HC Deb 18 March 1964 vol 691 cc1547-56

Motion made, and Question proposed,

That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Finlay.]

11.30 p.m.

Mr. J. B. Symonds (Whitehaven)

I raise once again the question of unemployment in Cumberland. It is not the first time this matter has been brought before this House. We have been asking over the last two years for something to be done in Cumberland. In the Whitehaven, Cleater Moor, Workington, and Maryport area we still have an average of 4.8 per cent. of unemployed, while the remainder of Cumberland has an average of between 2.2 per cent. and 2.4 per cent.

We have had promises of work to be brought to Cumberland. We have had promises that this will be done and that that will be done. It is some 12 months since the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade, after meeting a deputation, promised that something would be done in the best interests of our people in Cumberland to alleviate the unemployment there. We were told in 1962 that we would have 350 jobs within a period of two years. Furthermore, we have been told that there is a possibility that that will go up to a figure of 500 by 1965. I am very sorry to say that we have not seen any of these promises fructify. I am wondering whether we shall have this figure of 4.8 per cent. reduced. I believe that it is just to be promise, promise, promise, but nothing done.

I well remember asking the Minister of Labour himself to try to put our boys and girls in that area, particularly in Whitehaven and Cleate Moor, into jobs. The reply I got from the Minister on 18th November, 1963, was that the area is scheduled as a development district and the Youth Employment Service will continue to do all it can to help unemployed boys and girls to find a job. I am very much afraid that the effort which has been made has certainly done very little to get employment for the young boys and girls.

I have put down Questions for answer by the President of the Board of Trade. A reply I got was that in view of all the circumstances none of the companies which have been wanting to develop or extend have gone to Cumberland, West Cumberland in particular, since any of the meetings last year. I have also approached the Minister for Science, and the Minister for Science sent me word to the effect that, as far as employment of personnel was concerned, the plant would have to be run down to find its normal level. At the same time no alternative was suggested by him for the purpose of bringing fresh employment to the area for the men displaced.

I quote a statement of the Parliamentary Secretary of more than 12 months ago when I raised this question: I understand from the Authority that changes in the military programme will cause a small reduction in staff required at Windscale and Calder. … There is no question in present circumstances of changes on the scale of those at Caponhurst. Although redundancies in operational staff are not likely, the same cannot be said about constructional workers, many of whom may be discharged in the near future."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 29th January, 1963; Vol. 670. c. 905–6.] That is an admission that men would be discharged, but nothing has been done to find alternative employment for them.

I have already been told that there is a likelihood of the Government making a decision about nuclear power stations for the purpose of producing electricity in this country. We have the "know-how" at Windscale and Calder Halt, but I have read of the possibility of a reactor coming from America or Canada, to be assembled in this country. It is a crying shame. Our men at Calder Hall, Capenhurst, Dounrea and such places have the ability to erect the plant, and electricity can be produced by our present type of reactor as cheaply as it can be produced by any American reactor. The only advantage is a slight cheapness in the cost of the American reactor.

Are British men to be denied the right of employment on the erection of the plant merely because the American reactor can be produced a little more cheaply? Surely our brains and ability are equal to those in America. A figure of 4,000 unemployed in Cumberland is very large. On average, they are being paid £5 a week—a total of £20,000—in unemployment benefit. Almost £1 million is spent in a year in unemployment benefit. Surely the Government can think of something better than spending £1 million in unemployment pay to our people in Cumberland.

I suggest that advance factories should be built. Let us ask the local authorities to submit schemes for the clearance of sites, instead of paying unemployment benefit to these men. We would then do something to provide jobs and give these men something to look forward to. I feel that our men will not stand the strain of signing on at the labour exchange much longer.

Other schemes of work have been submitted. As an illustration, there is the raising of the Ennerdale Lake, which will give employment for a large number of men in the area. I hope that the Minister of Transport will consider the A.5 and A.85. Provision has been made for half of that work to be undertaken. I hope the Minister will say that the 4½ miles of that road can be completed in order to give employment to the men in that area.

In the Adjournment debate last year on employment in West Cumberland the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade said: Few industrial areas have such a glorious hinterland. Nor does it suffer from overcrowding. The hell of the rush hour does not affect West Cumberland greatly."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 29th January, 1963; Vol. 670, c. 908.] Indeed, we have a grand place there. We have beautiful lakes which attract thousands of visitors. But what does the Minister of Transport do? He closes the railway line between Keswick and Carlisle, and he is proposing also to close the line between Workington and Keswick. The advertisements and the posters at the railway stations say "Visit the Lake District by train." Yet the Minister of Transport is cutting out the service which would bring people into the area to see the Lake District. If the railways are closed, it will mean that more men will be put out of work.

My hon. Friend the Member for Workington (Mr. Peart) is also concerned about this matter and wishes to say a few words about another project relating to employment in the area. I hope that the Parliamentary Secretary will be factual in telling us about projects, and that they will be projects which will give the men in Cumberland confidence that they will secure permanent jobs.

11.41 p.m.

Mr. Frederick Peart (Workington)

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven (Mr. Symonds) on raising this subject, which is of great concern not only to his constituency but to mine and to that of the Parliamentary Secretary, and also that of the hon. Member for Westmorland (Mr. Vane), who has a special interest in the future of our area.

I want the Parliamentary Secretary to know that we are anxious that Cumberland's case should be put. I hope that he will use. his influence to ensure that a deputation from the Cumberland Development Council will be received by his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry and Trade. The application for the deputation was made some time ago; as yet we are not certain what the Minister has in mind, but the Council would like to meet him. After all, if we are thinking in terms of development, those on the spot ought to be consulted. I trust that the Parliamentary Secretary will make the necessary representations through his own Minister or directly to the Secretary of State for Industry and Trade.

The development of the reactor at Windscale is of major importance, and that the Parliamentary Secretary should consult the Minister for Science and others who are responsible for this matter. We are anxious that the area should be considered for development. We have tremendous assets. West Cumberland and Cumberland generally have much to offer industrialists. There are the amenities of the Lake District. West Cumberland fringes perhaps the most beautiful part of the British Isles, and this in itself is an attraction for executives and management who wish to go there. Our people are gifted, kindly and hospitable. The industries which have gone there have been favourably received. The industrialists who have gone there have had a wonderful welcome, and many are now rooted in the area. Labour relations are good, on average better than in most parts of the country.

We are not pleading for industry to come there. We are merely telling industry and the Government that, for all the reasons which I have mentioned, "Here is an area which has great assets. Let us use them." For these reasons I am glad that an announcement was made by the Secretary of State the other day about the development of a factory in my constituency. I know that it will be welcomed in the area and that the industry will not regret it.

But there is something much more important. We must be concerned about communications generally in the area. That is why I was pleased that we had the announcement of the Leeming Plan, if I may call it that. I have had detailed communications with the Development Council and with Mr. Leeming himself about the report on the alternative water supply for Manchester. There was an excellent article in the Economist on 7th March. I do not always praise the Economist but it often gives very sound advice.

The article, on the proposed North-West barrage, was admirable although I cannot go into detail tonight. I have consulted my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and my hon. Friend the Member for Barrow-in-Furness (Mr. Monslow) and the hon. Member for Westmorland and generally we think that the barrage could be the answer to the area's problems.

It is an imaginative scheme. We would have a development of the south part of Cumberland, fringing North Lancashire, and then we could have a major road development also affecting Morecambe, a coastal motorway up to Whitehaven, Workington, and then to Dumfries via some new development on the Solway Firth.

This could be the answer to the development of the area. New towns could be created and the whole area would be reinvigorated. I hope that the Parliamentary Secretary, apart from his responsibility for labour matters, will bear in mind that many of us feel that this sort of development is the solution to the problems of the North-West. I know that he will carefully consider the implications and convey to his right hon. Friend how we in the area, of all parties and all sections of the community, are anxious for careful consideration of this plan. There may be technical difficulties but here is something which could revitalise the area, create increased prosperity and offer a splendid future.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this subject. In the time at my disposal I have only been able to sketch the principles. I trust that the Parliamentary Secretary will give a favourable reply and that the viewpoints expressed tonight will be conveyed to his right hon. Friend and to other Ministers responsible.

11.48 p.m.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour (Mr. William Whitelaw)

The hon. Member for Whitehaven (Mr. Symonds) has raised a subject in which, as he knows, I have a special constituency as well as a Ministerial interest. I am very glad that both he and the hon. Member for Workington (Mr. Peart) spoke about the problems of Cumberland as a whole because I feel strongly that we in Cumberland must not allow the undoubted geographical differences to divide our consideration of the problems under the headings of West Cumberland on the one hand and the rest of Cumberland on the other.

We are supported in this view by the Cumberland Development Council which rightly seeks to promote employment throughout the whole county. I have noted what the hon. Member for Workington said about the deputation. I think I am right in saying that on his recent visit to West Cumberland my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry and Trade met the Council. However, I will bring what the hon. Member has said to his attention.

I first want to set out the employment position for the whole of Cumberland and also to refer to some of the particular problems that have been raised. Cumberland, as all hon. Members present appreciate, is an area where the proportion of employees in agriculture and mining is above the national average while the proportion in manufacturing industry is below it. None the less, there have been significant changes in the composition of the labour force in Cumberland in recent years. Numbers employed in manufacturing and service industries have increased, more than compensating for the decline in agriculture and mining employment. As a result, the total number employed in Cumberland went up from 105,000 in 1952 to more than 113,000 in 1962—an increase of 7.7 per cent. in 10 years.

The total number of unemployed in Cumberland in mid-February this year was 3,911, giving an unemployment rate of 3.4 per cent. In the areas of both the Whitehaven and the Workington groups of employment exchanges the unemployment percentage was above the county average. In the Whitehaven area, which includes Cleator Moor, it was 4.8 per cent. In the Workington area, including Aspatria, Cockermouth and Maryport, it was 4.3 per cent. On the other hand, the rate for Carlisle and Brampton was 2.6 per cent., for Wigton 3.2 per cent., for Keswick 2.3 per cent., for Millom 2.9 per cent., and for Penrith 1.8 per cent.

There were 129 boys and 151 girls unemployed in Cumberland on 10th February, while on the same date there were 197 vacancies for boys and 174 vacancies for girls. That gives a very good answer to the hon. Member for Whitehaven's point about youth employment. These figures make it clear that that unemployment problems among young people now relate mainly to individual cases, and there is no doubt that there are reasonable prospects of placing the Easter school leavers. I hope that these figures put into perspective the nature and extent of the unemploy- ment problems with which we are faced in Cumberland.

Taken as a whole, the county's main handicap as an employment area is its isolation and remoteness. This merely underlines the need for good communications, in particular for good roads. Industrialists in the area want improved roads and so also this is far the most important factor in attracting new industries to the area. The main plan for the future is to extend the M.6 motorway north from Lancaster and by-pass Penrith and Carlisle. West Cumberland will be linked to this new motorway. I noted what the hon. Member for Workington said about Mr. Leeming's plan, I can tell him that I, too, have received this plan in my private constituency capacity. Clearly, I cannot speak as a private Member in this debate, so it will be right for me merely to assure the hon. Member for Workington that my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport will certainly consider its implications.

In the meantime, I ought to refer to the considerable amount of work being carried out on existing roads in order to improve access, particularly to West Cumberland. For example, grants have been made to the Cumberland County Council towards the cost of by-passes at Portinscale and Threkeld on A.594 and Bolton Low Houses on A.595. Work is shortly to begin on extending the improvement on A.594 from the Portinscale by-pass to Braithwaite and the highway authority plans to continue the major improvement on A.595 from Cockermouth to Brigham.

I now turn to the Whitehaven and Workington areas where the main employment problem lies. Today, we hear a great deal about the need to change the industrial structure of particular areas through the introduction of new industries to replace the jobs lost in those which have declined. Although I accept at once that more needs to be done, a comparison of West Cumberland today with its position before the war reveals a remarkable transformation in this respect. The change in the industrial structure occurring in many other areas now has already taken place to a large extent in West Cumberland.

In recent years a number of firms, mostly of modest size, have established themselves successfully and are increasing their labour forces, and I should like to emphasise in this respect that firms of this sort are very valuable in some of the country towns in rural areas Much of this latter development has been based on the three Board of Trade Industrial Estates, Solway, Salterbeck and Hensingham. In particular employment on the Solway Estate has expanded considerably in recent years. Now an advance factory of 10,000 square feet has been built at Workington and is ready for occupation. I am glad to say that some interest has been shown in it. But as yet no firm application has been received.

But while new industries are introduced, the vital importance of existing and more traditional industries must never be forgotten. In the last year or two the fall in the demand for products from the Workington Iron and Steel Company and Distington Engineering Company has reminded us forcibly how much employment in the Workington area depends on their prosperity.

The Whitehaven and Workington areas are listed as development districts, and so they enjoy the full facilities of the Local Employment Acts of 1960 and 1963 and of the free depreciation allowances given in last year's Budget. Assistance to industry in development districts in Cumberland under these Acts in the period April, 1960, to February, 1964, has totalled £699,000. There have been 35 applications for standard grants under the Local Employment Act 1963 from 25 firms. As a result of these various measures new jobs will be brought into the area both through the introduction of new firms and the expansion of some firms already there.

In this connection I am glad to support what was said by the hon. Member for Workington about the encouraging announcement in The Times that Thames Board Mills are thinking of setting up a large wood pulp and packaging board factory at Workington which would employ up to 500 people by 1966. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry and Trade has said that the Board of Trade would be able to give "valuable help" in the establishment of such a factory.

For the longer term, Cumberland has been included in the area for the North-West Study which was announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry and Trade on 2nd March. Therefore, I can assure the hon. Member for Workington that there will be a detailed consideration of the County's requirements upon which plans can be based.

In replying to the hon. Gentleman I have endeavoured to put Cumberland's employment position in perspective and to set out what has been done, what the Government are doing and plan to do to improve the County's prospects.

What I have said proves conclusively that even if Cumberland is somewhat isolated and remote from the main industrial centres, it is certainly not being forgotten or neglected by the Government.

Question put and agreed to.

Adjourned accordingly at two minutes to Twelve o'clock.