§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has studied the report by the Welsh Council which stated that only a United Kingdom growth rate of 6 per cent, minimum would assist in the reduction of unemployment in Wales; if he agrees with the methods of analysis applied by the Council in reaching this judgment; and if, in view of Scotland having greater employment problems than Wales, he is able to forecast the growth rate required in order substantially to reduce Scottish unemployment.
§ Mr. HigginsThe Welsh Council's report "Wales, Employment and the Economy" has only recently been published and is being studied in the relevant Government Departments. Until these studies are completed I am unable to comment on the council's analytical 373W methods. In Scotland, Wales and the development areas generally, employment prospects should improve as a result of the substantial measures provided in the Budget to raise the rate of growth of output in the economy as a whole and together with the measures announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on 22nd March these will foster investment and employment in the regions.—[Vol. 833, c. 1534–56.]