HC Deb 13 February 1963 vol 671 cc1302-4
32. Mr. Ross

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what further steps he proposes to take to achieve an expanded public works programme in Scotland.

36. Mr. Rankin

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland in view of his responsibilities for dealing with Scottish unemployment, what specific steps he is taking to check the outflow of Scottish workers from Scotland due to lack of jobs.

Mr. Noble

The steps which the Government have taken and are taking were referred to in the Answer which the Prime Minister gave to the hon. Member for Fife, West (Mr. W. Hamilton) yesterday.

Mr. Ross

But surely the Secretary of State appreciates that that was most unsatisfactory because of its vagueness and because it related to what was already being done? Surely there is no part of this country other than Scotland more in need of public works—housing, roads, bridges, hospitals, and so on—so why does the Secretary of State not produce a programme which will be adequate to our needs, especially in view of the present unemployment problem?

Mr. Noble

Because I think that the hon. Member knows that the statement to which he referred stated that further measures would be announced as soon as they were ready. I cannot anticipate these.

Mr. Rankin

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that a week ago, in reply to a Question asked by me, the Prime Minister conferred on him wide responsibilities for unemployment in Scotland? Can the Secretary of State now say in exact terms just what those responsibilities comprehend? Do they take into consideration the tremendous unemployment problem current in Glasgow among school leavers? Has the right hon. Gentleman any responsibilities there and what does he propose to do about that problem?

Mr. Noble

As the hon. Member knows, the situation, which has changed in Scotland, is that an inter-Departmental group has been set up under the general oversight of the Secretary of State. My duties in these things are co-ordination and, perhaps, occasionally to act as a stimulus, but I am not departmentally responsible.

Mr. Manuel

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the circular which he sent to local authorities in connection with public works being undertaken is gravely misleading? Local authorities which have submitted projects have been told that their projects were new and that the circular referred only to projects which would have been accepted anyway under normal circumstances. The circular means that projects are only brought forward in the programme. Is he aware that this was not what local authorities understood to be the position or what the Press conveyed it to be, and that there is grave disappointment because new works will not accrue from the terms of the circular?

Mr. Noble

If the hon. Member will write to me about any particular project he has in mind I will certainly look into it.

Mr. Bence

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that his Department in Edinburgh has already rejected an application by Clydebank County Council for a grant under Section 4 of the Local Employment Act in respect of a piece of local public capital development?

Mr. Noble

I do not think that the scheme as set out ever anticipated that everything which a local authority might ask for would automatically be granted. But, as I have said to his hon. Friend the Member for Central Ayrshire (Mr. Manuel), if he has a point which worries him I hope that he will write to me about it.

Mr. Ross

Is it the intention of the Secretary of State to make a statement related specifically to public works in the near future?

Mr. Noble

It is not my intention now, but it might well happen.

Sir T. Moore

Is my right hon. Friend aware that we in Scotland—[HON. MEMBERS: "We?"]—completely believe in his determined efforts and in what the Government are doing to produce more employment and a better situation generally for the people of Scotland?

Mr. Rankin

The hon. Member for Ayr (Sir T. Moore) did not mean "we" but "he".