Unemployment (Hansard, 20 March 1996)

§ 6. Mr. Booth
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what studies she has made of the United Kingdom's record on reducing unemployment in relation to that of other major EU countries. [20128]

§ The Minister of State, Department for Education and Employment (Mr. Eric Forth)
Studies show that the United Kingdom's unemployment rate is lower than that of most other European Union countries. We have a lower proportion of people unemployed than France, Italy or Spain and we are well below the European Union average.

§ Mr. Booth
As my hon. Friend well knows, having been conversant with the figures for some time, Britain has performed much better than the rest of Europe—indeed, 68 per cent. of our work force is in employment. Is not it curious, therefore, that, were we to believe Opposition Members, we are in a state of complete economic collapse? To what, then, does my hon. Friend ascribe our extraordinary success in Europe?

§ Mr. Forth
My hon. Friend is correct. It is extraordinary that Opposition Members continue to espouse tired, clapped-out old policies such as the social chapter and the minimum wage, which we know do not work. Anyone who doubts that need only look to the continental mainland and the recent experience of economies there which, having saddled themselves with the social chapter and a national minimum wage, find their unemployment rates higher than ours and rising whereas our economy, freed from such shackles under the Government's successful economic policies, has found unemployment falling and continuing to fall.

§ Mr. Sheerman
Does the Minister realise that competitiveness and job creation are important in the long haul? This is Science, Education and Technology Week, and the lesson to be learned is from the way in which our competitors—countries such as Germany, France and others—have made a long—term investment in education. It is the long haul that counts, not the cheap attacks on not only our main competitors but our customers across Europe. Our competitors invest for the long term; is not is about time that we invested in higher and further education?

§ Mr. Forth
I do not understand the hon. Gentleman's comparison. If he were to examine, as he clearly has not, student-staff ratios and class sizes, the length of courses and quality of output on the continent—

§ Mr. Sheerman
Germany.

§ Mr. Forth
The hon. Gentleman keeps shouting, "Germany" in a pathetically repetitive way. He may have forgotten that there are countries other than Germany on the continent and in the European Union. He should recall that we bear comparison with any country on the continental mainland in terms of the quality of educational output, especially in higher education.

§ Mr. Sykes
I am disappointed that the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) has left the Chamber. I am sure that my hon. Friend the Minister will have heard him rubbish the Government's policies for Wales. Would it be a good idea for my hon. Friend to remind the House and the country at large that the Koreans are thinking of investing £2 billion in this country and that Wales is at the top of their list? Does that not say a great deal for the Welsh? What does it tell us about the minimum wage and the social chapter in Europe?

§ Mr. Forth
My hon. Friend is right to point out that when hard-headed business men from around the world are looking to invest, they come to this country, having made their comparisons. We attract one third of the total inward investment from businesses in Korea, Japan and the United States. Such businesses have made comparisons and concluded that this country is the long-term best bet for their economic well-being. That must tell its own story. [Interruption.] Opposition Members do not have to believe me; they need only examine the evidence of where the investment is going. That proves conclusively that the economic circumstances that we are creating are far superior to those of our competitors.

§ Mr. Skinner
Why does the Minister not admit the truth? The Government have fiddled the unemployment figures about 30 times since they came to power. Under the old figures, 4 million people would be out of work. Of those who have employment, some are on zero-hour contracts and many work part time. Is it any wonder that the Chancellor of the Exchequer realises that he is going to be £9 billion short in his tax revenues for this financial year? Why? Because many people in so-called employment are employed only part time and are therefore not paying the income tax that he expected. I managed all that without mentioning the social chapter and the minimum wage.

§ Mr. Forth
I did it for the hon. Gentleman. I got it in twice before he got it in at all. He is unusually off the mark because he ignores the fact that the bulk of people in part-time work choose to do it and that many people, mainly women, freely choose it because it suits their domestic and personal circumstances. We respect that, even if he does not. The truth about his tired, old accusation about fiddled unemployment figures is that the method of counting the unemployed favoured by many Opposition Members, and even by so illustrious a body as the International Labour Organisation, results in a figure close to our claimant count. There is no fundamental disagreement about the number of people out of work in Britain.