§ Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Tinn.]
§ 6.24 p.m.
§ Mr. Bruce George (Walsall, South)It is an honour for the Minister and me jointly to have the last words in this Parliament on that most important of subjects, my constituency. I wish to address the House of the subject of Darlaston, which is part of the Black Country, within the constituency of Walsall, South. I shall first consider Darlaston and then the problems of Walsall as a whole, because the problems of that small township cannot be considered apart from those of the metropoitan district of Walsall.
In 1972, when I first became a prospective candidate for Walsall, South, a walk around the centre of Darlaston revealed better than could thousands of brilliantly written words the downward spiral of the town, which is threatening to get out of hand. Dereliction and physical ugliness were abundant, industrial plant had seen better days, there was too much ancient and low-quality housing both municipal and private, and there were ghettos in the making. Employment prospects were falling, with the young voting with their feet. Public services almost daily were deserting the town. There were disenchantment, cynicism and a sense of resignation that little could or would be done.
It was not always like that. In the memories of the not-so-old there was a time 1379 when the town had prosperity based on a sound economy. People remember with great affection the civic pride of bygone days. The history of the town goes back to the early mediaeval period. The town has since passed from hand to hand, until eventually annexed by Walsall in 1966. A board of surveyors held authority after 1846, when vestry government proved a disaster. The cholera epidemic of 1831 showed how inadequate parish government was for the area. In 1869 there was a local board, and at the end of the nineteenth century an urban district council that served the area well until local government reorganisation in the West Midlands in 1966. The high spot of the town's civic pride was in the period after the Second World War, and those days are remembered with great affection. Regrettably, many regard the annexation by Walsall as an unmitigated disaster.
The population grew throughout the nineteenth century, and the industry of the town developed to a considerable strength. The manufacture of industrial fasteners—the making of nuts and bolts—developed in Darlaston, which remains the centre of that industry. The legacy of history is strong in Darlaston. Many of the nineteenth century buildings remain, sometimes regrettably as a reminder of past glory, as many of these formerly fine buildings are in an advanced state of dereliction. Many people remember with nostalgia and sometimes incorrectly the situation prior to Walsall taking over the authority.
It is incontrovertible that there has been a decline. The reasons are many and debatable. To many people the decline dates from 1966. It is said that six votes out of 60 are totally inadequate to represent the town, although the councillors have worked hard on behalf of Darlaston. The decline of the town has also coincided with Britain's industrial decline. Darlaston mirrors that decline, with the added dimension of the industrial decline of the West Midlands.
The third reason for the decline was the laudable decision to create housing estates on the outskirts of Darlaston, at Moxley and Bentley. That removed from the town centre many people who would have had obligations to the town centre and spent money there. They can now shop in Wolverhampton or Walsall.
1380 When I became a candidate, I spent a great deal of time dealing with the problems of the area. Considerable progress has been made, but the problems have not been solved by any stretch of the imagination. They are still enormous, but many successes have been achieved, partly as a result of my activity and that of the council, particularly in the mid-1970s, and partly because of the creation by the planning department of an area planning committee which gave the councillors and lay representatives a greater opportunity to participate in local decision-making.
The decision to bring ASDA to the town was mainly the responsibility of the area planning committee. I wrote to the managing director of ASDA in 1976 and pointed out that while the company could not be concerned primarily with regenerating inner city areas, if it could make a profit in Darlaston it would assist the town's reversal of fortunes, and attract other shops, people and industry to our town.
Many people have begun to take part in the regeneration of Darlaston, and a number of successes have been chalked up. Not least is the shopping centre. As recently as three years ago Darlaston was almost a ghost town, such was the state of dereliction in the centre. But with the emergence of ASDA and its super store, which the Minister visited in September, the town is being regenerated. Shortly there will be a second phase of the shopping development, with 19 new shops and the start of an open market with 35 units. Although the town centre is showing signs of regeneration, I urge the council to do more about the shops within its control, particularly in King Street. It has done very little about them so far, and I have had many complaints from Darlastonians.
This regeneration will bring back population into Darlaston. At present the population is declining and ageing. A survey of sixth-formers in Darlaston comprehensive school a few years ago showed that most of them wanted to get out of the town. That is a tragedy. I hope that the creation of a good shopping centre, the widening of entertainment and the improvement of housing will encourage young people to stay in the town. At present there is very little to retain them. There are the Regal for bingo, pubs and clubs but very little else. Fortunately, the town 1381 hall is now being used for entertainment and pop concerts. A community association has just been formed as part of Darlaston comprehensive school, and this offers great prospects for greatly enhanced facilities. I was involved with others in a battle to stop the local authority from selling the GKN sports field, which is now the centre of the Darlaston community association, to an outside organisation. Had that occurred, it would have been a total disaster. I want to see better library facilities, better facilities for allotment holders and utilisation of the canal network for fishing, walking and other sporting activities.
We must attract people into the town, and if we are to do so the housing stock must be improved. At present it leaves a great deal to be desired. It never ceases to amaze me how many people come to my "surgeries" week after week needing housing repairs or somewhere to live. Most of them remain unsatisfied. The council's present housing policy is totally inadequate. I do not see how the 300 houses being built for rent each year will solve the town's problem, and more municipal houses must be built. A spur must be given to the depressed new private house market in an attempt to balance the social composition of the town. There are areas that are crying out for general improvement area or housing assistance area status, but the town's record of rehabilitation of older housing is lamentable. We must manage better the housing stock by encouraging a better transfer system so that people will move from larger to smaller properties if their family size has decreased. This will help to improve the housing situation and better utilise the existing stock.
The council house modernisation programme, although large by Walsall standards, as a result of the backlog of neglect has fallen behind, and much more must be done to improve the quality and management of modernisations. I have just submitted a report to the local authority based on my research into 40 local authorities and the management of their modernisation schemes, and in almost every case they do much better than Walsall.
I should like to see greater use made of the housing association movement. There are some excellent housing associa- 1382 tions in the town such as the newly opened Hanover Court for the elderly, but the lack of co-operation between the council and the housing association movement is having disastrous consequences. The Housing Corporation has invested £17 million in Walsall, but because of the lack of co-operation from the council it looks as if expenditure this year will be no more than £3 million or £4 million, and that is to be greatly regretted. It is an opportunity missed.
The primacy of Darlaston's industry has been lost, but I hope that this is nothing more than a temporary phenomenon. Total employment has fallen from about 19,000 to 13,000 in the last five or six years and many companies are in great difficulty. The Under-Secretary of State for Industry visited the town recently and spoke to trade unionists. Although there are companies that are in difficulties there is a differential rate of decline, and there are some that are prospering, many of them with Government assistance. The reasons for the decline are the West Midlands dimension of our national decline, the over-concentration on heavy metal industries and the town's relationship with the British motor industry, which is not going through its most remarkable patch. The consequence of this is a diminution of employment. One must add to this the under-investment in some industries.
If one explored the profits made by these companies on a historic basis, one would see that if only a proportion of these profits had been reinvested in the town or in the industry, Darlaston would not be in the position that it is in today. Labour relations are very good. There have been few damaging disputes, and generally the work force is industrious, skilled and loyal.
I refer particularly to the fasteners industry which is located in my constituency with companies such as GKN, Rubery Owen Fasteners, Glynwed, Joseph Hampton and Charles Richards. This industry is in decline because of the importation of cheap fasteners from the Far East. We could be in the appalling position in the West Midlands of the motor industry, importing fasteners from the Far East when they could be made five or 10 miles up the road.
I am confident that the Government are making strong representations to the 1383 EEC to change the so-called Davignon emergency steel crisis measures, as a result of which our European competitors get their raw materials of steel far more cheaply and are greatly undercutting us. I led a delegation to the Minister of State, Department of Industry. I have been promised that the Secretary of State for Trade will receive a deputation led by me consisting of both sides of the nuts and bolts industry and I believe that the campaign that we are mounting will help to resuscitate this important industry. The fasteners industry is quite literally the nuts and bolts of our economy. It once employed 40,000 people, but regrettably that figure has gone down to 36,000. I want to see this position reversed and this important industry revived. As a consequence, Darlaston will be revived.
But not all companies are experiencing difficulty. The Servis washing machine company, with its sophisticated products, is expanding, and Wilkins and Mitchell, which manufactures power presses, is doing very well. Eaton Axles, which was formed from part of Rubery Owen, has fine prospects. Although it has announced redundancies recently, F. H. Lloyd has a high investment programme and we hope that its position will improve. A number of other companies, such as LCP, which I visited recently, have undertaken major investment. I hope that all this will result in a stronger industrial base for the town.
Recently I visited the company of Wellman Cranes, which has had the benefit of temporary employment subsidy. This company manufactures heavy cranes. Two years ago it went through a period of severe difficulty and it threatened to lay off 200 members of its work force. It applied for temporary employment subsidy, and this was granted. The subsidy kept these people in work and as a result the company is now doing infinitely better. It hopes to receive a large order worth £2.5 million from the British Steel Corporation at Port Talbot. This illustration shows that Wellman Cranes needed temporary assistance and when that assistance was given the company was saved and went on to much greater prosperity.
There must be a resuscitation of industry in Darlaston, and this can come about partly as a result of Government measures to improve the economic environ- 1384 ment. The Government have given a great deal of assistance to small firms and a great deal has been done by propping up British Leyland and helping Chrysler and Alfred Herbert. Many companies in my constituency are largely dependent on these industrial giants and manufacture components for them. If these went under, it would suck a lot of companies in my constituency under with them.
I hope that the town of Walsall will appoint an industrial development officer to attract industry to the town. I hope that the local authority will do far more than in the past to adopt an economic and industrial strategy. The Government are helping considerably in Darlaston and Walsall in an inner city construction package which is aimed at building small industrial units. In Darlaston enormous advantage has accrued from the Government's 100 per cent, grants and the derelict land clearance scheme. One must agree that considerable progress has been made in Darlaston. However, much more remains to be done. I hope that the Government commitment to assist the area, and Walsall in particular, in the past five years will continue.
One must see the problems of Darlaston not only from the perspective of the town itself but from the standpoint of Walsall. About 13 months ago the Minister and I spoke to each other following an Adjournment debate on the subject of Walsall. As a result of that debate the Minister visited the town and received a delegation led by me to his office. This had a significant impact on our local community. For a number of years, in raising individual isses I had tried to pinpoint the deficiencies of the town. In July 1977 the chamber of commerce and the trades council and myself launched what was called the Walsall regeneration campaign. Its purpose was to reverse the decline in manufacturing in the town and to adopt a more positive and imaginative approach.
That campaign did not really get off the ground, and the great leap forward took place only when the Walsall Observer, a campaigning newspaper, embarked on its "Wake up Walsall" campaign in February of last year. The first issue of that newspaper on that campaign is something of a collector's item. The newspaper, in parallel with my activities, sought to show that the town centre had 1385 declined. In a front-page editorial that newspaper, dealing with the town centre, said:
It is a shameful story of neglect and indecision that has brought the town to its knees. A town that now needs propping up to stop it falling into a morass of anonymity. It is not easy to write such words about something held near and dear to the hearts of so many people. But the Observer would be failing in its duty if it did not.The editorial continued:While surrounding areas have pushed ahead with progressive town centre redevelopments, Walsall has paused, hesitated and finally floundered. Swift, decisive action is needed to stop the rot. Whether Walsall strides purposefully into the 1980s—just 23 months away—or remains sleeping in the 1950s, is in the balance.As a result of that campaign, in which I played a part, there has been a tremendous alteration in attitudes. The campaign was a catalyst for public discontent, and it has put great pressure on the decision makers, who hitherto have been pretty lethargic. Following the campaign, Government Departments have been made more aware of the problems of the town. I wish to express my gratitude to the Minister for his great interest in the town, for receiving delegations and for visiting the town. It can truly be said that 1978 was the year in which the town woke up.There has been considerable progress in the town on many fronts, and it is on the point of adopting an industrial strategy. I am pleased that there is liaison with the chamber of commerce and, to a lesser extent, with the trades council. I am also pleased that the money invested by central Government in the city construction package is starting to pay dividends. One unit in my constituency, in North Street, will soon open and all the sites have been let. I should like to say how pleased I am that the Department of Industry is helping to organise a conference on microprocessors following a suggestion which I made at the West Midlands college this month. This could be of great advantage to local industry and lots of cash is available if Walsall industry is prepared to take advantage of it.
The leather and fastener industries are experiencing difficulties. But what the Government have done through their various schemes under the Industry Acts, 1386 through the Manpower Services Commission, youth employment schemes, and temporary employment subsidy will help the town—a town which has been going through an appallingly difficult period—to survive. A great deal of credit is due to the various Government Departments for the aid which they have facilitated.
I am pleased that the extension to our hospital will shortly be commenced, with a starting date this year. People should recognise that that has arisen as a result of local campaigning. Because the Government adopted the RAWP principles, money has come from other areas. Walsall has been neglected in the past in terms of health provision. The new hospital extension will cost over £6.5 million. The Government have done so much, yet we in Walsall have not always responded to Government initiatives. I regret that the council's policy on housing is totally inadequate. I hope that the Minister will comment on the fact that year after year we appear to be turning away money that could be used to help improve our council house stock. This is such a waste.
I am glad that the Government have given 100 per cent, assistance for the derelict land clearance scheme. I hope that that money will be put to very good use. The town centre is now beginning to show signs of improvement following the £6½ million Viking shopping centre, the Tesco scheme, which is just beginning at the George Hotel, and the Co-op scheme, which involves building near the town centre. Therefore, the shopping centre, which has long been neglected, could become a thriving area. This will stop people going away from the town and act as a magnet to those outside the town who will want to shop in our area.
I am pleased to put these matters on record. The Government have taken many other steps, and I hope that the Minister will comment upon them. As a result of the campaign in the last year to draw public attention to the needs and deficiencies of the town, the campaign to get local decision makers to sit up and take notice and to arrest the town's decline is beginning to pay off. We must keep up the pressure.
Recently I came across a reference in a history book in which Birmingham was 1387 described as "a little hamlet near Walsall". I cannot imagine that the roles will be completely reversed, but I should like to see to it that Walsall, which has a third division football club, will not for ever remain a town with third division status.
As a result of a great deal of activity by the Government, greater enthusiasm by local decision makers and continued public agitation, we hope that Walsall will be a town of which we can be proud, a town that will take us into the twenty-first century with greater confidence than we have experienced hitherto.
§ 6.47 p.m.
§ Mr. Robert Rhodes James (Cambridge)I wish to intervene briefly because at one stage in my career I very much hoped to be the Conservative candidate for Walsall, South. However, the Conservatives in the constituency decided otherwise.
I have a deep affection for the constituency of the hon. Member for Walsall, South (Mr. George), not least because I remember vividly Sir Harry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, who for so long represented the constituency with such distinction. I wish to reiterate the hon. Gentleman's remarks, and to express my continuing concern not only for the problems of Walsall but the particular problems of Darlaston.
I must underline the fact that the hon. Gentleman during a difficult period represented two constituencies, and did so with great dedication and skill. The people of Walsall, and indeed the House as a whole, owe him a great debt of gratitude. As we enter into the inevitable hostilities of a general election—and even though I hope that there will be a change in the representation of the hon. Gentleman's division following the election—I emphasise that we must all be grateful to the hon. Gentleman. We are not ashamed to recognise that debt, to wish him well and to thank him for what he has done for his constituency.
§ 6.49 p.m.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Environment (Mr. Guy Barnett)I wish to congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, South (Mr. George) on obtaining the final debate of this Parliament. I thank him for giving me the chance to have the last word in this Parliament.
1388 I listened to my hon. Friend's speech with great interest. As he said, I have visited Walsall on a number of occasions, most recently last September, and I appreciate the problems that it faces and the way in which its people are facing them.
In this context it gave me great pleasure recently to be able to congratulate Mr Andrew Cooper of the Walsall Observer, who won the young journalist of the year award for a lively series of articles on the current issues facing the town.
I want to make some general points before I go on to deal with specific issues. First, let me pay tribute to the hard and effective work that my hon. Friend has put in since he became a candidate for Walsall and was elected in 1974.
I shall describe to the House a large number of ways in which central Government is helping the borough. They are impressive and my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, South has played a large part in making sure that Walsall gets its share of national help. He can take much credit for what Walsall has gained.
I should like to make another preliminary point. We are doing a great deal to help Walsall from central Government. However, most of the work must be done locally. Central Government can best help those who help themselves. My Department's circular 71/77, "Local Authorities and the Industrial Strategy ", emphasised the role that authorities can play in promoting and helping industry in their areas. I know that Walsall council is in close contact with its industry and that its members are considering the appointment of an industrial development officer. Good for them—the more they do the better, as far as I am concerned.
In his speech, my hon. Friend encapsulated, in a sense, the industrial history of Darlaston, the West Midlands and, indeed, our national economy. Many of our industrial areas have grown haphazardly over the past 300 years, extending over wide areas, and incidentally providing prosperity both for the West Midlands and the nation, before the advent of modern legislation and town planning practice. Even at the height of this prosperity, severe problems of poor housing, air and water pollution and derelict land existed in the Black Country. Those 1389 problems present a challenge which we are overcoming as fast as resources permit.
To add to those problems, however, industry in Walsall and the rest of the West Midlands has had to come to grips with changing world markets and new structures of industrial demand. The Black Country grew up with the metal manufacturing, finishing and processing trades. It successfully mastered the transition from the product ranges of nineteenth century technology to those of the motor car age. Now, like the rest of British industry, it must face up to increasing international competition for its existing products and meet the challenge of the microprocessor age.
I am confident that industry in Walsall is resilient enough to face up to and succeed in that challenge. There are stresses in any process of adapting to structural economic changes and the present Government have been keenly aware of what needs to be done to help British industry in that respect.
Let me detail the measures that we have taken. First, we took measures of direct support to local firms in Walsall, as part of the Government's industrial strategy to help them modernise and meet the rigours of international competition. Under section 8 of the Industry Act, selective financial assistance has been made available to 47 projects from firms in the Walsall travel-to-work area, involving assistance of almost £5.2 million, which will generate investment of £27.5 million. During the past 15 months, 64 industrial development certificates have been approved in the Walsall travel-to-work area. That represents 1.2 million square feet and it involves a gain of 1,850 jobs. No industrial development certificates have been refused in the Walsall area since this Government took office in 1974.
In his speech, my hon. Friend mentioned the problems being faced by the industrial fasteners industry. He will appreciate that the issues involved are highly technical and more appropriate to be dealt with by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry. The industry has already supplied a great deal of evidence to support its case for action by the Government and it is intending to supply more. That will enable the 1390 Government to approach the European Commission as a matter of urgency in order to explain the situation which the industry faces.
The second category of measures taken by this Government has been the policy of support for crucially important national industries, which has directly maintained jobs in Walsall and the rest of the West Midlands. The support of British Leyland's future by the National Enterprise Board has been of major significance to the motor component firms in the Walsall area, as has been the Government's action in retaining Chrysler operation in this country. Support given to the long-term investment programmes of Britsh Steel, the National Coal Board and other nationalised undertakings has benefited and will continue to benefit West Midlands firms which supply plant, machinery and sub-contract work. I know that people in Walsall are worried about the threat to the leather industry. I understand that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade has written to the EEC to press for restrictions on the export of hides to non-EEC countries. That is important—the Government intend to push it hard.
Thirdly, the Government have mounted a major series of special measures through the Department of Employment and the Manpower Services Commission to sustain employment and enable Walsall's industry to draw on a supply of trained and skilled manpower. In addition to the work of the employment services and training services divisions of the Manpower Services Commission, the youth opportunities programme now encompasses more than 400 current schemes which offer 900 places at any one time for young people in Walsall to get started in the working world.
Almost 3,800 people in Walsall metropolitan district have benefited to date from the temporary employment subsidy. The scheme has allowed firms to get together a skilled work force during periods of temporary difficulty and thus be in a position to compete effectively for new orders when an upturn occurs. My hon. Friend knows of specific examples in his constituency where the benefits of the temporary employment subsidy have been demonstrated. The most recent measure to benefit Walsall has been—since 1 1391 January 1979—the extension to the area of the small firms employment subsidy.
I hope that I have demonstrated to my hon. Friend's satisfaction that the Government have shown a good understanding of the issues facing industry in Walsall. We have, through the industrial strategy and policies for ensuring the retention and supply of trained manpower, helped the West Midlands economy to face up to the undeniable problems of economic change and international competition. One thing my hon. Friend can certainly be sure of: Walsall will not be neglected.
A lot of the activity is the result of this Government's commitment to an adequate level of public spending. It is very fine for the Opposition to talk about leaving the way free for the private sector. Walsall's case shows clearly that the public sector is needed, too—not least because it can provide the infrastructure that private firms must have if they are to invest.
Let me now turn briefly to environmental questions. As I mentioned earlier, one cannot separate the environmental problems of manufacturing districts from their industrial history. Of particular significance in the Black Country is the large amount of derelict land resulting from past mineral working. The Darlaston area is one of the most highly mineralised parts of the Black Country. Coal, fire clay and ironstone lie near the surface over the whole area. The working of minerals during the past 200 years has ben the foundation upon which Darlaston's metal industries have been based.
Reclamation of derelict land has been proceeding in Walsall since the start of the century, with Government assistance in recent years. For example, between 1974 and 1978, a total of 96 hectares of derelict land was reclaimed in Walsall, most of it with the help of Government grant. Since 8 June 1978, Walsall has been a derelict land clearance area, attracting 100 per cent, capital grant from my Department on approved expenditure on derelict land reclamation. I am expecting the introduction of the status to lead to a significant increase in the rate at which land is being reclaimed.
My hon. Friend has mentioned the issues associated with limestone. I 1392 acknowledge and sympathise with Walsall's problems arising from these old workings. In my view, measures to deal with the problems could well form part of a badly needed range of policies to deal with urban dereliction—that is just what it amounts to in Walsall. However, these are difficult issues which are not confined to Walsall. Officials and Ministers will have to consider the whole question of what remedial measures and assistance may be made available to local authorities whose areas suffer from these underground dereliction problems.
That apart, the reclamation of derelict land is an important factor in the quality of life in great industrial areas. I am satisfied that the Walsall borough council and the West Midlands county council are now giving adequate priority to the reclamation programme.
In common with other authorities, Walsall borough council has had the problem of establishing its identity and confirming its policies since the reorganisation of 1974. The merger of areas—in this case Walsall with Aldridge and Brownhills—provides both problems and, in my view, opportunities. I wonder whether the problems to some extent account for the performance in housing which is less than satisfactory. The borough has an ageing stock of local authority housing, a large number of private sector dwellings which need modernisation, and a housing shortage. Therefore, it is regrettable that the borough council has underspent its housing allocations both in 1977–78 and—as now seems likely—in 1978–79. In these two years almost £6 million was forgone which could have been spent on improving Walsall's housing.
Whatever the reason behind the housing policies adopted by the borough council, neglect of proven need for rented accommodation in favour of speculative building for sale, a dislike of improvement programmes and disinclination to encourage the housing association movement neither seem helpful to the people of Walsall nor do they necessarily make the best use of public resources. I can only hope that this will change and that faster progress will be made in future. My Department, through its regional office and its headquarters advisory services, is ready to offer any help and counsel that the authority needs to pursue 1393 an effective housing policy to benefit the people of Walsall.
I have mentioned quality of life. That is a phrase often used in connection with the major initiatives taken by the Government on the inner cities, including the passage of the Inner Urban Areas Act. I know that people in Walsall, and my hon. Friend in particular, were disappointed that Walsall was not designated as a special area under the Act.
However, as I have explained to my hon. Friend, the Government decided to concentrate the new powers of the Act into comparatively few districts, so that their effect would not be spread too thinly to make a real impact. That has meant some difficult choices and, on the basis of statistical and other indicators, Walsall came down on the non-designation side of the line. However, I welcome the chance of this debate to stress again to my hon. Friend and to hon. Members from other towns who may feel similar disappointment that designation under the Act is but one aspect of the Government's policy to shift the balance of national main programmes in favour of urban areas with substantial problems. The Government wish to be judged by the totality of their actions and, when this is done, I hope that my hon. Friend will agree that we will not be found wanting.
National programmes are moving in Walsall's favour. The shift in the emphasis of the rate support grant to metropolitan authorities, the extension of derelict land reclamation and the ability of the new housing investment programme system to respond sensitively to special housing needs are all examples of my Department's work.
I hope that my hon. Friend and the people of Walsall feel that the Government have recognised their needs and responded to them. I also hope that, as a consequence of the initiative taken by my hon. Friend, Walsall will be able to proceed to solve some of the long-standing problems that the town has inherited from its history.