Enterprise Allowance Scheme (Hansard, 24 March 1982)

§ 13. Mr. Foulkes
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now extend the enterprise allowance scheme to Scotland.

§ Mr. Alexander Fletcher
My right hon. Friend announced yesterday, in response to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Bute and North Ayrshire (Mr. Corrie), that he had asked the Manpower Services Commission to establish an enterprise allowance pilot scheme in North Ayrshire.

§ Mr. Foulkes
Is the Minister aware that while those of us who have been pushing hard for the scheme to be extended to Scotland will welcome the announcement, we are also concerned and think that it will be deeply divisive in Ayrshire that only half of Ayrshire has been included. We are particularly concerned that the scheme does not include the high unemployment areas of Cumnock, Doon Valley and Girvan, which have been excluded yet again from another special scheme promoted by Strathclyde or the Government. Will the Minister tell the House why half of Ayrshire has been excluded and give us an assurance that he will have a rethink about that exclusion?

§ Mr. Fletcher
This is a pilot scheme and the area included is the area of Cunninghame district, excluding Arran, and Kilmarnock and Loudoun district. That is an area that is suffering from severe unemployment problems and it is about the right size of area to undertake a pilot scheme of this kind. Until the pilot scheme has been completed it would be wrong to suggest that any further extensions will take place.

§ Mr. Bill Walker
Will my hon. Friend consider extending the pilot scheme to the small community of Blairgowrie, where unemployment is very high as a result of factory closures during the previous Administration?

§ Mr. Fletcher
I am sympathetic to the problem that my hon. Friend raises but I have to repeat that we are conducting this pilot scheme in North Ayrshire. We believe that it will be successful but we should like to conduct the scheme and get the experience from it before deciding whether any extensions should take place.

§ Mr. Craigen
As there are now over 100, 000 among Scotland's unemployed who have been out of a job for more than 12 months, may I ask how many new initiatives the Scottish Office is examining. Has the Minister given consideration to the recent report by Strathclyde regional council about unemployment black spots?

§ Mr. Fletcher
Many initiatives have been taken during the three years under this Government, in various parts of the country, particularly in the special development areas. The hon. Gentleman will know that the GEAR project has been enhanced, so the enterprise zone is working successfully in Clydebank. The ASSET initiative in North Ayrshire, of which the scheme is a part, the Scottish Development Agency initiative in Dundee and Leith and the shortly-to-be-announced major scheme in North Lanarkshire are the sorts of schemes that are necessary. The Government are giving these areas every possible support to improve employment prospects.