Dr Alan Williams: Although I agree with the right hon. Gentleman about NHS resources—I am delighted that substantial extra resources will be provided during the next three years—I am surprised that he thinks that fundamental reform is not needed. Is he happy about the fact that part-time consultants in the NHS, especially orthopaedic surgeons, have long waiting lists and that people have to wait perhaps a...
Dr Alan Williams: Can we be certain about the cause of the contamination? Was it a case of inadvertent mixing of GM and non-GM seeds, or was it pollination from a distance of 800 m? If it was such pollination, there are serious questions about what are safe distances. There is a fundamental biological question. If the cause of the contamination was pollination, how could a sterile crop pollinate at 800 m?
Dr Alan Williams: On the dairy sector, my right hon. Friend mentioned the lifting of the cap on the over-30 months scheme. What is the latest position on that in negotiations with Brussels, and when will it be implemented?
Dr Alan Williams: What measures the Government are taking to raise the economic activity rate for men aged 50 to 65 years. [119620]
Dr Alan Williams: Does my right hon. Friend agree that an ethos has developed over the past 20 years which resulted in people over 50—many of whom voluntarily took early redundancy—feeling that they were on the scrap heap, but that that has now changed? As we approach full employment, the skills, expertise and extra output of those people is needed. Indeed, the income that they can bring is needed in many...
Dr Alan Williams: I welcome the addition last night of new clause 1 to the Postal Services Bill, which will provide possible financial support for post offices when they move to automated credit transfer. It will provide an important safety net, especially for rural post offices. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that, in his discussions with the First Secretary, the Welsh Assembly is fully involved in drafting...
Dr Alan Williams: The South Wales area of NACODS—the National Association of Colliery Overmen, Deputies and Shotfirers—has a similar levy of 5 per cent. of the eventual award, or 10 per cent. in the case of lapsed members. In one case, there is a claim of £7,250 from a member's compensation.
Dr Alan Williams: If he will make a statement on the level of child poverty in Wales. [114271]
Dr Alan Williams: Does my hon. Friend welcome the increase announced in yesterday's Budget of 20 per cent. in the children's tax credit, which is part of the working families tax credit? The children's tax credit has been raised by £4.35 to £25.16 a week. Is not that an excellent way to tackle child poverty, and make work pay?
Dr Alan Williams: At last, we have heard a 10-minute speech, and I shall try to keep my speech to that length to allow other hon. Members to take part. I very much welcome the announcements in the Budget. I have listened to four or five hours of speeches and many comments from Opposition Members, including from Liberal Democrats, have been very grudging, nitpicking and mean-minded. My right hon. Friend the...
Dr Alan Williams: No, I will not because others want to speak. We have a high pound-weak euro paradox. Those factors are different sides of the same coin. One of the problems with the weak euro is that it makes membership of the euro almost impossible at present exchange rates—membership is not on the horizon. When I hear the Chancellor, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and the Prime Minister...
Dr Alan Williams: I find the hon. Gentleman's comments on pensions and health extraordinarily grudging. We are talking about £2 billion on a budget of £40 billion. There is an extra 4 per cent., when the Budget this year is 5 per cent. up in real terms on last year. Cannot the hon. Gentleman find it in the bottom of his heart to give the Labour Government credit for doing something right?
Dr Alan Williams: Does the right hon. Gentleman remember the last year of the Conservative Government? How large was the public sector borrowing requirement? It was some £28 billion, or about 3.5 per cent. of GDP. If the Conservatives had been returned and if they had had a policy to balance the books at any stage, that 35.3 per cent. tax burden would have implied an increase of 3.5 per cent.
Dr Alan Williams: The hon. Gentleman skated over that point quickly. Has he made an estimate of the cost implications of the Bill? I guess that the cost will be in the region of £100 million. If so, would it not be a good use for part of the money from the climate change levy?
Dr Alan Williams: What is his Department's estimate of the percentage of people who are entitled to disability living allowance but do not claim it. [111850]
Dr Alan Williams: Is it not disappointing that only about half those entitled are claiming DLA? Should not the Government consider introducing a publicity campaign, as they are for the minimum income guarantee for pensioners, to help these mainly elderly people to claim attendance allowance and the mobility and care components?
Dr Alan Williams: The hon. Gentleman is scaremongering.
Dr Alan Williams: I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way having drawn me into intervening. Will he engage in some joined-up thinking? Earlier he referred to bank closures in Blaenau Ffestiniog and Harlech, and, of course, we regret that when it happens. However, does he not realise that the Post Office will have a great opportunity to develop banking services? The Government are working hard, through the...
Dr Alan Williams: Not true.
Dr Alan Williams: I should like to quote to my right hon. Friend the following words of my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan): The Commission has confirmed that it does not intend to block the single programming document until the spending review is completed later in the summer. Therefore, the Commission is quite willing to wait until July.