Unemployment (Hansard, 7 February 1979)

§ 1. Mr. Monro
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when last he discussed unemployment in Scotland with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.

§ The Minister of State, Scottish Office (Mr. Gregor MacKenzie)
My right hon. Friend has not specifically discussed this topic at any recent meetings with the convention. But over the past year he and I have had a number of meetings with local authorities to discuss unemployment in their areas.

§ Mr. Monro
Is the Minister aware that the intolerable level of unemployment in Scotland is a damning criticism of five years of Socialism? He is always talking about jobs in the pipeline and job creation, but the level of unemployment remains extremely high. What help is he giving to local authorities, through their development committees, to remedy the high unemployment figures?

§ Mr. MacKenzie
I thought that the hon. Gentleman would be encouraged by the fact that the seasonally adjusted unemployment figures for Scotland show a decrease. There are 11,300 fewer unemployed now than at the corresponding time in 1978. I think that that is mildly encouraging, but my right hon. Friend and I are not complacent. We are doing all that we can to encourage firms to 368 come to Scotland. By measures that we have adopted through Government action, such as the Industry Act, we are doing all that we can to promote growth.

§ Mr. Gordon Wilson
What explanation will the Minister give to COSLA for the 40 per cent. drop in regional aid which was analysed by Professor Donald MacKay?

§ Mr. MacKenzie
I have not seen anything of that sort. If the hon. Gentleman tables a question on the subject he will receive an answer.

§ Mr. Teddy Taylor
Is the Minister aware that I tabled the very question that the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Mr. Wilson) put to him as a supplementary question? The answer referred me to official figures that confirmed that the amount of assistance for industry, including REP and regional aids, had decreased substantially. That question was asked as recently as three or four days ago. Is not the hon. Gentleman ashamed that after four and a half years of Labour administration unemployment in Scotland has doubled and appears now to be increasing again? Does not that persuade the Government that their policies have been wrong and are still wrong?

§ Mr. MacKenzie
The hon. Gentleman knows very well that for some considerable time we have been in the midst of a deep recession throughout the entire world. We cannot cut ourselves off, as perhaps the hon. Gentleman wishes, from every other set of circumstances. I indicated to the hon. Member for Dumfries (Mr. Monro) that the seasonally adjusted unemployment figure—that is the figure with which we are all concerned—has dropped from the corresponding time last year. I take some little encouragement from that. I am astonished that the hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Taylor) has the nerve to speak in the House about REP.