§ 2. Mr. Michael McNair-Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement about the numbers of unemployed in the Province; and if he will give comparable figures for 1974.
§ The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr. Stanley Orme)In July 1975 the total number of unemployed registered for work was 51,525. representing 9.9 per cent. of insured employees. These figures are greatly inflated by the numbers of school leavers and adult 749 students registering as unemployed in July. The seasonally-adjusted total of unemployed, which excludes school leavers and adult students, was 38,700 or 7.4 per cent. In July 1974 the unadjusted total was 34,649 or 6.7 per cent. and the seasonally-adjusted total was 28,700 or 5.5 per cent.
§ Mr. McNair-WilsonI am sure the Minister will agree that those are extremely worrying figures. What special measures do the Government intend to take to help Northern Ireland? When does he intend to publish the review of the Northern Ireland Finance Corporation? I think we all appreciate the value of the corporation in helping to find jobs in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. OrmeThe Government are doing a considerable amount with the injection of public money into Northern Ireland through retraining and through having people kept in temporary employment while they are retrained. For instance, as a result of the counter-redundancy training scheme 740 people have been kept in employment. Industrial incentives are being used that are far in advance of anything else that is being applied in any other part of the United Kingdom. The Government are considering the operations and the retailoring of the Northern Ireland Finance Corporation in line with the National Enterprise Board and other agencies in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. BradfordWill the right hon. Gentleman investigate the loss of the poding contract relating to the RB211 and involving Short's? Secondly, will he initiate an immediate inquiry into the textile industry in Northern Ireland? This is a critical time for the industry. Hundreds of jobs will be lost in the immediate future unless the right hon. Gentleman's colleagues in the Departments of Trade and Industry take immediate action.
§ Mr. OrmeAs the hon. Gentleman knows, he raised the question of the RB211 with me in Committee the other week, and I am having that matter investigated. When the Government have any information I shall see that it is made public and the hon. Member will be notified.
With regard to the textile industry, the hon. Gentleman also knows that for a 750 considerable time I have been involved in examining what can be done to safeguard that industry. The matter has been raised with the Secretaries of State for Trade and Industry and the Prime Minister, and we are keeping the matter under constant review.
§ Mr. FernyhoughWhile appreciating that the unemployment position in Northern Ireland is very serious, may I ask my right hon. Friend to recognise that it is also very serious in my constituency? There is probably a higher percentage of unemployment in Jarrow than in Northern Ireland. Will he explain why there should be these extra grant facilities for Northern Ireland which are not available to my constituents in Jarrow?
§ Mr. OrmeAs the House will realise, my right hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow (Mr. Fernyhough) represents a constituency with a poignant memory of unemployment. I think that he would not want the Government to treat unemployment any differently in one place from another, whether in Jarrow or in Northern Ireland, while it remains a part of the United Kingdom. I can assure him that the Government are concerned about this rising unemployment, and the steps we are taking in Northern Ireland are to offset an unemployment position which, unfortunately, is worse than in his own constituency of Jarrow.
§ Mr. NeaveConcerning the problem of the self-employed in Northern Ireland in particular, will the Minister recognise that the taxes on the self-employed fall particularly heavily on business men in Northern Ireland, where there is a higher proportion of self-employed people?
§ Mr. OrmeI take note of what the hon. Gentleman has said. I am not sure whether the facts bear it out. I shall look into it, but it does not touch the centre of this issue.
§ Mr. FittFrom the figures which have been given by my right hon. Friend it appears that there has been an increase of 10,000 in the unemployed in Northern Ireland since last year. Does he not agree, therefore, that this is a deplorable situation in such a small community? Will he give the House any indication whether one of the reasons for the non-provision of jobs in Northern Ireland is 751 the effect of the UWC strike last year, which prevented potential industrialists and investors from investing in Northern Ireland?
§ Mr. OrmeI have said to my hon. Friend that the NWC strike had an effect and is having an effect on investment in Northern Ireland, and an effect on jobs, but so also has the continued violence from the Provisional IRA over a number of years, and the sectarian murders taking place in Northern Ireland do not add confidence in regard to bringing investment into the Province. I only hope that the people in the Province will take note of this.