HC Deb 09 December 1985 vol 88 cc611-2
8. Mr. Barry Jones

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many people are unemployed (a) in Wales and (b) in Clwyd; by how much these figures have increased since May 1979 as a total and as a percentage; and how many in each case are long-term unemployed as a total and as a percentage.

Mr. Nicholas Edwards

On 14 November 1985 there were 180,853 unemployed claimants in Wales, an increase of 103,653, or 134.3 per cent., since May 1979. On 7 November there were 24,854 unemployed claimants in Clwyd. A comparable claimant-based figure for May 1979 for Clwyd is not available.

In October 1985, 77,412, or 42.4 per cent., had been unemployed for over one year in Wales, while for Clwyd the figure was 9,835, or 39.4 per cent.

Mr. Jones

The county of Gwynedd has wretched dole figures, with, for example, about 5,000 jobless in Anglesey. Why does the right hon. Gentleman not ensure that the Conwy river tunnel is built at a faster rate so that a completed expressway can bring more jobs to north-west Wales?

What studies has the right hon. Gentleman made of the impact upon the Welsh economy of the building of an English Channel crossing? If he has made any studies, he should make a candid statement about them.

Why has the right hon. Gentleman allowed himself to be frustrated in the building of the second Severn crossing? He will carry the blame if a second crossing is not built and a Channel crossing is built. He should aim to get the second Severn crossing built at the earliest possible moment.

Mr. Edwards

We shall shortly go out to tender on the massive scheme for the Conwy crossing. I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for drawing attention to the project and the very heavy expenditure by the Government on the A55.

Among those who have campaigned for the Channel tunnel are British Steel, which believes that it will provide many jobs in the regions.

The hon. Gentleman talked nonsense about the second Severn crossing. The Government have pressed on with the feasibility study. That study, to decide the details of the crossing—where it could go and what form it should take—is well advanced, and the findings should be available by the summer of next year. The Government do not merely talk about it, as the hon. Gentleman does. We get on with our planning to spend very large sums of money to improve the infrastructure of Britain.

Mr. Gryst

Can my right hon. Friend explain to the House, and perhaps to others, why the Opposition think that a policy of higher borrowing, higher taxation and higher inflation should lead to higher employment?

Mr. Edwards

Because they never learn from their previous disastrous experience.

Mrs. Clwyd

Does the Secretary of State not feel any concern about the fact that we have lost 11,000 jobs in coalmining in south Wales since 1979, when the Conservative party came to office? Is he aware that, under the NCB's enterprise scheme, we are promised only 700 jobs in south Wales? Is he further aware that my constituency still has the highest male unemployment rate in the whole of Wales? Can he tell me, so that I can tell people, where the rest of the jobs are coming from?

Mr. Edwards

Of course I am concerned, as I am sure the Labour Government were concerned in the period when they closed many more pits than the Government have closed. I am sure the hon. Lady will welcome the fact that the unemployment figure has come down in successive months and that, although the figure is still too high, there are signs that perhaps it is levelling off or even beginning to fall a small amount.

Mr. Gwilym Jones

Does my right hon. Friend agree that last month's fall of 1,881 in the Welsh jobless will be welcomed by all responsible people because it was a fall for the third successive month in a row? The figures are confirmed by the seasonal adjustment showing the trend of unemployment. Does my right hon. Friend share my lack of surprise at the absence of welcome for this from the Opposition?

Mr. Edwards

Of course we must continue to be concerned about high unemployment, but, as I have pointed out, we have taken a massive series of measures to improve the infrastructure and employment prospects in Wales. I share my hon. Friend's hope that the small downturn that is shown in the figures is an omen for the future.

Mr. Geraint Howells

Does the Secretary of State have a Christmas message of hope for the youngsters aged between 18 and 25 in Wales who are currently unemployed? Is there a ray of hope that some of them will find employment in 1986?

Mr. Edwards

Undoubtedly the two-year training programme launched by the Government, the greatly improved training provision and the other measures specifically taken to help young people are beginning to have an effect. The measures announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor in the Budget are also beginning to have an effect. The Government have launched many significant initiatives to help those people to whom the hon. Gentleman refers.