§ 4. Mr. SkinnerTo ask the President of the Board ofTrade what measures she has for creating jobs in ex-coalfield areas with excessively high unemployment; and if she will make a statement. [658]
§ The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Mr. John Battle)The legacy of pit closures has scarred whole communities and much work still needs to be done because unemployment is still unacceptably high in those communities. That should not be forgotten as we pull together programmes and policies to assist.
§ Mr. SkinnerI welcome my hon. Friend to his new job. When he tours the coalfields—Bolsover and many others—as I expect he will, he will not only see the legacy of 18 years of Tory industrial policy: he will see the social fabric of once-proud mining communities almost broken down. Does he agree that the slap-happy policies of market forces will not solve those problems and find work for those communities? Intervention and planning are needed, not only by the Department of Trade and Industry but by others in the Government, to provide much-needed work for those communities. Market forces have not worked for 18 years, and they never will: we want a fresh start.
§ Mr. BattleI thank my hon. Friend for his questions. I shall be glad to visit his constituency and others where communities have been badly scarred by Conservative Government policies. I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. There is need for co-ordination—for joined-up thinking between Departments—to ensure that the range of regeneration measures are targeted on those communities which need them most. I hope that the Department of Trade and Industry may act as catalysts in this matter to ensure that those communities which are most in need get that help.
§ Mr. EvansWhat will the Minister say to unemployed people in Bolsover and in other ex-coalfield areas about the slap-happy dogma that the Labour party intend to introduce, with such things as the social chapter, the minimum wage and the introduction of a 48-hour directive? Does he really believe that the increased unemployment in those areas that will result from the introduction of those policies is a price worth paying?
§ Mr. BattleI am surprised by the hon. Gentleman's slap-happy language. From 1984, the Conservative Government presided over the loss of 50,000 jobs in the coal industry, and more than 40 mines were closed in the area represented in part by my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner). Perhaps the former President of the Board of Trade—the right hon. Member for Henley (Mr. Heseltine), who shut the pits without proper economic restructuring packages—should be answering 534 these questions, although I am glad, and I believe that most of the country is glad, that he is no longer in a position to do so.
§ Mr. Eric ClarkeI, too, congratulate my hon. Friend on his elevation to the Government Front Bench. Will he give me and other Members who represent coal mining areas a guarantee that the Government will pursue in Europe the Rechar money that is still available? Will he ensure that that money, along with the rest of Government subsidies, goes in the direction that my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) has spoken about?
§ Mr. BattleThe answer to my hon. Friend is yes. It is part of that co-ordination to ensure that policies are put together, and that includes calling on European programmes. I am happy to say that I shall take forward that approach.