§ 14. Mr. CranstonWhat reports he has received on the progress of the new deal pathfinder in the black country. [24195]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithI have received weekly reports on the new deal pathfinders, including the one in the black country. I was pleased to visit Dudley last month. It is early days, but the programme has made an encouraging start, and I thank my hon. Friend for his active involvement locally.
§ Mr. CranstonI thank my hon. Friend for that reply. He will know that last Friday I visited Dudley zoo, which has just taken on one of my constituents, a young man who had been unemployed for seven years. How can we further involve small and medium-sized enterprises such as Dudley zoo in the new deal?
§ Mr. SmithWhen I visited Dudley, I met representatives of business, including small businesses. There will be an active marketing campaign, locally and nationally, to get as many employers as possible signed up. We are also working through the sectoral business associations and bodies such as the Federation of Small Businesses have pledged their support to ensure that as many small businesses as possible are involved. My hon. Friend recounted the story of his constituent, and such instances bring home just what a difference the new deal will make to people's lives. That is why we need it and why it is such a good programme.
§ Mr. BaldryDoes the Minister accept that unemployment rates in Dudley, as elsewhere in the 497 country, are coming down fast, as the Secretary of State said recently? As a consequence of Conservative policies, unemployment fell by 28 per cent. over the past year. Is not the real problem in Dudley and elsewhere that employers are increasingly facing skills shortages? Will the Minister give an undertaking that the Department will keep under review the amounts spent on the new deal and whether some of that money could be better used by TECs to help with more skills training? Otherwise we shall have the ludicrous situation of money being spent where it is not needed and not spent where it is needed.
§ Mr. SmithDespite the welcome fall in unemployment, far too many people are unemployed—especially young people—and for everyone who remains unemployed, that unemployment is 100 per cent. They need all the help that the new deal will provide. We are implementing the right programme at the right time for the reasons that the hon. Gentleman gives. When the labour market is tightening and firms are finding it difficult to recruit workers with the skills that they need, a programme that equips young people with training and skills so that they can help to fill those vacancies will not only benefit the young unemployed but will be good for business.