HC Deb 26 October 1977 vol 936 cc1421-3
6. Mr. Henderson

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of measures to reduce unemployment in Scotland.

Mr. Millan

About 52,000 persons are currently benefiting from the various employment protection and creation measures introduced by the Government in Scotland. For the longer term, our policies to reduce inflation and to create a favourable climate for increased investment and industrial expansion are the key to the reduction of unemployment, which, despite the decrease announced yesterday, is still far too high.

Mr. Henderson

Does the Secretary of State recall that he answered a Question from me on this very subject almost exactly a year ago, when he said that he was satisfied that the Government's policies would strengthen employment prospects in Scotland? Is he aware that since then unemployment has risen by 25,000? Are we going to wait another year and then find that unemployment has risen by another 25,000?

Mr. Millan

I believed then and I believe now that the policies of the Government are the right ones to produce a long-term reduction in unemployment, which we all want to see.

Dr. M. S. Miller

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the most immediate and effective method of making some impact on unemployment in Scotland is to build more houses to provide employment for people in the construction industry who have been unemployed for such a long time?

Mr. Millan

There has been a falling off in the number of housing applications coming from local authorities, partly because in a number of areas local authorities feel that the general demand for houses is a good deal less than it was two or three years ago. This is another area in which reductions in population and in the birth rate eventually work their way through into demand for housing. There has been a good deal of increase also in matters such as local authority rehabilitation. I agree that there are particularly serious problems facing the construction industry, and I am meeting representatives from the industry, employers and trade unions, at a joint meeting on Friday this week.

Mr. Younger

Is the Secretary of State aware that if every small business in Scotland took on one more employee the unemployment problem would be largely solved? In view of that, will he now take action to remove from the backs of small businesses some of the extra cost impositions that his Government have placed on them?

Mr. Millan

I agree that small firms are very important in this area of unemployment, which is why this Government introduced the small firms subsidy.

Mr. Alexander Wilson

Does my tight hon. Friend agree that the Opposition do not seem to accept the community industry scheme, the job creation scheme, the "swap a job" scheme and the youth scheme that the Government have instituted? These schemes have had a tremendous effect in Scotland, to the extent that the unemployment figures are down. Will my right hon. Friend continue those schemes and initiate further schemes, with extra money to help to reduce unemployment in Scotland?

Mr. Millan

We are always willing to look at ideas for improving these job creation and employment protection schemes. They have had a considerable impact so far, but, of course. I would not exclude further development if we felt that this was necessary and if there were effective ways of creating jobs. I believe that it would be a great mistake to undervalue the tremendous impact that these schemes have already had.

Mrs. Bain

Has the Scottish Office made any estimate of the implications of emigration and the return to school on unemployment and youth unemployment respectively? If the Chancellor of the Exchequer this afternoon does not come up with a guarantee that Scottish oil revenues will be apportioned to the Scottish Development Agency for job creation, will the Secretary of State give a guarantee that he will resign?

Mr. Millan

There might be circumstances in which I would give a guarantee on that, but as far as I am aware they have not arisen so far. On the first part of the question, the latest figures we have on migration in Scotland have been very favourable. At least in this particular economic crisis we have not been suffering the very high rates of migration that we suffered in earlier economic crises.

Dr. Bray

If the Chancellor of the Exchequer makes additional funds available to local authorities for their building programmes to help employment in the construction industry, will my right hon. Friend continue to see that extra priority goes to areas of need, in particular to the Strathclyde Region?

Mr. Millan

In what we have been doing in recent years in local authority programmes and in other ways, we have had special regard to the particular needs of urban areas, particularly the deprived areas. The most spectacular example of that has been the Glasgow East End project, but it is deliberate Government policy in urban aid and in other ways to direct resources to areas with the most need, which certainly includes many areas in west-central Scotland.