§ 8. Andy Burnham (Leigh) (Lab)If he will make a statement on the rate of unemployment in the north-west [158474]
§ The Chancellor of the Exchequer(Mr. Gordon Brown)Unemployment in the north-west has fallen by 63,000 since 1997. Over the same period, both long-term and youth unemployment have fallen by more than three quarters.
§ Andy BurnhamThe Chancellor will agree that that excellent record on jobs in the north-west is due not just to the new deal but to the £16.5 million that the Government give to north-west businesses through regional selective assistance. Is he aware of the suggestion floated this morning on the "Today" programme that the Department of Trade and Industry should effectively be closed down and regional selective assistance stopped? Does he agree that that dangerous policy would have a huge impact on job creation in our deprived communities, and will he rule it out altogether?
§ Mr. BrownIt is absolutely essential not only that we have the new deal to help with the creation of jobs, but that we have regional policies in place to assist with investment in the infrastructure for science, innovation and skills. It would be disastrous if the Liberal policy of abandoning regional aid were introduced, and it would be equally disastrous if the budget of the Department of Trade and Industry, including the budget for science, were cut, as proposed by the shadow Chancellor.
§ Helen Jones (Warrington, North) (Lab)My right hon. Friend will know that Government economic policies have reduced unemployment in Warrington to 17 per cent. and given us gross average annual incomes that are higher than those for the north-west as a whole. However, that disguises inequalities in the borough, and many of my constituents are still in fairly low-paid 1043 employment. Will my right hon. Friend outline which policies he will pursue to ensure that we attract more high-tech, well-paid jobs to the north-west, and will he discuss with his hon. Friends in the DTI the value of the Omega employment site in my constituency—the largest industrial development site in the north-west—and how we can best pursue policies to develop it for the benefit not just of Warrington but of adjoining constituencies?
§ Mr. BrownI am grateful to my hon. Friend. I have had a number of meetings with representative organisations in the north-west and elsewhere about regional policy and what more we can do to help science and innovation. In the north-west, the Science and Industry Council, chaired by Sir Tom McKillop, is working to attract new science-based industry to the area. We will continue to support those policies, but it is necessary to fund the new deal as well as regional and science policies. It is a pity that Opposition parties oppose that.