West Midlands (Hansard, 16 March 1976)

§ 11. Mr. Rooker
asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on employment prospects in the West Midlands.

§ Mr. Foot
Over the last year or so employment prospects in the West Midlands have deteriorated seriously—principally as a result of the general economic recession. However, the area benefits from the measures that the Government have introduced to alleviate the worst effects of unemployment and from the considerable assistance which has been given to the motor vehicle, machine tool and ferrous foundry industries. Employment prospects in the West Midlands will improve substantially as the national economy begins to expand.

§ Mr. Rooker
Is my right hon. Friend aware that the people in the West Midlands are outraged at the loss of manufacturing jobs and are sick and tired of being told that the aid to Chrysler and British Leyland is the Government's contribution to the tragic economic circumstances of the West Midlands? Will he ensure that there is a Minister from his Department at next Monday's meeting called by the Secretary of State for Industry on this very problem?

§ Mr. Foot
I dare say that we shall have a representative at the discussions that are to take place. I went to the West Midlands a few weeks ago and on my return I discussed the matter with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry. It is partly as a result of those discussions that the meeting next Monday is to take place.
I fully appreciate the deep concern expressed by my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker), but I believe also that the assistance the Government gave to these firms did a great deal for the West Midlands, and continues to do so. I quite agree that much more needs to be done.

§ Mr. Bulmer
Is the Secretary of State aware that the prospects for those leaving school in the West Midlands in the forth- 1112 coming year are worse than they were last year, and will he tell the House what special measures he proposes to introduce to help them?

§ Mr. Foot
We introduced measures to help school leavers last year and will at the appropriate time announce our measures for assisting them in the future. The Job Creation Scheme has been of some assistance in this respect, and many of the projects that have come forward from the West Midlands have been accepted by the Manpower Services Commission.

§ Mr. Park
Does my right hon. Friend really believe that the statement made today refusing assisted area status to the West Midlands is likely to give any further encouragement to the people of the West Midlands in pulling themselves up by their bootstraps? Is he aware that industries are still leaving the West Midlands because of the regional policy—for example, Polypak, at Halesowen?

§ Mr. Foot
I recognise, as my hon. Friend says, that there is strong pressure in the West Midlands for the alteration of the boundaries for special development status. That is primarily a matter for the Department of Industry, but I recognise how strong those representations are. However, that would affect many other parts of the country as well. In the meantime, I hope that my hon. Friend will acknowledge what the Government have been doing in that respect. Certainly it was acknowledged by trade unionists when I was in the West Midlands. They recognised that the Government have been extremely flexible in the acceptance of certificates.

§ Mr. Prior
Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that many people, both in this House and in the West Midlands, feel that the problems are much deeper this time and will not be solved just by the upturn in the economy? Would the right hon. Gentleman consider a relaxation of IDC policy, which might do more to increase morale and effort in the West Midlands, which many people now believe to be an area which has been starved of new development for a period of years and badly needs fresh development?

§ Mr. Foot
As the right hon. Gentleman knows, the question of IDCs and their acceptance is a matter for the 1113 Department of Industry. As I have said, the Government have been extremely willing to grant these certificates, and the figures show that there have been very few refusals. When I was in the West Midlands the people there wanted to make better known the fact that the Government have been extremely eager to grant certificates when there has been pressure for them.
As to special development area status, the right hon. Gentleman will recognise that that matter does not concern the West Midlands alone.

§ Mrs. Renée Short
Notwithstanding my right hon. Friend's honeyed words about what will happen in the future in respect of help for school leavers, and so on, is he aware that in the West Midlands at the present time we have an unemployment figure that is higher than the national average? Bearing in mind the criteria given in answer to an earlier question, why did he not help Norton-Villiers in its attempt to keep its factory working?

§ Mr. Foot
The reply concerning Norton-Villiers has been given many times in this House. As to general assistance to the West Midlands, the Government are certainly considering all the time how further help can be given.