HC Deb 13 July 1987 vol 119 cc692-3
6. Mr. Page

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the latest figure on how many jobs have been created by British Coal Enterprise.

8. Mr. Batiste

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the latest progress of British Coal Enterprise.

Mr. Michael Spicer

Up to the end of June British Coal Enterprise had helped create 18,506 new job opportunities in 1,399 individual projects. The company's investment of £31.5 million has attracted additional finance from other sources of almost £200 million.

Mr. Page

I welcome my hon. Friend to this portfolio and wish him every success. The figure that he cited of over 18,000 job opportunities is a considerable increase on the last figure quoted to me. It shows that the Government not only care about unemployment but, more important, are doing something about it. In view of that success, does my hon. Friend have any plans to increase this scheme? Are there any targets for which he will aim under that scheme?

Mr. Spicer

My hon. Friend is quite right. The scheme has shown great potential for the creation of jobs in coal mining areas. In answer to the second part of his question, I understand that British Coal Enterprise Ltd. hopes for an increase this year to an annual rate of 15,000 new job opportunities.

Mr. Ashton

Is it not the case that job opportunities are often different from jobs? is the Minister aware that the figures that British Coal put out were very vague—like the Minister's own figures? Will he give us a breakdown of the figures, constituency by constituency, so that we may establish which are real new jobs and which are duplicated jobs which have merely been shifted from British Coal to private contractors?

Mr. Spicer

I cannot understand why members of the Labour party carp in this way and it has been going on for several months now. The scheme provides great new prospects for jobs in coal mining areas. Why not accept it for what it is? Would the Labour party withdraw the scheme?

Mr. Ashby

Is my hon. Friend aware that many new and very good jobs have been created through British Coal Enterprise in areas of mining decline such as my constituency? Could BCE direct its attention to sites which are becoming disused and which need much work done on them if they are to be brought back into industrial use—sites for factories and so on? BCE could do so much in that area. Could it not take a more vigorous approach to such disused sites?

Mr. Spicer

That is obviously a matter for BCE, but I shall draw my hon. Friend's interesting idea to its attention.

Mr. Barron

How many of the 18,000 jobs have been filled by the 80,000 mineworkers made redundant since the end of the strike?

Mr. Spicer

That figure is not available.