§ Mr. Ray Powellasked the Secretary of State for Wales what are the latest employment and economic trends in Wales.
§ Mr. Nicholas EdwardsIn the short term, national unemployment is expected to rise and, as forecast by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget Statement—[Vol. 981, c. 1442]—gross domestic product is expected to fall. Wales will be affected accordingly. In the medium term the Government's policies to reduce inflation and encourage enterprise and initiative should lay the foundations for real economic growth.