To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received about a referendum on a Welsh Assembly. [35545]

Since 1 January, I have received three written representations in favour of a referendum on a Welsh Assembly.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the difficulties with a pre-legislation referendum are the number of questions it does not ask and the number it leaves unanswered? My father is Welsh—will he have a vote in any referendum? As I have Welsh ancestry, will I have a vote in the referendum, should there ever be one?

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his ancestry. He raises a difficult question. I think that it was right for the Labour party to decide that, if it were ever able to propose an assembly, it would have a referendum on the matter. My hon. Friend was right, however, to point to the difficulties of a pre-legislation referendum. The hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) said three weeks ago that the difficulty with a pre-legislation referendum is that so many questions cannot be answered. Two days later, he announced that a pre-legislation referendum was his policy.

That is because we sorted out the difficulties and found the answers.

The hon. Gentleman need not worry about our view on the will of the people, as the result was 4:1 against the idea of an assembly the last time it was demonstrated on the matter. I believe that that is what will happen again, and the hon. Gentleman's hypothetical question will not arise. The most alarming thing about the whole episode has been that it shows that the Labour party's chief spokesman for Wales has no more influence in the party than anyone who happens to write on a postcard to the Leader of the Opposition, and probably a great deal less.

What powers and influence would Welsh Members of Parliament—particularly Labour Members—and Welsh councillors have to concede to assembly men? Will that not cause a lot of petty jealousy and upset? Is there not the potential for a fracas outside the television studios, as assembly men try to climb over Members of Parliament to hog the limelight? Who will be responsible for what? Is it all necessary?

My hon. Friend points to some genuine difficulties. If responsibilities are transferred away from this House, Ministers can no longer be held accountable in this House and other people elsewhere will be held accountable for the matters. The role and power of this House would be diminished, and rival majorities in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Westminster would tear apart the United Kingdom. My hon. Friend asks about the influence of Labour Members. Clearly, at the moment, the Leader of the Opposition neither trusts nor takes seriously his Front Benchers, and I do not see why anybody else should do so.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations his Department has made to the Department of Transport concerning the setting up of an all-Wales traffic area office. [35546]

My right hon. Friend and I have expressed our support for a single traffic area covering the whole of Wales.

Is it true that the Department of Transport has accepted the Welsh Office recommendation that an all-Wales traffic office should be set up, but has decided that it would be administratively convenient to set it up in Birmingham? What plans does the Welsh Office have to go along with that recommendation, and perhaps move to Birmingham as well?

We have no plans to do that, save should the office be downgraded totally, as would happen under a Welsh Assembly. I should have thought that it was more a part of the hon. Gentleman's policies to transfer the Welsh Office to Birmingham—the office would be that relevant if his regional assembly proposal went through.

I congratulate my hon. Friend on the high standard of roads in Wales, but does he accept that half-saesnegs like me, who cannot understand Welsh, have great difficulty with Welsh road signs? In some parts of Wales, Welsh is on top and English underneath; in other parts, it is the other way around. If we are to have a single office, I hope that we will have some consistency in road signs—perhaps, one colour for English and one for Welsh, so that half-saesnegs like me can understand what is going on.

I am sure that my hon. Friend is being too modest. I doubt that he really has the difficulties that he suggests. I feel that our bilingual road signs add to the breadth of what they offer and represent the culture of Wales. They are part of our increasing success in attracting tourists to Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress has been made in awarding private finance initiative contracts in Wales. [35548]

Wales has long led the way in the move towards private finance. We recently announced a PH contract for the OSIRIS information technology project for the Welsh Office, as well as for major new car parking for the University hospital of Wales.

Does my hon. Friend agree that the second Severn bridge demonstrates the scope that the private finance initiative offers for improving the Welsh economy and increasing investment in infrastructure in Wales? Does he find it surprising, therefore, that although the Labour Front-Bench team commends the PFI, Labour Back Benchers are critical of it? Is that not an example of new Labour being endangered by the prejudices of old Labour?

My hon. Friend is right. We know that new Labour means new danger. We also know that new Labour means new speak. The Opposition do not catch up with what is going on in Wales. As well as the second Severn crossing, we have been leading the way for a long time with our kidney dialysis treatments; they have been dramatically improved by the infusion of private finance, which has taken us from one of the worst rates in Europe a decade ago to one of the best now.

Does the Minister appreciate that we all say croeso to the private finance that is coming from LG of Korea, but does he agree that that is long overdue, given the heavy male unemployment following the mine closures and the thousands of redundancies in steel? Without interfering in the day-to-day running of that new company, would it be helpful if the company were given a gentle hint that, the more males it employs, the more it will ease our unemployment problem in Wales?

I hesitate to go down that line, and I wonder that the hon. Gentleman—seeing the hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Mrs. Clwyd) sitting next to him—did not hesitate at expressing such sexist preferences. I am glad to have his whole-hearted welcome for the success of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in bringing that major new jobs initiative to south Wales—6,100 jobs for LG and possibly up to 20,000 in total as a result. Last week's announcement was a great day for Wales and that will continue, as long as we do not have the Labour party's policies.

I was interested to note the success of the PH for the second Severn crossing for the people of Wales. What of the opportunities for new hospitals under the PH in Wales, particularly given our historic role of waiting in queues for the somewhat limited capital programme, which nevertheless is bigger under this Government than it used to be? What problems might there be in Wales if the Labour party tried to do everything it could to undermine the projects that are under way, just as it has done with the Darenth Park project in my constituency?

One of the most important PFI proposals in the project list is Baglan hospital, at £63 million. We intend to take that forward as quickly as possible under the private finance initiative. That project could be thwarted by a Welsh Assembly, as £63 million is only about 18 months' worth of the running costs of such an assembly. Since we know from the Opposition that no new spending would be financed other than out of existing moneys, would Baglan hospital be sacrificed in the interests of a Welsh Assembly?

Will the Minister list the schemes in Powys that have benefited from the PFI, or that are likely to benefit from it in the next 12 months? [Interruption.]

My hon. Friend the Member for Brecon and Radnor (Mr. Evans) reminds me of the Mid-Wales/Bronllys hospital. We are seeking to take forward 23 projects under the PH in Wales. I will happily give the hon. and learned Member any further details that I can.

The problem is that, while the Government are trying to take the schemes forward, there is precious little evidence of their being successful. Will the Minister cast his mind back to the first answer that he gave on this question when he said that the PFI contract for the improvements to University hospital, Cardiff had been let? I understand that that contract has not been let. There have been months of delay in letting it. As a result, there have been delays to the Geraint Evans memorial heart research centre, which is badly needed in Cardiff.

The hon. Gentleman was wrong on the last part of his question.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met the chairmen and chief executives of NHS trusts in Wales to discuss finances for 1996–97. [35549]

My right hon. Friend met national health service trust chairmen on 18 October 1995.

Since then, the trust chief executives and chairmen have become aware of the settlement that is coming down from the Welsh Office through the Welsh health authorities to them. Is the Minister aware that in Dyfed Powys, which faces cuts of £7 million, all six chief executives have refused to sign the contract offered by Dyfed Powys health authority because they say that they cannot deliver the services for the price that is being offered? Unless the Welsh Office gives additional finance to Dyfed Powys health authority, especially in respect of writing off the debts of the predecessor Dyfed and Powys health authorities, there will be significant cuts in hospitals and community services throughout the area. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that, as has happened in England in similar situations, health authority debts incurred in previous years should be written off?

Contracts between national health service trusts and any health authority, including Dyfed Powys, must be a matter for the two parties to the contracts. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will welcome the news that I have agreed a loan of £1.7 million to Dyfed Powys health authority which, it is expected, will enable it to achieve a balanced position by the year 1999–2000.

When my hon. Friend meets the chief executives and chairmen of NHS trusts, will he explain the positive benefits that market testing has brought to the financing of the health service in Wales in delivering real resources for patient care and that, if the Government were to follow the policies advocated by the Labour party, that money would be denied to the health service in Wales?

My hon. Friend is right. Market testing has enabled savings to be made which, in the case of the health service, have been passed on to the bedside for the benefit of the patients. My hon. Friend is right to point to the Labour party's dogma, not least the stricture from the shadow Chancellor that there will be no new spending unless it is financed from existing moneys. Where will the cuts be made for the sacred cows?

Does the Minister recognise that, if the cuts agreed to be necessary to deal with the present deficiency of money in Dyfed Powys materialise, there will be a furore in the area, especially in respect of the reduction, and possible closure, of community hospitals? Lack of revenue and the capital charging system are imposing serious strains on smaller district general hospitals such as Bronglais, which will not be able to keep up with capital development or replacement of equipment, much less with the introduction of new technology. Is the Minister aware that there are serious fears that we are into a spiral of decline in Bronglais which could lead to its being downgraded from its status as a district general hospital? What does he intend to do about that and how can we prevent that scenario from materialising?

No, I do not accept the hon. Gentleman's hypothesis. The concept of capital charges has no bearing on the size of the hospital. The hon. Gentleman is being irresponsible in prophesying, no doubt for electoral purposes, some decline in Bronglais hospital. I should prefer that he look at the reality, such as the dramatic improvement in the out-patients waiting list across the Dyfed Powys area. That is what he ought to concentrate on.

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the Secretary of State has been abjectly humiliated by the refusal of Gwent Community Health NHS trust and Gwent health authority to publish the report on Julie Sharma and the £35,000 redundancy payment that she received, even though the Secretary of State put on the working party his own independent observer, Professor Dimond, one of the leading experts in Britain on NHS law? Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the working party has been a complete shambles, in spite of his observer? What does the hon. Gentleman intend to do to ensure that the report is soon published in full and is available to all of us?

The hon. Gentleman starts off with the usual nonsense. Nothing of the kind has happened. Gwent health authority is pursuing the matter as strongly as possible. I am confident that it wants to ensure that a full, accurate account is available for all. I understand that it has set a deadline of 3 September to publish the report.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to hold a referendum on the structure of government of Wales. [35550]

No. I believe that the interests of Wales are best served by the direct representation provided in Westminster by hon. Members in the House and the Secretary of State in the United Kingdom Cabinet.

If the Secretary of State is so confident that the people of Wales back his unelected Tory quango state, why does he not offer them a referendum on replacing it with a Welsh Assembly? Or is he frightened—not so much frit as ofni?

The hon. Gentleman forgets several things. The last referendum rejected the idea of an assembly by 4:1 and only 12 per cent. of the Welsh electorate turned out to vote in it. It is incumbent on those who wish to change long-standing arrangements to demonstrate popular support for change. I have no plans for a referendum, because I have no plans to do violence to the constitution.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the Welsh branch of the Institute of Directors recently conducted a survey of businesses in Wales and found that more than 70 per cent. were against a Welsh Assembly? Does that not show how disastrous a Welsh Assembly would be for business in Wales?

Yes. My hon. Friend draws attention to an important point. Nothing could do more damage to business confidence than the sight of an extra tier of government and an extra roomful of politicians consuming a great deal of time, money and space for no good purpose whatever. Wales is now forging ahead without the arrangements proposed by the Labour party.

In the past couple of years, Conservative Members have regularly asked the Labour party to include a referendum in its policy, so does the Secretary of State welcome the decision to hold a referendum? Does he acknowledge that, once we have had a referendum and have achieved a yes vote by a 2:1 majority, which I anticipate, it will be much easier for an incoming Labour Government to implement the legislation, and more difficult for the Conservative party to reverse it at any future stage?

The hon. Gentleman must not presume the outcome of any referendum. I seem to remember a number of people presuming the outcome in the 1970s and, indeed, presuming the outcome of general elections.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Opposition's policy for a Welsh Assembly would spell economic ruin for Wales?

It would do no favours for the Welsh economy and my hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the dangers. An extra tier of government, with buck passing between different levels of government and division between different parts of government, is no way to encourage business or to improve business confidence.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will increase the money available for local government in the next financial year. [35552]

I will make my decisions on provision for local authorities in the forthcoming public expenditure round and will consult local government in the usual way.

The Secretary of State will be aware of the impact that the last settlement had on local authority provision in Wales. My hon. Friends the Members for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells) and for Cynon Valley (Mrs. Clwyd) and I were appalled by the decision that Rhondda, Cynon, Taff was forced to make to close residential care homes in the area. That has struck at the most vulnerable in our society in one of the poorest areas in Great Britain. In the next settlement, will the Secretary of State make some special provision for social services?

Local government was given a fair settlement last year, but it is important for local government to be as efficient as possible in using its resources. The hon. Gentleman and I have often discussed the position of Rhondda, Cynon, Taff, and he knows that it received an additional £10 million in council tax reduction grant, on top of the normal settlement, following the discussions that we had last year. When I consider next year's settlement, I will, of course, take into account all the pressures on local authorities as well as the resources available. I have no doubt that Rhondda, Cynon, Taff will be involved in those discussions.

Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the level of Government support for local authority expenditure in Wales is now more than £850 a person? Is he aware that that is 18 per cent. more than the sum allocated to English local authorities? As an Englishman, I have no objection to that, because the figure should be based on needs and council tax revenue, but does my right hon. Friend agree that the people of Wales, the local authorities and the council tax payers in the Principality get a good deal?

My hon. Friend makes a pertinent point. The level of Government support for local government spending is £132 higher a head in Wales than in England and council tax levels are substantially lower in Wales than in England. The people of Wales get a good deal from the existing arrangements.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, as a result of budget cuts, nursery and infant schools in the Rhymney valley will be closed or merged? We will have to build portakabins on the precious playing space of neighbouring schools to accommodate the children. Is that any way to enter the millennium, with our youngest children being educated in portakabins on playing spaces in schools in our community?

The hon. Gentleman knows that we are making great investments in education and that the private finance initiative will allow us to do more. I protected capital spending by local government on education in the last public spending round. The hon. Gentleman and his colleagues should remember that local government must use its resources as efficiently as possible and, before asking for more money, it should be sure that every penny it spends is well spent.

Did the Secretary of State take into consideration the concerns of councillors in the new unitary authorities that have taken over the responsibilities of counties, boroughs and districts, before he assessed them this year? The councillors were worried about cuts in services to the people they serve. I hope that, when the Secretary of State meets the officers of Bridgend county borough council, he will consider increasing the amount of money that they get next year to spend on essential services, so that they will not have to worry, as they are this year, about cuts.

I certainly considered the task that local authorities faced during the reorganisation of local government this year. That is why we are giving them more than £40 million this year to finance the transitional costs associated with change in local government on top of the 2.8 per cent. increase—which is generally in line with the rate of inflation—in the level of Government support which they receive in any case. I shall, of course, look at all representations in the coming public spending round.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met with leaders of local authorities in Wales to discuss the government of schools. [35553]

Neither I nor my right hon. Friend has met local authority leaders specifically to discuss that issue. As part of the recently lifted boycott of discussions with the Welsh Office, directors of education declined to meet Welsh Office officials to discuss school government issues in the run-up to publication of the recent White Paper "Self-Government for Schools".

Does the Minister agree that one of the reasons why local authorities have failed to meet the Secretary of State is that they realise that the Government are obsessed with the government of schools? The real issue facing education in Wales is a decade of constant underfunding. Why does the Minister not forget about government of schools and nursery vouchers and concentrate on what really matters: a proper financial settlement for schools in Wales?

If there is any obsession, it is that of Labour Members with control and uniformity regarding local education authority actions. The Government believe in choice and diversity, which is why we promoted the concept of local management of schools in the teeth of opposition from the Labour party. That concept is now welcomed universally by schools in Wales. The changes that we announced in relation to school self-government are also a step in the direction of choice and diversity.

Will my hon. Friend confirm that, without pressure from central Government, there would be no progress in schools in Wales because local authorities are so stick-in-the-mud socialist that they would never allocate the required budgets to education? Is it not a fact that more money is allocated to schools in Wales and that they should produce better results?

I absolve some local education authorities from the charge made by my hon. Friend: my local education authority in Powys pioneered the idea of devolving budgets to schools and setting a margin for that. As my hon. Friend makes clear, there has been widespread opposition from other parts of Wales and large-scale scepticism about the policy. However, I do not see any manifesto commitment from the Labour party to return to the previous arrangements.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what progress has been made in reducing NHS waiting lists in Wales in the last quarter. [35554]

During the first three months of 1996, the number of people waiting more than six months for a first out-patient appointment fell by a third and the number waiting more than a year to be admitted for treatment was cut by 3 per cent.

Does my hon. Friend agree that the millions of pounds that the Labour party plans to spend on a Welsh Assembly—which is opposed by the vast majority of Welsh people—would be better spent on the national health service, thus building on the Government's reforms which have reduced waiting lists to a record low? [Interruption.] Does my hon. Friend agree also that Labour's policies for the health service would deprive patient care of as much as £500 million? [Interruption.] Surely Conservative policies will always provide better care for patients.

Despite the baying of Opposition Members, I think that my hon. Friend is entitled to offer that opinion—which is shared by many people in Wales. She is right to raise the question of costs so that we may examine what would be lost through sacrifice to dogma. If we compare the number of day cases and in-patients treated now with the numbers in 1979, we can see that the size of the health service in Wales has, in effect, doubled. That is what the people of Wales prefer.

Would the Minister care to comment on the decision by Gwent Community Health NHS trust to force the mentally ill in Abertillery—the most vulnerable people in our community—to receive in-patient treatment outside the county borough? Will he comment also on the remarks of the trust's chief executive officer, Mr. Bob Hudson, who told those patients, "Well folks, you have lost out"?

I admire the hon. Gentleman's determination to press the case on behalf of his constituents. He has, I believe, presented a petition to my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State, and has also secured an Adjournment debate for Wednesday night. I look forward to offering him the fullest reply some time after 10 pm on Wednesday.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what new proposals he has to improve nursery education in Wales.[35555]

Under our proposals, all parents of four-year-olds in Wales will, for the first time, have the opportunity to exercise choice when they seek nursery education for their children. Again for the first time, all voucher providers will have to meet defined education standards. The inspections to ensure that will drive up standards generally. We have also allocated substantial resources to the voluntary sector for training and other measures to raise standards of education for all under-fives.

May I thank the Secretary of State for Wales and congratulate him on his role in the partnership between the Welsh Office, the Welsh Development Agency and Newport borough council that secured the sumptuous investment of LG in my constituency? Will the Government now also commend the great achievements of Welsh Labour-controlled authorities, which provide better nursery education on a greater scale to more children than any authority in England? Is not it true that one does not need choice in Gwent and Clwyd, where there is virtually 100 per cent. provision of high-grade nursery education? Why does not the Secretary of State drop the silly idea of nursery vouchers, which are unwanted in Wales, unnecessary and wasteful?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for the generosity of his tribute to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for his role in securing the LG investment. If I may say so, that stands in contrast to the churlish remarks made by his colleague the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) from the Front Bench. That investment will present many opportunities for those who live within Newport and the south Wales valleys. I believe that the extension of nursery education that will be brought about by the introduction of the voucher system will do a similar thing.

Can the Minister confirm that, in Wales, well over 90 per cent. of four-year-olds already have pre-school provision, and that Her Majesty's chief inspector in Wales pointed out clearly that the best provision was made in local authority nursery schools and nursery units? Will the Minister confirm that, if the additional money that is being put into the voucher scheme had been given directly to the local authorities, all four-year-olds—and many more three-year-olds—could have had quality nursery education provision, and that the administrative costs of the voucher scheme are wasted money, which the Labour party will get rid of as soon as possible?

What I can say to the hon. Gentleman is that nursery provision across Wales as a whole is patchy and that parts of Wales have no provision for all four-year-olds. [Interruption.] It is astonishing that those who claim to represent the people of Wales have such a lack of knowledge of the way in which nursery provision operates within the Principality. It is a fact that provision is patchy and that Her Majesty's inspectorate has said that there are shortcomings in relation to quality. The introduction of the nursery voucher scheme will lead to an improvement in standards and availability.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what initiatives have been launched recently to encourage Welsh exporting companies to compete for national and international awards. [35556]

I have recently launched the 1996 Welsh award for export achievement and my officials have written to Welsh exporting companies encouraging them to apply. My Department also encourages applications for the Queen's award for export achievement, the export award for smaller businesses and the language for export awards.

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his efforts to boost exports of goods from Wales. To do that, of course, it is necessary to manufacture those goods in Wales. I also congratulate my right hon. Friend on the import of jobs and inward investment from LG in Korea, which will create more than 6,000 new jobs in south Wales. May I welcome Wales to the Milton Keynes club of areas that rely on inward investment for jobs?

I thank my hon. Friend and other hon. Members for what they have said. I believe that LG's announcement is the best single piece of news that the economy in Wales has had for many years. It will create 6,100 jobs directly, and at least as many indirectly. That achievement is greatly to the credit of the Welsh Development Agency, and of my officials in the Welsh Office. I also thank Newport borough council for its help and co-operation in bringing the project to fruition.

As the Secretary of State says, one of the key drivers in exports is the Welsh Development Agency. Is he aware that the agency is telling everyone that it has no funds left for the rest of the year, and that in a number of constituencies represented by Opposition Members key projects that will help with exports—such as land reclamation schemes—are currently on stop, and have been for months? What will he do to provide funds to enable those schemes to start up again?

The WDA has a very large budget in the current year, but it is not possible to undertake all projects simultaneously and to do all that we would like to do. Over 15 or 16 years, we have implemented Europe's largest land reclamation programme. Of course we want to do more, but it will not be possible to do everything at once.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) in-patients and (b) out-patients were treated in NHS hospitals in Wales in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what these figures were in 1979. [35557]

Provisional figures show that 514,000 people were treated as in-patients and 661,000 were seen as new out-patients in 1995–96, compared with 350,000 and 429,000 respectively in 1979.

Does my hon. Friend agree that those figures show a great improvement in the health service in Wales since the Government took office? Will he confirm that the increase in the number of patients treated has taken place more quickly since the national health service reforms were introduced?

Certainly—but those remarkable figures have been achieved by remarkable staff, and by everything else that combines to make up the national health service in Wales, not least the Government's determination to keep driving the service forward and attaining our manifesto commitment to increase spending on it.

Given that some of those figures will include women waiting for, or having, treatment for breast cancer, when can we expect a response to the petition that I handed in to the Welsh Office, along with some of our prospective women candidates who will be in the House after the next election? That petition—bearing more than 20,000 signatures—calls for better access to breast cancer facilities, for more money for research and for health authorities to make breast cancer treatment a top priority.

Coincidentally, I signed a reply to the hon. Lady three hours ago.

Has my hon. Friend yet calculated the additional demands on in-patients and out-patients in Gwent in the light of the proposed LG investment? Will he join me in congratulating our right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, who initiated the original contacts with the Koreans some 10 months ago and has supervised negotiations since then? Does he agree that the main factors in the securing of the investment, and the additional number of out-patients and in-patients—

Order. The question is about the national health service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from farmers' leaders regarding the effect of the BSE crisis on agriculture in Wales.[35558]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Wales and I have received representations from farmers' leaders about various issues relating to BSE's effect on the industry in Wales. We have met them several times and expect to do so again as the situation develops.

I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. Will he acknowledge that the industry's main and deep-seated concern is the lack of support given to farmers who are producing clean beef for the market? In recent weeks, those farmers, who are producing animals under 30 months old, have seen prices drop dramatically. Will he assure the House that the Government will top up the £29 million grant given by the European Union to help producers in special difficulties? For once, will the Government give their own money to support Welsh farmers?

First, I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is aware that the Government have a substantial investment in supporting Welsh farmers. His specific point is well understood by Ministers. He will know that, following the Luxembourg Council, the British Government can decide to make some £29 million of aid available to the industry. Later today, I will meet the Farmers Union of Wales to hear what its observations may be as to the way in which that money should be spent, but I can make no commitment to the hon. Gentleman on topping up that money at this point.

To ask the Attorney-General what is the current average interval between his Department receiving notification of a death in suspicious circumstances and the holding of an inquest.[35535]

The Law Officers do not receive notification of deaths. The timing of an inquest following a death in suspicious circumstances is a matter for the coroner concerned.

The Minister will not be surprised to know that I rise to raise the question of the tragic death in November 1992 of Leon Patterson in a police station in Greater Manchester. An inquest was held the following year, in which a verdict of unlawful killing was returned. That was successfully appealed against by the Home Office and a new inquest was ordered nearly two years ago. Will he explain why there has been that disgraceful delay in resolving the question of Leon Patterson's tragic death? Will he consider ensuring that legal aid is available for the representatives of Leon Patterson's family, particularly as the police and all other agencies will be funded at public expense in defending their actions surrounding his tragic death? Surely, in justice, the family should receive the same degree of support.

The matters of delay and legal aid are not ones for which I have responsibility, but I think that I can assist the hon. Gentleman in two respects. First, I understand that the new coroner's inquest will take place in September and, secondly, if new evidence is forthcoming at that inquest, the Crown Prosecution Service will consider it and decide whether, in the light of it, any criminal proceedings should be instituted.

Following the inquest into the Marchioness disaster, when 51 mainly young people were drowned in the River Thames, does my hon. and learned Friend expect any prosecutions?

As my hon. Friend will know, the verdict of a coroner's jury in April 1995 recorded death by unlawful killing and, following that coroner's inquest, the Crown Prosecution Service obtained the transcripts of the evidence that had been given. It has obtained the advice of leading counsel and a decision will be taken shortly as to whether further criminal proceedings will be instituted.

To ask the Attorney-General how many road traffic offence cases within Greater London have been abandoned by the Crown Prosecution Service, subsequent to their court listing in the past six months; and if he will make a statement. [35536]

Precise statistics are not kept, but many motoring cases are discontinued at court on production by the defendant of documents that should have been produced much earlier.

Will the Attorney-General do better and inquire of the courts in London as to why prosecutions are often abandoned on the day, simply because either no lawyer is available to prosecute or for some inexplicable reason other than the one advanced by the Attorney-General?

The reason that I have just advanced is common. Some people turn up with their documents at the last moment. It is only when they are brought to court that they produce them, but, if the hon. Gentleman lets me know of the inexplicable cases that he has specifically in mind, I will have them examined.

I hope that I remain in order in asking about the unusual case of the McPanlin family, where Mrs. McPanlin was killed in a hit-and-run accident in June 1995—I know that this is different from the cases referred to by the hon. Member for Thurrock (Mr. Mackinlay). This is a disturbing story, but there has been no CPS follow-up and no action by the police, with the suggestion in the press recently that no prosecution has been forthcoming because the apparent perpetrators, Robert and Mark Mazure, have been involved in a separate murder case that has been tried recently. This is a most unusual and distressing case for the members of the McPanlin family who are my constituents. I should be grateful if the Attorney-General could look into the matter in conjunction with the Lord Chancellor to whom I wrote on Thursday.

I shall ask my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor to let me have a copy of the letter and if I need further details I shall get in touch with my hon. Friend.

To ask the Attorney-General how many cases during the past year have been referred to the Court of Appeal on grounds of undue leniency. [35537]

In 1995, 77 cases were referred to the Court of Appeal in England and Wales and four were referred in Northern Ireland. To date, 69 of those cases have been heard by the Court of Appeal. Sentence was increased in 63 cases or 91 per cent.

My right hon. and learned Friend may not be aware that he has the gratitude of my constituents for referring a particularly vicious, fatal knifing case to the Court of Appeal on the ground of undue leniency. What might have befallen my constituents and what opportunities would they have had if Labour had been successful in voting down the capability to refer such cases to the Court of Appeal?

My hon. Friend makes a valuable point. The Attorney-General's right to refer unduly lenient sentences has undoubtedly been of real assistance to the administration of justice. It enables the Court of Appeal to put right not only unduly lenient sentences in, it must be said, the very small proportion of cases where such sentences are imposed, but to give valuable guidelines to the judiciary about the right sentence for grave offences of the type to which my hon. Friend refers.

Does the Attorney-General agree that the limitation on the nature of sentences that can be referred to the Court of Appeal, namely indictment-only type cases, creates the right atmosphere and allows only the correct cases to be forwarded? Does he further agree that the Crown Prosecution Service, in which I obviously declare an interest, by its careful sifting has aided the Attorney-General's office on the nature and type of cases that should come before the court and that that has benefited the whole sentencing process?

The hon. Gentleman makes two good points. He is correct to say that the Crown Prosecution Service looks carefully at each case that is capable of being referred. If it thinks that the sentence may have been unduly lenient, the case is referred to me, if necessary. That is in addition to the opportunity for hon. Members and the public to draw such cases to my attention.

To ask the Attorney-General what estimate he has made of the number of cases the Crown Prosecution Service has prosecuted for petty offences, with special reference to petty theft, vandalism and public disorder. [35538]

The Crown Prosecution Service does not keep records for these individual offences but in the year ending March 1996 the CPS took proceedings in respect of 769,023 defendants for summary only offences. The prevalence of the offence is treated as a factor in favour of prosecutions.

I am grateful to my hon. and learned Friend for that reply. Is he aware of the tendency among the forces of law and order to think that small offences do not matter but that small offences which start to go unnoticed begin to drag an area down? Unless we can prosecute people for small offences the larger ones will follow. Can he assure the House that the Crown Prosecution Service pursues cases of petty theft, vandalism and other small offences just as vigorously as it pursues those involving major, high-profile offences which, of course, get much more publicity?

Yes, I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. The Crown Prosecution Service takes into account a number of factors before deciding whether prosecution is in the public interest. It considers not only the interests of the victim, which are important, the victim's vulnerability and the likelihood that an offence will be repeated, but in particular—this may strike a chord with my hon. Friend—in cases where the offence is not serious in itself, it considers whether it is widespread in the area where it was committed.

Is the Solicitor-General satisfied that the Crown Prosecution Service has adequate resources and is properly staffed to prosecute? What financial cuts are now being imposed on it? Why is information offering early retirement with enhanced pensions being circulated to experienced staff as young as 31 to 38? Is that at the Treasury's suggestion? What effect will that have on the service? What will those early retirements cost?

I can assure the right hon. and learned Gentleman that the Crown Prosecution Service has adequate money and adequate staff. Notwithstanding a 2.9 per cent. cut in its budget for this year, its funds and the number of its staff are greater than they were when I became Solicitor-General in 1992. As for his comments on early retirement, information on retirement conditions is being circulated to people at grade 7 and to senior executive officers simply because employment legislation requires that everyone in a class in which there may be staff reductions should be familiarised with their options.

Is my hon. and learned Friend aware that the public and the police have considerable concerns that the work of the Crown Prosecution Service, even on minor cases, needs to be much improved? That could give rise to outright opposition to a proposal to extend the CPS's rights of audience. Will he make a decision about its rights of audience in the near future?

The future of the application for rights of audience for the Crown Prosecution Service lies not with me but with judges designated under the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. The judges concerned have an application in front of them now. My hon. Friend mentioned the CPS's standing in the eyes of the public and the police. I should tell him that the police—whom I meet frequently about specific cases and matters of policy—almost without exception are full of praise for the Crown Prosecution Service's professionalism and expertise. On occasions the public are misled by biased and partial reporting in the media, but if the truth were to be told, they would share the view of impartial observers that the Crown Prosecution Service is doing a very good job.

To ask the Attorney-General what new proposals he has to improve the work of the CPS. [35539]

Current initiatives include team working, the promulgation of further charging standards, the setting up of a Crown Prosecution Service inspectorate and close co-operation with the police—aimed at simplifying paperwork wherever possible and helping the police to ensure that files delivered to the CPS contain all the evidence necessary to secure a conviction.

What can the CPS do about a case—of which I have given the Attorney-General brief notice—that happened in my constituency last week, when a man was sentenced to community service after he had attacked Mr. John Marsh, an ambulance driver who was on duty attending an injured woman? A friend of the injured woman attacked Mr. Marsh and inflicted on him injuries so severe that he will probably never work again. The sentence was community service. Since 1980, crime has doubled but clear-up rates have dropped from 40 per cent. to 26 per cent. Are not soft sentences and poor clear-up rates an incentive to criminals to commit more and more vicious crimes?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving me notice of his question. If he will give me the details of the case, I will examine it together with my hon. and learned Friend the Solicitor-General, to see whether we consider that the sentence was unduly lenient—in which case we can refer it to the Court of Appeal under the provisions that were introduced by this Government and, despite being opposed by the Opposition, are now almost universally recognised as being of real value.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend reconfirm that he does not recommend that the Crown Prosecution Service gives the right of audience in the higher courts to its employees? The result would be to wipe out the junior Bar and lead to the fusion of the two professions—which neither solicitors, barristers nor anybody concerned with the right movement of the criminal justice system in this country wants.

Decisions on such matters are for the Lord Chancellor and the four senior designated judges. Personally, I am implacably opposed to fusion.

A recent criticism of the CPS is that victims of crime feel estranged from the prosecution system. Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman lend his support to the Director of Public Prosecutions' initiative in establishing officers with each branch, whose job it will be to liaise with victims and potential prosecution witnesses?

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point about the value of Victim Support, which is strongly supported by the Director of Public Prosecutions. There is a strong initiative within the CPS to ensure that it works closely with Victim Support, to give every assistance to victims.