§ 8. Mr. Ieuan Wyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the current unemployment rate for (a) Ynys Môn, (b) Gwynedd and (c) Wales.
§ Sir Wyn RobertsUnemployment rates for the Ynys Mon constituency are not available. At March 1992, the unadjusted unemployment rate in Gwynedd stood at 10.9 per cent. The figure for Wales was 9.7 per cent.
§ Mr. JonesThe Minister will be aware that Ynys Mon has suffered considerable job losses in recent months—for example, those at Anglesea Aluminium, Sealink Stena and the Wylfa power station—and the closures of the 363 Budenberg factory at Amlwch and of the United Meat Packers plant at Gaerwen. Will the Minister assure the House that the Government are doing everything possible to create jobs in Ynys Mon and Gwynedd and that Gwynedd can expect its fair share of inward investment in the coming months?
§ Sir Wyn RobertsI am happy to give the hon. Gentleman that assurance. I am sure that he will welcome our announcement today that a major company, Golden Food Products, is expanding at Llangefni in his constituency, creating 38 new jobs. Furthermore, it is planning to spend £3.5 million over a three-year period in expanding that operation. As to the situation generally, I have great faith in the fact that Ynys Mon is a development area and that the Welsh Development Agency, the training and enterprise council and the urban renewal programme are being activated in that area.