HC Deb 20 May 1971 vol 817 cc1514-5
Q3. Mr. Carter

asked the Prime Minister if he has now decided to make an official visit to the West Midlands with particular reference to Birmingham.

Mr. Maudling

I have been asked to reply.

My right hon. Friend has this possibility in mind, but no specific plans have yet been made.

Mr. Carter

Is the Deputy Prime Minister aware that the unemployment situation in Birmingham has now reached desperate proportions, and is he aware that while there was a decline in the national figures as given today, the figures for Birmingham announced yesterday showed an increase? Is he further aware that for the national picture this shows, when seasonally adjusted, a very clear upward trend? What measures do the Government intend to take to halt this decline and to produce a situation in which increasing numbers of job opportunities are made available?

Mr. Maudling

Of course the figures give rise to concern. I believe that the wholly unemployed percentage in Birmingham is still below the national average. On the whole question of unemployment, the measures taken by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor in the Budget will have a significant effect.

Sir G. Nabarro

Would my right hon. Friend bear in mind that, in the Midlands, it is not only a question of Birmingham being affected by an exceptionally high rate of unemployment compared with their traditional rates, but also the dormitory constituencies around Birmingham, such as Bromsgrove and South Worcestershire, and others, housing many thousands of motor workers, and that the turgid conditions of the motor industry today urgently require attention?

Mr. Maudling

Yes, Sir. The best cures for these matters are to carry out the measures in the Budget, to deal with the problems of wage inflation and to deal with labour relations.

Mr. Roy Jenkins

How would the right hon. Gentleman balance the likely effects of the Budget measures upon Birmingham's unprecedentedly high level of unemployment, compared with measures under consideration by his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry?

Mr. Maudling

The effect of the Budget on particular unemployment figures, as the right hon. Gentleman knows very well, is not exactly predictable and takes a good while to become apparent—particularly when many of the Budget measures have not yet come into operation.

Mr. Jenkins

The right hon. Gentleman did not begin to answer the question. The Budget measures were merely a promise. The question was related to the measures under consideration by his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

Mr. Maudling

It was a question which I thought my right hon. Friend answered very effectively a day or two ago.