§ Mr. Raymond S. RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what measures the Government will take to encourage economic prosperity in north-east Scotland.
§ Mr. Allan StewartThe area is among the more prosperous in Scotland. Oil-related employment in particular has increased sharply in recent years. Unemployment in the Aberdeen travel-to-work area has been consistently below the Scottish average and it has had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the United Kingdom—the second lowest in the United Kingdom in March 1992.
There are, however, encouraging signs of confidence in the North sea, with fabrication and engineering yards in Scotland currently working to near full capacity. In 1991, direct offshore employment attained its second highest recorded level, 33,200 jobs, with United Kingdom nationals holding 93 per cent. of these.
Much of this is due to the Government's general economic and fiscal policies.
In addition, of course, the full range of the Government's training, employment and economic development initiatives are available in north-east Scotland through the local enterprise company network. The local enterprise companies have very substantial budgets at their disposal to encourage economic development and employment creation. Grampian Enterprise, for example, has a budget of over £20 million available this year.