§ 8. Mr. John MarshallTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on inward investment in Scotland. [779]
§ Mr. Michael ForsythScotland is enjoying record levels of inward investment.
§ Mr. MarshallI congratulate my right hon. Friend on the announcement of an additional 3,300 jobs in Lanarkshire and on the fact that Scotland has more success in attracting inward investment than any other country in western Europe. Does he believe that that success would continue if Scotland adopted a tartan tax, a national minimum wage and the social chapter and were as well run as the district of Monklands?
§ Mr. ForsythNo, I do not.
§ Dr. ReidSince everyone else has raised it, may I also say to the Secretary of State and Ministers that I am very pleased about the inward investment from Chunghwa Picture Tubes. The Minister will know that it has been a team effort running from the local development agency in Lanarkshire and local councils up to the Scottish Office. It would be churlish of me, having criticised Ministers in the past, not to give them full credit for the efforts that they have made—particularly the Minister of State—to keep me informed, and I therefore congratulate them.
Will the Secretary of State accept that, although I say that without qualification, he must realise that a hard-headed, realistic and progressive company such as Chunghwa came here in full knowledge of all the circumstances? It cannot but have contemplated the onset 650 of a Labour Government. If anything, its coming here proves that the scare stories about Labour Governments and tartan taxes hold no water.
§ Mr. ForsythI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his generous remarks and for promoting my hon. Friend the Member for Kincardine and Deeside (Mr. Kynoch) from Under-Secretary of State to Minister of State. I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister will take account of that recommendation, given the splendid job that my hon. Friend did in attracting Chunghwa to Scotland.
The hon. Gentleman is a fair-minded man. I should like him to use his imagination—to imagine, for a moment, a Labour Government and to imagine, for a moment, that the negotiations were going on under such a Government. Exactly what argument would he use to attract Chunghwa to Lanarkshire when the Secretary of State for Wales pointed out that if the company were to go to Wales, it would not have to pay a tartan tax? It would be a knock-out blow. In this case, it was pretty tight between us and Wales, and we won because of the conditions that we had created in Scotland. If the hon. Gentleman's party had its way, Scotland would be disadvantaged.
§ Mr. KirkwoodWill the Secretary of State accept that there are real difficulties for companies that are expanding in areas of Scotland that do not have any development assistance, and that they can be enticed outward, for disinvestment purposes, to other parts of the United Kingdom? Will he make it his business to ensure that local enterprise companies and local authorities have the wherewithal to try to get sensible arrangements in place to prevent that disinvestment?
§ Mr. ForsythI agree with the hon. Gentleman. Indeed, I have spoken to Scottish Enterprise about the matter in the context of the borders where there is a need for us to see what we can do to generate more investment opportunities and to create more employment, especially in respect of the difficult position of textiles. I took the opportunity of a meeting, last week I think, with the Commissioner to discuss some of those points. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that I am very aware of the concern in the borders. I have asked Scottish Enterprise to discuss with the local enterprise company what more can be done to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities in the borders, of the wonderful quality of the labour force and of the environment on offer there for those who wish to invest in Scotland.
§ Sir Hector MonroDoes my right hon. Friend agree that, with two notable exceptions, it seems impossible to get Opposition Members to understand the successes of Locate in Scotland during the past five years? Can my right hon. Friend spell out a little more detail about the 47,000 jobs and the 379 projects that have been created? Can he show that the trend of unemployment in Scotland has been markedly downward and is likely to continue in that direction?
§ Mr. ForsythI would be happy to arrange for all the successes to be printed in the Official Report if my right hon. Friend would provide a question that would give me such an opportunity. I will not list the successes this afternoon in view of your strictures, Madam Speaker, to keep answers as short as possible.
Suffice it to say that none of the successes has happened by magic. They have happened because we have created flexible labour markets and low taxation and 651 improved standards of education. All those policy achievements are important in creating jobs. If Opposition Members examine their consciences, they will find that they were on the wrong side of the argument when we made changes in our economy and in our policy.