Job Creation (Hansard, 2 December 1997)

§ 1. Mr. Swinney
When he last met Scottish Enterprise to discuss job creation in Scotland. [17090]

§ The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Donald Dewar)
I and my hon. Friend the Minister for Education and Industry met representatives of Scottish Enterprise on 26 November when a number of issues, including job creation, were discussed.

§ Mr. Swinney
I thank the Secretary of State for his answer. At a time when unemployment in Scotland is at a higher level than in the rest of the United Kingdom, and with press reports this morning that more than 1,000 manufacturing jobs in Scotland are under threat, what can the Secretary of State do to persuade his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer to follow some economic policy other than total dependence on interest rates as a means of slowing the overheating economy in the south-east of England, which has nothing to do with Scotland?

§ Mr. Dewar
It is in the interests of the whole United Kingdom that we place public finances on a sound footing and get levels of growth that we can sustain and build on in the future.
I appreciate that there has been some disappointing news—it was well reported in the newspapers today—but there is always an ebb and flow and there has also been some good news. As the hon. Gentleman will realise if he reads the unemployment figures, which show a claimant count of 146,700—the lowest in Scotland since January 1980—and the index of construction and production, which was up 5.2 per cent. in the year ending the second quarter of 1997, there is no reason for being over-gloomy about the current position. There is every reason to continue to fight hard to build economic prosperity.

§ Mr. David Marshall
Does the Secretary of State agree that long-term unemployment is a huge problem in the city of Glasgow? Will he gave an assurance that the 140 Scottish Office will give its fullest support to Glasgow's bid for employment zone status, which will enable the city to tackle this critical situation?

§ Mr. Dewar
My hon. Friend can be assured that we fully back Glasgow's bid and hope that it will be successful. I remind him that the welfare-to-work programme, which deals with those who have been out of the labour market for a considerable time, is an enormously important commitment, backed by heavy funding on the part of the Government, and Glasgow, in Scottish terms, is a very important part of that programme.

§ Mr. Alan Clark
In considering disbursement of money from the Scottish Office, will the Secretary of State recall that in the entire county of Sutherland there are now fewer than 2,000 people engaged in agriculture and country occupations while in the city of which the right hon. Gentleman represents a part there are 82,000 registered drug addicts? Which section of society does he think is more deserving of reward from the public purse?

§ Mr. Dewar
I think that the choice is a false one; it is not a matter of choosing between the two, as the right hon. Gentleman knows. I welcome his interest and concern for those who are struggling in Glasgow. No doubt he will be glad of my assurance that we work very closely with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, local authorities and other agencies to examine the problems of areas such as Sutherland, with which we are very familiar. I hope that the right hon. Gentleman will take the pleasure that I do in the fact that a working party is closely studying land management and the ownership in that part of the world.

§ Mr. Canavan
Is the Secretary of State aware that yesterday the Wrangler jeans company announced 250 redundancies at the factory at Camelon in my constituency, and that that is a devastating blow for the work force and the entire local community? Will the Secretary of State therefore make urgent contact with the company to discover what can be done to save as many jobs as possible?

§ Mr. Dewar
I assure my hon. Friend that I appreciate the importance of this to his locality—it was disappointing news. I gather that it is proposed that production should go abroad on this occasion, but we shall do everything we can to help with the difficulty. Forth Valley Enterprise is already involved and my office is looking at the matter closely. We shall try to offer any constructive help that we can.

§ Mr. Ian Bruce
In his discussions with Scottish Enterprise, has the right hon. Gentleman mentioned the fact that it can offer new businesses coming to Scotland higher grants, that tourism in Scotland gets a lot more money, and that public spending there is higher too? Has he been able to reassure its members that Scotland will always enjoy that advantage over the other regions of England and that he will fight in Cabinet to ensure the continuation of that unfair advantage?

§ Mr. Dewar
That was a somewhat confused question. If the hon. Gentleman is asking for my view of the current discussions on the proper co-ordination of the inward investment effort across the United Kingdom, I certainly 141 welcome such co-ordination. In the context of regional selective assistance, the hon. Gentleman will know that there are guidelines on the money per job that can be offered which apply across the United Kingdom. We observe them closely in Scotland. It is true that Scotland has a big success record, but that record is based on the virtues and merits of the services offered, not on any unfair advantage. I welcome sensible co-ordination which ensures that every part of the UK can properly put its case. That is what the current discussions are about.

§ Ms Squire
Like my hon. Friends, I represent a constituency that has felt the full impact of large-scale unemployment. Will my right hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to the success of local authorities and local enterprise companies that work together on job creation, especially in Fife, where we have the fast-track skills seekers youth employment initiative involving 1,100 businesses, and where we have attracted inward investment? Will my right hon. Friend also join me in welcoming the unequivocal commitment offered by Hyundai last week to establish 800 new jobs in Dunfermline by this time next year?

§ Mr. Dewar
I am happy to endorse my hon. Friend's good opinion of the efforts made by local enterprise companies and local authorities, in Fife and throughout Scotland. We are watching the Hyundai situation closely. There has been a good deal of rather excitable copy in the press about the costs of attracting that company. Most of the figures that I have seen have been wildly exaggerated. I also remind the House that under regional selective assistance and the many other elements involved payment is not made until the jobs are there: no jobs, no payment. However, I welcome the fact that the company has made it clear that it is committed to completing the first phase on time. We shall watch carefully—the more so in view of the unfortunate shock waves that have hit the Korean economy.

§ Dr. Fox
What do the Secretary of State and the Chancellor of the Exchequer expect to happen to unemployment in Scotland over the coming year? Following the job losses at Wrangler, Pringle, Grampian Brands, Telecom Sciences and others, who else will be joining the dole queue to satisfy the Chancellor's commitment to preparing for economic and monetary union?

§ Mr. Dewar
That is a very prejudiced view of what is happening in the Scottish economy. I have before me a long double column of recent job increases, but I do not think that swapping that sort of statistic is very helpful. The important point is that unemployment is low and there is growth in the economy. Our aims and policies, in Scotland and the rest of the country, are designed to sustain that state of affairs and to make sure that we avoid the stop-go cycles with which the hon. Gentleman, given the record of the Government he supported, will be very familiar.

§ Mr. Ernie Ross
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the new deal must be tailored to meet local job creation requirements? The Minister for Education and Industry was in Dundee recently at a meeting hosted by Michelin and NCR—a meeting called to reflect the concerns felt on 142 Tayside by all sections of the community. The one thing that marks out Tayside is the co-operation across the board between all in an effort to make it a successful pathfinder area.

§ Mr. Dewar
The Government see the importance of welfare to work as real and pressing. Dundee is a pathfinder area, and I am very satisfied to hear reports from my colleagues that these matters are going extremely well there; that was an impression that I gained from my own recent visit to Dundee. I associate myself with what my hon. Friend said about Michelin and NCR, and the level of commitment shown by local employers generally. I hope that my hon. Friend will not be embarrassed if I say that the hard work of both Dundee Members—my hon. Friends the Members for Dundee, East (Mr. McAllion) and for Dundee, West (Mr. Ross)—has been a feature of that effort.