HC Deb 26 May 1965 vol 713 cc603-4
27. Mr. David Steel

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why the April meeting of the Scottish Planning Council did not have placed before it the study of the Borders.

Mr. Ross

Because this would have been premature. As the hon. Member may be aware, the Council had both this study and the corresponding study of South-West Scotland before them at its meeting on 14th May.

Mr. Steel

Does the right hon. Gentleman recall that at a public meeting in my constituency in the course of the by-election he gave a pledge, which had considerable publicity in the newspapers, that this study would be placed before the next meeting of the Council?

Mr. Ross

I expressed that hope, but it was not realised. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."] It was premature because it was far better to take the two together rather than this one in isolation, but I am perfectly sure that the hon. Member appreciates exactly how this kind of thing can arise.

Mr. Manuel

Is my right hon. Friend aware that some of us on this side of the House, at any rate, fully support the line which he is taking in this matter? Is he aware that if there were early publica- tion of studies it could create great disappointment in the Borders and that it far better that this matter should go before the Economic Development Council where definite decisions can be taken about industrial development in that area?

Mr. Ross

I think that my hon. Friend is quite right. What hon. Members opposite cannot get away from is the parochial and inconsistent isolation of constituency problems so that they might look at Scotland as a whole and get coherent policies.

Mr. Noble

But will not the right hon. Gentleman agree that what people on this side of the House and in Scotland are increasingly wondering about is what the right hon. Gentleman is doing, apart from what he is saying?

Mr. Ross

I draw the right hon. Gentleman's attention to the fact that unemployment figures are lower than they have ever been for this time of the year. If he and his Government had come back, we should have had the same experience as we had after previous victorious Tory election campaigns, a credit squeeze leading immediately to a rise in unemployment in Scotland. The expansion in Scotland is still going ahead.

Mr. Noble

Does not the Secretary of State realise that the only reason why employment continues to rise in Scotland, in spite of, probably, the worst credit squeeze ever, and in spite of a 7 per cent. Bank Rate, is the action we took? What has he done?

Mr. Ross

The right hon. Gentleman has not been long in the House. I ask him to look at what happened under Tory policies after previous elections. The place that suffered most was Scotland, and, after the 1959 election, we even reached the peak of 136,000 unemployed.

Several Hon. Members

rose—

Mr. Speaker

Order. We are bordering on the Borders.