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new proposals he has to improve patient care. [18727]

I set out my proposals for improving patient care in my recent speech to the Welsh Grand Committee. Today, I have announced further measures to improve cancer care in the years ahead.

Is the Secretary of State proud of the Tory do-it-yourself health service in Newport, where last week two infant victims of accidents were forced to wait two and three hours respectively for treatment? One infant had sliced off the top of a finger almost entirely and the other infant had severed her big toe almost entirely. At the end of that long wait, the families were informed that no treatment was on offer and that they would have to travel themselves 60 miles to Morriston hospital.

Those cases sound very worrying indeed. Of course I will look into them specifically, immediately following Question Time and I will provide the hon. Gentleman with a written answer. That is not the kind of thing that I wish to hear. Many hundreds of thousands of people receive very good treatment from the NHS in Wales and we must make sure that that is true of everyone. Like the hon. Gentleman, I am rather worried by that story.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received on the issue of constitutional change in Wales following local government reform. [18728]

I have received a number of representations in the course of local government reform, quite a lot of which were of a party political nature.

Given that the Conservatives have all but given up fighting local elections in Wales, with only 20 per cent. of Tory candidates fighting Welsh seats, how can the Secretary of State continue to justify ruling Wales through the unelected, unaccountable and undemocratic quango system—which is the only way that he can outrule us? Must he not now recognise the moral, democratic imperative of establishing a parliament in Wales so that we can decide our own policy priorities, which, incidentally, would include protecting jobs in RAF Valley?

We are fielding more candidates than ever before—I would like to field rather more. Also, a number of independent candidates vote Conservative at general elections and agree with much that this Conservative Government are doing. Local government in Wales is given a great deal of trust by this Parliament, spending almost half the total Welsh Office budget through revenue and capital allocations—most in the form of block grant. Local elections are important. I recommend that people vote Conservative on 4 May because that will result in better service at less cost.

I thank my right hon. Friend for visiting the Vale of Glamorgan on Friday and making an excellent speech on the occasion of the Primrose dinner at Dufferin gardens—[HON. MEMBERS: "Oh!"] Does my right hon. Friend agree that the local government reforms that he has just introduced will increase accountability and improve efficiency? Does he further agree that were we to accede to Opposition desires for a Welsh Assembly or Welsh Parliament, the likelihood is that new accountability would be destroyed, the influence of Wales would be reduced, taxes would increase for the Welsh people and Welsh influence at Westminster would be substantially lessened?

Like you, Madam Speaker, my hon. Friend is extremely wise. I agree with everything that he said. Opposition Members are jealous because they were not at the Vale of Glamorgan dinner on Friday night. It was a most enjoyable event and I thank my hon. Friend for his hospitality. He is right to say that a Welsh Parliament would take power from local people and local government as well as from this Parliament. It would be a totally unnecessary layer of bureaucracy. It is a policy on which Labour is so keen that it still has not made up its mind what such a parliament would do, who would sit in it, how it would be elected or how much it would cost. We await progress, when the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) has done more thinking.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans his Department has to promote the export of rare Welsh cattle breeds; and if he will make a statement. [18729]

That matter is essentially for the industry, but the Welsh Office is able to help via the market development scheme.

Is my hon. Friend as concerned as I am that, whereas many Scottish breeds are well recognised in England and in other countries in Europe, the Welsh Black—which is more lean, tender, succulent and tasty than any Scottish breed of cattle—is not? Why is my hon. Friend's Department not doing more to promote the Welsh Black in Europe? Perhaps the first thing that he could do is to have it on the menu of the restaurants in the House.

I thank my hon. Friend for his most helpful suggestions, particularly the latter. I assure him that we are already very active. Welsh Beef Promotion was recently established to undertake such work. Apart from the menus of this place, a group of west Wales producers has combined to sell Welsh beef to London restaurants, and the beef is rightly commanding a premium price.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total Welsh Office allocation for local government expenditure for 1995–96; and how much of that total county councils have allocated to education. [18730]

Local government expenditure, or total standard spending, for 1995–96 has been set at £2.78 billion. Not all local authorities have yet provided us with returns showing the education budgets that they have set. However, I am pleased to tell the hon. Gentleman that section 42 budget statements already received from four counties show healthy increases in budgets for schools.

Can the Minister explain to my constituents why the council tax bills that they are now receiving have increased by 16 per cent.?

They are from Labour-controlled councils.

No, they are from independent-controlled Carmarthen district council and Dyfed county council. Council tax bills are increasing by 16 per cent., yet Dyfed county council finds that it must cut £4.5 million from its education budget. Is it not the case that, under the Tories, we pay more taxes but receive fewer services?

I suggest that, when the hon. Gentleman returns to his constituency, he speaks to the chairman of his education authority. The general schools budget for Dyfed will rise 3.3 per cent. compared with last year. It will rise 4.2 per cent. in Gwent, 2.8 per cent. in Powys and 2.2 per cent. in South Glamorgan. Those are real increases when set against education inflation, which by definition is the increase in teachers' salary of 2.7 per cent. So I hope that that is evidence that the councils are doing what we want them to—prioritising their front-line service budgets, and making savings on their central and administrative costs.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he intends to take to improve access to NHS dentists in Wales. [18731]

On 30 January, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that he is making £2.5 million available to improve dental services in the community. Proposals from health authorities and family health services authorities are currently under consideration by the Welsh Office.

It is about time too, because many of my constituents face journeys of more than 25 miles to find an NHS dentist—some even have to travel to England to get NHS dentistry care. Has that been the achievement in the NHS dental service in Wales of 15 years of this Government? Many of my constituents cannot get basic national health service dental care, so I hope that the money will be made available and will be taken up.

Perhaps I should bring the hon. Gentleman up to date. Clwyd family health services authority has applied for one additional salaried dentist, an application that we are currently considering—

One!

I must tell the hon. Gentleman that there are 110 dentists in Clwyd, representing an increase, since his party was last in government, of 57 per cent. So I must assume that his constituents were travelling a lot further in 1979.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many working farmers have committed suicide in (a) Clwyd and (b) Wales in each of the last 10 years. [18732]

With permission, Madam Speaker, as the information is a little lengthy, I am arranging for the figures to be published in the Official Report. The total numbers for the 10-year period are eight for Clwyd and 84 for Wales.

I am grateful for that answer. I am sure that the Minister will have looked at the figures before asking for them to be published in the Official Report, so he will have noticed that there is a worrying trend in the suicide statistics for the farming fraternity. Has he examined any possible connection between the use of organophosphorous sheep dips and the tendency to suicides in the farming community? There is evidence that there may well be a connection; if there is, it is very worrying.

I appreciate the hon. Gentleman's concern. Whatever the figures are, they are too high. He will be pleased to know that appropriate research is being done under the Powys mental health strategy; a study in north Powys is seeking to identify predictive factors. At the same time, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has commissioned research from the university of Oxford. I join the hon. Gentleman in hoping that this research will make progress.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current level of unemployment; and what was the figure in December 1992. [18733]

Last month, the figure was 107,300; in December 1992, it was 133,400. That represents a fall of 26,100, which I am sure will be warmly welcomed on both sides of the House.

Does my hon. Friend find it surprising that no Opposition Member has pointed out the fact that there has been a 20 per cent. reduction in the number of unemployed people in Wales since December 1992? What does he think would have happened to that figure if Britain had signed up to the social chapter or had introduced a national minimum wage? Is not ours the party that is reducing unemployment? Is it not the Labour party that would increase unemployment?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right—except in one respect: expressing surprise about what we hear from the Opposition. We know that the Opposition are comprised solely of merchants of doom and gloom, who would adopt every possible policy to ensure that such doom and gloom came to pass.

Is the Minister aware that 50 miners at Pentreclwydau pit, which is in my constituency, were made temporarily redundant this morning, because Ryan Mining claimed that it was not able to conclude an agreement with subcontractors because of the failure of the Coal Authority to progress the licensing arrangements speedily? Is he further aware that a whole series of other private mines in Wales, including some in Neath, have been forced to close because of the unsatisfactory licensing arrangements, which are being discussed with the Coal Authority? Will he investigate that matter as a matter of urgency and protect those jobs?

I am aware of the particular incident to which the hon. Gentleman refers. I am certainly generally aware of the matter, having met a delegation of small mine owners, including those from his constituency. I hope that progress can be made, particularly on the matter to which he refers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many bridle-paths in the Principality are available also to drivers of horse-drawn vehicles; in which main locations; and if he will make a statement. [18734]

Bridle-ways are for use by those on foot, those on horses and those who are leading horses. I must tell my hon. Friend that bridle-ways are not for use by vehicles, even horse-drawn vehicles.

I thank my hon. Friend and ask him whether he is doing anything to produce more bridle-paths in Wales. One cannot have too much of a good thing. Will he consider the position of one or two disabled ex-riders whom I know, who are now able to drive but not ride any more? Is it possible for them to be allowed to drive small horse-drawn vehicles on good, firm bridle-paths, which would not be cut up by their doing so?

I am afraid that the problem is that many bridle-ways are just not suitable for any form of vehicle, including horse-drawn vehicles. I cannot hold out a prospect to my hon. Friend of a change in the legislation that regulates that subject, but I understand that the British Horse Society has produced a leaflet to help carriage drivers and others to consider whether particular rights of way would be suitable as byways and be able to accommodate carriages. I am sure that that is a suitable step in the right direction, and I would encourage consideration of that possibility.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the development of nursery education. [18735]

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear last October, the Government are committed to ensuring that there is a place in nursery education for every four-year-old whose parents want to take it up. We are considering carefully how to deliver that commitment in Wales.

We do not want another half-baked education experiment with vouchers. We want nursery education that will reach many wards and communities in my area, and others, which have no provision of nursery education at all.

The only half-baked ideas that I have heard on education in the House have came from the Opposition. As for vouchers, we are considering an awful lot of options at the moment. Nothing is ruled in and nothing is ruled out.

Could the benefits of nursery education be made available to Mr. Howard Davies, the new deputy governor of the Bank of England, as surely that is the most bizarre appointment since Caligula made his horse a consul?

Order. I had a hunch that the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Knapman) was going to be miles away from the question, and he had a twinkle in his eye. That matter is certainly not relevant to the question. Let us have a sensible question.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment his Department has undertaken of the effects of feral mink on indigenous wildlife. [18736]

The impact of feral mink on indigenous wildlife is very difficult to assess, as there are often a number of possible causes for any decrease in the indigenous wildlife population and these may be interrelated. The Living Water project of the Welsh Wildlife Trust was established in 1994 and funded by, among others, the Countryside Council for Wales. It will provide valuable survey data in due course on the status of the otter, water voles and feral mink.

I thank my hon. Friend for that response and am delighted that there is a research project going on into the status of wild mink in Wales, as elsewhere. Does he recognise, however, that feral mink pose one of the greatest dangers to small mammals and bird life in Britain—in Wales havoc is created as the mink spread along river systems—and that the problem needs to be taken very seriously?

Certainly, the matter is being taken seriously; there is no underestimating of the problem. As well as the research which I have already mentioned, there are recommended procedures for cage trapping and humane disposal.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received on proposals to amend the system of charging for water in Wales. [18737]

Welsh Water has written to me seeking an extension to the use of rateable values and the release of council tax data. I receive other representations on water charging from time to time.

Will the Secretary of State give an assurance that he will not follow the advice of Mr. Ian Byatt, Director General of Water Services, that there should be a move towards compulsory water metering? That would be wholly unacceptable in terms of public health and it would also be inordinately expensive, imposing additional costs on the already very high water charges. Will the Secretary of State work in co-operation with Welsh Water to achieve a system based on the banding or an amended banding, and avoid the crazy suggestions from the Office of Water Services?

There is a great deal to be said for stability, which I believe can best be achieved by using the current rateable values—while giving people the option, where circumstances permit, to choose meters if they think that that would be advantageous or fairer for them. I shall take the hon. Gentleman's representations fully into account in any further discussions we may have with colleagues in England and with the director general.

To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions took place in 1994 for fraudulent applications for legal aid. [18742]

Specific statistics are not kept in this form, but I understand that there were three prosecutions for offences involving fraudulent applications for legal aid concluded in the financial year 1994–95.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that in 1993 there were 1 million applications for legal aid? Does he think that the criminal fraternity suddenly become honest when applying for legal aid? Will he look, in particular, at the application by Mr. Gordon Foxley, who received £160,000 in legal aid despite the fact that he was reputed to be a multi-millionaire who had received many millions of pounds in bribes while working for the Ministry of Defence?

It is a matter of record that Mr. Gordon Foxley was imprisoned for four years, having been convicted of 12 offences of corruption. He was ordered to pay £1,503,901.80 under a confiscation order. There are currently civil proceedings against him and others connected with him to recover other assets. It is perfectly clear that he had been concealing what he had been doing.

What consideration is being given to the repayment of legal costs where it is subsequently discovered that assets are available or have been recently transferred to members of a defendant's family? Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman bear in mind the fact that there is grave disquiet about the huge sums that have been made available in some high-profile cases? Very grave concern is felt by, I am sure, both his and my constituents on modest means who are unable to obtain legal aid for civil cases involving personal injury or modest claims of negligence.

Yes, I understand the right hon. and learned Gentleman's points. He will know that they are primarily a matter for the Lord Chancellor, who has consulted on the question of legal aid for those who are apparently wealthy. A number of responses have been received and they are being considered.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend take seriously the representations made by my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon, South (Mr. Marshall) and, indeed, by the right hon. and learned Member for Aberavon (Mr. Morris) because widespread concern exists that the legal aid system is not helping people who should be helped and that aid is misdirected, whether through fraud or otherwise, to people who have assets of their own and who do not merit that assistance?

I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. There are a number of investigations, and there have already been charges in one case in relation to alleged widespread defrauding of the legal aid system. I shall take careful note of my hon. Friend's comments, and I know that my right hon. and noble Friend the Lord Chancellor will also do so.

To ask the Attorney-General in how many instances in 1994 the Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence when a case came to trial. [18743]

During 1994, the Crown Prosecution Service brought cases to a conclusion by offering no evidence in 2.7 per cent. of cases before the magistrates court and 7.3 per cent. of cases before the Crown court. These figures do not include other methods of discontinuance.

Does the Attorney-General accept that one of those cases before the Crown court involved my constituent, Mr. "D", who had to put up with a two-year nightmare for him and his family, facing six charges, some of which involved forgery, and on all of which no evidence was offered and Judge Cole declared that a not guilty verdict be ordered? Will the Attorney-General ask the appropriate authorities to re-examine my constituent's case from start to finish, with a view to ascertaining whether his former employers, ADT Auctions plc, were not involved in a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, as the case was started at that company's instigation?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving me notice that he was going to raise a particular case of concern to his constituents. That case was reviewed. The House will take an interest in the fact that it is the Crown Prosecution Service's duty to keep a case under review at all stages. That duty is sometimes criticised, but it was exercised in the case of his constituent. As a result, no evidence was offered. I make it clear that that means that the gentleman left the court without a stain on his character. I shall invite the CPS to have another look at the matter in so far as that is appropriate.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend confirm that figures are actually falling in other categories of reasons for discontinuance of trials? Should not that obvious trend be warmly welcomed?

My hon. Friend is right. Some two or three years ago, the discontinuance level caused concern to the House. Since then, the proportion of cases that are discontinued in the magistrates courts has fallen from 13.3 per cent. in 1992, to 12.8 per cent. in 1993 and to 11.7 per cent. in 1994.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the Government's latest position on war crimes in respect of (a) the second world war and (b) Rwanda. [18745]

With regard to second world war crimes, having carefully considered the initial advice from senior Treasury counsel, further inquiries are in hand in relation to certain potential defendants.

On Rwanda, given the events of the weekend, particularly in relation to massacres, will the Attorney-General say what discussions he has had with the Foreign Secretary with a view to talking to the Rwandan Government through the UN to bring the perpetrators to book?

Although the hon. Gentleman raises a matter of concern, he will not expect me to answer the final point in relation to pensions. Although the House will be keeping a careful watch on the tragic events in Rwanda, I must say that these are primarily matters for my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, and they will no doubt arise in Overseas Development questions which are to follow.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend note that bringing such people to justice for their crimes during the second world war has been hanging about for 50 years? Could he please ask the Director of Public Prosecutions to get on with it?

I understand my hon. Friend's point, but the House reached its own determination only four and a bit years ago. Investigations have been carried out extremely carefully by the police who, earlier this year, provided a detailed report to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who has obtained the advice prepared by senior Treasury counsel, and matters are now being examined in great detail. I understand my hon. Friend's point, but one does not rush carelessly to justice in such matters—one examines the issue very closely.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department gives to mine clearance around the world. [18752]

We have provided £10.9 million of bilateral aid over the past four financial years for land mines clearance.

The House will welcome the Government's positive action in clearing up these dreadful weapons which maim civilians, and children in particular, around the world, but will my hon. Friend join me in regretting the fact that some hon. Members attempt to make political mischief out of this issue? Instead of recognising the benefits of the Government's positive action, they try to blame the Government in some way for the mines laid in trouble spots around the world such as Cambodia, Afghanistan, Mozambique and Angola whereas, in fact, none of the mines there originated in the United Kingdom, nor were they laid with this Government's assistance.

My hon. Friend makes a sound point. We are not exporting or laying land mines, but we are funding mine clearance. The United Kingdom is one of the leading donor countries supporting humanitarian mine clearance programmes in some of the most seriously affected parts of the world, such as Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, northern Iraq and Mozambique, through the Mines Advisory Group and the Halo Trust, which comprise brave and resolute men doing dangerous and difficult work. I am sure that we are all proud of the work that they are doing.

Although I appreciate the contribution that Britain makes to the clearing of mines—of course, I also pay tribute to the men and women who undertake such dangerous and hazardous work—could not Britain be doing much more in terms of international agreements to ensure that such appalling weapons of war, which attack not soldiers but innocent men, women and children, are not exported?

Let me make it clear that we have not exported any anti-personnel land mines for well over a decade. We want to put an end to any trade anywhere in the world of the types of anti-personnel land mines that are most dangerous to civilians. We want a complete ban throughout the world of non-detectable anti-personnel land mines. We want a strengthening of the United Nations weaponry convention and a significant extension of it to cover not only international conflicts but civil wars and other internal conflicts. I think that the hon. Lady will find that, wherever international action has been taken on mines, the United Kingdom has been in the lead.

Does my hon. Friend agree that there would be fewer greater contributions that we could make than improving the archaic and dangerous method currently used for finding mines which involves sticking pieces of steel into the ground to feel them? Is he aware of the encouraging research being done here, in the United States and elsewhere into the use of, among other things, radar, infra-red techniques or the detection of gamma rays which would revolutionise the detection of mines? Will he pay close attention to this research and see whether we can make a contribution to hurrying it along so that these weapons, which cause so many casualties, can be eliminated?

The Halo Trust and the Mines Advisory Group are probably among the leaders in terms of expertise on mine clearance in the world. If they ask us to support the sort of research that my right hon. Friend suggests, we shall gladly look at that suggestion.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of United Kingdom bilateral aid is targeted towards meeting basic needs. [18753]

All our aid policies are focused on helping countries poorer than ourselves to achieve sustainable social and economic development.

Does the Minister agree that a basic need for all children is the right to education? In the light of increasing evidence of the brutal use, in many instances, of child labour, culminating last week in the report of the dreadful murder in Pakistan of a young boy, allegedly because he was attempting to improve the working conditions of his colleagues in a carpet-weaving factory, what precisely are the Government doing to ensure that children in the third world are carrying a burden appropriate to the size of their shoulders?

As the hon. Lady will know, we are supporting basic education programmes in Pakistan. Our aid programme throughout the world is targeted at assisting poorer countries to achieve sustainable economic development, in many instances by supporting basic education. The whole House will share the hon. Lady's concern that child labour should not be exploited as it was in the instance she cites. When we discuss our bilateral aid programmes with countries, we obviously draw to their attention concerns that young people should be at school and that they should not be exploited in that way.

When considering bilateral aid to Rwanda, will my hon. Friend recognise that the dispute there is primarily a territorial dispute brought about by overcrowding, as a result of excessive population growth? Will he recognise that the stork is the bird of war? Will he take every step to implement the Cairo plan of action which will do something about that?

The causes of unrest in Rwanda are complex and many. However, as my hon. Friend will know, because he was at the United Nations conference on population and development in Cairo, the United Kingdom Government have been taking a leading role in supporting projects to ensure that parents can have children by choice and not by chance.

Bearing in mind what the Minister has just said about his belief in education for children, does he agree—this was confirmed by my recent travels in parts of Africa—that structural adjustment has undermined many education programmes and that many families are now having to pay for education rather than having it free?

First, on structural adjustment, I remind the hon. Lady of what the Zambian Minister of Finance said, Zambia being a country to which we give sizeable bilateral aid. He said:

"We have all heard the many arguments both for, and against, structural adjustment. In Zambia, the argument is very clear. Our history has shown that the costs of not adjusting have been very much higher than the costs of adjusting."

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what immediate plans he has to increase humanitarian aid to Burundi and Tanzania. [18754]

The United Kingdom has committed £89 million to the region during the past year. Specifically, we have provided around £3 million of bilateral and emergency aid for Burundi since November 1993 and £6 million for Tanzania since the start of the Rwandan crisis. In addition, around £13 million has been provided in support of United Nations agencies for humanitarian assistance to refugees in the region, which includes those in Burundi and Tanzania.

I am sure that the Minister will acknowledge the shock, horror and disgust of many people in Britain at the events of the weekend and that what we need is not only continued humanitarian support but a political solution to the problems of Rwanda. Could the Minister use his influence with the United Nations and other countries in the region to find a political solution to the problem by holding a regional conference in the area, to try to get the regional countries, together with the Organisation of African Unity, to start out on the tortuous road to a solution? If that does not happen, I fear that the problem will continue and it will be an indictment of humanity.

We are deeply concerned at the loss of life in the camp at Kibeho. Of course it is a tragic setback for the internationally backed effort for national reconciliation in Rwanda. We still need to establish the full facts. There seems to be no doubt that armed elements have been operating within the camps. Equally it appears that elements of the Rwanda Patriotic Army have overreacted, with severe loss of life, including those of unarmed women and children, which is totally unforgivable. Together with European Union and UN Security Council partners, we are taking the matter up urgently with the Government of Rwanda. We want an urgent inquiry into the events and firm action taken against those responsible.