§ 65. Mr. GregoryTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he next intends to visit the Duchy's properties in York.
Mr. BakerI plan to visit York on 1 May, although not in my capacity as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
§ Mr. GregoryIn anticipation of my right hon. Friend's next visit to York, will he note the buoyant state of the economy there and that it is enjoying an unprecedented decline in unemployment in line with the national trend? Will he confirm that that is in stark contrast with the years when York, like the rest of the nation, was unfortunately under a Socialist administration?
Mr. BakerI confirm what my hon. Friend has said. In the past year unemployment in Yorkshire has fallen by a fifth and in the past three years it has fallen by half. That will be welcomed by both sides of the House. I commend to the House the comments of the chairman of the Yorkshire and Humberside CBI who in November 1989 said:
Business in the region is in much better shape to meet the challenges of the 1990s and beyond than anyone would have dared forecast at the beginning of this decade.That is a tribute to the buoyancy of the economy in Yorkshire and to the policies that we have followed in the past 11 years.