HC Deb 13 February 1990 vol 167 cc132-5
12. Mr. Tredinnick

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment by what percentage the numbers of those unemployed for more than five years has fallen over the past year.

Mr. Howard

In the year to October 1989, the latest available figure, the number of claimants in the United Kingdom who had been unemployed for more than five years fell by 27 per cent.

Mr. Tredinnick

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that the expansion in training prospects has been crucial in reducing the number of long-term unemployed? How can the Opposition criticise us when for every £1 that they spent on training we are spending £6?

Mr. Howard

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The training initiatives that we have taken in the past 10 years, the youth training scheme and more recently employment training, have contributed a great deal to that remarkable drop in the figure for the long-term unemployed.

Mr. Alfred Morris

What proportion of those who have been unemployed for more than five years are disabled people? Is the Minister aware of the findings of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys that only 31 per cent. of disabled adults of working age are actually working? Does not that statistic shout discrimination against disabled people and the need for urgent action to protect them?

Mr. Howard

I am disappointed that the right hon. Gentleman does not give credit for the steps that we have taken to encourage the disabled back into work, in the special programme for which my Department is responsible—which was praised in a recent article by the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field)—and in the measures recently introduced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security. We take the problems of getting the disabled back to work very seriously, and we are taking constructive action to help them.

13. Mr. Stevens

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment by how much unemployment in inner city areas has fallen since March 1988.

Mr. Howard

In the 57 local authority areas in England within which the Government target inner city programme aid, the number of unemployed claimants has fallen by 334,828 or 34 per cent. since March 1988. In the United Kingdom as a whole the percentage fall has been 37 per cent.

Mr. Stevens

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that the Government's policies in encouraging enterprise are proving successful not only in outer urban constituencies like mine, where unemployment fell by 35 per cent. in 1989, but in areas considered to be some of the most deprived in the country?

Mr. Howard

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The dramatic fall in unemployment in the inner city areas is a particularly encouraging feature of recent economic development, and a tribute to the success of the Government's economic policy.

Mr. Cryer

When does the Minister expect unemployment in inner city areas to sink to the level of 1979? Does he expect that current interest rates will make that happen more quickly or more slowly?

Mr. Howard

I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman does not recognise, and give credit for, the fact that more people in the inner city areas are now working—as they are in the country as a whole—than in 1979. That is a tribute to the success of the Government's economic policies—[Interruption.]

Mr. Speaker

Order. I ask the House to desist from holding private conversations during important employment questions.

16. Mr. Andrew Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the change in unemployment since June 1987.

Mr. Howard

Between June 1987 and December 1989, seasonally adjusted unemployment in the United Kingdom has fallen by about 1.25 million, or 43 per cent.

Mr. Andrew Mitchell

I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for giving those figures, which bear eloquent testimony to the success of the Government's economic policies. Do not they also underline the importance of the Government's many training initiatives and, in particular, the critical need to encourage more part-timers, especially women, back into the labour force?

Mr. Howard

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We need a successful economic framework and effective training policies. The combination of both has led to the fall in unemployment to which my hon. Friend referred.

Mr. Heffer

Why is the right hon. and learned Gentleman boasting about the fall in unemployment when, under the present Government, its level has risen dramatically since 1979? Can he explain why unemployment on Merseyside—particularly in Liverpool—although not quite as high as it was, is still much higher than it should be?

Mr. Howard

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's acknowledgement, albeit rather grudging, of the progress that has been made on Merseyside—as elsewhere—in bringing down unemployment. I hope that he will also acknowledge that 1 million more people are now at work than in 1979, and that nearly 3 million extra jobs have been created since 1983.

17. Mr. Barry Porter

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment by how much unemployment has fallen in Wirral as a whole since June 1987; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Nicholls

Between June 1987 and December 1989, the number of unemployed claimants in the Wirral local authority area has fallen by 8,232, or 34.7 per cent. The comparison is slightly affected by the new benefit regulations affecting those aged under 18 which were introduced in September 1988. Unemployment figures are not seasonally adjusted at a regional level.

Mr. Porter

The people of the Wirral will be extremely grateful for the fall in unemployment. Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware, however, that Cammell Laird, the shipyard which is the major employer in Birkenhead, has recently announced 500 redundancies? Will he take the matter up with the Secretary of State for Defence to ensure that orders are placed with the yard and that the number of unemployed in the Wirral continues to fall?

Mr. Nicholls

My hon. Friend will accept that it would be wrong for the Government to try to suspend the commercial judgment of companies in regard to redundancies. I can tell him, however, that where there are redundancies the full resources of the Department of Employment will be brought to bear to help those who are affected, and I certainly undertake to look at that.

Mr. Alton

Notwithstanding some welcome improvements in employment on Merseyside, and in the Wirral in particular, does the Minister accept that the closure of plants such as BAT and Higsons sets back the cause of full employment in those areas? What have his Government done to make representations to those companies to ensure that socially disastrous decisions are not made in areas of high unemployment?

Mr. Nicholls

As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Wirral, South (Mr. Porter), I accept that redundancies can have a very bad effect and can represent a good deal of personal tragedy for those involved. What the Government cannot do, however, is try to manipulate matters by telling companies that they should not exercise their commercial judgment. Ultimately, the companies will form a view on what is the best part of the country for them in all the circumstances, and doubtless that will apply to Merseyside.

Mr. Hind

Does my hon. Friend accept that one of the main things that the Government have done to help the Wirral and Merseyside is to alter business rates? Is he aware that the north-west region as a whole will benefit to the tune of £300 million—money which, particularly on Merseyside, will be used for industrial investment and hence the creation of new jobs.

Mr. Nicholls

My hon. Friend is entirely right. One of the most beneficial effects of the uniform business rate is to ensure that those parts of the country which have paid more than they should are at long last getting a fair deal, and it will also ensure that Left-wing authorities will not be able to turn their areas into ghettoes by driving out the businesses that would support people.

19. Mr. Andrew MacKay

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the current level of unemployment.

Mr. Howard

In December 1989, the level of unemployment, seasonally adjusted, was the lowest for more than nine years, and it is now significantly lower than the EC average.

Mr. MacKay

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that excessive pay claims in the private sector which are not matched by productivity could lead to increases in unemployment?

Mr. Howard

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Everyone concerned with wage negotiations should take into account the longer-term implications of their actions, and the fact that excessive wage increases can clearly lead to job losses.