§ 4. Mr. RiddickTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met representatives of the wool textiles industry; and if he will make a statement.
§ 8. Mr. TredinnickTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he last met representatives of the British Clothing Industry Association, the Knitting Industries Federation and the British Textile Confederation; what was discussed; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AtkinsMy hon. Friend the Minister for Trade last met representatives of the British Clothing Industry Association, the Knitting Industries Federation and the British Textile Confederation on 31 October, when a wide range of textile trade issues was discussed. He met representatives of the National Wool Textile Export Corporation on 9 January to discuss the future of the statutory wool textile industry—export promotion—levy.
I also met several representatives of the textile industry during a visit to Manchester and at a luncheon in Bolton on 8 February.
§ Mr. RiddickWill my hon. Friend take this opportunity to congratulate the wool textile industry on record exports last year, especially as trading conditions were not at all easy? Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the challenges 397 facing the textile industry is to attract enough school leavers into the industry? Does he share my surprise and disappointment that only four schools out of well over 40 were represented at a recent open day of the Huddersfield Textile Trading Group when a large number of trainees, managing directors and senior company executives were there ready and prepared to talk to teachers and, indeed, to potential new recruits? Does my hon. Friend agree that that was an appalling missed opportunity and possibly a reflection on the career teachers in the schools which did not attend?
§ Mr. AtkinsAs usual, my hon. Friend is right to draw attention to such problems. He was also right about the success of the wool textile industry, with record exports worth £613 million last year. We should be proud of that record.
I agree with my hon. Friend about the importance of education links and the need to get people into the industry. We should capture youngsters—not just at secondary but at primary school level—to make them appreciate that making things is of crucial importance to the future of our manufacturing base. In my experience of industry, I have found that the problems do not come from children but from the teachers. I urge my hon. Friend to encourage the teachers in his area to recognise the importance of youngsters developing an interest in manufacturing. To ensure that teachers take more interest in the career opportunities offered, perhaps my hon. Friend will take the matter up with our right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science to see what can be done.
§ Mr. TredinnickWill my hon. Friend join me in congratulating the British Clothing Industry Association, the Knitting Industries Federation and the British Textile Confederation on the formation of the new Apparel Knitting and Textiles Alliance, which is a great step forward in providing a unified response? Does my hon. Friend share with me and many of my constituents the deep concern felt about the recent agreement negotiated between the EEC and China in relation to textiles and the 20 per cent. increase in imports that will follow? Will my hon. Friend also consider the import of acrylic yarn from Turkey, which is of particular concern at this time as it can come in at below production costs in this country?
§ Mr. AtkinsI am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments. He is right to offer congratulations to those bodies and I join him in doing so. My hon. Friend will be aware that our hon. Friend the Minister for Trade has been discussing matters relating to Turkey and China on a regular basis. Were there to be any doubt about that, I should point out that he has been defending the interests of my hon. Friend's constituents and other companies in this country with the assiduity that we have come to expect of him. In the circumstances, my hon. Friend will understand that the agreement with China, for instance, although perhaps not so good as we in the United Kingdom might have wished, is nonetheless better than the alternative. We can exercise some control over imports from China. My hon. Friend's point about Turkey is also well taken. We have done an enormous amount about that, and Turkey's exports to this country have fallen in recent months. I repeat that my hon. Friend the Minister 398 for Trade has those matters in hand and will continue to fight Britain's corner as strongly as we have come to expect of him.
§ Mr. MaddenWill the Minister guard against being carried away with too much self-congratulation? A large part of Britain's balance of trade deficit is made up of imported textiles and clothing, representing unfair competition. Does the Minister recognise that the combination of high interest rates, high exchange rates and unfair competition creates in the British textile and clothing industry the fear of a return to the closures, increasing short-time working and large-scale redundancies experienced in the early 1980s? Will the Minister give a clear assurance that Government policy is a renewal of the multi-fibre arrangement and a commitment to take other action in support of the British textile and clothing industry?
§ Mr. AtkinsThe hon. Gentleman talks as though he is the only person who understands the textile industry. [HON. MEMBERS: "He is."] He represents a point of view, but he must recognise that many Conservative Members—not least my hon. Friends the Members for Colne Valley (Mr. Riddick) and for Bosworth (Mr. Tredinnick) and myself—have parts of the textile industry in our constituencies and are fully aware of the concerns being expressed. I take the hon. Gentleman's point about unfair imports. As I said earlier, and as the hon. Gentleman knows, my hon. Friend the Minister for Trade has been working extremely hard to ensure that Britain's position is protected. It was obvious from the debate on 9 December, in which the hon. Gentleman and other right hon. and hon. Members participated, that much is being done by the Government to defend the interests of the textile industry. As for interest rates, all right hon. and hon. Members must surely recognise that an increase in interest rates is far better than an equivalent increase in the rate of inflation. It is common sense to take action to get rid of inflation by taking action on interest rates. Even the hon. Gentleman and his right hon. and hon. Friends must recognise that.
§ Mr. VazDoes the hon. Gentleman agree that from 31 October last year until now is far too long to wait before meeting the federation? The Minister should urgently seek a meeting with representatives of the wool and textile industries. When I and other hon. Members met them a fortnight ago, representatives of those industries gave the Government a very rough ride and criticised the lack of Government action. Is the Minister aware that in the past year Leicestershire has lost 2,891 jobs out of a county work force of 40,000? That is the proof sought by the Minister for Trade that the industry is being damaged. When will the Government start protecting British jobs and British industry?
§ Mr. AtkinsThe hon. Gentleman is on record from the 9 December debate as being someone who wishes to break international agreements. That is something to which Conservatives and, I hope, the Opposition Front Bench would not wish to be a party, although we recognise that there are problems at various levels in the textile industry. My hon. Friend the Minister for Trade is on record as saying both in the House and outside that he is prepared to defend British interests within the limitations of the 399 EEC and our own legislation. The hon. Gentleman must make clear whether he is still in favour of breaking international agreements.
§ Mr. AtkinsNow we know exactly where we stand. It is on the record.
§ Mr. WallerIs my hon. Friend aware that the industry is still very concerned about imports from countries which erect blatant barriers against the entry of British goods? With the multi-fibre arrangement looming on the horizon, does my hon. Friend fully appreciate that the wool textile industry in particular does not seek protection but seeks reciprocity so that it may compete fairly?
§ Mr. AtkinsMy hon. Friend is yet another of my right hon. and hon. Friends who understands the industry and speaks about it with authority. He makes a very fair point. He will know that my hon. Friend the Minister for Trade is fighting that battle as strongly as he is fighting the others.
§ Mr. HendersonWhat advice does the Minister have for Courtauld, which right hon. and hon. Members in all parts of the House will recognise as a high-productivity company with good industrial relations, following its announcement of a further 780 redundancies in the cotton industry in Lancashire, bringing the total number of redundancies in the textile industry since October to 10,000? Following the Financial Times forecast the day before yesterday of further output cuts and exchange rate policy changes, does the Minister blame Courtauld and companies like it or does he blame his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer?
§ Mr. AtkinsThe hon. Gentleman makes an entirely fair point about Courtauld. I understand and get no pleasure from the closures that Courtauld and other mills have announced. I understand all too well, because I had been a Member of Parliament for only one month when 2,400 Courtauld workers were put out of work in my constituency. Courtauld has had to retrench, reinvest, re-equip and change its attitudes. The hon. Gentleman will know, even from his base in the north-east, that the textile industry has had its difficulties and has come through them but is currently facing further difficulties, which have been discussed in this question. I will bring the hon. Gentleman's concern to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor. The hon. Gentleman and his hon. Friends may have an opportunity to discuss these matters later this afternoon.