6. Mr. BarryJones asked the Secretary of State for Wales what were the unemployment totals and percentages for (a) Wales and (b) Clwyd at the latest date for which such figures are available and for May 1979; and if he will give the percentage increase.
§ Mr. Nicholas EdwardsOn 11 December 1986 the total numbers of unemployed claimants in Wales and Clwyd 589 were 173,546 and 23,729 respectively. The number of unemployed claimants in Wales, seasonally adjusted, was 165,900, or 13.4 per cent. of the working population. In May 1979 it was 73,100, an increase over the period of 127 per cent.
Mr. JonesThose are deeply disturbing figures, especially when seen against the background of the recently revealed loss of some 113,000 manufacturing jobs since 1979. One calculation is that, at the current rate of decrease, it will take until 1994 simply to reduce the figure to 100,000. Has the right hon. Gentleman realised the serious consequences that there would be for north-east Wales if the predatory and greedy BTR takeover bid for Pilkington was successful? I remind the right hon. Gentleman that my constituents at Queensferry have signed a petition against the takeover. Will he urge his Cabinet colleagues to reconsider the weak decision taken by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry not to refer the hid to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission? Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that the public interest demands an about-turn, especially as junior Ministers do not support their Secretary of State? To us in Wales it appears that the City is increasingly corrupt. We want action on Pilkington.
§ Mr. EdwardsOn the ground of competition policy, bearing in mind the consistent application of that policy, and with the recommendation of the Director General of Fair Trading in front of him, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry made the absolutely correct decision. I am equally sure that investors in the company will want to take very careful account of Pilkington's impressive record in research and development and on maintaining regional operations in terms of headquarters and research and development. I am sure that they will also want to consider the company's successful record. I hope that investors will bear all those factors carefully in mind when they decide the long-term future of the company.
§ Mr. TerlezkiI think that we ought to welcome the reduction in unemployment in Wales, although it is marginal. My right hon. Friend travels far and wide to introduce industries to Wales and we have an excellent labour force, but if the Opposition continue with their scaremongering, industries from all over the world which intend to come to Wales, and which we need, will not come.
§ Mr. SpeakerWhat is the question?
§ Mr. EdwardsThere is no doubt that hon. Members on both sides of the House should welcome the steady fall in unemployment that has taken place over the past nine months in Wales, and which as continued to be evident in the figures for the most recent available month. I repeat that the policies that are being advanced by the Opposition represent a serious threat. The hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mr. Jones) has introduced his own policy or, apparently, a whole range of competing development agencies in almost every hamlet of the Principality. That policy was promptly ridiculed and dismissed by almost all his colleagues, including a former Secretary of State for Wales.
§ Mr. FootAs the right hon. Gentleman is so proud of his regional policy, will he tell us precisely how much the 590 Treasury has saved on that policy since 1979? All those millions could have been better spent in the worst-hit areas of Wales.
§ Mr. EdwardsAs I have already pointed out to the right hon. Gentleman, the policies that we are pursuing have produced a rising number of new jobs, created as a result of that assistance. There has been a record amount of factory allocations and, as the right hon. Gentleman is aware, we have allocated substantial new resources to the valleys initiative and the proposed garden festival that will be held in his constituency.
§ Sir Anthony MeyerIs my right hon. Friend aware that there will be a general welcome for the clear lead that he gave just now in his answer about the Government's belief that the independence of Pilkington is vital, not only for the retention of existing jobs, but for the provision of future jobs in north Wales?
§ Mr. EdwardsThere are two quite separate matters involved. There is the question of competition policy, and whether to send the matter to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. Indeed, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, when making his announcement, pointed out that would not necessarily have led to any different decision.
The other question concerned the merits of the bid that now has to be considered by the investors. I believe that Pilkington has an outstanding record based on research and development and that the long-term record and the company's prospects should be high in the minds of those who have to take the decision.
§ Mr. Geraint HowellsI am sure that the Secretary of State is aware that the unemployment percentage in the Cardigan area is one of the highest in Wales and stands at 26 per cent., as it has done for the past 10 years. I wonder what plans the Secretary of State has in mind to try to resolve this problem.
§ Mr. EdwardsI very much welcome the active initiatives that are being taken particularly in the Teifi valley by the enterprise agencies. I believe that the activities of those organisations will make an increasingly valuable contribution in some of the more difficult rural areas where it is not easy, as the hon. Gentleman well knows, to create new jobs. Indeed, the hon. Gentleman pointed out that this sutuation of high unemployment has continued in the area for a long time, including during the period of the Lib/Lab alliance.