HC Deb 22 July 1986 vol 102 cc168-9
4. Mr. Yeo

asked the Paymaster General what steps his Department is taking to seek to reduce unemployment in the town of Haverhill.

Mr. Lang

The Government's economic strategy is providing the climate of low inflation and sustained growth which is the only sensible way to secure real jobs in Haverhill and elsewhere. Haverhill will also benefit from the new package of measures announced in the Budget to accelerate the growth of enterprise, boost employment opportunities for the young and help the long-term unemployed find work.

Mr. Yeo

Is my hon. Friend aware that Haverhill has the most severe unemployment problem in my constituency and that although many of the measures to which he has referred are both welcome and helpful, his Department's initiatives are frequently obstructed by shortcomings in the policies of other Departments? Is he aware, for example, that Haverhill is blighted by poor road communications and is a victim of extremely poor and inadequate strategic planning? Will he prevail on his colleagues in other Departments to consider the employment implications of their policies when working them out?

Mr. Lang

We constantly try to co-operate with other Departments in formulating Government policies, but I shall pass on my hon. Friend's remarks to my colleagues. With regard to my own Department, I am sure that my hon. Friend will welcome the substantial involvement in his constituency in the youth training scheme and community programmes and the fact that in the Norfolk and Suffolk area some 4,000 people have benefited from the enterprise allowance scheme since it started.