Health

Hywel Williams Excerpts

Monday 9th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Hywel Williams (Arfon) (PC)]

As a Plaid Cymru MP, it is something of a problem to respond to the Queen’s Speech on health matters, not only because it contained little about health in the first place but because health is largely devolved. Some time ago, when Alan Milburn was Health Secretary, I asked him about nurses’ pay, and he responded that he was eternally glad that he had no responsibility for things Welsh. He was wrong at the time, but now nurses’ pay is devolved. That is the measure of the problem that I face.

On the whole, the content of the Queen’s Speech was rather thin, with little attention given to the growing challenges we face of rising inequality, regional disparities, and an economic recovery that is built on fairly precarious foundations. The impacts and consequences for Wales are fairly obvious because of our higher rates of sickness and disability, higher proportion of older people, and greater needs in respect of poverty. Hon. Members may have seen today’s report on child poverty, which paints an alarming picture and casts doubt on the Government’s ability to reach the 2020 target of eradicating it. I think that that is now beyond reach, unfortunately.

Given the nature of the Queen’s Speech, I fear that the coming year will be a matter of treading water. For Wales, we have the continuation of the Wales Bill, but we also have missed opportunities. There are matters of particular concern to Wales, not least the funding of the Welsh Government. I also fear that we will see further dismantling of the principles of the welfare state, dismantling of public services, and a failure to address the deep structural economic weaknesses that we have, with a recovery that is driven by an increase in personal debt and spiralling house prices in the south-east and in London, and continues, I am afraid, the UK’s long-term imbalance that has devastated the economy in Wales, in parts of England, and indeed in Scotland.

Plaid Cymru put forward an alternative Queen’s Speech with Bills that we would have liked to be included. The Bills have principles central to Plaid Cymru’s vision for Wales, which is built on equality, prosperity for all, and social justice. We have 10 ambitious and workable Bills founded on strengthening Wales’ economic position and its position in terms of democracy, and on improving the lives of our people, not least in respect of health outcomes.

When the pension tax Bill is before the House, we will call for proper consumer protection for people who will have large pots of money at their disposal, as the sharks are already circling. We are extremely glad that the Government are introducing the modern slavery Bill. We also welcome the legislation to strengthen the law in relation to child neglect and organised crime.

We particularly welcome the Bill to strengthen the complaints procedures for the armed forces. We have campaigned for a very long time on veterans’ issues, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder. We support the proposed measure and hope it will prevent ex-service people from suffering mental distress and psychiatric conditions, which have resulted in so many of them ending up in the prison system.

Other Bills are appealing at first glance. A case in point is the heroism Bill, which seems likely to garner good headlines in certain sections of the press, but I share the TUC’s fear that it will have a bad effect on health and safety legislation and working conditions in particularly dangerous industries.

Turning briefly to our own propositions, we would have liked an economic fairness Bill aimed at levelling up the growing wealth inequalities that exist on both an individual and geographical basis in the UK, which is the most unequal state in the European Union. Such a Bill would mirror that part of the German constitution that commits to regional equalisation and prioritises poorer areas for infrastructure and foreign direct investment.

We would also have liked a Bill to ensure that Wales is fairly funded on the basis of need. It is a long-standing complaint that Wales is underfunded to the tune of £300 million to £400 million, as identified by the independent Holtham commission. Every year, Wales loses that amount of money. The cumulative total has had a clear, bad effect on our economy and it is an ongoing injustice. More than that, it actually constrains the Welsh Government and what they can achieve, forcing them to choose between essential spending on health, education, economic development and many other desirable targets of expenditure. The effects of underfunding are seen throughout Wales, not least in our health service, but on this issue the coalition Government in London are deeply compromised as they chastise the Welsh Government for their undoubted failings in health, while at the same time denying them the resources and means to address those failings.

We were greatly disappointed, though perhaps not surprised, that the Government botched the chance to end zero-hours contracts, particularly in the care sector. We would have liked an employment rights Bill to adopt measures to protect and empower workers.

I will catalogue the other measures we would have liked to see, including a natural resources Bill transferring responsibility for all of Wales’s natural resources from the Crown Estate and Westminster to Wales. We would also have liked more direct support for the tourism and hospitality industry and, lastly, a Welsh-language provision Bill to strengthen the requirements to provide services in Welsh, particularly by private organisations working without Wales into Wales. In respect of this debate, I point specifically to private organisations providing health care in England.