Wolverhampton (Hansard, 20 November 1984)

§ 9. Mrs. Renée Short
asked the Secretary of State for Employment what new initiatives he plans to reduce the level of unemployment in Wolverhampton.

§ Mr. Peter Bottomley
The Government are concerned about the level of unemployment in Wolverhampton. A substantial number of people in the area are benefiting from employment and training measures, including the enterprise allowance scheme, which we have recently extended. Sustainable employment depends on a healthy economy and competitive industry.

§ Mrs. Short
Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the Secretary of State came to Wolverhampton recently and that many of his friends told him that they were disturbed by the high level of unemployment, which now stands at 16 per cent.? Will the hon. Gentleman now answer the question and tell me what initiatives he has to reduce what is an unacceptably high level of unemployment, which has been at that level now for a number of years?

§ Mr. Bottomley
With her record of interest in employment measures and opportunities, the hon. Lady will know that that requires partnership between the Government, local authorities, and, most of all—

§ Mrs. Short
That is available.

§ Mr. Bottomley
—the ability to create new markets and meet the markets that are available. The hon. Lady will be as aware as I am that, for example, the motor industry, for which much subcontracting is done in her area, has seen more demand for cars but fewer being supplied from Britain. It would be helpful to have her support to get people back to work to produce the cars rather than to see people going on strike.

§ Mr. Budgen
Does my hon. Friend agree that the horrifying problems of Wolverhampton cannot be cured in isolation from those in the rest of the country, but that neither Wolverhampton nor the rest of Britain is satisfied by the Government collectively wringing their hands and talking vaguely about the need to make labour markets more flexible? Some immediate action is needed to reduce the rigidities in the labour market, such as the abolishing of the wages councils.

§ Mr. Bottomley
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving me his views, now that I am at the Dispatch Box rather than sitting beside him. However, it is not just the wages councils that are important, because it is also important that employers should obtain a greater return from employing people than the mere cost of doing so, and that unit labour costs should stop rising and should remain steady or fall, as happens with many of our competitors.