HC Deb 20 March 1996 vol 274 cc355-6
1. Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what initiatives are being pursued to assist in providing employment opportunities for young people residing in rural areas; and if she will make a statement. [20122]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment (Mr. James Paice)

The Department's full range of employment and training opportunities is available to young unemployed people in rural areas.

Mr. Llwyd

I am afraid that that reply does not cut any ice in Wales or anywhere else in the United Kingdom. The Minister will be aware of the recently published White Papers. I have copies of all three of them here. There are 334 pages about assisting people in rural areas.

Mr. Jacques Arnold

Have you read every page?

Mr. Llwyd

Yes, I have. I am most dismayed to find that there is nothing in those White Papers about the creation of employment for young people in rural areas. When will the Government take that subject seriously?

Mr. Paice

The hon. Gentleman may have considered those White Papers, but he clearly has not read them carefully. The White Papers do lay out proposals. The English one, for example, clearly states that the Government are considering ways of stimulating new businesses in rural areas. The Government believe that jobs are created by successful businesses. The Government cannot create jobs on their own—that requires successful, profitable business. The Government's job is to create the environment in which businesses can start and flourish. If the hon. Gentleman considers those documents carefully, he will find that there are clear statements of the Government's desire to encourage businesses to do just that.

Mr. Hendry

Is my hon. Friend aware that, in a rural constituency such as mine, many young people earn their living in tourism, retail, the hotel industry, farming and small manufacturing industries? Are those not exactly the sort of businesses that would be decimated by the minimum wage and by the adoption of the social chapter? Is not resisting those measures—as the Government have done so far—the best thing that the Government can do to keep young people in employment?

Mr. Paice

My hon. Friend knows that my constituency is similar to his: it is also a large rural area. It is extremely important that we do not destroy jobs by implementing the policies that he describes. The minimum wage is recognised by every external commentator as a destroyer of jobs, yet it is still espoused by the Labour party, as is the social chapter, which the Government have clearly stated that they will never accept. The real hypocrisy, however, occurred when the Leader of the Opposition gave the Confederation of British Industry the impression that he could pick and choose in the social chapter. The social chapter is dealt with by majority voting. Britain could be outvoted and have such a job-destroying measure imposed against its will.