HC Deb 06 February 1978 vol 943 cc414-5W
Mr. Ridley

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the possibility of running the economy to create 500,000 to 1 million additional jobs means net increases in employment over and above current levels.

Mr. Joel Barnett

The achievement of a 3½ per cent. growth of domestic output from now onwards should lead to a net increase in employment by 1980 compared with present levels.

Mr. Ridley

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can indicate the broad objectives of the new series of measures of preserving jobs which he has promised will be announced in the near future.

Mr. Joel Barnett

The Secretary of State for Employment announced in the House on Monday 30th January 1978 that it is intended to extend for a further year the temporary employment subsidy and to continue with other employment measures in an expanded form.

The main objective of these measures is to help employers to provide or sustain jobs for people who would otherwise be unemployed. The largest, TES, is designed to maintain intact viable capacity and work teams, which would otherwise have to be dismantled on account of temporary and cyclical falls in demand, pending the general upturn in the economy towards which our policies are directed.