Industry (Hansard, 28 February 1996)

§ 7. Sir Hector Monro
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the 879 Confederation of British Industry in Scotland in respect of (a) new investment in industry and (b) expansion of existing industry in Scotland. [15790]

§ Mr. Michael Forsyth
On the last occasion that I met with the CBI, we discussed a range of issues.

§ Sir Hector Monro
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the continual running down of Scotland and the Scottish economy by the Labour party does nothing to help our country? Does he further agree that the fact that ICI is investing £60 million in Dumfries and that Pinney' s is investing £6 million in Annan shows that the time is right for investment, and that those companies see that our economy is sound?

§ Mr. Forsyth
I entirely agree with my right hon. Friend. I am delighted by Id's investment in Dumfries, which is very good news for the future, and by the investment and export achievements of businesses in Scotland. We are now exporting more per head than Japan, and about 40 per cent. more per head than the rest of the United Kingdom. Our manufacturing output and exports are up. That is a great success story, and yet Opposition Members talk about the decline of our manufacturing base and the run down of Scotland's economy. Scotland is a success story because of the success of our policies, and it is high time that Opposition Members admitted it.

§ Mr. McKelvey
When the Secretary of State spoke with the CBI, did he have the opportunity to describe the success of the all-party Scotch whisky group, which is headed by the Secretary of State, when it made representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to cut the price of Scotch whisky, only to learn that the manufacturers have increased the price of Scotch whisky and wiped out that opportunity of a price reduction?

§ Mr. Forsyth
The hon. Gentleman does a great deal on behalf of the Scotch whisky industry in Scotland, which is an important exporter with exports worth about £2 billion. He is right to point out that there has been a price increase, which has, more or less, had the effect of taking out the advantage of the reduction in duty provided by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor—who was the first Chancellor in 100 years to reduce the duty on whisky.
In his Budget speech, the Chancellor pointed out the importance of the tax level to the Scotch whisky industry and to its competitiveness in export markets. The hon. Gentleman is right to point out that there has been a price increase in the domestic market, but the advantage and importance of the reduction of duty for the competitiveness of Scotch whisky in export markets remains. All has not been lost by the price increase. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman shares with Conservative Members the regret that we will have to pay more for our whisky in the domestic market than seemed to be the case after my right hon. and learned Friend made his reduction in duty.

§ Mrs. Adams
When the Secretary of State is talking about inward investment in Scotland, would he care to tell my constituents why, since his Government came to power, we have lost 85 per cent. of our manufacturing 880 jobs in the Paisley postcode area—that figure was provided by the hon. Member for Eastwood (Mr. Stewart)—and why the Government have never put a special economic initiative into Renfrewshire, which has suffered death by a thousand cuts from the loss of jobs in the manufacturing industry?

§ Mr. Forsyth
The hon. Lady proves the point made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries (Sir H. Monro). She is focusing on particular areas of difficulty, which is understandable, while not acknowledging the spectacular success in Scotland as a whole. If the hon. Lady would like to see the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, my hon. Friend the Member for Kincardine and Deeside (Mr. Kynoch), he would, I am sure, be delighted to talk to her about the possibility—[HON. MEMBERS: "A waste of time."] If the hon. Lady's attitude is that it would be a waste of time, she may recognise why Opposition Members are not aware of the spectacular successes that have been achieved by local enterprise companies throughout Scotland, not least in Renfrewshire, by getting out there, selling their areas and bringing in jobs. The hon. Lady should play a part in that.

§ Mr. McFall
When the Secretary of State next meets the CBI, will he discuss issues affecting industry, such as local government reorganisation? Is he concerned by this week's Fraser of Allander report which states that 15,000 local authority jobs could be lost in the short term? His belated attempts to save 700 jobs at Cummins, welcome as they are, will be dwarfed 20 times over by the job losses. Does he not realise that the name of Forsyth will be indelibly linked with the painful cuts and savage job losses being experienced by every community in Scotland?

§ Mr. Forsyth
People in local government deserve rather better than Opposition spokesmen who go round the country talking as the hon. Gentleman does. If he and his party are prepared to put up more money for local government and to commit themselves to that, they should say so. They should not go round the country pretending that they would provide money when they are not prepared to put up taxes and when they abstained in the vote on our tax cuts. When Labour Members are asked where the money would come from, they sit, if I may coin a phrase, like limpets on the Front Bench.