HC Deb 17 July 1979 vol 970 cc1283-4
8. Mr. Skinner

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he next expects to meet his EEC colleagues; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Prior

I expect to meet my EEC colleagues at the next Council of Ministers for Labour and Social Affairs. This is planned for Tuesday 27 November 1979.

Mr. Skinner

Will the Minister tell the people over there that while the Common Market gravy train lumbers on, with its newest passengers on board today, the so-called MEPs, the Common Market policies on subjects such as steel, together with the Tory policies that are being carried out in this House, are resulting in the devastation of towns such as Shotton and Corby? Is it not a fact that a Tory Government are interested in job creation schemes for those in the Common Market and dole queues for British workers?

Mr. Prior

The answer to that supplementary question is " Rubbish "

Mr. Haselhurst

Will my right hon. Friend consider, when he next meets his Community colleagues, whether the time is ripe for some initiative on a Community-wide training scheme for young people, under which young people can travel within the Community to obtain experience, thus achieving common European standards of training?

Mr. Prior

Yes, Sir. There is a small scheme which is now operated and which we should like to see expanded. There is also a need to see that our schemes for the training of young people and for helping the older unemployed fit more readily into the schemes which the EEC social fund will support. I believe that we can do a lot better than we have been doing in the last year or two, although we did very well before that.

Mr. John Grant

In view of the enormous imbalance in the Community budget and its adverse effect on this country, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman, when he attends the next Council of Ministers for Labour and Social Affairs, to press for a bigger and better share of the European social fund? Will he bear in mind that the announcement that is to be made later today by the Secretary of State for Industry will make that kind of assistance even more desirable?

Mr. Prior

I do not wish to say anything about my right hon. Friend's statement which will be made later today. However, the hon. Gentleman is right to make that comment. We need to obtain more resources out of the social fund. This will mean changing to some extent some of our statistical evidence and also tailoring our policies more to suit the social fund. We must seek to achieve that end, and we shall do so.