§ 16. Mr. Anthony CoombsTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of how many jobs have been created or maintained by overseas investment since 1979.
§ Mr. AtkinsAccording to the figures known to the Invest in Britain Bureau, since 1979 more than 186,000 jobs have been created and since 1983, when records were started, more than 100,000 jobs have been maintained.
§ Mr. CoombsWill my hon. Friend confirm that far from being the pariah of the international investment community, as Britain was 10 years ago, we now attract nearly one third of American investment in Europe and nearly half Japanese investment in Europe? Does he agree that this is because of the enterprise policies adopted by the Government and because industrial relations in Britain have been transformed so that British managers have far greater freedom to manage than those in any other country in Europe? Will he resist any impulse by the European Commission to make that more difficult?
§ Mr. AtkinsMy hon. Friend is quite right. As inward investment is one of my responsibilities, I see an enormous number of representatives from foreign companies and countries, all of whom are very keen to invest in Britain. They recognise the strength of our economy, the beneficial effects of our industrial relations legislation, and a wide variety of other factors, the most important in my opinion being the quality of the work force that they can utilise in various parts of the country. My hon. Friend is quite right to draw attention to that and he can rest assured that we will endeavour to maintain that position for as long as possible.