§ Mr. BuchananI beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 9, for the purpose of discussing a specific, urgent and important matter, namely, the employment 1690 situation in Scotland. The Motion that I would submit for your consideration, Mr. Speaker, is :
That this House is greatly concerned at the action of the Government in allowing the employment situation in Scotland to deteriorate to such an extent that the number of unemployed in Scotland have now reached the record figure of 134,512, or 6.2 per cent. of the employed population, and that included in this figure are 6,739 young people who have just left school.Everyone at least on this side awaited the employment figures, announced today, with some trepidation. Our fears that they would rise considerably have been exceeded. This document, issued by the Department of Employment, is a massive indictment of the failure of Tory policies to cope with the economic and unemployment situation in the United Kingdom, particularly in Scotland.There are 6,739 school leavers who left school in June—who have not just left school—who are still awaiting their first jobs, having left school starry eyed, full of ambition. Most Scottish hon. Members on this side of the House have had letters from graduates failing to find suitable employment. The situation which we have in Scotland today is totally unacceptable to us on this side of the House. The prospect for the people of Scotland is bleak indeed. Upper Clyde Shipbuilders is poised in the balance, and, with its fate, all the jobs involved are also in the balance. Factories are lying empty in the City of Glasgow. In my own constituency there are three factories awaiting tenants. The measures announced by the Chancellor on Monday, while they may do some good, lack a firm base, and will do no lasting good.
The reason why I move this Motion is because of the complacency which is evident in the attitude of the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Government as a whole. A debate is absolutely necessary to bring home to the Government the seriousness of the situation which now exists. I present to you this Motion for your consideration.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Member asks leave to move the Adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter which he thinks should have urgent consideration, namely,
That this House is greatly concerned at the action of the Government in allowing the 1691 employment situation in Scotland to deteriorate to such an extent that the numbers of unemployed in Scotland have now reached the record figure of 134,512, or 6.2 per cent. of the employed population, and that included in this figure are 6,739 young people who have just left school.I am grateful to the hon. Member for giving me some notice of the fact that he was going to raise this matter. I have listened carefully to what he has said. I know that there are very strong feelings about it, but I also have to have regard to the question asked by another right hon. Member today about the possibility of a debate on unemployment elsewhere. I am afraid I cannot submit the hon. Member's application to the House. There are other ways which could be found of debating the matter.