This is a welcome opportunity for me to do two things. First, I pay tribute to the men and women throughout Wales who, through their voluntary efforts, provide comfort and solace for the terminally ill: I applaud them all. Secondly, I urge the Government to recognise that more than they do now.

Facing death is the greatest trauma that we all experience. It takes great courage and strength of character, and the human spirit has tremendous reserves of both. The trauma affects not only the patient, but members of the family, arid none of us responds in the same way; but the psychological effects of terminal illness are often as great as the illness itself. The level of support that is required, in both the medical and the general sense, is enormous.

The commitment shown by so many people to the terminally ill is ample testimony to the way in which society embraces those who need the service that I am describing. I am sure that every hon. Member will have seen the remarkable way in which families are enveloped by a genuine outpouring of love and affection from their friends and relatives. Without such support, many people simply would not survive the trauma.

I have witnessed at first hand the way families seek to cope with terminal illness—indeed, not only the illness itself, but impending death—and it has had a profound effect upon me. But only those who have had the experience themselves are fully qualified to speak of its effect. My own mother cared for my father for four years. He had suffered a debilitating stroke that left him paralysed on one side and caused the loss of speech. My mother saw him gradually deteriorate in health until his passing away was only a matter of time. Although he was my father, I know that the effect on my mother was considerably greater. A fairly close family friend died 12 months ago. I know the effect that the illness and death in that case had on his young wife and young family.

It is for all these reasons that, tonight, I applaud all those who work in a voluntary capacity in the hospice movement in Wales. I am associated in a very small way with the Hospice at Home movement in Gwynedd. It was set up in 1989, and to date about £140,000 has been collected. The movement hopes to be able to appoint its first nurse in the coming spring. The public response in the county has been quite magnificent, and I take this opportunity to congratulate the organisers of the appeal and those who have made contributions.

In preparation for this debate, I was in touch with a number of other hospice movements in Wales. They have all called for Government funding and support. They include the Terminal Care Fund for the Provision of Hospice Care, in South Clwyd; the George Thomas Centre for Hospice Care, in Cardiff; the St. David Foundation, in Newport; and the Ty Olwen Continuing Care Unit, in Swansea.

The need for such facilities is obvious. In 1987, 815 out of the 3,082 deaths recorded in Gwynedd were due to cancer. Regrettably, the health service is not in a position to provide full care for the terminally ill in the county. The aim of the Hospice at Home movement is to provide adequate care and support for every progressive cancer patient in Gwynedd and, therefore, for every family that has to cope with this problem. The movement tries to ensure that patients may end their days in peace and comfort, free from pain so far as possible, and usually—and, in many cases, preferably—at home.

The service hopes, when operational, to control distressing symptoms, to attempt to meet the personal arid emotional needs of patients, and to provide support arid help to relatives, both during the illness and into bereavement. Skilled care will be provided, in full co-operation with the health service, through the work of trained nurses and other specialised staff and volunteers.

The only national health service hospice in Wales is the Ty Olwen house in Swansea, which was built as a result of a combination of community fund raising, help from the National Society for Cancer Relief, and assistance from the West Glamorgan health authority. I am pleased to say that that hospice is about to open an extension costing £750,000, every penny of which was raised through voluntary contribution. Again I say to the members of the public in West Glamorgan what a wonderful achievement that was.

When I examined the level of Government support for the hospice movement in the United Kingdom, I found that, in previous years, money had been made available in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but not in Wales. According to Department of Health press releases, sums of £8 million and £17 million were allocated in 1990–91 and 1991–92 respectively—a total of £25 million over two years. I have also had an opportunity to read the exchanges that took place in the House yesterday during Health questions, confirming that those were the figures.

It is useful to quote from the Department's press release to show the level of support that the Department feels is necessary for the hospice movement in England: the funds were to help health authorities move towards `pound for pound' or 50 per cent. funding of voluntary hospice services. The commitment to move towards 'pound for pound' funding in England copies what already prevails in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is a commitment repeated by Mrs. Bottomley and by Government spokesmen in the House of Lords. The press release goes on: A major reason for the £8 million allocation was surely to make hospices less dependent on charity funds, and not to maintain that charity dependency. Fund raising is an increasingly tough and competitive activity which draws greater and greater energy from senior hospice staff. The future of hospices and of hospice care cannot be secured by charity.

The Minister of State has made the critical and central point that the commitment to greater NHS funding is to allow voluntary hospices to plan with confidence and on a more stable basis. Indeed, in her written reply to Mr. Baldry of 15 December 1989, Mrs. Bottomley said that the objective of pound for pound funding for hospices would 'provide a clear basis on which to plan ahead.' This can only occur if the additional funds are used to shift the balance of hospice funding from charity and towards the NHS. In Scotland the funding for the current year is given on the basis of 50 per cent. of the running costs of the hospice provision—in other words, pound-for-pound funding. That principle is likely to be followed in future years. So, as of tonight, we have pound-for-pound funding in Scotland and Northern Ireland and they are moving towards it in England. Thus, it was a matter of concern that we had to wait so long for an announcement in Wales. All other countries were ahead of us in funding. The Under-Secretary will be aware that I and many other hon. Members have pressed the Government for action on a number of occasions.

Shortly after I became involved with the Hospice at Home movement in Gwynedd, I wrote to the then Secretary of State for Wales, the right hon. Member for Worcester (Mr. Walker), on 19 February 1990, asking him when an announcement would be made. He replied on 9 March that consideration was being given to making financial assistance available. Shortly afterwards, I asked a question in the House and was given a fairly similar reply. I wrote to the present Secretary of State for Wales on 20 September, and in reply he quoted the then Under-Secretary's letter to the Hospice at Home movement in Wales stating that an announcement would be made as soon as possible.

It was therefore some relief that an announcement was made by the Secretary of State on 24 January this year. Many hon. Members are entitled to claim just a little credit for that announcement. The £1 million that was made available is to be distributed among the health authority areas in Wales. Let me make it clear to the Under-Secretary that that allocation is welcome. However, I hope that he will understand when we say that we expect that sum to be increased.

When the Under-Secretary replies, I hope that he will address his attention to the fact that there is no mention in the press release of a commitment to pound-for-pound funding for Wales. I repeat that that already exists in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and it is on the cards in England. We are entitled to ask the Under-Secretary to tell us whether it is his intention to have a similar system in Wales. The present allocation will help, but much more is needed.

I ask the Under-Secretary to tell us that we can move towards pound-for-pound funding, which, more than anything, would encourage and recognise those who are providing such a valuable service in Wales and elsewhere.