What recent discussions he has had with the First Minister of the National Assembly for Wales about progress in reducing NHS waiting times. [177354]

I regularly meet the Assembly Fiat Minister, and the health service in Wales is one of the topics that we frequently discuss.

Given that health spending in Wales constitutes a higher proportion of the gross domestic product than it does in either France or Germany, why have waiting lists increased by 80 per cent. in the past five years? Given that one of his own Back Benchers—the hon. Member for Cardiff, Central (Mr. Jones)—said that the NHS is in need of urgent reform, and given that a 69-year-old Swansea man has waited more than three and a half years for a hip operation, will the Secretary of State agree to meet Conservative health spokesmen to discover how Opposition health reforms could benefit the people of Wales?

There is a convention in the House whereby Ministers agree to receive delegations from Members, but I am not sure that that one would be very productive. It would take us back to the past and to a Conservative record in Wales that was awful. Seventy hospitals closed, more than a third of general and acute beds were lost between 1979 and 1997, and nursing and midwifery training places were cut. However, in Wales we are now moving ahead. We are recruiting more consultants and more nurses, waiting times are coming down and more hospitals are being built. The health service is improving under Labour, just as it was cut under the Tories.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that, contrary to the gloomy views expressed by the Conservative party as part of a last-minute effort before tomorrow's elections, the facts speak for themselves in my local trust, the North West Wales NHS Trust? Its consultant orthopaedic surgeons are able to offer treatment within six months, and in dermatology 96 per cent. of patients are seen within three months. According to The Sunday Times, it is the top performing trust in Wales, and for the fourth year running one of its hospitals is among the top 40 best performing hospitals in the UK.

My hon. Friend speaks for Wales, and for north-west Wales in particular, in a way that the Conservatives cannot, because they have no parliamentary representation in Wales. As she accurately points out, things are improving. They have to improve a lot more, but there is more investment, more nurses, more doctors and more provision to ensure that such improvements continue. In particular, waiting times for cardiac surgery, orthopaedic treatment, cataract surgery and angiograms are improving.

It is an insult to the 302,730 people on a waiting list for the Secretary of State time and again to make incorrect claims about my party and our policies. He should know, because the information has been published, that we have promised to spend £68 billion on schools and the NHS in Wales.

Order. The one thing that the hon. Gentleman has got to do is to ask a supplementary question.

I am grateful to you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Secretary of State tell the House why The Western Mail reported that at an Assembly Cabinet meeting on 19 January, Ministers secretly discussed the way in which NHS waiting lists in Wales are calculated? The Labour Assembly seems to be more concerned with fiddling the figures than with reducing the actual waiting times that people are suffering. It appears that Assembly Ministers are anxious to present an improved list of waiting time figures to disguise their appalling record on health and to appease their party's MPs, who are already rightly panicking ahead of the next general election. Can the Secretary of State confirm that the Welsh Assembly will not be changing the way in which waiting lists are calculated, in order to fudge the figures?

Talking of fudging figures, if I heard the hon. Gentleman correctly, he just said that he intends to spend an extra £68 billion on health and education in Wales.

indicated assent.

He nods his head, but the current entire budget for Wales is £13 billion, which means that he is going to spend some five times as much as that. In the light of that Mickey Mouse figuring, is anybody taking seriously anything that he says about these issues?

I stand corrected—the £68 billion figure applies across the whole of the UK. I rather wish that the Secretary of State was always as helpful to me when I am trying to get answers from him. On waiting times in Wales, perhaps he can explain why the figures for this April show an increase of 8,487 people, compared with March. Of course, they are among the 302,730 people—one in 10 people in Wales—currently on an in-patient or out-patient waiting list.

I am very happy with the progress being made in comparison with the dreadful record under the Conservatives. We inherited that legacy. Just look at the figures. There are 4,000 more nurses in Wales since Labour came to power; 300 more whole-time equivalent consultants; waiting times for key procedures are coming down; 10 new hospitals are either being or have already been built; and there are 178 more acute beds. That is all progress, which is resulting in better health provision for Wales. That is why the people of Wales will continue to back Labour and continue to reject the Tories.

My hon. Friend the Member for Conwy (Mrs. Williams) was right to point to the fact that the North West Wales NHS Trust is the best performing trust in Wales in respect of out-patients and in-patients. However, despite the fact that many nurses train in the locality, the ratio of nurses to beds is one of the lowest because they often move to other parts of Wales and, indeed, to England. Will my right hon. Friend meet the appropriate Welsh Assembly Minister to ensure that local nurses are allowed to remain in the area and work for the local NHS?

I meet the First Minister regularly and my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary meets the Minister for Health and Social Services regularly. It is certainly a matter that we can draw to their attention. My hon. Friend will be aware that more and more nurses are being recruited. He will also be aware of my response to the previous question and know that 250,000 more patients are being seen in the Welsh health service under Labour than under the Tories. That is an indication of the way standards are going up and of how people's needs are being satisfied and their relief of pain met.

When he last met the First Minister to discuss amendments to the Civil Contingencies Bill specifically called for by the National Assembly for Wales' Local Government and Public Services Committee; and if he will make a statement. [177355]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I meet the First Minister and Welsh Assembly Government Ministers regularly to discuss a range of matters, which has included the Civil Contingencies Bill.

I acknowledge the Minister's response, but it does not address the question that I tabled. The question was about the information given by the Welsh Assembly to the Minister during the passage of the Civil Contingencies Bill. The Local Government and Public Services Committee requested two specific amendments and they have been dispatched by Westminster. The Minister often refers to a partnership in respect of legislating, but that does not sound like a partnership to me. Frankly, it is rather one-sided.

I know of the hon. Gentleman's interest in this matter, and on Third Reading he raised a number of important points about the Bill. I can tell him that, personally, as a Minister, I have not received any representations about amendments from the National Assembly's Local Government and Public Services Committee. The Minister for the Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley, South (Mr. Alexander), has rec rived them and he will reply. I am prevented by time constraints from giving the hon. Gentleman a more detailed response, but if it would help him—I know of his particular interest—I will write to provide him with further information.

The Minister will know that 300 Tetra masts are being installed for Welsh police communications. Is he aware that they are a cause of local concern in communities such as Llanidloes, where local people simply do not feel consulted? They are angry that council officials are threatening to use the Government's emergency powers legislation to force mast installations, regardless of local feeling. Are those officials allowed to do that; and, if so, what rights do local citizens have to stop unwelcome mast installations?

I was not aware of the issue until the hon. Gentleman just raised it as a matter of concern in his constituency. I will look further into the matter—I understand that he has spoken about his concerns to my officials this morning—and I will write to him about it.

What discussions he has had with the First Minister of the National Assembly for Wale; on the provision of local drug rehabilitation services in (a) the Cynon Valley and (b) Wales. [177356]

I regularly meet the National Assembly's Social Justice and Regeneration Minister and tackling substance misuse in the south Wales valley communities is a subject that we frequently discuss.

I recognise the Government's record level of commitment to funding for this problem, but may I point out that in the Cynon Valley there is a long waiting list for rehabilitation facilities, and urge my hon. Friend to press upon the First Minister the importance of increasing rehabilitation facilities for those who are seeking treatment for that problem?

Access to treatment is a priority, which is why £2.5 million of funding has been provided through community safety partnerships in Wales in order to target the availability of treatment services. I am aware that there have been a large number of applications for treatment in my hon. Friend's constituency. A number have been from women who are pregnant, so they cannot receive treatment at that time, which has created a backlog. As I say, I am aware of my hon. Friend's concern and I will bring it to the attention of my ministerial colleagues.

It is good to see my hon. Friend the Minister in fine health, which just goes to show that the NHS in Wales is doing a very fine job at present. However, has he had an opportunity to visit the new mental health unit at the Royal Glamorgan hospital, which serves both the Cynon valley and the Rhondda, or the mental health unit at—

Order. That is not relevant to the question.

My hon. Friend the Minister will be well aware that the Rhondda Cynon Taf local authority has a poor record in supporting drug rehabilitation initiatives, in the Cynon valley and the locality generally. However, is he aware of the Kaleidoscope project in Newport? It is an innovative project, based on respect for individuals, and it ensures that treatment is given within one week, if possible.

I am grateful to you, Mr. Speaker, for saving me from the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant). I can tell my hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly (Mr. David) that I am aware of the matter that he raises, and that the Rhondda Cynon Taf community safety partnership has received more than £600,000 for its substance misuse action plan. I am also aware of the Kaleidoscope project, which I visited with the Welsh Assembly's Minister for Social Justice and Regeneration. I was very impressed with the work of the project, which provides a service for a range of different people. The project is known nationally and internationally for its pioneering community-based drugs treatment programmes. I commend it to other areas for examination, as it is a pioneering project that is breaking barriers and pushing forward the agenda involved in tackling the problem of drug misuse.

What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in respect o the deduction of contingency fees from miners' compensation awards. [177357]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have regular discussions with colleagues at the Department of Trade and Industry on coal health compensation matters, and I also attend the national monitoring group chaired by my colleague the Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, South (Mr. Griffiths).

Will my hon. Friend convey my thanks to his counterparts in the DTI for their efforts in working with the Law Society to put pressure on those lawyers who, scandalously, have sought to deduct contingency fees from the compensation rightfully paid to miners, their widows and their families? However, does he share my dismay—not to say disgust—that other lawyers in south Wales continue to deduct contingency fees or part payments from money that rightfully should go to miners and their families?

Yes, I most certainly share that disgust. Claims handlers and others who take a slice of compensation meant for miners and their widows are, in my view, nothing but parasites preying on the fears of elderly and vulnerable people. My message to them is simple. It is, "Give the money back. It does not belong to you; it belongs to the miners."

Yesterday, I was contacted by my constituent Mr. Davies from Abercraf, who is conducting a claim on behalf of his late father. He is furious about the service that he has received from his solicitor, who has taken a long time to settle the claim, and has also submitted copies of wills and probates that refer to a claim being made by another family. Solicitors involved in such matters receive great fees from the DTI: when will those fees be deducted to reflect the poor service that claimants receive, and the stress that is caused to them when they do not get the money that they are due?

On the whole, most solicitors handling miners' compensation claims have acted very well and have sought to process the claims as speedily as possible. However, I am aware that some solicitors are not in that category and that they have caused enormous grief, to my constituents and to those of other hon. Members. I shall bring the details of this particular case to the attention of the Law Society, as I have done on a number of occasions previously, and I shall ask it to investigate the problems that the hon. Gentleman's constituent is having with that firm of solicitors.

Given that the activities of the claim handlers seem to generate claims and therefore more work for solicitors, would it not be fairer if their fees were paid out of the solicitors' pockets, and not by the unfortunate claimants?

I have sympathy with that view. Indeed, I have written to the Law Society on behalf of a couple of my constituents who have paid £5,000 to claims handlers. When I wrote to the solicitors handling the claims, I was told that they dealt merely with the process of the claim and that my constituents had signed an agreement to pay that money to the claims handlers.

In the Minister's discussions with the Department of Trade and Industry, did he also ask why it is financing the miners' compensation scheme from the surpluses it receives from the miners' pension fund? As the Minister himself said, "Give the money back. It doesn't belong to you; it belongs to the miners."

Plaid Cymru is taking an interest in miners? There must be an election on. The hon. Gentleman has raised this issue recently and gained much publicity as a result. He has created alarm and concern among miners and their widows, who think that their pension fund is at risk because of the issues he has raised. He has not discovered anything new: the issue that he raises was made public by my right hon. Friend the Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Mrs. Liddell) on 8 December 1999. The hon. Gentleman alluded to the guarantee. At the moment, the miners' pension scheme is in deficit and the Government are putting in millions of pounds to overcome that deficit. If he asks any miner in Wales, they will tell him that the guarantee of their pension security is a godsend. They welcome it, and they know that it guarantees that their pensions are safe.

What discussions he has had with the National Assembly for Wales about funding for the NHS in Wales. [177358]

I regularly meet the Assembly First Minister and the health service in Wales is one of the topics that we frequently discuss.

The Audit Commission reported in April that the NHS in Wales was unsustainable, out of balance, unable to meet the needs of the future, and applying the wrong remedies in the wrong place for the wrong reasons. What can it possibly have meant?

The Audit Commission made some recommendations that the Welsh Assembly and the Minister for Health and Social Services are now implementing. It also recognised that great progress has been made by the health service in Wales, some of which I identified earlier. The hon. Gentleman will also appreciate, as a Conservative Member, that the people of Wales know that they face a choice between cuts, privatisation and charges under the Conservatives, or increased investment, more provision, more nurses, more doctors and a better health service under Labour.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the funding for NHS breast cancer surgery will spread much further because of a pioneering new technique developed by the University of Wales College of Medicine, in my constituency, that reduces the need for drastic and invasive surgery when cancer has spread under the arms into the lymph nodes? Will he join me in congratulating the staff involved on a tremendous achievement, which means that Wales now leads the field in that area?

I am delighted to join my hon. Friend in congratulating the staff of the university on their fantastic, innovative and pioneering research and their contribution to tackling a serious problem that has affected far too many women over the decades. We now have the opportunity to introduce a proper, preventive strategy to provide the protection to which women are entitled.

I call Mr. Bellingham.

rose—

I am sorry, I have made a mistake. I call Mr. Wiggin.

I sympathise, Mr. Speaker, and so should the Secretary of State. His hearing is not up to much because he did not hear the points that I made about spending. He said that great progress had been made, but can he explain why hospital activity has increased by only 6 per cent., the backlog of maintenance on NHS buildings in Wales has increased by £147 million, and the total repair bill now stands at £465 mill on? There is a chronic shortage of consultants, with the British Medical Association estimating that 150 posts are unfilled. What has Labour done with the money? Could it have gone on the doubling in the number of civil servants in Jane Hutt's Department, or the 96 administrative bodies that she has set up since 1999? Labour's policy of taxing and spending and failing is letting Wales down.

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his enthusiasm for coming back for second helpings, even if the recipe was the same. He ignores the fact that the health service in Wales is now seeing 250,000 more patients—a quarter of a million more—and that is where the money is going. It is going into recruiting 4,000 more nurses 300 more whole-time equivalent consultants and building more hospitals, compared with the 70 closed under the Conservatives. That is where Labour's investment in health is going, compared with the cuts, cuts and cuts that we had under the Tories.

What recent representations he has received from small business organisations in Wales on the subject of the tax treatment for small incorporated companies. [177359]

I have regular meetings with small business organisations. The Government and the Assembly have created an extremely supportive environment for small businesses to prosper in Wales.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that a large number of small companies in Wales went to substantial expense to incorporate as a result of tax incentives brought in by the Budget two years ago? Those excellent initiatives, which were widely welcomed by small business groups in Wales, were removed in this year's Budget. How does the right hon. Gentleman explain that U-turn, which has angered so many small businesses in Wales?

As the hon. Gentleman knows, things are not quite as he suggested. As he also knows, small businesses in Wales are doing much, much better than ever before. The Royal Bank of Scotland reports that the economy will grow by 3 per cont. and that Welsh business activity grew for the 13th consecutive month to April 2004. A recent CBI survey also showed that business confidence in Wales stands at its highest since 1995, and the latest quarterly business survey from NatWest reports that 68 per cent. of Welsh small businesses noted significant improvements in their sales in the past year. That is the most positive response for a long time—thanks to Labour's excellent policies.

What discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on the take-up of tax credits in (a) Wales and (b) Vale of Glamorgan. [177360]

What discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues concerning the take-up of tax credits in Wales. [177361]

Two hundred and forty-five thousand families in Wales are receiving tax credits, including almost 228,000 families with about 400,000 children.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. Is he aware that for the first time in a generation not a single family in my Vale of Glamorgan constituency would be better off out of work and dependent on benefits? Will he give me an assurance that we never return to the absurd situation where benefits become a perverse incentive for people not to work?

I certainly will give ray hon. Friend that assurance, provided of course that the people continue to vote for Labour in election after election. Instead of the billions of pounds being wasted by the Tories to keep people on the dole, where there is no hope and no future, we have invested to help people who want to work and to make work pay through the working tax credit and the child tax credit. That is benefiting hundreds and thousands of people right across Wales.

What effect has that encouraging take-up of tax credits had on our desire to eliminate child poverty in Wales?

It has had a significant impact, because it has occurred alongside record increases in child benefits. We are committed to eliminating child poverty right across Wales. We have made massive strides in that direction, again with policies that would be cut under the Tories in their programme of cuts and cuts and cuts, driving the people of Wales and the children of Wales back into the misery of the 1980s and the early 1990s.

What discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) National Assembly for Wales Ministers concerning measures to tackle antisocial behaviour in Wales. [177363]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I regularly meet Cabinet colleagues and Assembly Ministers to discuss matters affecting Wales.

Order. The House must allow the right hon. Member for Newport, East (Alan Howarth) to put his supplementary question.

Has my hon. Friend noted that reports of antisocial behaviour and disorder in Newport have fallen by 25 per cent. over the last year? Will he congratulate Gwent police and Labour-led Newport city council on working in increasingly effective partnership? Has he also noted that absolutely no ideas of any interest or use on the matter of antisocial behaviour have been put forward by any of the other political parties?

The Government are cracking down on those who make life a misery for hard-working families. Those families expect us to do something about that situation and to act against those who commit the quality-of-life crimes of intimidation, petty vandalism, yobbery and so on. I am delighted about the real progress that has been made in Newport through the partnership between the Gwent police and the Labour-run Newport council, which after the election tomorrow will still be a Labour-run council.

If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 9June.

I have been asked to reply.

All of us, both here and in Jim's former constituency, would wish to echo those very fine words.

I am sure that the House will agree with much of what my hon. Friend says. The people of his city have shown good sense in many ways, not least in sending him here as their Member of Parliament.

I join the Deputy Prime Minister in his tribute to the late Jim Marshall. I believe that we will all miss him in the House.

The right hon. and learned Gentleman made clear his judgment about President Reagan in the debate on foreign affairs on Monday. For my part, whatever people said about President Reagan at the beginning of his regime, I remember that he contributed to reducing weapons of mass destruction, which assisted in world peace today. [Interruption.] Well, people can make judgments, but I give my judgment as best I can. I remember the many cynical comments that were made about that man, but he did contribute to reducing the cold war. [Interruption.] I can only give the House my view and live with whatever people think about it.

The Deputy Prime Minister's complacency is breathtaking. Where has he been for the past few weeks? Thousands of electors have had postal votes sent back because they have failed to complete them properly, one council is having to operate three emergency polling stations because thousands of voters have not received heir forms in time, and voters in another area are being invited to go to the town hall. One in seven voters in the four regions said that they had not received their ballot papers by last weekend. On top of that, today we hear allegations that substantial numbers of voters have been intimidated, and that one employer told his staff that he would sack them all if they refused to support Labour. Does the right hon. Gentleman not understand the chaos that he is causing, and the worry and upset to all the voters who think that he is effectively depriving them of their votes?

A number of those allegations were made in 2003. The Electoral Commission looked into them to see whether there were any examples of bad practice or fraud, and after the investigation into the 100 pilot areas in 2003 it said that there was no reason to believe the pilot schemes had

"resulted in an increase in the incidence of electoral offences".

The Deputy Prime Minister's complacency will send its own signal to many people in the country. He talks again about turnout, but this is not just about turnout; it is about the integrity of the system, confidence, trust and lack of corruption. Above all, it is about people being able to exercise their vote. The chaos of the past few weeks has been bad enough, yet the right hon. Gentleman still appears hellbent on holding all-postal ballots in his three regional referendums this autumn. Will he now abandon those plans, and will the Labour party stop playing fast and loose with democracy and restore to people the right to vote at the ballot box?

I do not know whether the right hon. and learned Gentleman recalls this, but there was no dispute between us that postal ballots and all-postal ballots should be encouraged. All parties have supported that principle; the only dispute is whether the allegations are correct. The pilot schemes will be reviewed, and the House will have proper time to consider a proper judgment made by the Electoral Commission. That is right, but let us celebrate the fact that a million more people will participate—indeed, already have participated—in the elections; the final figure may be greater than that. That should be a matter for celebration. It is not, as the leader of the Liberal party has said, a democratic disgrace.

Do we need more single-sex Muslim schools?

My hon. Friend will know that a number of the local education authorities, which have the right to make that choice, have decided that there will be some of those schools—[Interruption.] As my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) reminds me, there are five. It is for the local education authorities to make such decisions, and we should leave it to them.

May I associate myself and my right hon. and hon. Friends with the tributes paid to Jim Marshall, a Member who was much respected in all parts of the House? Of President Reagan, may I say that whatever one's differences with him may have been, he will undoubtedly take his place as one of the most notable Presidents in American history?

Yes, and they do stand alone.

That was the shortest and, perhaps, the most acceptable answer that the Deputy Prime Minister has ever given. I doubt that I shall be so lucky the second time around.

I am sure that the right hon. and learned Gentleman knows that we are all waiting for the final report on those matters. [Interruption.] I thought that we sit up reports to find out facts so that we can then debate them. It is right for me to say that we should await the n port. It is a pity that he has not really congratulated the United Nations on arriving at its unanimous agreement last night. Everyone in the House has been calling for that, so I should have thought that we should all welcome it, rather than giving out the party political stuff that we heard from the right hon and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram), which was a disgrace. Given that such a fundamental decision has been made about Iraq, we should all welcome the fact that the UN is now playing a major part in finding a solution, which our Prime Minister has tried to put in place. A council is being formed and there will be elections in June. I have listened to many debates in the Chamber on Iraq, so is it not time for us to celebrate the fact that the UN is involved and we now have a satisfactory solution for not only coalition forces, but the Iraqi authorities, which very much welcome it?

Labour's tonnage tax has given a massive boost to the British Merchant Navy and has been of huge benefit to British shipping. Does the Deputy Prime Minister share my dissatisfaction that that boost and expansion has not been matched by an increase in jobs for British seafarers and has not provided the training places that were promised?

I am well aware of the point that my hon. Friend makes. He welcomes the fact that there has been more than a three-times increase in tonnage due to the change o the taxation arrangement to which the Chancellor agreed a few years ago. That has meant that this island nation now has its island fleet back again, which is welcome. However, the system was different from other tax arrangements because it included the condition that there had to be training for officers and crews. There has indeed been extra training for them, but I was disappointed that my union at the time, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, did not take up the training arrangements for all British crew members aboard the ships. In fact, its own training arrangement was set up, which has meant that fewer British seafarers have been involved on the ships. However, we should welcome the fact that the decline of the British merchant fleet that had gone on for decades has been reversed due to another of the Government's successful policies.

In February, the Party of European Socialists issued a political declaration for Europe. Does the Deputy Prime Minister support it?

As the right hon. and learned Gentleman knows, the document was released in February. A great deal of fuss was made that it had not been given a public release, but it was released in February. It is a statement by the socialist parties in Europe on what they feel that the effects of globalisation will be on European policies. They made judgments on the economy, welfare and so on. I note that their judgment on the economy is close to the Maastricht policy introduced by the right hon. and learned Gentleman's previous Administration.

Once again. the Deputy Prime Minister has not answered the question. The document, which was signed by the Minister for Europe in that capacity, calls for new European taxes, a common immigration policy, a single welfare system and the surrender of Britain's seat on the United Nations Security Council. Does that represent Government policy: yes or no?

The right hon. and learned Gentleman does not give a proper interpretation of what was said or, indeed, meant. It is not Government policy, either.

That is quite extraordinary. We have a document, which is signed by the Minister for Europe in that capacity, not any other. I am looking at his signature: "Denis MacShane MP, Minister for Europe". Does he speak for Europe on behalf of the Government or is he out of line? In the latter case, why is he still Minister for Europe? Is not the document Labour's real policy agenda for Europe? Is that not why the Prime Minister has not made a single speech on Europe during the campaign and has, indeed, been the invisible man of the campaign? Is it not now clear that the only way to put Britain first in Europe is to vote Conservative tomorrow?

It may give a lot of heart to the Tory Opposition to pick out a document that we have said does not represent Government policy, but that is all to do with their fear of the United Kingdom Independence party position on withdrawing from the European Union. Why have they suddenly focused so much attention on European policy? It is because their polls tell them that people will not vote Tory but UKIP. That is why it is being said that the right hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard) is not leading his party properly or setting out a proper position on Europe.

"Expecting to renegotiate the EU treaties on our terms is like going to MacDonald's and ordering Lobster Thermidor."

"It would be nice to have it, but it is not on the menu".

My question follows on from that of my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Mr. Prosser). When my right hon. Friend attended the ceremony for the launch of the new Queen Mary, he was right to say that it was a significant day for the revival of the red ensign. However, does he share my concern and that of my constituent who wrote to me to say that he contacted Cunard asking for a job as a British rating on its ships, but was told that it is not employing British ratings? Will my right hon. Friend personally intervene with the companies and the British Chamber of Shipping to ask them to honour their position on the tonnage tax and employ British ratings on their ships?

I must tell my hon. Friend that it is simply not true that the companies are not employing British ratings. When I attended the Queen Mary II launch, I talked to several of them. I also talked to them on the Queen Elizabeth. The companies employ British ratings and I do not know why they say that they do not. My hon. Friend has a deep interest in the subject and I shall take up the matter that he raises but I emphasise that the companies are employing British ratings.

In 1999, the Prime Minister promised that, by 2001, everyone would have access to a national health service dentist. It has now become impossible to register with a national health service dentist in the New Forest. Those who were registered increasingly find themselves deregistered. When will the Government's policies stop making matters worse?

I am well aware of the problem that the hon. Gentleman mentions because I have experienced it. My dentist declared that he was going private and I declared that I could not stay with him. Many of our constituents have faced that problem. As the hon. Gentleman said, each one of us has been confronted with it. However, it is a bit much for him to get up and speak about it when he belonged to the previous Administration, who closed down the dental schools for training dentists, cut back on all such services and believed in a private health service—Conservative Front -Bench Members have made it clear that they want to dismantle the national health service.

The Deputy Prime Minister might know that, in a singular act of compassion, this Labour Government introduced an ex gratia payment scheme for those people in the haemophilia community who have contracted hepatitis C. Sadly, however, it was decided not to include in that scheme the families of the 232 people who have died from hepatitis C. Will the Deputy Prime Minister get together with my eight hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health to see whether we can find the money in this budgetary year to give the families of those 232 people ex gratia payments in line with those being given to the rest of the haemophilia community?

To be honest, I do not know the exact details of the point made by my hon. Friend, but I can give him a promise that I will have a talk, as he suggests. The Chancellor is considering all these expenditures, and I do not know exactly what is being said or done, but one thing that I can promise is that a lot more money is being put into the areas that my hon. Friend is talking about. He has asked a specific question, however, and I shall have a look at this and write to him about it.

I join the Deputy Prime Minister in welcoming yesterday's unanimous United Nations Security Council resolution on Iraq, but I am sure that he would agree that much more needs to b done to rebuild the unity and cohesion of the transatlantic alliance. Will he tell us what specific issues the Prime Minister will try to persuade his European counterparts to rebuild that unity around?

To be honest, I am sure that that will be one of the questions that the Prime Minister will address when he appears before the House on Monday. He will make a statement and that is one of the matters that he can deal with—[Interruption.] Yes, I may well be the Deputy Prime Minister, but I want to be honest with the House and I think that hon. Members would want to hear it from the Prime Minister himself, as he makes these decisions. I try to put these answers as clearly as I can, and I think that honesty is important in politics.

"completely at odds with their experience, which led them to conclude"

In Sheffield over the last four years there has been a fall of more than 16 per cent. in deaths among those under the age of 75, including a fall of more than 23 per cent. in deaths from circulatory disease. Does this not show that Labour's investment in the health service is not only changing people's lives but saving hundreds and thousands of lives across the country? Are these not the kind of statistics that the Opposition would rather we did not talk about?

On of the most pleasing aspects of the amount of resources going into the health service is the changes that are taking place. They take some time, however. The Black report on health showed some time ago that the differential in death and mortality rates between the north and the south was unacceptable. We are trying to correct that by putting greater resources into those areas and I am pleased to hear that that has happened in Sheffield. There is also evidence of it happening in Hull, and I am sure that it is happening elsewhere.

Will the Deputy Prime Minister find time today to pay tribute to the National Neighbourhood Watch Association, which is the UK's largest voluntary movement and is doing first-class work in his constituency and mine? Is he aware, however, that it faces imminent closure, because the Home Office is preventing it from signing a five-year commercial sponsorship agreement? That will be a disaster for tens of thousands of volunteers. Will he consider the issue very carefully? What does he have against this organisation, which prospered under the Tories, just as it appears his own NHS dentist prospered under the Tories?

First, everybody in the House will agree that the neighbourhood watch has been a very successful operation. It involves local decision making and involvement, and it has been good in helping to reduce crime. Alongside that, of course, as the hon. Gentleman will well recognise, there is now a record number of police :in Norfolk—1,500 officers in December 2003. While the neighbourhood watch is very important, so is the number of police, which was reduced under the previous Administration but has been increased by 1,500 officers. In Norfolk alone there are 70 more than in 1997, as well as 34 community support officers, which is an improvement in those programmes. We have seen a reduction in the crime statistics, and that is largely due to the Government's policy in increasing police and, at the same time, the good work of local initiatives in neighbourhood watch.

I am sure that my right hon. Friend shares my concern that many of our indigenous industries are now the victim of employers exploiting cheap labour markets abroad. Just yesterday, an established factory in my constituency, Sara Lee, announced 162 redundancies. What measures are in place to address that situation and, in particular, the situation that affects communities such as a deprived area in my constituency, Port Glasgow, which is suffering from a great many job losses as we speak?

I understand the point that my hon. Friend makes. The first point for me to make is that this Government have been very successful in increasing the number of jobs in Scotland, Wales and England. There are well over 2 million more jobs—a rate that has been considerably increased and something to be welcomed by all that is largely due to the stability in the economy.

If the people of Yorkshire and Humber vote no in the regional assembly referendum in the autumn, can we keep our two-tier local government in North Yorkshire?

We have made it absolutely clear that if the people vote against any changes in the regional referendum, none of the local government organisation changes, as recommended in the referendum, will take place. They can say yes or no; if they say no, there will be no change and things will stay exactly as they are. However, I would ask the hon. Gentleman to talk to the Leader of the Opposition, who has made it clear that even if the vote is successful, he might not necessarily take any notice of it. That is hardly a democratic decision, but it is what I can expect from the Tory Opposition. They should keep working on their leader and at least get some honesty into the politics.

What would my right hon. Friend say to constituents in Crawley who face changes to their emergency services? Despite unprecedented spending on health locally, senior doctors are recommending that those services should change. Will he ensure that I get access at the highest level to discuss this matter?

I understand my hon. Friend's concern and assure her that we are indeed taking this matter very seriously, as is the case with those at local level. I know that the Secretary of State for Health has been in touch with her, and he assures me that he will be very happy to meet her to discuss the matter on any occasion she chooses. He is available to do so. My final point to Members and voters in their constituencies, and the advice I would give them, is vote Labour.

Now that the Deputy Prime Minister proposes to allow the building of 18,000 new houses on green fields in Abington in my constituency, and has already overruled the local authority by allowing Travellers to develop greenfield sites in open country, is it any surprise that the local Labour party is so embarrassed by his actions that tomorrow it is not even contesting seats that it currently holds?

On the factual point, I must tell the hon. Gentleman that in the three northern areas alone, 90-odd per cent. of Labour councillors have been nominated and are fighting these elections, compared with 70-odd per cent. for the Tories.