§ 3. Mr. Mohammad Sarwar (Glasgow, Govan)When she next plans to visit Govan to inspect projects which have attracted EU regional aid. [146182]
§ The Minister of State, Scotland Office (Mr. George Foulkes)I hope to have the opportunity to visit my hon Friend's constituency to see projects that have benefited from EU structural funds, especially the national science centre, which was awarded a grant of £20 million—the largest single award in the west of Scotland from structural funds.
§ Mr. SarwarI join my colleagues in congratulating my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Scotland Office on their appointments. I pay tribute to their predecessors, my right hon. Friend the Member for Hamilton, North and Bellshill (Dr. Reid), now the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and my hon. Friend the Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson), now the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, for their support in securing Govan shipyard and the shipbuilding industry on the River Clyde. They will always be welcome in my Govan constituency.
As my hon. Friend the Minister points out, the Glasgow science centre received £20 million from EU development funds. Will my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State visit the centre at the earliest opportunity?
§ Mr. FoulkesThe Secretary of State and I will both be happy to do so. My hon. Friend offered congratulations on the work of our predecessors—and rightly so—but he, above all, deserves a great tribute for his excellent work as a constituency Member. During my 21 years as a Member of the House—do not say that it is too long—I have rarely seen such an active and well organised campaign as that run by my hon. Friend. He deserves great tribute. It is thanks to such campaigns that unemployment is the lowest it has been for 25 years and employment is the highest it has been for 40 years. That bears constant repetition to Opposition Members.