Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Susan Elan Jones and David Jones

Wednesday 9th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jones]

I do not, and of course people living on either side of the border are entitled to comparable standards of care. I am concerned that long waiting times in Wales are affecting not only Welsh patients but, as my hon. Friend said, those in England.

[Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)]

You really would not think the Secretary of State was the son of a north Walian chemist from listening to his answers.

Regardless of which side of the border people live on, obesity is a ticking time bomb in this country. Why do the UK Government not have cross-border talks with the Welsh Government to do something on the issue, rather than constantly talking Wales down? When will they deal with the serious issues?

[Mr Jones]

I am glad to say that when my father was practising, we did not have the type of devolved health care that we are experiencing in Wales at the moment.

The hon. Lady is entirely right—it is necessary that discussions should take place, and they are taking place. I urge her to urge her friends in the Assembly to engage positively with the United Kingdom Government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Susan Elan Jones and David Jones

Wednesday 12th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jones]

I am hugely grateful to the hon. Gentleman for the interest he shows in the Welsh tourism industry. I invite him to visit Wales and see what a competitive product we have there.

[Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)]

11. How many people in Wales benefited from the recent reduction in the additional rate of income tax.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr David Jones)]

Approximately 4,000 people in Wales pay the additional rate of income tax.

[Susan Elan Jones]

I thank the Secretary of State for that brief response. In his maiden speech as a Member of the Welsh Assembly, the right hon. Gentleman said, “We have no tax-raising powers—long may that state of affairs continue.” As someone who supported the Assembly having tax-levying powers in the 1997 referendum, I find that view extraordinary. Surely the reason he now wants income tax to be devolved to Wales is to cut public services and cut taxes for the rich.

[Mr Jones]

Rather than concentrating on what I said in 2002, the hon. Lady ought to listen to what her hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Owen Smith) said only last week. The Labour Government in Wales do not want income tax devolved to Wales, but the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition Government here in Westminster do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Susan Elan Jones and David Jones

Wednesday 20th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jones]

Having spoken to certain other Liberal Democrats, I can say that they are entirely in favour of the proposal. Both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime and Minister are united in wanting to see the road upgraded.

[Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)]

5. When he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to give the Welsh Government borrowing powers.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr David Jones)]

Our detailed response to the Silk Commission’s recommendations, which we published on Monday, confirmed that we will include proposals in a draft Wales Bill to give the Welsh Government borrowing powers. We will publish the draft Bill, for pre-legislative scrutiny, in the current parliamentary Session.

[Susan Elan Jones]

I welcome the fact that, after a year’s wait, we finally have a statement from the Secretary of State, but I would like to press him further, as he speaks of details. When will we know the basis on which the Welsh capital borrowing limits will be calculated? There is a precedent in the Scotland Act. Why will he not just say that he will follow that?

[Mr Jones]

I make no apologies for ensuring that the proposal was properly scrutinised. The package we announced is good for Wales and I am glad that it was welcomed by the Welsh Government, who will have new borrowing powers. The borrowing limit that will apply to those powers will be commensurate with the Welsh Government’s access to independent streams of funding to repay the borrowing they incur. The details will be placed on the face of the draft Bill when it is published.

Commission on Devolution in Wales

Debate between Susan Elan Jones and David Jones

Monday 18th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jones]

My reading of the situation is that the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties will certainly campaign in that way, and I imagine that Plaid Cymru will do so as well. I am not so certain about the Labour party, however, although I hope that it will be bold and ambitious for Wales.

[Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)]

I should like to press the Secretary of State on a detail that seems to have been omitted. Under the Scotland Act 2012, the Scottish Government can borrow up to 10% of their capital budget, up to a maximum stock of £2.2 billion. I believe that the relevant figure for the financial year 2014-15 will be £230 million. Will the formula be the same for the Welsh Government?

[Mr Jones]

We certainly propose to use the Scotland Act as a model, but these matters require further negotiation, and further details will emerge in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Susan Elan Jones and David Jones

Wednesday 9th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)]

8. What assessment he has made of the potential effects on charities in Wales of the provisions of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr David Jones)]

The Government have published impact assessments to accompany the three parts of the Bill. The assessment for part 2, which covers non-party campaigning, evaluates the potential effects of the proposals on third parties in the United Kingdom.

[Susan Elan Jones]

With respect, is not that answer a complete load of nonsense? The Wales Council for Voluntary Action has said that the Government’s proposals are entirely unworkable and undemocratic. Is there any serious charitable or faith group that agrees with the Government on this mess of a Bill?

[Mr Jones]

The hon. Lady is making a point that has already been made, and that argument has now been discounted. She will know that the Government have tabled amendments to the Bill and have now reverted to the wording of the existing legislation, which defines controlled expenditure as expenditure that can

“reasonably be regarded as intended to promote or procure the electoral success of a party or candidate”.

That is precisely the same wording as applied in 2005 and 2010, so her fears are entirely unfounded.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Susan Elan Jones and David Jones

Wednesday 15th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jones]

The reduction in corporation tax will be of immense benefit to Welsh small businesses. The Budget did, of course, announce that the national insurance employment allowance will benefit 35,000 businesses in Wales, with 20,000 of them taken out of paying national insurance contributions altogether.

[Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)]

13. What assessment he has made of the effects of the Government’s policies on the living standards of people in Wales.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr David Jones)]

This Government are committed to supporting those on low and middle incomes and to assisting growth by putting more money in the pockets of ordinary taxpayers. For example, the cumulative effect of this Government’s announced increases to the income tax personal allowance will result in a cash gain of £705 per annum for a typical basic rate taxpayer.

[Susan Elan Jones]

Some 400,000 individuals across Wales will face real-terms cuts in tax credits and benefits at a time when 13,000 millionaires across the UK will get a tax cut. Does the Secretary of State think this is right—yes or no?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Susan Elan Jones and David Jones

Wednesday 27th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)]

11. What recent assessment he has made of the effects of the Government’s economic policies on Wales; and if he will make a statement.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr David Jones)]

Before answering the question, I wish the House dydd gwyl Dewi da or a very happy St David’s day for Friday.

The Government are committed to delivering the plan that has cut the deficit by a quarter and given us record low interest rates and a record number of jobs, benefiting families and businesses in Wales. Moody’s decision to downgrade the UK Government bond rating is a reminder of how important it is to fix the country’s finances and a warning to those who think that we should simply borrow more.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Jones]

The loss of the triple A status is a stark reminder of how important it is to develop sensible policies to fix the economy. I remind the hon. Gentleman that Moody’s recognises that the UK’s creditworthiness remains extremely high and points to the strong track record of fiscal consolidation. Were it not for that, we would be on a negative outlook, rather than a stable one.

[Susan Elan Jones]

I am glad to see that the Secretary of State is reading from a script today. No doubt, he is not trusted to make off-the-cuff comments again. I wish him a dydd gwyl Dewi hapus. What will life be like from April, after dydd gwyl Dewi, for the 170,000 working families who will lose their tax credits thanks to his Government, who prefer to give the money to millionaires?

[Mr Jones]

After April, many more families in Wales will benefit from historically high levels of employment and lower taxes. I remind the hon. Lady that since we came to power, 1.1 million people in Wales are paying less tax and 109,000 people are paying no tax at all.

Elections (National Assembly for Wales)

Debate between Susan Elan Jones and David Jones

Tuesday 3rd July 2012 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr David Jones)]

Mr Hollobone, it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. In the brief time available to me—some 11 minutes—I will do my best to answer many of the questions posed in this debate. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Torfaen (Paul Murphy) on initiating this debate. He was kind enough to say during his remarks that he had considerable respect for me. I must tell him that as a lawyer, I am always suspicious when told that people have respect for me, because the expression “with great respect” is the greatest insult in the legal profession. I believe that the right hon. Gentleman’s compliment was, in fact, meant as a back-handed insult to the Secretary of State for Wales, and that insult was echoed by many Opposition Members. Frankly, the personal nature of their criticism does them little credit.

It is important that the facts are set out clearly on the record. As the right hon. Gentleman will know, although we have had the benefit of a one-and-a-half-hour debate today, the Secretary of State had offered to hold a Grand Committee on the issue. The right hon. Gentleman is an important supporter of the Grand Committee system and, had that offer been accepted, we would have had a three-and-a-half-hour debate yesterday morning. For the life of me, I cannot understand why his party’s Front-Bench representatives refused that offer. The right hon. Gentleman said that it was made on short notice, but as he will know there is little time left in this parliamentary term to hold such a debate. I hope that I am not being unfair to the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Owen Smith), but I think that, had the right hon. Member for Torfaen been in his position, that offer would have been accepted and we would have had a Grand Committee debate yesterday, led by the Secretary of State, and not the attenuated process that we have gone through today.

[Susan Elan Jones]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mr Jones]

I will, but I will not take many interventions, because I have been left with so little time.

[Susan Elan Jones]

Why is the Minister waffling so much? Where is the Secretary of State for Wales?

[Mr Jones]

That was a very helpful intervention. The fact is that, had Opposition Members been willing to turn up on a Monday morning, there would have been a debate yesterday.

[Susan Elan Jones]

Where is she?

[Mr Jones]

The hon. Lady’s personal animosity towards the Secretary of State is well known, so I will not grace her comments with any further response.

This debate is about the Government’s Green Paper on the future electoral arrangements for the National Assembly for Wales, but the Labour party appears to spend most of its time agonising about process. Having hacked through that undergrowth of process, its principal complaint seems to be that it is the Assembly, not Parliament, that should be responsible for determining those electoral arrangements. The position, however, is absolutely clear: this Government can only work within the devolution settlement that was put in place by the Government of Wales Act 2006. That Act was implemented by the Labour party, so it is rather rich that its Members are now complaining about the arrangements that they thought perfectly adequate back in 2006. I witnessed the passage of the Bill through Parliament, and I cannot recall any of those Members suggesting at the time that the arrangements should be anything other than those that we are pursuing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Susan Elan Jones and David Jones

Wednesday 3rd November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)]

10. What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on the future funding and management of S4C.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr David Jones)]

My right hon. Friend and I have had regular meetings with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics Media and Sport and with the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), who is responsible for culture, communications and creative industries, to discuss these matters. The Government remain committed to the future of Welsh language programming and of S4C, and we regard S4C’s settlement as fair and proportionate to the cuts that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is being asked to make.

[Susan Elan Jones]

Does the Minister agree with the leader of the Welsh Conservatives that there should be an independent review of S4C?

[Mr Jones]

The Welsh Conservatives’ proposal is, of course, that S4C should have a good, viable and vibrant future. It is for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to consider whether there should be an inquiry.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Susan Elan Jones and David Jones

Wednesday 8th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Susan Elan Jones (Clwyd South) (Lab)]

7. What recent discussions she has had with the First Minister on the effect on levels of employment in Wales of proposed reductions in public expenditure.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr David Jones)]

My right hon. Friend has regular discussions with the First Minister on a range of topics, including the reductions in public spending necessary to tackle the deficit.

[Susan Elan Jones]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his interesting and brief response. Will he actually answer the question more fully by commenting on the fact that the latest employment outlook survey says that employers in Wales expect to decrease staffing levels in the next few months by 8%, and that the Federation of Small Businesses in Wales has said that

“it’s not surprising that small firms might be planning staff reductions”,

and that is due to major public service cuts? Will he for once speak up for Wales and accept responsibility for the situation that his Government are creating for communities in Wales?

[Mr Jones]

I am glad to see that the hon. Lady recognises the appalling financial legacy of her Government. Under the last Government, unemployment in Wales increased by 60%, from more than 82,000 to 130,000 in the last 10 years. We can restore the Welsh economy and return life to it only by allowing the private sector to grow. On that basis, we have introduced measures, such as the national insurance holiday, that will stimulate significantly the private sector in Wales. Wales cannot rely on the public sector alone.