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Mr. Howard : The hon. Gentleman knows very well that we are providing the widest ever range of help to the unemployed to help them get back to work as quickly as possible. We are providing up to 100,000 extra places in job clubs, and the job interview guarantee scheme and employment training will continue to play an important part in helping the unemployed get back to work quickly.
Following is the information :
Comparisons of unemployment between EC countries
Standardised unemployment rates<2>
seasonally adjusted
|Per cent. rate|Latest month
------------------------------------------------------------
Spain |15.8 |August
Ireland |14.8 |November
Italy |9.9 |July
France |8.9 |October
Belgium |8.2 |November
Denmark |(8.2)<2> |November
Greece |(7.4)<1> |April 1987
Netherlands |7.4 |September
United Kingdom |6.7 |November
Portugal |4.7 |August
Luxembourg |(1.7)<2> |November
EC Average |(8.3)<2> |November
Note: For those EC countries for which no OECD standardised
rates are available, similar harmonised rates compiled by
the
Statistical Office of European Communities (EUROSTAT) are
shown in brackets. These showed the United Kingdom rate at
6.7 per
cent. in November compared with the EC average of 8.3 per
cent.
<1> Recent comparable figures are currently not available
in Greece,
the latest relating to April 1987.
<2> There are no reliable figures available as yet for a
unified
Germany.
Low Pay
11. Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he intends to introduce to eradicate low pay.
Mr. Forth : Pay is a matter for negotiators themselves to determine in the light of their particular circumstances.
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Mrs. Mahon : Will the Government take positive steps to eradicate low pay by prosecuting employers who illegally pay wages below the minimum rate? Is the Minister aware that in 1989 nearly 5,500 employers were found guilty of this offence, yet only 10 were prosecuted? Is not this a case of double standards? How can the Government get away with a criminal act when nobody else can?Mr. Forth : Opposition Members seem to have an almost unseemly lust for prosecution. This is all the more odd since the number of prosecutions brought under the present Government is almost exactly the same as that brought under the Labour party when it was last in power--although it must be difficult for Opposition Members to remember that. In this regard, we work by persuasion and on the basis of information--not by dragging people automatically and vindictively through the courts. I am afraid that until Opposition Members understand that, I shall continue to give this answer every time the question is asked.
Mr. Gale : Does my hon. Friend agree that European proposals to eradicate low-paying part-time jobs are much more likely to eradicate the jobs, which are of such value, particularly to working women?
Mr. Forth : Yes, indeed. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point. The truth is that many of the proposals emanating from the European Commission and from the Opposition would have the effect of destroying jobs. As my hon. Friend knows, part of the very proud record of the present Government is the number of jobs provided in the wealth- creating sector over the last two or three years. That is something that we wish to protect and we shall resist any efforts by the Labour party, or anybody else, to destroy jobs.
Dr. Reid : How can the Minister say that he is committed to the eradication of low pay when the mass unemployment created by the present Government is the very means by which low pay is extended throughout the country? Can he imagine workers in a constituency like mine, which, over the next few years, faces an unemployment rate of 40 per cent., having any bargaining power to secure a decent level of pay? Is not the truth that mass unemployment and low pay are two sides of the same Government policy?
Mr. Forth : I can agree with half of what the hon. Gentleman has said. He is absolutely right in his assertion that unemployment is the main cause of poverty. He is quite wrong, however, to suggest that low pay is equally a cause. If we were to intervene arbitrarily to increase the level of pay in this country and beyond, employment would be the main casualty. Perversely, any effort to provide arbitrary levels of income would be likely to increase unemployment even further. As my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State said a moment ago, we have one of the lowest levels of unemployment in the European Community, and we intend to keep it that way.
Retail Prices Index
12. Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement on the administrative arrangements regarding the collection of statistics for the retail prices index.
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Mr. Jackson : First, I acknowledge the valuable contribution of the Public Accounts Committee's carefully considered report on the retail prices index. I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the important personal role that he played on the PAC when it looked at this issue. In close co-operation with the Central Statistical Office, which has responsibility for the RPI, the employment service is taking action to ensure that the data are comprehensive and accurate by introducing targets for collection offices, tighter management controls over the collection of data, and better guidance for collectors.
Mr. Latham : I thank my hon. Friend for his kind remarks and for his full response. Is he aware that nothing could be more important to pensioners than for the retail prices index connection to be given high priority in the work of the Department of Employment? As the permanent secretary to his Department suggested to the Public Accounts Committee that this work could be privatised, does my hon. Friend have anything to say in that regard?
Mr. Jackson : I assure my hon. Friend that we do not believe that any bias arose from deficiencies in the figures. However, we certainly acknowledge the priority of this work for the employment service. The question of how this sort of information is collected is kept under review, and on that point I shall keep in touch with my hon. Friend.
Mr. Cryer : While prices are very important to pensioners, are not wages also important? As the Government have boasted about the booming economy, why, when they came to office, did they deliberately destroy the link between pensions and wages? In effect, they have each year robbed every pensioner in this country of hundreds of pounds of rightful income that was provided under Labour.
Mr. Jackson : This is, of course, a matter for the Department of Social Security. I seem to remember that, when it was in government, the Labour party found it difficult to sustain the link.
Tourism
13. Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest figures for overseas visitors (a) to the United Kingdom and (b) to London.
Mr. Jackson : According to the latest available figures, overseas residents made an estimated 15.6 million visits to the United Kingdom during the first 10 months of 1990 and 4.3 million visits to London during the first six months of that year.
Mr. Bowis : Does my hon. Friend agree that the figures reflect great credit on everyone working in the tourist industry and that they should help to tide it through the uncertain period that lies immediately ahead? Does my hon. Friend accept that once the uncertainties of the Gulf are over and tourists come back to London in large numbers, the number of coaches will multiply? The off-street parking facilities in London are inadequate. Will my hon. Friend talk to his colleagues in the Department of Transport and to the local authorities to see whether that can be remedied?
Mr. Jackson : I am well aware of the problems of coach parking. Primary responsibility lies with the borough
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councils, but, as my hon. Friend knows, Transport Ministers are actively considering the issue in conjunction with all the other interests and organisations involved. The working parties are due to report early this year.Mr. Wigley : Is the Minister aware of the strong opinion in the tourist industry in Wales that the way in which the British Tourist Authority markets Britain overseas leads to a preponderance of visitors coming to London and to an inadequate proportion coming to areas such as Wales? Will he discuss with the BTA the representations from the Welsh tourist board for it to have the right to market Wales overseas?
Mr. Jackson : I shall draw that to the attention of my colleague who deals with this matter and to the BTA. As I said in an earlier answer, it is important that we should seek to diversify the range of areas that attract tourists to this country. I go along with the hon. Gentleman on that point.
PRIME MINISTER
Engagements
Q1. Mr. Cran : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 29 March.
The Prime Minister (Mr. John Major) : This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.
Mr. Cran : Would my right hon. Friend care to take this opportunity to assure foreign business men and tourists--and indeed, almost everyone else who comes to the United Kingdom--that they have been grossly misled into thinking that coming into the United Kingdom is a dangerous occupation? Would he confirm that using British aircraft and British airports is almost as safe as using those anywhere else in the world and that stringent security arrangements are in place? Will he confirm that they will stay in place as long as the threats, to which we are accustomed, continue?
The Prime Minister : I am happy to give my hon. Friend that assurance. A great deal of effort has gone into ensuring that our aircraft and all other modes of transport are entirely safe. My hon. Friend is quite right. There is no question of people in this country being intimidated by terrorism. I hope very much that the usual clutch of visitors will come to this country, where they will find the usual warm welcome.
Mr. Kinnock : Is it not clear to the right hon. Gentleman that, with unemployment rising, and output and investment falling, his interest rate policies have pushed Britain back into slump? Will he now change those policies before he inflicts further damage on British jobs, on British enterprise and on British competitiveness?
The Prime Minister : I must say to the right hon. Gentleman that the thrust of policy is geared to dealing with the principal economic problem in front of us--the reduction of inflation--so that the economy may again begin to grow. That is the thrust of policy and it will continue to be so.
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Mr. Kinnock : Can the Prime Minister tell us how on earth cutting investment combats inflation? Is it not obvious to him that weakening British industry now will weaken the British economy in the future?
The Prime Minister : As the Confederation of British Industry said yesterday in its report, it is encouraging that most employers expect to maintain spending on innovation and to maintain or increase spending on training. The right hon. Gentleman must recognise the substantive point that what really destroys the effectiveness of investment in this country is inflation, when it gets out of hand and when people can see that investment will not yield a proper reward.
Mr. Kinnock : Does the Prime Minister acknowledge that, if British industry is to begin recovery in the course of this year, he must cut interest rates now and find a sensible way of restraining consumption? What is happening now is ruinous.
The Prime Minister : When it is appropriate to reduce interest rates, people do so. I remind the right hon. Gentleman that he was urging us to join the exchange rate mechanism when the exchange rate was DM 2.95. We will reduce interest rates when it is appropriate to do so.
Baltic States
Q2. Mr. Hunter : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a further statement on the Soviet Union's handling of the Baltic states and their bid for independence.
The Prime Minister : We have made our concern known very clearly to the Soviet authorities, in particular about the actions of Soviet troops in Vilnius and Riga and their tragic consequences. We believe that the Soviet authorities should withdraw their troops and negotiate with the elected authorities in the Baltic states on their aspirations.
Mr. Hunter : In the light of the Soviet Union's oppressive policies in the Baltic states, will my right hon. Friend confirm that one of the factors that will determine future United Kingdom aid will be the Soviet Union's acknowledgement of the Baltic states people's right to self- determination?
The Prime Minister : We have always supported the right of the people of the Baltic states to decide their future status through negotiation with the Soviet Union. That will continue to guide our policy in the future.
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : Is the Prime Minister aware that President Landsbergis will host a conference entitled "a free Lithuania in Europe" between 7 and 16 February in Vilnius and that, concurrent with that, he will conduct a national poll to establish changes within the constitution of the state of Lithuania? Does the Prime Minister agree that such a conference would be an ideal opportunity for an all-party delegation from the House to visit the Baltic states to see what is happening? Will the Prime Minister consider such a delegation?
The Prime Minister : I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her suggestion. That is a matter for hon. Members, not for me.
Mr. Wilkinson : Will my right hon. Friend make it perfectly plain to the Soviet authorities that aid to the
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USSR as a unitary state is conditional on the maintenance of human rights and democratic freedoms within the constituent republics as they now are?The Prime Minister : I have previously done that, as my hon. Friend will know. I must add that, over the past few years, we have invested a great deal of time and effort, as has the United States, in improving the relationship and atmosphere with the Soviet Union. I hope that we can suspend judgment on some activities until we have further information. What appears to be happening in Vilnius and Riga is quite unacceptable, but I hope that we can suspend judgment until we see matters more clearly. Yet again, we make it clear to the Soviet Union that our support for Mr. Gorbachev is support for him and his reforms, not for repression.
Engagements
Q3. Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 29 January.
The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Dunnachie : Is the Prime Minister aware that there is total support for his concern for the welfare of British troops in the Gulf? Will he put his money where his mouth is and give councils the money that they need to relieve their troops in the Gulf of the poll tax burden?
The Prime Minister : As I indicated to the House the other day, authority already exists for local authorities to relieve troops during their period there.
Mr. Cormack : Will my right hon. Friend have a word with the chairman of the Post Office this afternoon about the supply of the blue letter forms on which families write to forces in the Gulf? Is he aware that families of the Staffordshire regiment have been complaining that the forms are not readily available in many rural post offices?
The Prime Minister : I can say to my hon. Friend that more have been distributed because of concern about that matter. About 600 sacks of mail are being moved each day to and from the Gulf. It is a massive operation. Hon. Members will have seen on television some of the difficulties that there are in delivering it.
Q4. Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 29 January.
The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Corbyn : Will the Prime Minister spend some time today considering the effects of 13 days of war in the Gulf, the deaths of service people, the massive losses of Iraqi civilians, the environmental destruction throughout the region, and the loss of some civil liberties in this country? Will the right hon. Gentleman accordingly join King Hussein of Jordan and the Pope in calling for a ceasefire in the war to enable the problems of the region to be addressed peacefully, as they will all be there at the end of the fighting?
The Prime Minister : It was not the allies who ensured that the problems of the region could not be solved
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peacefully ; it was Saddam Hussein. It is perfectly clear what needs to be done before they can be addressed peacefully.Q5. Dr. Michael Clark : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 29 January.
The Prime Minister : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Dr. Clark : Will my right hon.Friend confirm that the coalition forces in the Gulf are striving to uphold the United Nations resolutions and that it is hoped, therefore, that as many members of the United Nations as possible will contribute towards this effort? Does he agree that there is every indication at the present time that this will happen, and that it is to be hoped that our friends and allies, particularly those that have not sent forces to the Gulf, will recognise their responsibilities and find ways of contributing to the war effort?
The Prime Minister : I agree with my hon. Friend. A number of Governments have already made financial contributions towards the cost of the forces in the Gulf and a number of others have announced their intention to do so. I understand that Germany has made such an announcement just today. We are grateful for that and we will be in touch with the Governments concerned.
Mr. Ashdown : Will the Prime Minister confirm that the objective of the coalition forces in the Gulf remains to secure the liberation, peace and stability of Kuwait and does not extend to the occupation and dismemberment of a defeated Iraq?
The Prime Minister : I am happy to confirm our war aims to the right hon. Gentleman. We have made them clear consistently. They are those set out in the United Nations Security Council resolutions. They have been and remain the aims of the allies.
North Yorkshire
Q6. Mr. Gregory : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make an official visit to North Yorkshire.
‡ The Prime Minister : I am making plans for a series of visits to all parts of the country and very much hope to include North Yorkshire among them.
Mr. Gregory : Will my right hon. Friend encourage those banks and building societies that are offering mortgages to home owners in North Yorkshire to extend the facility to European currency unit mortgages, thereby reducing the interest rate by some 3 per cent?
The Prime Minister : Banks and building societies have the capacity to do that at present. It is a matter for their judgment whether they do so and for their mortgage borrowers whether they seek such a facility.
Mr. O'Brien : In the course of his visit to North Yorkshire, will the Prime Minister take note of the importance of the link from the A1 servicing North Yorkshire to the M1 to ease the congestion of traffic on the A642 through Oulton and Rothwell?
The Prime Minister : I will do better than that ; I will tell my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport what the hon. Gentleman has said.
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Mr. Dickens : Prime Minister, are you aware- - [Hon. Members :-- "No."] Are you aware--Mr. Speaker : Order. I have sympathy for the hon. Member. Give him a fair hearing.
Mr. Dickens : Prime Minister, are you aware--
Mr. Speaker : Why not proceed with the question? I think we have got the first bit.
Mr. Dickens : Is the Prime Minister aware that my eldest son, Clive, signed on for the Gulf last week, and this week
Mr. Speaker : Order. Did he do it in Yorkshire, that is the point?
Mr. Dickens : Is this not more commendable than the behaviour of a lot of yellow-bellied Labour MPs?
Mr. Speaker : The hon. Gentleman absolutely spoiled a good opportunity.
Engagements
Q7. Mr. Skinner : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 29 January.
The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Skinner : When the Prime Minister is travelling around North Yorkshire, will he pay a visit to York and take note that the Conservative club is having a closing-down sale because it has gone bankrupt as a result of the Government's business rate having increased from £5,000 to £15,000? Is it a Government policy to achieve a classless society by closing down Tory clubs in marginal seats? However, every cloud has a silver lining. When Labour comes into power we shall abolish the poll tax and there will be jobs in York, Derbyshire and everywhere else in Britain.
The Prime Minister : But not, I think, for most people working today, for they will have long since retired.
Q8. Mr. Holt : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 29 January.
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The Prime Minister : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave some moments ago.
Mr. Holt : Is my right hon. Friend aware that this year the Northern regional health authority is receiving the largest sum that it has ever had? That is welcome news in the north of England. The 10.2 per cent. increase over last year means that the people of the north of England are getting a marvellous deal from the Government. In particular there will be the opportunity for increased capital investment in a new hospital in my constituency for which we have waited for over 10 years.
The Prime Minister : I am pleased to hear that. I am always pleased when my hon. Friend is pleased. He is a doughty fighter for the north and has been for many years.
Ms. Abbott : Will the Prime Minister confirm that there is nothing explicit in the appropriate United Nations resolutions that authorises an allied invasion of Iraq? Does he accept that although there is a widespread consensus in the House and internationally that Saddam Hussein must leave Kuwait, there is no such consensus for an allied invasion of Iraq to smash its military machine, with all the casualties and damage to Iraq's people and infrastructure that would result?
The Prime Minister : Resolution 678 authorises all necessary means to implement the objective of freeing Kuwait and restoring peace and security to the area. At this stage it is impossible to determine in detail precisely what that may mean. We shall need to judge that in the light of circumstances and we shall judge our actions against the security council resolutions.
Mr. Bob Cryer (Bradford, South) : On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, I wonder whether you have had a request from the Secretary of State for the Environment to make a statement about possible cuts in fire service provision which are the subject of an enormous lobby today by firemen and women worried about the cuts imposed by the Government on fire services?
Mr. Speaker : I have had no such request.
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