§ 2. Mr. PawseyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the levels of employment in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) Germany and (c) France.
§ The Minister of State, Department of Employment (Mr. Michael Forsyth)The UK has 69 per cent. of the working age population in work and rising; Germany has 65 per cent. and falling; and France 60 per cent. and now also falling.
§ Mr. PawseyI thank my hon. Friend for that helpful reply and for the encouraging figures that he has given to the House. They clearly underline the fact that the UK economy is in much better shape when compared with the economies of our principal European competitors.
Does my hon. Friend agree that one reason why we have come out of recession so well is the fact that we do not have a social contract? Does he agree that the absence of a social contract certainly has not damaged rates of take-home pay?
§ Mr. ForsythI agree entirely with my hon. Friend. The absence of the social chapter in Britain accounts, in part, 791 for the higher levels of employment and they have also been helped by the reforms that we carried out in the 1980s. The figures speak for themselves, as do the people who speak for industry. For example, Black and Decker announced its intention to bring its operations fully into Britain out of Germany. A company spokesman said:
Anyone familiar with the situation in Germany will grasp that, because of the costs, it has become very difficult to do business there.If Opposition Members had their way, it would be very difficult to do business here.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursWill the Minister answer a question about something that concerns business men in the county of Cumbria? The tax increases in this year's Budget will be introduced on 1 April. Does the Minister believe that the increases have implications for the United Kingdom economy? Will the increases lead to further unemployment and will they increase unemployment in my part of the UK?
§ Mr. ForsythI am sure that my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor's proposals to reduce the burden of national insurance contributions will have a beneficial effect on employment and on businesses. The hon. Gentleman clearly says what he thinks, but if Opposition Members are arguing that higher public expenditure and higher taxation will have an impact on employment, they are right. That is why the Government resist the proposals that come from Opposition Members to add to public expenditure every day of the week.
§ Mr. BrazierDoes my hon. Friend agree that jobs are built in an economy through having successful businesses, such as Chartham Papermill, where one of our hon. Friends will be opening a new plant shortly? That firm has won national and regional awards for quality, training and exports during the past three years. Is not that the way to build jobs, and not through bureaucratic regulations?
§ Mr. ForsythI agree entirely with my hon. Friend. Regulation and bureaucracy are the enemies of employment and that is why the Prime Minister has ensured that every Government Department is looking to reduce the burden of regulations and bureaucracy. At the forthcoming European elections, the Government will be arguing for less bureaucracy and regulation and not more, which destroys jobs.