HC Deb 20 January 1997 vol 288 cc605-8
4. Mr. Richards

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he is taking to attract inward investment to north Wales. [9910]

5. Mr. Spring

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the level of inward investment to Wales in 1996. [9911]

Mr. Hague

More than 150 inward investment projects were recorded in 1996, promising about 15,000 new jobs and investment of more than £2.5 billion. Those exceptional results show that our policies are working well. North Wales is sharing in the success story, as projects by companies such as JCB and Toyo Seal clearly show. There is further good news today for north Wales.

I am pleased to announce that British Aerospace will be investing a further £45 million at Broughton in a project that will create 100 new jobs and safeguard a further 60.

Mr. Richards

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his reply, in particular the welcome news of further inward investment to north Wales. I am sure that everyone will greet it with enthusiasm. It will reassure the people of north Wales that, under a Conservative Government, fair play is guaranteed.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that Labour's proposed assembly in Cardiff, which would be dominated by the south Wales mafia, would discriminate against north Wales and deprive it of further much-needed inward investment? In short—new Labour, no new jobs.

Mr. Hague

I thank my hon. Friend for his reference to today's announcement by British Aerospace, which is a triumph for the Broughton work force. That plant plays a key part in an extremely successful European collaboration. It further enhances the reputation of Wales as a country that delivers world-class products. We should all be delighted by the news.

My hon. Friend was also right to draw attention to the danger to future job programmes and the creation of more jobs of establishing an assembly. That is not the only danger represented by the Labour party—minimum wages, social chapters and all the other job-destroying nonsense in which it believes represent a danger to the growth of jobs in the country.

Mr. Spring

Is not the Lucky Goldstar investment in south Wales the largest investment ever undertaken in Europe? Does my right hon. Friend share my view that Wales has been an important beneficiary of the massive investment flows into the United Kingdom that have been so successfully secured by this Conservative Government?

Mr. Hague

My hon. Friend is right—LG was not only the most spectacular success for Wales last year: it was the most spectacular success in securing investment anywhere in Europe in modern times. The benefits of that investment will flow to Wales for many years. None of the inward investment flowing into Wales on such a scale over the past 10 to 15 years would have happened if we had not secured low inflation through economic discipline and good industrial relations through changes in trade union law, or if we were still spending millions of pounds on grants to nationalised industries rather than on bringing investing firms into Britain.

Mr. Denzil Davies

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that there is now a growing danger that inward investment is getting out of kilter in terms both of geography and of the nature of the investment? He will know that, in the area from Bridgend to Llanelli, there is a concentration of car component firms and manufacturing engineering skills. Is not it now time for the Welsh Office actively to pursue investment in a car assembly plant in that area, which could take advantage of those skills?

Mr. Hague

Of course we would welcome a car assembly plant in Wales. It is something that we want to work on over the coming months and years. However, I must point out to the right hon. Gentleman that the flow of inward investment to Wales has helped to bring about the diversification of the Welsh economy, rather than its concentration. Now, it is an economy strong in automotive components but also in aerospace, electronics and medical devices. We want that diversification to continue. If ever it were to include a car assembly plant, I would be delighted.

Mr. Llwyd

Welcome as today's announcement is, it is noteworthy that, once again, it is investment in the east of Wales. Just before Christmas, the Minister gave me an encouraging reply about dealing with the imbalance between investment in the east and in the west of Wales. Precisely what steps are being taken to redress that imbalance?

Mr. Hague

I hope that the hon. Gentleman and his party will not be churlish about investment going to the eastern parts—in this case, the north-eastern parts—of Wales, because it brings benefits to the whole of Wales and puts the whole of Wales on the map for international companies around the world. He is of course right to highlight the need to ensure that investment goes to the west of Wales as well. That is why I have asked the Development Board for Rural Wales to move 50 per cent. of its activity to the west. It is also why I set the Welsh Development Agency targets for investment outside the eastern M4 and A55 corridors. It is also why I have included in the WDA's budget for the forthcoming year money for the development of strategic sites, which must include sites in the west and north-west of Wales. We shall make every effort to ensure that all parts of Wales benefit from future investment.

Mr. Sweeney

Can my right hon. Friend tell the House how the Vale of Glamorgan has benefited hugely from inward investment and the provision of new, well-paid, high-tech jobs? In particular, can he tell the House about how more alternators are made by Bosch in Wales than at the parent plant in Stuttgart; and about how that plant supplies a great deal of the European motor industry? Can he further tell the House about Ford's successes at Bridgend, where the new V8 engine is being produced for the Jaguar sports car, which is selling brilliantly all over the world? Can he tell the House about the success of the development by Associated British Ports of the docks area; and about the help given by the Welsh Development Agency? Will he tell the House about the success of the British Airways maintenance base at Cardiff international airport, and about the several chemical plants—

Madam Speaker

Order. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman should apply to me for an Adjournment debate.

Mr. Hague

I would have told the House about those successes, but my hon. Friend has done it for me. I have seen many of them for myself—including the British Airways maintenance centre at Cardiff airport, the Dow Corning plant and other places in my hon. Friend's constituency. I wish that some of the publicity given in the past week to Ford's difficulties had been balanced by references in the national media to the tremendous investment and expansion undertaken by Ford at Bridgend.

Mr. Ron Davies

May I first ask you, Madam Speaker, to reflect on the wisdom of the Secretary of State's choosing to link these two questions? They seem quite distinct and better dealt with independently.

I extend a welcome to the news the Secretary of State has announced this afternoon about British Aerospace at Broughton. I had the pleasure of visiting that site late last year with my hon. Friend the Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mr. Jones) and the Leader of the Opposition. We were all impressed with the work of the trade unions, the management and other local interests in putting together that package, and its success is welcome news.

Undoubtedly 1996 was a good year for inward investment. I assure the Secretary of State that the Welsh Development Agency will remain a very high priority under the revised spending programmes of any future Labour Government. Will the right hon. Gentleman confirm, however, that there is resentment among his colleagues in Cabinet at the devolution to the Welsh Office of the power to hid for outside projects? Will he therefore assure us that he will veto the suggestion being canvassed in the Conservative party that that power be stripped from the Welsh Office and centralised in Whitehall if his party is returned to power after the election?

Mr. Hague

There is no question whatever of any such change in the powers of the Welsh Office.

Dr. Spink

Does my right hon. Friend agree that policies such as the minimum wage, the social chapter and more integration with Europe would damage inward investment, threaten our economic success and harm our sovereignty?

Mr. Hague

Yes, my hon. Friend is right. Employment in Wales has grown by 95,000 over the past 10 years, in large measure due to inward investment. It is greatly to the credit of the people of Wales that such investment has been made in Wales—and greatly to the credit of the Government. It will not continue at the same pace and in the same way under any other Government.