HC Deb 24 March 1982 vol 20 c915
3. Sir Hector Monro

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has held recently with the Scottish Development Agency about bringing more defence-related jobs to the West of Scotland.

The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. George Younger)

I have regular contact with the Scottish Development Agency and am confident that it is making every effort to secure as much employment as possible in the West of Scotland, both defence-related and otherwise.

Sir Hector Monro

How many jobs have been maintained at the Yarrow shipyard through Government orders? How many jobs would be lost should Labour or Social Democratic policies on defence cuts be implemented?

Mr. Younger

I appreciate my hon. Friend's point. Recently, there was a further order for the Yarrow yard amounting to £120 million for a further type 22 frigate. That has secured employment in the yard for some time to come. My hon. Friend may also have noticed an announcement yesterday that will increase by 600 the jobs at Rosyth through the general redeployment of naval bases in the United Kingdom, which will be of advantage to Scotland.

Mr. Douglas

The right hon. Gentleman referred to Rosyth. Will he ask the Scottish Development Agency urgently to contact the people in HMS "Caledonia" to ensure that the valuable training facility, on which hundreds of thousands of pounds have recently been spent on new machinery, is properly used for training purposes in Scotland?

Mr. Younger

I fully appreciate the hon. Gentleman's point, because HMS "Caledonia" has been a valuable institution for many years. I am not certain whether the SDA should look into this, but I am certain that the Manpower Services Commission would be interested. The fact remains that the number of jobs in the hon. Gentleman's constituency will increase by 600, and I should have thought that he would be pleased about that.