§ Q1. Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Prime Minister if he will pay an official visit to North-East England.
§ The Prime Minister ( Mr. Harold Wilson)I have at present no plans to do so, Sir.
§ Mr. WrigglesworthIs my right hon. Friend aware that, despite the economic difficulties affecting the North-East, £2 billion will be invested on Teesside in the coming five years in manufacturing industries, but that even so there will still be unemployment among unskilled workers? Will the Government introduce further schemes for the training of unskilled workers and untrained school leavers so that the pool of unskilled workers is reduced?
§ The Prime MinisterYes, Sir. In addition to the £250 million ICI programme, the expected 7,000 jobs directly related to North Sea offshire activities and the consequential secondary employment, my hon. Friend will know that of the 45,000 people who will benefit from increased training opportunities as a result of the £70 million provision the Government have made for the Manpower Services Commission, many will be the region's younger work people.
§ Sir W. ElliottIs the Prime Minister aware that the unemployment figure in the Northern Region of 103,000 is the highest since 1940 and has risen by 13,000 since Christmas? As a matter of urgency, will he visit the whole region to discuss with those responsible for employment the fall in the level of investment due to this Government's policy?
§ The Prime MinisterI do not accept the last few words of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question. I share 664 with him the anxiety he has expressed about the unemployment level in this and other regions which traditionally have had many difficulties. In a few minutes' time the House will be debating the wider subject of unemployment, when the matter will be dealt with in greater detail by my right hon. Friend and hon. Members.
§ Mr. BeithIs the right hon. Gentleman aware from earlier visits to the North-East, particularly in the rural parts, that it is an area of low wages? Therefore, the people in the North-East have an interest in the second stage of the incomes policy continuing to discriminate in favour of those who are on low wages and also in such reforms of the tax system as ensure that the increases they get are not taken away in tax.
§ The Prime MinisterI agree with the hon. Gentleman's diagnosis as it affects the rural areas in the North-East and other regions, although it would be premature for me to try indicate what might come out of the second stage of the incomes policy, because it has to be discussed with industry.
§ 02. Mr. Trotterasked the Prime Minister whether he intends to visit Tyne-mouth.
§ The Prime MinisterI have at present no plans to do so, Sir.
§ Mr. TrotterWhen, despite the good industrial relations in the North-East, unemployment is worse in modern times, does not the Government's apparent lack of concern for the shipbuilding industry and its problems contrast with the enormous amount of aid poured into Chrysler? Will the Prime Minister tell the ungrateful leaders of the irrelevant and irresponsible strike at Linwood that no more public money will be poured into Linwood until they change their attitude?
§ The Prime MinisterWhile I do not know his constituency as well as the hon. Gentleman does, I have a strong feeling that Linwood is not in his constituency and that he has departed from the Question. On a number of occasions during the Chrysler negotiations last year I gave strong warnings that the provision of public money in the event of disputes would not be forthcoming. Although I welcome 665 the hon. Gentleman's tribute to the state of industrial relations in the North-East since the Government came into office—
§ Mr. TrotterI did not say that.
§ The Prime MinisterThe hon. Gentleman did not say it, but it happens to be a fact. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman welcomes it. He will know that the loss of man-days through disputes last year was very much less than it has been at any time since 1968, and about 75 per cent. less than it was in one year under the Conservatives.
§ Mr. HoramAs my right hon. Friend is in favour of Socialism, industrial regeneration, regional development and of being even-handed about devolution for England, Scotland and Wales, can I count on his personal support for my Private Member's Bill, which seeks to establish development agencies—comparable with those already conceded to Scotland and Wales—in each of three English development regions—namely, the Northern, Merseyside and the South-West?
§ The Prime MinisterOf course, there is no Governmental responsibility for Private Member's Bills, but I shall certainly give very close consideration to the Bill introduced by my hon. Friend so that I may decide—if I decide to vote—which way I should vote.
§ Mrs. ThatcherI should like to refer to the Prime Minister's Answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Trotter). Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware that his Government are responsible for the maximum number of working days lost through unemployment in the post-war period and that Labour's present level of unemployment would represent some 300 million man-days in a single year? The responsibility is his.
§ The Prime MinisterThe right hon. Lady is, of course, falsifying the facts. Only last week even Conservative newspapers like the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph, although being a little critical of us for not acting more quickly on inflation, said that the responsibility was that of the Conservative Government before us. The right hon. Lady should 666 take a little more time off to study what the Conservative Government really did.
§ Mrs. ThatcherDoes not the right hon. Gentleman recollect that he fought the last election in speech after speech on the basis of having got unemployment and inflation down and under control? Unless he fought that election on a false prospectus the present level of unemployment is Labour's level of unemployment.
§ The Prime MinisterThe right hon. Lady is totally wrong, because we warned in the summer of 1974—before the election and during the election—as did the then Leader of the Conservative Party, no doubt while the right hon. Lady was offering her election bribes, that we were in for heavier unemployment in 1975. [HON. MEMBERS: "8.4 per cent."] We so warned and we said that this would be a world-wide problem. It was a worldwide problem arising from events in 1973 affecting all countries. The Conservatives Government did nothing about it.
§ Q3. Dr. John A. Cunninghamasked the Prime Minister when he next plans to visit Whitehaven.
§ The Prime MinisterI have at present no plans to do so, Sir.
§ Dr. CunninghamDoes my right hon. Friend recognise that he would be welcomed as a long-standing friend of the community in West Cumbria? Will he also accept from me that there is considerable dissatisfaction in that area with the Government's policies towards compensation for pneumoconiosis? Does he recall his speech to the NUM conference last year when he rightly praised the decision to compensate miners in the coal mining industry? However, does he recognise the incidence of this dreadful disease in other industries, principally, iron ore mining? Is he aware that the Departments of Energy, Employment and Health and Social Security have not made any positive response on this issue? Will he initiate Government action so that all sufferers from pneumoconiosis can be afforded similar treatment?
§ The Prime MinisterI have, of course, been much concerned with the area and with the introduction and development of a number of factories in my hon. Friend's 667 constituency. The problem of pneumoconiosis outside the coal mining industry and especially in the iron ore industry has been extremely serious in that area. My hon. Friend will remember the part played by Lord Adams of Ennerdale in this matter.
However, I must tell my hon. Friend that it is not possible for the NCB scheme to extend outside the coal industry. It is a very generous and imaginative scheme in the coal industry which we have encouraged and helped during the past 12 months or more. However, as my hon. Friend knows, the Royal Commission on Civil Liability and Compensation for Personal Injury is studying this matter and we must await its report.
§ Q4. Mr. James Lamondasked the Prime Minister if he has any plans to visit Malaysia.
§ The Prime MinisterI have at present no plans for such a visit, Sir. My right hon. and noble Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs visited Malaysia from 11th to 16th January.
§ Mr. LamondIs my right hon. Friend aware that the Malaysian Government in a brochure designed to attract foreign investment have stated that they are prepared to introduce restrictive controls on imports to protect their industries and that this is similarly offered by many other countries? Is there any chance of our following their example?
§ The Prime MinisterMy hon. Friend will be aware that an agreement under Article 4 of the GATT Multi-Fibre Arrangement was concluded last October between the EEC and Malaysia. It came into force at the beginning of November in relation to movements of textiles and clothing.
My hon. Friend referred to a brochure or an advertisement. I have heard some mention of this but, unfortunately, I have not been able to lay my hands on a copy of it. If my hon. Friend has one or knows where to procure one—I see that the Liberal Chief Whip is indicating that he has one—the right thing would be for him to give it to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade so that he can study it.
§ Mr. AmeryIn view of the deteriorating international situation, will the Prime Minister consider getting in touch with the Malaysian Government, the Singapore Government and the two new Governments in Australia and New Zealand to see whether it would be a good thing for this country to rebuild the small presence that it had in South-East Asia and on the island of Gan?
§ The Prime MinisterWe are in close touch with the Malaysian Government, although the right hon. Gentleman will be aware that, tragically, their then Prime Minister recently died. However, I have already had exchanges with his successor. We are in constant touch with Singapore and with the two new Governments in Australia and New Zealand. We are in touch with those countries concerning all the problems and dangers that may face those areas. However, I am not at all certain that either they or we would feel that the right hon. Gentleman's proposal was sound and right in the circumstances. Indeed, I think that it would certainly accord ill with the general desire of the whole House for economy in public expenditure.