Welsh Affairs

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 7:26 pm on 29 February 1996.

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Photo of Dr Alan Williams Dr Alan Williams , Carmarthen 7:26, 29 February 1996

Absolutely. There is a problem for all schools in finding people who are willing to be governors. If there is a positive pattern of growth, expansion and investment for the future, and at the same time the creation of a better atmosphere and better opportunities for children, everyone will want to be part of it. When there is regular cost cutting and it is necessary to choose areas in which to impose cuts, the role is distressing and governors become pessimistic.

Tregib comprehensive school is near Llandeilo. A governor set out the options that face the school, which are the loss of four teachers, a reduction in the choice of subjects, reduced support for special needs, increased class sizes and a threat to peripatetic teachers.

Llanarthne primary school has 58 pupils. It will have 2.8 teachers instead of 3.0 teachers. It is a three-class, rural primary school and for one teacher there will be only a four-day-a-week salary. The way in which the cuts will have to be met can be described only as incredible.

The cuts that I have described will damage children's futures. Given that they will be imposed in addition to the cuts of previous years, it is clear that education is not safe in Conservative hands. Equally, it is apparent that our children's futures are not safe in the Government's hands.

My hon. Friend the hon. Member for Pembroke (Mr. Ainger) has done enormous work over the past two weeks in response to the Sea Empress disaster. My constituency is the next one up, as it were, and the oil slick is affecting Carmarthen bay and Pendine sands. It will have an effect on the tourism industry in my constituency.

I was brought up in Dyfed. I saw the oil industry develop during my early years in the 1960s and 1970s in Milford Haven. It is a natural deep-water harbour. There was concern about the development in the 1960s because it was taking place in a rich environment. We were reassured, however, that with modern technology there would not be major disasters. We were told that there would be occasional oil spills, but that with booms and recovery equipment the spills would be controllable.

The record of the 1970s and 1980s was relatively good. It is surprising, however, that the international transport of oil has had a worsening safety record over the past 10 years when all other forms of transport have had improving records. Numbers of road transport accidents and deaths fall year by year. The safety record of air transport is improving. There are only a few rail transport incidents. I do not understand why the record of oceanic transportation of oil is becoming worse.

I appreciate, of course, that there are international problems. We have flags of convenience and Russian crews, for example. I do not understand why we cannot formulate better international regulations and arrive at better co-operation so that, for example, when a vessel is in British waters at least one person on board can speak English. That was one of the recommendations of the Donaldson report. Indeed, that seems elementary.

With modern navigation aids, how did the Sea Empress disaster happen? I understand that the latest radar equipment was not functional for the past six months. As the disaster took place at low tide, or as the tide was going out, was it an example of cost cutting on the part of the tanker's captain? Was he trying to get into port rather than wait for the next high tide, which would have been six hours later? Was he in a short-cut manoeuvre in working against the clock? My third question—