To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is public expenditure in Wales per head of population as a percentage of the figure for England [9907]

In 1994–95, the latest year for which information is available, identifiable general Government expenditure in Wales per head was 116 per cent. of that in England.

Although a representative of an English constituency and a Parliamentary Private Secretary to a Scottish Office Minister, may I nevertheless offer my right hon. Friend congratulations to Wales on the result of the rugby international on Saturday?

My hon. Friend's comments about Saturday's match will be welcomed by all Welsh Members in the House. It was a magnificent advertisement for the game of rugby—the beginning of what we hope will be a magnificent run-up to the rugby world cup at Cardiff in 1999. Opposition Members should reflect that it just goes to show that teams that are written off at the beginning of the season can soon come back and win.

Does the Secretary of State recall his announcement, just a few months ago, on public expenditure in Wales, when he said that the national health service in Wales would receive a year-on-year real terms increase in expenditure? Can he therefore explain why Dyfed-Powys health authority announced on 20 December that, because of its financial crisis, it planned possibly to close eight community hospitals, to change the role of another six out of the total of 19, and to make cuts at all four district general hospitals? The hospital in my constituency has revealed that that would mean the closure of one acute ward. How does the right hon. Gentleman square those two statements, which were made just a few weeks apart? Does he agree that the Dyfed-Powys health authority is significantly underfunded by the Welsh Office?

No. I have made it clear that the NHS was the principal beneficiary of the public spending decisions that I announced in November. In every year of the coming Parliament, a Conservative Government will ensure that spending on the NHS in Wales is increased over and above inflation—a commitment that the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) has refused to match. It will not have escaped the notice of the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Ainger) that there are many demands on the health service, and that health service managers must choose between priorities. The proposals by Dyfed-Powys health authority to which the hon. Gentleman referred are for consultation; they are not being implemented at this moment. It must choose between priorities, but it and all other parts of the NHS in Wales will continue to benefit from the increased resources that we have delivered, which we have promised for the future, but which Opposition Members fail to guarantee.

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on a level of public expenditure that is so high that the shadow Chancellor says that there is no need to increase it. How does the shadow Chancellor square that with the request of individual Labour Members to increase every item of public expenditure? Does my right hon. Friend think that that is because the shadow Chancellor is wise enough not to read his colleagues' speeches, or sufficiently innumerate not to be able to add up the sums?

Not only does the shadow Chancellor evidently not agree with many Opposition Members, who persistently call for higher spending: he does not agree with himself and the way he has voted over the past few years in this Parliament. The people of Wales need to worry about whether changes to our constitutional arrangements would result in significantly and permanently lower public spending per head in Wales. If there were to be a Welsh Assembly, there could be no guarantee that the public spending formula would be preserved. Those who would rip up our constitutional arrangements show a reckless disregard for the true interests of Wales.

I was glad to hear that the Secretary of State was shouting for Wales on Saturday; I wonder whether he will be doing that when Wales plays England on 15 March.

I can assure the hon. Gentleman that I shall be cheering for Wales in any rugby match against anybody, including England—although I might stay out of a cricket match between Glamorgan and Yorkshire. I shall, however, be cheering for Wales against England.

My right hon. Friend has mentioned a Welsh Assembly twice. Will he explain the difference between a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly? Will he also—

Order. That point does not relate to the question.

Does the Secretary of State agree that the Jenkins that the Opposition would welcome in the House today is not the hon. Member for Colchester, North (Mr. Jenkin), but Neil, who scored 19 of our points on Saturday in Edinburgh? Does he agree that the Opposition and the bulk of the Welsh nation also look forward to the day in June 1999 when there will not only be a Welsh Assembly, but Wales will be playing New Zealand, or possibly South Africa, in the final of the rugby world cup in Cardiff?

Order. We have had enough of this knockabout: let us get on with the questions.

In the meantime, should we not concentrate on eliminating the waste and inefficiency in the Welsh Office, and the excess bureaucracy in the national health service, nursery vouchers and such nonsensical paper-chase schemes?

I agree with the hon. Gentleman's opening sentiments about the rugby world cup final. I also agree about reducing waste in government. That is why I am reducing, in cash terms, the running costs of non-departmental public bodies in Wales and of the Welsh Office. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that all waste is being rooted out of the administration in Wales, but that still leaves the question how he and his colleagues would hope to finance their assembly.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many local education authority (a) high schools and (b) primary schools he has visited to discuss education provision; and if he will make a statement. [9908]

In the LEA-maintained sector, my right hon. Friend has visited eight high schools and six primary schools since July 1995. Since my appointment in June, I have visited four high schools and six primary schools. We have both discussed a range of education issues on those occasions. The Under-Secretary of State for Wales, my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, North (Mr. Jones), has also visited a number of schools. In fact, all three Welsh Office Ministers visited schools last week.

Has not teacher morale nose-dived since the publication of the new pension arrangements? Is it not true that there has been a flood of applications for early retirement from teachers in Wales? Does he agree that schools now find it hard to employ mature teachers and that LEAs are strapped for cash?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving me an opportunity to correct much of the misinformation relating to the Government's proposals that has been spread, not least by some Labour Members. Some 80 per cent. of teachers retire before the age of 60, and widespread concerns have been expressed about that, not least by the Government Actuary and the Public Accounts Committee, which have led to the consultation recently launched by the Department for Education and Employment. It is not the Government's aim in any way to do away with early retirement for teachers, as has been claimed. In fact, in the current settlement for the next financial year, we have funded on the basis of 75 per cent. of current retirement levels. I am bound to make the point, however, that four out of five teachers retiring before 60 means too much expertise being lost from our schools.

When the hon. Gentleman and other Welsh Office Ministers have visited schools, have they noticed the size of classes, especially in primary schools? Is he satisfied with the share of the Welsh Office budget that goes to local authorities for education purposes which, this year, has increased by less than the rate of inflation? Can he explain why there are more than 5,000 more children in primary school classes of more than 30 children than there were at the beginning of the 1990s?

When Welsh Office Ministers visit schools, we believe in being frank with teachers and I shall be frank with the hon. Gentleman. Since 1979, class sizes have not increased considerably—they are certainly slightly larger, but there is no greatly measurable difference. The point that I must make is that the Labour party controls many of the local education authorities in Wales, and figures that I released last week show that the areas of Wales in which there are the largest class sizes are those that are controlled by the Labour party. I suggest that the hon. Gentleman would be better employed directing his strictures to his friends in local government.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on progress with the implementation of the Welsh Language Act 1993. [9909]

Excellent progress has been made in the three years since the Act became law. The Welsh Language Board has approved the Welsh language schemes of 21 public sector bodies and been active and successful in encouraging greater use of the language in the private and voluntary sectors. Late last year, the board published its "Strategy for the Welsh Language" which sets out clear priorities to build on recent advances and ensure that the language continues to prosper.

May I congratulate my right hon. Friend on emulating that eximious performance on Saturday, which we can no longer mention? His has been the first Government Department to produce an acceptable—indeed, splendid—scheme under the Welsh Language Act, and it has encouraged other Government Departments and public bodies in Wales to produce similar schemes, which will be of great benefit to the language. However, will my right hon. Friend reassure me that all that has been achieved at no unreasonable or inordinate cost?

I thank my right hon. Friend for making that point. The Welsh Office scheme was approved by the Welsh Language Board last November. It took effect last week, and it has certainly been implemented without inordinate or significant cost. It is a sign of the tremendous commitment to the Welsh language of the present Government, who have done more for the Welsh language than any previous Government, largely thanks to the efforts of my right hon. Friend. We shall continue with our policies to secure the place of the Welsh language, not only in this country's heritage and culture, but in its future as well.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he is taking to attract inward investment to north Wales. [9910]

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the level of inward investment to Wales in 1996. [9911]

More than 150 inward investment projects were recorded in 1996, promising about 15,000 new jobs and investment of more than £2.5 billion. Those exceptional results show that our policies are working well. North Wales is sharing in the success story, as projects by companies such as JCB and Toyo Seal clearly show. There is further good news today for north Wales.

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his reply, in particular the welcome news of further inward investment to north Wales. I am sure that everyone will greet it with enthusiasm. It will reassure the people of north Wales that, under a Conservative Government, fair play is guaranteed.

I thank my hon. Friend for his reference to today's announcement by British Aerospace, which is a triumph for the Broughton work force. That plant plays a key part in an extremely successful European collaboration. It further enhances the reputation of Wales as a country that delivers world-class products. We should all be delighted by the news.

Is not the Lucky Goldstar investment in south Wales the largest investment ever undertaken in Europe? Does my right hon. Friend share my view that Wales has been an important beneficiary of the massive investment flows into the United Kingdom that have been so successfully secured by this Conservative Government?

My hon. Friend is right—LG was not only the most spectacular success for Wales last year: it was the most spectacular success in securing investment anywhere in Europe in modern times. The benefits of that investment will flow to Wales for many years. None of the inward investment flowing into Wales on such a scale over the past 10 to 15 years would have happened if we had not secured low inflation through economic discipline and good industrial relations through changes in trade union law, or if we were still spending millions of pounds on grants to nationalised industries rather than on bringing investing firms into Britain.

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that there is now a growing danger that inward investment is getting out of kilter in terms both of geography and of the nature of the investment? He will know that, in the area from Bridgend to Llanelli, there is a concentration of car component firms and manufacturing engineering skills. Is not it now time for the Welsh Office actively to pursue investment in a car assembly plant in that area, which could take advantage of those skills?

Of course we would welcome a car assembly plant in Wales. It is something that we want to work on over the coming months and years. However, I must point out to the right hon. Gentleman that the flow of inward investment to Wales has helped to bring about the diversification of the Welsh economy, rather than its concentration. Now, it is an economy strong in automotive components but also in aerospace, electronics and medical devices. We want that diversification to continue. If ever it were to include a car assembly plant, I would be delighted.

Welcome as today's announcement is, it is noteworthy that, once again, it is investment in the east of Wales. Just before Christmas, the Minister gave me an encouraging reply about dealing with the imbalance between investment in the east and in the west of Wales. Precisely what steps are being taken to redress that imbalance?

I hope that the hon. Gentleman and his party will not be churlish about investment going to the eastern parts—in this case, the north-eastern parts—of Wales, because it brings benefits to the whole of Wales and puts the whole of Wales on the map for international companies around the world. He is of course right to highlight the need to ensure that investment goes to the west of Wales as well. That is why I have asked the Development Board for Rural Wales to move 50 per cent. of its activity to the west. It is also why I set the Welsh Development Agency targets for investment outside the eastern M4 and A55 corridors. It is also why I have included in the WDA's budget for the forthcoming year money for the development of strategic sites, which must include sites in the west and north-west of Wales. We shall make every effort to ensure that all parts of Wales benefit from future investment.

Can my right hon. Friend tell the House how the Vale of Glamorgan has benefited hugely from inward investment and the provision of new, well-paid, high-tech jobs? In particular, can he tell the House about how more alternators are made by Bosch in Wales than at the parent plant in Stuttgart; and about how that plant supplies a great deal of the European motor industry? Can he further tell the House about Ford's successes at Bridgend, where the new V8 engine is being produced for the Jaguar sports car, which is selling brilliantly all over the world? Can he tell the House about the success of the development by Associated British Ports of the docks area; and about the help given by the Welsh Development Agency? Will he tell the House about the success of the British Airways maintenance base at Cardiff international airport, and about the several chemical plants—

Order. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman should apply to me for an Adjournment debate.

I would have told the House about those successes, but my hon. Friend has done it for me. I have seen many of them for myself—including the British Airways maintenance centre at Cardiff airport, the Dow Corning plant and other places in my hon. Friend's constituency. I wish that some of the publicity given in the past week to Ford's difficulties had been balanced by references in the national media to the tremendous investment and expansion undertaken by Ford at Bridgend.

May I first ask you, Madam Speaker, to reflect on the wisdom of the Secretary of State's choosing to link these two questions? They seem quite distinct and better dealt with independently.

There is no question whatever of any such change in the powers of the Welsh Office.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that policies such as the minimum wage, the social chapter and more integration with Europe would damage inward investment, threaten our economic success and harm our sovereignty?

Yes, my hon. Friend is right. Employment in Wales has grown by 95,000 over the past 10 years, in large measure due to inward investment. It is greatly to the credit of the people of Wales that such investment has been made in Wales—and greatly to the credit of the Government. It will not continue at the same pace and in the same way under any other Government.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to visit Catalonia to examine the system of government. [9912]

None.

While I recognise the big difference between the Government and the Opposition about the future governance of the United Kingdom, would it not be prudent for a Minister to investigate and explore the full domestic devolved government in Catalonia as a model for both Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom? Does the Minister agree that the devolved government of Catalonia has not only strengthened Spanish democracy but is a model of subsidiarity that has enhanced the Catalan culture and language? No Catalan of great repute has any difficulty in identifying with Catalonia as well as Spain.

My right hon. Friend has led a trade mission to Catalonia, and met President Pujol. I too met President Pujol when he visited the Welsh Office and I formally received him. We are very familiar with the situation in Catalonia. I note that the Catalan national party fared badly in the last elections because of its association with the Spanish equivalent of the Labour party. In an important poll recently undertaken in Wales among 3,000 electors, the Labour party's version of a Welsh Assembly was supported by only 12.2 per cent.; those who supported some form of assembly for Wales amounted to only 28.7 per cent.; and the largest number, who wanted no truck with it at all that, amounted to some 44.5 per cent. The hon. Gentleman is, as usual, dismissive, but those 3,000 electors are important to me as they come from the Cardiff, North constituency.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the effect of the assisted places scheme on Welsh comprehensive schools. [9913]

I have made no assessment. The assisted places scheme enhances parental choice and has proved popular with parents who could not otherwise have had their child educated in the independent sector.

Do not standards in all teams—in education and elsewhere—fall when high flyers are removed, and are not those standards restored when the stars return? Do not our schools need brilliant pupils in the same way as they need brilliant teachers? Are not our schools impoverished by the loss of high flyers and stars—those who set the pace, such as the Quinnells and the Gibbs? Would not school standards be restored if such pupils were allowed to continue to act as school leaders and pupils whom all other pupils seek to emulate? Why do the Government persist with a scheme that robs all our schools of their most brilliant pupils?

Most assessments that I have heard of last Saturday's match say that Scott Gibbs, Scott Quinnell and Allan Bateman gained from the experience of rugby league and that that was what gave the extra edge to their play. The Government's policy increases choice and opportunity. At least the hon. Gentleman has the merit of consistency: he has always opposed choice in education. At the weekend, his local newspaper quoted him as saying that schemes such as the assisted place scheme rob council schools of pupils.

Will my hon. Friend confirm that the proposals, which he may have seen, to abolish the assisted places scheme are not properly costed, as they do not allow for those who would have to return to the state system if it were abolished? Will he also confirm that Labour's scheme is real, old, unreconstructed socialism, levelling everybody down to the lowest common denominator, instead of allowing those from poor families to rise to the limit of their abilities?

My hon. Friend is right; the Opposition's proposals are a fraud on the electorate. He is also right to say that pupils will need to be educated, and cost is attached to that. The assisted places scheme budget is 0.27 per cent. of the total LEA schools budget in Wales, and we shall not revisit the subject for three years because the contractual obligation between the Government and the schools that are part of the scheme provides that the scheme should remain in operation for three years in any event. The Opposition claim that there would be additional money for education, but where would it come from?

Does the Minister accept that the Education Bill, including provision for the assisted places scheme, is irrelevant to the needs of Wales and that if it were implemented it could be damaging? Does he accept that we need legislation in Wales to create a rational and effective education system targeted to our needs, and that that legislation should be devised and enacted in Wales? Is not a Parliament for Wales with legislative power urgently needed?

I accept that the majority of children in Wales will continue to be educated in local education authority schools. The hon. Gentleman and the Opposition parties are hostile to the choice and opportunity presented by parents and governors choosing to go down the grant-maintained route, by the existence of the independent sector and by the promotion of opportunities for a limited number of children to participate in the assisted places scheme. I do not understand how a well-meaning person like the hon. Gentleman can demonstrate such hostility to the choice and opportunity available to young people in Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received on a referendum for a Welsh Assembly. [9914]

Three.

That is an unbelievable reply. Does not my right hon. Friend find it astonishing that only one person in a million in Wales has bothered to make representations on that centrepiece of Labour party policy? Does not that show that the people of Wales are not prepared to put inward investment and their new jobs at risk by going down that line? Does it not show also that they know that they would end up paying more in taxes to pay for a Welsh Assembly, and that a Labour Government in Wales would end in tears there, as it would in the rest of the country?

My hon. Friend's suspicions may be right. In any referendum, the people of Wales would not vote for such a time-wasting and self-defeating charade. The encouraging news for the people of Wales is that an increasing number of Opposition Members would not vote for such a time-wasting and self-defeating charade. Two more Opposition Members announced last week that they would oppose the policy of the Labour party in any referendum—the hon. Members for Rhondda (Mr. Rogers) and for Ogmore (Sir R. Powell). That news was greeted, ludicrously, by the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) with the statement, "We shall be fighting a united campaign." I am pleased that an increasing number of Opposition Members will join us in arguing at the general election against a referendum on an assembly, against an assembly and against the construction of a body that would be against the true interests of Wales.

Does not the fact that only three people bothered to write to the Secretary of State suggest, rather, that people see no relevance in writing to a lame-duck leader of a lame-duck Government?

There is a lot of quacking to come from us yet. The number of representations shows that the people of Wales regard the subject of devolution as an utter irrelevance to their future. They know that the real way to ensure the continuation of the jobs that have been flowing into Wales in recent years is to continue with the policies and constitutional arrangements that have been in place for many years.

When my right hon. Friend considers those three representations, will he bear in mind the fact that Wales is a nation, and that that is important in considering a separate assembly or parliament? Will he consider carefully who should be able to vote? Will people who live in England but who were born in Wales be allowed to vote? Surely they are members of that nation. Will those who live in Wales, such as the hon. Member for Neath (Mr. Hain), who comes from South Africa, be allowed to vote? Should not—

Order. Will the hon. Gentleman get the question off his chest, and do so rapidly? We have many questions to get through, and I have a lot of Welsh Members to call.

Madam Speaker, I shall be applying for an Adjournment debate, of course.

My hon. Friend raises some interesting questions about whether everyone in the United Kingdom should vote on something that affects the whole United Kingdom—and certainly whether all Welsh people should have a vote rather than only those who are resident in Wales at the time. If we were to witness the tragedy of a Labour Government, Labour Members would have to resolve that question, as well as the question whether their colleagues would be allowed to say what they think in a referendum rather than swallowing the party line that they do not believe is in the true interests of Wales.

Madam Speaker, I must protest: the Secretary of State is attempting to answer questions about Labour party policy, and I put it to you that that is quite improper. I do not know why the right hon. Gentleman gets so hot under the collar about the prospects of our having a say in our own affairs.

The hon. Gentleman criticises me for answering questions about Labour party policy, but someone has to answer such questions. The last time we asked the hon. Gentleman about Labour party policy regarding an electoral system, he took months to answer and, when he did, two Labour Members joined the opposite camp immediately. That is the kind of answer that we get from the hon. Gentleman.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is the current level of unemployment in Wales, relative to that in (a) the United Kingdom as a whole and (b) the European Union; and if he will make a statement. [9915]

For like-for-like comparison purposes, the labour force survey in autumn 1996 found that the unemployment rate in Wales was 8.2 per cent. compared with 7.9 per cent. in the United Kingdom. The European Union average rate in October 1996 was 10.9 per cent.

Is not unemployment now far higher in Germany than in Wales? Is that not a consequence of the fact that more and more German firms are relocating their investment to Wales because they recognise the advantages of doing so? Is it not also a fact that, for every German who will lose his job as a consequence, there is another who is beginning to wish that Germany had never signed up to the social chapter and the other high social costs with which the German economy is now burdened?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Mr. Sweeney) will explain in the Adjournment debate that you have offered him, Madam Speaker, Bosch is achieving far greater productivity in the manufacture of alternators in Vale of Glamorgan than in its plants in Germany. The labour force survey is but a snapshot: the official figures, which were announced last week, show that Wales is doing better still. Unemployment is falling fast in Wales and elsewhere in the United Kingdom and is down to 7.4 per cent. and 6.7 per cent. respectively. That compares with the expanding European figure, which increased by another 0.3 per cent. in the last quarter.

Nobody believes the Government's unemployment figures, because they are fiddled. Britain's unemployment situation looks as good as it does in comparison with that of European countries because the figures have been fiddled downwards. Why does the Minister not recognise other figures that reflect the economic inactivity rate? They show that economic inactivity among men of working age is higher in Wales than anywhere else in mainland Britain. What will he do about the hidden joblessness rate in Wales?

It is plain that the hon. Gentleman and his party are bereft of arguments when all that they can trot out is the lame claim that the unemployment figures are fiddled. On any comparison, two facts are self-evident: unemployment in Wales and the United Kingdom generally is falling fast, although it remains too high. That is why I cannot understand Labour's slavish devotion to the minimum wage, the social chapter and—to the particular disadvantage of Wales—the imposition of a Welsh Assembly, with all that that would do to deter the inward investment that we have won until now.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what procedures exist to allow him to assist a school that finds itself in financial difficulties; and how often he has aided a school by use of such procedures in each of the past three years. [9916]

Responsibility for the funding of local education authority maintained schools rests with unitary authorities. It is open to LEAs to include in their local management of schools schemes arrangements to defer recovery of any overspends until subsequent financial years.

Cwmcarn school in my constituency had a cumulative deficit of £116,000 in the three-year period 1992–95. Accounts published by the school appear to show that the deficit has not been carried forward, but has been written off. Have those debts been written off? If so, did the Secretary of State agree to that, and will he be as generous with other schools in my constituency that are facing similar problems?

My earlier reply related to the LEA-maintained sector. As for grant-maintained schools, it is open to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to make a loan to any school that finds itself in financial difficulties. To date, it has not been necessary to use that power.

To ask the Attorney-General what proposals he has to improve the efficiency of the Crown Prosecution Service; and if he will make a statement. [9938]

The key to effective and efficient prosecutions is close co-operation between the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. Both services are tackling this together through joint performance management to provide early advice to police officers, to improve the timeliness and quality of police files and to reduce paperwork and speed up communications by the increased use of information technology.

The Crown Prosecution Service is doing a good job, but there are concerns about the fact that many cases referred to it by the police are not pursued. That causes concern and bitterness in the minds and hearts of the victims of crime, because they fear that they are not getting support from the CPS. The same is true of lenient sentences—the CPS seems to have a weakness of not appealing against them. Will the Attorney-General assure me that those issues will be followed up and that there will be greater efficiency in the CPS on the points that I have raised?

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's recognition that, generally, the CPS does a good job. It gets many brickbats and it deserves a bit of praise. He says that some cases brought by the police are not pursued by the CPS. I invite him to write to me with any details that he has on that. He will have heard me say before in the House that I have looked into such claims time and again. Very seldom are those worries—sincere though they are—borne out by the facts. The CPS keeps in close touch with the police. In 75 per cent. of cases, it discusses the issue with the police before dropping a case. In only 4 per cent. of cases that are discussed do they disagree—a tiny proportion.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend resist all calls, made in the name of efficiency, to give the Crown Prosecution Service the right of audience in the higher courts? That would seriously undermine the strength of the junior Bar and lead inevitably to the abolition of the separation between solicitors and barristers, which is one of the strengths of our criminal justice system.

My hon. and learned Friend raises an important point. He will know that an application by the Law Society on behalf of employed solicitors, both generally and in the CPS, is currently before the four senior judges of England and Wales. As for my personal position, I see a case for the CPS to have some power to go into the Crown courts, but on a limited basis. I assure my hon. and learned Friend that I stand four square with him on the importance of the independent Bar, and the importance of doing nothing to weaken its long-term position, which is vital to the proper administration of justice.

Is the Attorney-General satisfied with the role of the Crown Prosecution Service and the investigators in the war crimes case of Regina v. Serafinowicz? What did the case cost, and what action does the Attorney-General now propose for other cases that are in the pipeline?

The right hon. and learned Gentleman has asked me a fistful of questions, which I shall try to answer succinctly. First, let me answer his question about the war crimes case against Semion Serafinowicz, which stopped on Friday when a jury found him unfit to plead and I issued a nolle prosequi. I can tell the right hon. and learned Gentleman definitely that the case was skilfully, carefully and scrupulously investigated and prosecuted by the police and the CPS. The matter came before the chief metropolitan magistrate last year, and he was perfectly satisfied that there was abundant evidence to commit to trial. All legal arguments were carried out at the end of last year before the trial judge, who was also satisfied that there was a proper case to go to trial; but, of course, when the defendant was unfit to plead it was absolutely proper to bring it to a close, as I did. That is what a nolle prosequi does.

Has a pilot study of the CPS in Wales been conducted and, if so, with what result?

Yes. A pilot study of the CPS monitoring system has been conducted in Wales—the system whereby its own inspectorate has carried out its first pilot project in Wales. I have not yet seen a report, but I believe that the House will greatly welcome the establishment of the inspectorate, which will ensure high and consistent standards throughout the country.

To ask the Attorney-General what plans he has for further deregulation proposals within his office. [9939]

The Departments for which the Attorney-General is responsible have no regulatory functions to which the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 applies. However, the Crown Prosecution Service continues to work with the police to reduce paperwork and administrative burdens in the prosecution of crime.

Rational deregulation is to be welcomed, but has not the ideologically inspired deregulation of the Crown Prosecution Service left it in a sad position? Morale is at rock bottom and public confidence is at a low ebb. The CPS is thought to pursue trivial offenders when it has a strong case, whereas serious offenders are allowed to run free if the case is weaker. Is not the result of the CPS's conviction-at-all-costs policy that trivial offenders are convicted, whereas many serious offenders get away with it?

The hon. Gentleman's criticisms are entirely misplaced. He talks about morale, but if he and certain of his hon. Friends visited the CPS more often and looked at what it does, they would launch into ill-judged criticism less frequently. The best way in which to help the CPS with morale is to stop criticising it unfairly.

May I ask my right hon. and learned Friend not to remove the obligation from the Crown Prosecution Service and the prosecuting authorities to prosecute cases under the War Crimes Act 1991 if there is adequate evidence?

I appeared in front of Mr. Justice Potts in Sheffield for three days between 17 and 19 December. He heard arguments that the case amounted to an abuse of process, in part based on the lapse of time since the events took place. After he had heard all the arguments, he concluded that there was no abuse of process and that the case was fit to proceed. The case came to an end last week only because a jury found that the defendant's mental state, which had declined rapidly in the past six months, did not allow him to be tried. The principle, however, is plain: if there is evidence—and there was in that case—and if the defendant is fit to be tried, we will prosecute firmly and resolutely.

To ask the Attorney-General when he expects to announce the results of his review of public interest immunity certificates. [9940]

I made a statement to the House on the Government's new approach to public interest immunity on 18 December 1996. A paper setting out the Government's conclusions was placed in the Library.

Does not the announced reform of the public interest immunity certificate system amount to a success for Lord Justice Scott? Would not the Government still have used it, even under the new system, to thwart justice in the Matrix Churchill case? Is the Attorney-General able to confirm that the blanket ban will go, and that real harm and damage to the public interest will have to be proved to a judge in every case? Will not that new system still facilitate cover-ups, especially in cases involving breaches of arms embargoes, the Prison Service and the police?

On the hon. Gentleman's last point, I emphasise very strongly that there were no cover-ups through public interest immunity certificates in the Matrix Churchill case. It is about time that he realised that.

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that the problem with the Matrix Churchill and other arms-to-Iraq cases involving public interest immunity certificates was that Ministers did not have discretion about whether to use them? Will he confirm that the new system will allow such discretion and will permit Ministers to attach notes describing the exact problem in each case?

Yes, my hon. Friend is right that one of the reasons for such wide misconceptions about the use of certificates in the Matrix Churchill case was that Ministers had little discretion and it was necessary to have more certificates than would now be the case. My hon. Friend will also realise that the matter was distorted out of proportion. Those who have followed it carefully will realise that.

To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the current success rate of the Crown Prosecution Service in the north-west. [9941]

The north-west area of the Crown Prosecution Service makes a strong contribution to the overall success of the service. The number and proportion of cases discontinued has been reduced to below the national average and conviction rates in the magistrates and Crown courts are 98.5 per cent. and 91.6 per cent. respectively.

What are the Law Officers doing to increase the number of convictions of child sex offenders, in view of the low conviction rates, which are currently estimated at below 5 per cent., and mounting public concern about scandals in child care homes in the north-west?

The law has been changed a number of times in recent years. Normally, a child complainant in such a case will make the original complaint to a social worker, and it will be recorded on video tape. At the hearing, that video tape will stand as the child's evidence-in-chief and cross-examination will be by means of a live video link, with the child in a separate room. The methods that we now adopt in the courts to try to get at the truth in paedophile cases are a great advance on the methods that were in use 10 or 15 years ago.