§ 13. Mr. James Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the level of male adult unemployment in Lanarkshire.
§ Mr. Dudley SmithAt 10th July the rate of male unemployment for Lanarkshire was 10.1 per cent. Rates are not calculated separately for adults.
§ Mr. HamiltonIs the Under-Secretary aware that the percentage which he has presented to us is double what it was in 1970 and that the global figure in Lanarkshire is 15,209? He can confirm from the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry that in my constituency there are 11 factories empty or about to be empty. On that basis we have not taken into consideration redundancies which are known but which have not yet been notified to his office. Can he tell us once and for all what the people of Lanarkshire in particular and Scotland in general can expect from this Government as to the unemployment situation?
§ Mr. SmithUnemployment in Lanarkshire is much too high; that is fully accepted. It remains a cardinal objective of the Government to reduce unemployment there as elsewhere. We have taken measures on an unprecedented scale to cope with unemployment in the country as a whole. Lanarkshire's best hope for the future lies in an expanding national economy. That is the one way we shall reduce unemployment not only in England but also in Scotland.