Mr Geraint Howells: I am delighted that I have been given the opportunity to debate the future role of the University college of Wales, Aberystwyth. The college has a special place in the hearts of the Welsh people as it was the first college of the university of Wales to be established, in Aberystwyth. The institution was built through the efforts of many dedicated men and women and by the scarce pennies that...
Mr Geraint Howells: May I first congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on taking over this very high office of looking after British agriculture and consumers? I wish him well in his deliberations, and may he be blessed with good health. I pay tribute also to the right hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Mr. Jopling), who has retired from that office, for services rendered to British agriculture. By...
Mr Geraint Howells: Perhaps the Secretary of State is not aware that unemployment in Fishguard is the highest in Wales, at 24·1 per cent. 1 urge the right hon. Gentleman to look at the situation and to report to me in due course on what can be done to try to resolve this problem.
Mr Geraint Howells: asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he is satisfied with the state of the agriculture industry in Wales; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Geraint Howells: Will the Secretary of State give an assurance to Welsh farmers that he will go to Brussels on their behalf to negotiate for an extra allocation of milk quotas for those young farmers in Wales who would like to start dairy farming on their own?
Mr Geraint Howells: As far as I am aware, there are no sugar beet growers in Wales—although there may be a few. Many of us who farm in the Principality, however, are dependent on sugar beet to feed our sheep in the winter. It has proved a very successful method of feeding them during the hard months that we get on the hills. My purpose in taking part in tonight's debate is to support the hon. Member for...
Mr Geraint Howells: Perhaps the hon. Gentleman is not aware that the licensing laws in Wales are different from those in other parts of the United Kingdom. The people of Northern Ireland should have the right to decide for themselves; it should not be done through an order tabled in the House. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman is unaware that, for the past 30 years in Wales, we have had the right to vote every seven...
Mr Geraint Howells: Will the Minister inform the House of the latest developments on the EEC sheepmeat proposals?
Mr Geraint Howells: asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 November.
Mr Geraint Howells: I am sure that the Prime Minister is aware that many children in Wales are taught through the medium of Welsh. Will she give an assurance that our inherited language will have equal status with English in a core curriculum in Wales?
Mr Geraint Howells: I differ in my approach from that of other hon. Members who have spoken. Many people in my constituency and in Wales generally were proud when they were given extra food at the beginning of the new year. That was welcomed by many of the needy and the elderly. However, I should like to express a cautious welcome to the European Community document that we are considering. It is an excellent...
Mr Geraint Howells: It gives me great pleasure to support the orders. We are duty bound to support all our constituents and all the people in various parts of Britain who are facing this problem. I will not pursue what has been said by other Opposition Members. I believe that the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) has said it all. Many of his constituents are involved. He knows all about it and he knows...
Mr Geraint Howells: Is the Minister in a position to tell the House which countries are not willing to toe the line?
Mr Geraint Howells: We are well aware that the young Minister is sincere in his deliberations. He is convincing at times and very persuasive in his approach. I thank him for coming back from Brussels to open this debate and, I hope, to make the winding-up speech. I hope that he will be enlightened by the comments of hon. Members and I wish him the best in his negotiations on his arrival back in Brussels. I am...
Mr Geraint Howells: I take heed of what the hon. Member for Holland with Boston (Sir R. Body) says. I know that he is an anti-Community man, but I admire the way in which he advances his point of view, and I respect what he has just said. The Prime Minister is selling Britain's farming short when she attacks agricultural expenditure in the way she does. Her insistence on seeing a restriction placed on farm...
Mr Geraint Howells: The hon. Member for Southend, East (Mr. Taylor) will have to wait for only a few months to find out what the cuts are. I hope that the set-aside scheme mentioned by the Minister will be sucessful. I wish him well in his negotiations. The only two ways in which we can improve matters, apart from marketing, are to pay farmers for what they produce or to pay them for not producing. The set-aside...
Mr Geraint Howells: Last week we were privileged to debate the Scottish and Welsh orders. I was not surprised when hon. Members on both sides of the House united to support the Government and the orders. We are duty bound tonight —with respect to the hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark)—to support the Government. It is a very serious problem. I am a small hill farmer and have lived in Wales all my...
Mr Geraint Howells: No.
Mr Geraint Howells: No.
Mr Geraint Howells: Is the Minister in a position to inform the House of the latest developments regarding the sheepmeat proposals?