§ 7. Mr. Beithasked the Paymaster General whether he has any plans to increase the present range of measures available to stimulate the creation of employment in the Alnwick and Amble area.
§ Mr. LangWe have no plans at present to increase the considerable range of measures available to stimulate the creation of employment in the Alnwick and Amble area. We are convinced that the new package of measures announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget statement will significantly benefit Alnwick and Amble as well as the rest of country by accelerating the growth of enterprise, boosting employment opportunities for the young and helping the long-term unemployed find work.
§ Mr. BeithAs the considerable range of measures to which the hon. Gentleman referred excludes all those available exclusively in development areas, will he use the figures available to his Department to convince the Department of Trade and Industry that, as prophesied, the unemployment rate in the Alnwick and Amble area has remained as high as and often higher than that in development areas and that further measures, including access to European funds, are clearly necessary in that unemployment black spot?
§ Mr. LangI am sure that the hon. Gentleman understands that a wide range of criteria, including the unemployment rate, industrial and occupational structures and changes in the labour supply, are taken into account in deciding on the designation of assisted areas. I draw to the hon. Gentleman's attention a number of measures that are applicable in his constituency—the YTS, the community programme, the enterprise allowance scheme, the job release scheme and the young workers scheme. All those schemes are detailed in our "Action for Jobs" booklet. The hon. Gentleman may also like to know that the restart programme began in his area yesterday.