HC Deb 13 May 1981 vol 4 cc752-3
4. Mr. Maxton

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he intends to take to lower the level of unemployment in the Strathclyde region.

Mr. Alexander Fletcher

In addition to the expansion of the West Central Scotland special development area my Department has, since May 1979, offered selective financial assistance to more than 200 projects in Strathclyde. We have continued the development of the new towns and the Glengarnock task force, and we have taken special initiatives such as the enterprise zone at Clydebank. "Locate in Scotland" is actively promoting the region and the Scottish Development Agency is committing substantial resources there.

Mr. Maxton

Is the Minister aware that, in view of the Manpower Services Commission's projection, published this morning, that long-term unemployment will continue to rise dramatically, people in Scotland will find his answer dangerously complacent? Is it not time that the Government changed their policies and started to invest money in public projects, particularly capital projects, to get the people of Strathclyde back to work?

Mr. Fletcher

The hon. Gentleman might bear it in mind when he accuses me of complacency that since May 1979 more than 200 projects have been offered selective financial assistance. They involved around 23,000 jobs, and the total associated investment amounted to more than £400 million. There is nothing complacent about that.

Mr. Sproat

Will my hon. Friend remind the Opposition that the Government are concentrating a far higher proportion of Government aid on Strathclyde than did the Labour Government and that Strathclyde has been helped particularly by the massive aid that the Government have given to the shipbuilding and steel industries?

Mr. Fletcher

My hon. Friend is absolutely correct. Last year, the Government made available £1,121 million to the steel industry, much of which is in Strathclyde. This year, the figure is £730 million. The shipbuilding industry has also received substantial support.

Mr. Milian

When will Ministers stop making optimistic and misleading statements about all the wonderful new jobs that are coming to Scotland and instead face the reality that unemployment in Scotland will soon go beyond 300,000? There is no support for the Government's policies in Scotland. It is down to only 15 per cent. in the public opinion polls. Unless there is a complete reversal of the Government's policies, the outlook for Scotland will continue to be extremely grim.

Mr. Fletcher

Is the right hon. Gentleman suggesting that we should reverse our policy—[HON. MEMBERS: "Yes."]—of reducing inflation and interest rates?

Mr. John MacKay

Is my hon. Friend aware of the importance in Strathclyde of employment and employment prospects in the defence establishments at Coulport and Gairloch? Does he agree that the anti-nuclear posturing of a portion of the Labour Party, plus the striking civil servants at Coulport, does not help to bring to the defence establishments in Strathclyde the investment that the hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Maxton) wants?

Mr. Fletcher

The Labour Party is famous for its posturing. The point made by my hon. Friend is absolutely correct. Defence jobs are important in Scotland. The opportunities that new jobs provide should be welcomed, not criticised, by the Opposition.

Mr. Lambie

Is the Minister aware that, despite all the initiatives that he has named today—many in my constituency—unemployment in Cunningham is still more than 21 per cent.? Last week, Beechams advertised 70 new jobs in the local press and there were 2,800 applicants for them.

Is the Minister further aware that people in Ayrshire believe that the only way to solve unemployment is for the right hon. Member for Ayr (Mr. Younger) to resign and for the Government to call a general election?

Mr. Fletcher

Nothing could be more dangerous for the Scottish economy than for the Labour Party to come back into power. I know that there is high unemployment in the hon. Gentleman's constituency and elsewhere. However, if the Labour Government had been realistic and taken heed of the need to reduce inflation and to tackle Scotland's economic problems at their root, unemployment would not be as high as it is today.

Mr. Bill Walker

Does my hon. Friend agree that the best way to provide long-term employment is to create jobs manufacturing goods that customers want to buy and that capital projects, however desirable, do not produce many jobs?

Mr. Fletcher

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. For example, the oil industry has created 90,000 new jobs in Scotland in the past 12 years, and there are 40,000 jobs in electronics, and more coming.