Chris Ruane: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to deliver my maiden speech on such an important day for Wales, when we are discussing the referendum and a Welsh Assembly. I am a new Member of Parliament in a new seat. It is composed of parts of three former seats—Clwyd, North-West, Clwyd, South-West and Delyn. I pay tribute to my three predecessors: my hon. Friends the Members for...
Chris Ruane: What representations he has received on his reduction in VAT on domestic fuel from 8 per cent. to 5 per cent. [12657]
Chris Ruane: I thank my right hon. Friend for his comments. My constituency, Vale of Clwyd, has the second highest number of pensioners in Wales, and his announcement will go down well there. Does my right hon. Friend have any further proposals to promote warmer homes, such as a reduction in VAT on insulation schemes?
Chris Ruane: Does the hon. Gentleman recognise the damage that the previous Conservative Government did to the rural economy? They presided over it for 18 years, during which there was Alar in the apple industry, anthrax in the pig industry, botulism in the food processing industry, listeria in the dairy industry, salmonella in the poultry industry, E. coli in the meat industry and BSE in the beef...
Chris Ruane: Did the Conservative Government have a mandate, or a two-thirds majority, to change the system of government in Wales from a democracy to a quangocracy?
Chris Ruane: I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, South (Mr. Clarke) on securing this important debate. I should like to relay my experiences from my constituency. In the past seven years, two road projects for bypasses were planned for my area—one for Rhyl and one for Prestatyn. The Rhyl project was to cost £17 million and the Prestatyn one £10 million. The terminology is...
Chris Ruane: I congratulate the right hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) on securing this important debate, on a subject which will affect thousands of people in Wales. The crisis in Welsh farming has a knock-on effect not only in the farming community but throughout the rural community and in many related industries. Before Christmas, I met a delegation of about eight workers involved in the...
Chris Ruane: When the new deal welfare-to-work programme will begin in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [21970]
Chris Ruane: I welcome the £190 million for Wales in the new deal. Does my hon. Friend agree that an attack on poverty—indeed, a war on poverty—is needed in Wales? After 18 years of Tory rule, Wales has the worst housing in Britain, the worst health in Britain and the lowest pay in Britain, as well every fifth household not working.
Chris Ruane: rose—
Chris Ruane: Is my hon. Friend saying that the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) was accountable to the people as Secretary of State for Wales when he refused to sleep a night in Wales? What kind of accountability is that? The man had no connection with Wales and no responsibility towards the Welsh people.
Chris Ruane: What a ray of sunshine.
Chris Ruane: Thank you, Mr. Lord, for the opportunity to speak in the debate. I want to speak on the transfer of ministerial functions to the assembly. I believe that it was the overcentralisation of those functions during the past 18 years that led to the growth of a movement for devolution in Wales. The Tory phenomenon of centralising all power affected not only Wales but the entire United Kingdom....
Chris Ruane: I shall give way in a moment. In complete contrast, we have a Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies), who has worked tirelessly for many years to divest himself of the power that he now has as Secretary of State for Wales. These actions are taken from a position of political strength. We have one of the largest parliamentary majorities that...
Chris Ruane: I have written to Charles Berry, the chief executive of MANWEB, and asked for automatic compensation. The company knows who has been cut off and for how long; customers should be automatically compensated.
Chris Ruane: I wish to address amendment No. 211, which the right hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) has just discussed so vigorously. My grandfather was a Welsh speaker; seven of his children, 35 of his grandchildren and all but one of his 130 great-grandchildren lost the language. The Welsh language has taken a hammering over the past 70 years, but it is making a comeback. I have been learning...
Chris Ruane: The hon. Gentleman mentioned cuts. I was a schoolteacher for 15 years before becoming a Member of Parliament, and there were cuts in education spending for five consecutive years out of the last six. Last year, there was a 6 per cent. cut in Denbighshire, but this year there is an 8 per cent. increase in funding. I have a letter from the director of education outlining where that money is...
Chris Ruane: If he will make a statement on the standards of numeracy and literacy in Welsh schools. [28401]
Chris Ruane: My constituency was one of only three in north Wales to participate in the summer literacy schools initiative. The school that participated was Ysgol Llewelyn in Rhyl. The pupils who attended were seven years old, and their reading and literacy skills were dramatically improved over the summer. Has the Minister any plans to expand the summer literacy schools in Wales?
Chris Ruane: I intend to make only a short speech, based on my personal experience of the area that I come from in north Wales. I welcome new clause 38, which recognises the importance of sustainable development. If the Welsh assembly adopts a strong sustainable development policy, we shall lead the way in the United Kingdom on the issue. Sustainable development is important in all areas of Wales, but...