§ 13 Sir Anthony MeyerTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many new jobs he has been able to announce for Wales during the summer recess.
Mr. WalkerI am pleased to be able to tell my hon. Friend that a number of major industrial investments in Wales were announced during the recess, including projects by Newbridge Networks, Gooding-Sanken and Dow Corning-Cabot. During the same period, more than 40 companies accepted regional selective assistance offers involving total investment of £42 million and the creation of nearly 1,700 new jobs. Between July and September, seasonally adjusted unemployment in Wales fell by some 6,000—from 96,200 to 90,200.
§ Sir Anthony MeyerIs my right hon. Friend aware that these extremely satisfactory figures are a tribute to the manner in which he has combined the use of market forces, judicious intervention and some pretty ruthless arm-twisting?
Mr. Walker:A range of factors are involved in that, but it is pleasing to know that, during the past year, unemployment in Wales has fallen faster than in any other region on the United Kingdom, and unemployment in the valleys has fallen faster than the rate for Wales as a whole.
Mr. Alan W. WilliamsDoes the Secretary of State agree with the right hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Lawson) who said in the House last Tuesday that we were once again in a downswing and that:
a dull 1989 is bound to be followed by a difficult 1990"?—[Official Report, 31 October 1989; Vol. 159, c. 209.]How long will it be before unemployment in Wales starts to rise again?
Mr. WalkerI am certain that the hon. Gentleman is one of those who have been cheering since the last general election. At that time, unemployment in Wales was 74 per cent. higher than it is now.