HC Deb 11 April 1984 vol 58 cc373-5
8. Mr. Hirst

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about current business confidence in Scotland.

Mr. Younger

Recent announcements emphasise the investment opportunities which Scotland offers to new and expanding firms and should serve to increase business confidence. The latest two Scottish CBI surveys taken together suggest an increase in authorisations for new manufacturing investment in 1984, which is another encouraging sign of recovery.

Mr. Hirst

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his reply. Does he agree that the recent news of electronics firms setting up in Scotland represents almost a success a day? Can he confirm that a significant number of United States electronics companies are giving serious consideration to setting up in Scotland, and is he satisfied that the education and training arrangements in Scotland will provide a sufficiently skilled work force for such new companies?

Mr. Younger

I am grateful for what my hon. Friend said. I agree that there is no doubt that, as a location for inward investment in electronics, Scotland stands very high. The two projects of National Semiconductors and Shin-Etsu alone will provide more than 1,500 new jobs. Those announcements were made in recent weeks.

Dr. Bray

Is the Secretary of State aware that, because of the cuts made by the Government in university expenditure, the number of places for electronics engineers in Strathclyde has been reduced this year from 120 to 90? National Semiconductors alone, taken with Inmos, has more than twice oversubscribed the total output of large-scale integration electronics engineers produced in the whole of the United Kingdom. What is the Government doing about the supply of the necessary skilled personnel?

Mr. Younger

The Government are doing a great deal. Not only have we substantially increased the number of qualified engineers coming out of our educational system, but in centrally funded institutions, under the Scottish Office's control, we have held the funding level at a time when many other areas have had to have restrictions on their spending.

Sir Hector Monro

Is my right hon. Friend convinced that the SDA is spending enough of its resources on the rural areas of Scotland, where unemployment and deprivation can be just as serious as in the urban areas, where most of the money seems to be spent?

Mr. Younger

The authority of the SDA covers the whole of Scotland, with no exception. It takes a number of important initiatives in rural areas. I am sure that my hon. Friend will know that there is a special scheme in Wigtown.

Mr. Kennedy

When discussing current business confidence, will the Secretary of State pay particular attention to the present concern in the Easter Ross area and the Highland region over the changed structure that he proposes for regional development grants, which could affect a major industrial initiative such as the Highland hydrocarbon project, about which I have written to the Minister responsible for industry? Will he take every step to ensure that when the new regional development grant structure is introduced, such projects that have business backing and will create jobs in a severely depressed area are given every possible support?

Mr. Younger

We shall do all that we can to ensure that any change in regional policy still leaves Scotland with a strong pool for inward investment. With regard to large projects with high capital costs and a low number of jobs, it is common ground between all parties in the review that we should aim to get better value for money where we can.

Mr. Dewar

Does the Secretary of State accept that for the hon. Member for Strathkelvin and Bearsden (Mr. Hirst) to talk about the Government's economic policy as a success a day is laughable, when the truth is that almost 350,000 Scots are in the dole queues, company failures are occurring at a frightening rate and there is a real question mark over the future of a large number of our basic industries? Does the right hon. Gentleman accept that the greatest boost that could be given to business confidence would be a change in this thrawn Government's economic policy?

Mr. Younger

I should have thought that we gave the greatest possible boost in one sense recently, in abolishing at last the tax on jobs which the Labour Government imposed, which undoubtedly discouraged employment. The hon. Gentleman's description of the Scottish economy is totally distorted. Everyone knows that encouraging inward investment is taking place. The Scottish CBI survey in January showed a sharp improvement in business confidence in Scotland, with a positive balance of 13 per cent. of respondents reporting that they were optimistic about the future. The hon. Gentleman would do well to recognise that fact and try to help, if he can.