§ 3. Mr. James Hamiltonasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 July.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. HamiltonDoes the right hon. Lady realise that her economic and industrial policies are now in tatters? Given that fact, the number of long-term unemployed, the many thousands of young people who have not yet found their first job, and the many people living on the poverty line, what hope do her policies hold out?
§ The Prime MinisterI do not accept what the hon. Gentleman has said about our economic policy. As I have said in the House before, gross domestic product is up 2.75 per cent. on the year earlier, industrial output is up 3.5 per cent. on the year earlier, total fixed investment has grown by 10 per cent. and we have had the lowest annual average figure for inflation for 15 years. [Interruption.] I could cite many other examples, but the Opposition have started to make a noise, because they do not want to hear. I accept that it will be difficult to reduce unemployment, because the number of people of working age is increasing at a faster rate than the number of jobs. However, there has been an improvement in the prospects for young people and the youth training scheme is one of the best in the world.
§ Mr. JesselHas my right hon. Friend had time to consider the election result in Israel? Does not the repeated stalemate there demonstrate the weakness of proportional representation?
§ The Prime MinisterYes, Sir, I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point so vividly.
§ Dr. OwenWill the Prime Minister confirm, or deny, that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury is at the moment asking Government Departments to come forward with cuts in expenditure for this year as well as for next year? Will she give the House her estimate of the outturn of inflation, as it must be clear that the 4.5 to 5 per cent. figure is bound to be exceeded? Even in the City people are advocating a 7.5 per cent. inflation outturn for this year.
§ The Prime MinisterThe Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and other Ministers, are engaged in the public expenditure survey for next year, as is customary at this time of year. With regard to inflation forecasts for the end of the year, that will depend on how long the mortgage rate must remain at its higher level, which depends to some extent on the future of strikes.
§ Mr. Charles WardleHas my right hon. Friend seen that the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals is considering how higher education can best serve the future needs of industry? Does she agree that the gap in high technology skills that exists in the labour market must be filled as soon as possible with home-grown specialists if industry is to take full advantage of new opportunities in changing markets?
§ The Prime MinisterYes Sir, but I have noticed recently much closer co-operation between universities and industries, especially regarding high technology. My hon. Friend knows that there are a number of science parks—I recently opened one at Warwick university—which are doing very well and securing the kind of co-operation that has been sorely needed.
§ Mr. Norman AtkinsonAccording to the Prime Minister's earlier answers, she insists on absolute commercial viability for the coal industry. On what morality or criteria does she totally reject her responsibility for the social viability of that industry?
§ The Prime MinisterThe hon. Gentleman is aware that social grants have always been given to the coal industry. They are a fundamental part of the financial structure. This Government have been more generous than any other in giving those grants to the industry and in 821 making special arrangements for redundancy payments. Those two are treated separately from other grants to the coal industry, such as grants for operating losses, which are extremely high.
§ Q4. Mr. John Browneasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 24 July.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
§ Mr. BrowneDoes my right hon. Friend accept that the collapse of the dock strike illustrates vividly that when Governments do not interfere, ordinary trade union members show very little wish to place their jobs in jeopardy in support of a political strike? Does she accept that there is now a crying need for the Government to provide for voluntary secret ballots, not merely for the election of officers, but wherever industrial action is contemplated, to enable trade union members to protect their jobs?
§ The Prime MinisterAs my hon. Friend is aware, we shall debate trade union matters today, on which their Lordships thought that we had not gone far enough to protect the rights of ordinary members regarding the election of trade union officials. My hon. Friend will have noticed that in regions where a ballot of members of the National Union of Mineworkers was held and the majority voted to go back to work — that happened in Nottinghamshire where miners are back at work—they upheld the rules of the NUM rule book. They had a ballot and honoured the result.
§ Mr. McGuireIs the Prime Minister aware that when the general election was held just over 12 months ago jobs were still being lost at the rate of 20,000 a month? Given her forecasts of upturns, will she tell the House what the net job loss is? Is it 20,000 a month or fewer?
§ The Prime MinisterAs the hon. Gentleman might have seen from the figures published last week, the number of people in work in the economy, including the estimated self-employed, is estimated to have risen by about 260,000 during the past year. The size of the working population is increasing faster than the number of extra jobs, so there is still an underlying increase in unemployment, which is given every month in the seasonally adjusted figures.