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7.14 pm
Mr. Walter Sweeney (Vale of Glamorgan): I am pleased to have the opportunity to celebrate St. David's day a day early by talking about some of the achievements in Wales and about our hopes for the future.
Developments in or near the Vale of Glamorgan in recent years exemplify the exciting enterprise culture that has developed in Wales. I shall give a few examples. The Ford and Sony plants near Bridgend and the Bosch plant in the rural vale near the M4 are examples of the inward investment that has been encouraged by lower rates of corporation and income tax, low inflation, a stable work force and the much lower social costs of labour in Wales compared with many other European countries.
During a visit to Stuttgart a few months ago, I talked to a senior Bosch employee who had managed the plant in Wales. He said that Bosch's success in the Vale of Glamorgan was due mainly to the relative lack of red tape in Wales compared with Germany. With the active assistance of the Welsh Development Agency and local planners, Bosch designed and built its plant in the vale in half the time that it would have taken in Germany. The speed with which the plant reached productive capability helped to provide Bosch with a return on its capital investment significantly sooner than would have been possible in Stuttgart.
The unavoidable social costs of German labour mean that the cost of employing a top quality work force is much greater than in the vale. The Government's steadfast refusal to adopt the social chapter means that we will retain that competitive advantage--while the Conservatives remain in power. The Bosch factory in the vale remains competitive also because it is allowed to move raw materials and manufactured goods seven days a week, instead of being restricted by lorry bans at weekends. As a result of the flexible shifts worked by Bosch personnel in the vale, productivity can be readily adjusted to meet demand--unlike the system in Stuttgart and certainly unlike the bad old days under the last Labour Government, which encouraged restrictive practices and the loss of many working days through strikes.
Mr. Win Griffiths:
Will the hon. Gentleman explain why Sony and Ford came to the Bridgend area when Labour Governments were in power?
Mr. Sweeney:
I did not suggest that the Welsh environment was totally hostile to investment under a Labour Government. However, I do suggest that the changes that have occurred in the past 17 years have produced a climate that is more conducive to inward investment.
Further exciting investment has come to the vale recently. The British Airways maintenance base, which was opened by the Prince of Wales, is providing high-tech jobs and is making a valuable contribution to the local economy. RAF St. Athan has civilianised many jobs.
Mr. Michael:
I am intrigued by the hon. Gentleman's references to Bosch and to British Airways. As he has been in the vale for only a short time, perhaps he is not aware of the leading role played by the local authorities--particularly South Glamorgan county council--in bringing those jobs to the area. Secretaries of State have paid tribute to their work and I think that the hon. Gentleman should follow suit.
Mr. Sweeney:
I am certainly happy to pay tribute to local authorities that have taken advantage of the climate provided by the Conservative Government to attract inward investment. Vale of Glamorgan borough council, which for most of my time in south Wales has been under Conservative control, has certainly been helpful. I hope that the new Vale of Glamorgan council will continue to take advantage of the enterprise culture and continue to encourage further investment in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Mr. Llew Smith:
I was interested by the hon. Member's earlier comments, which seemed to imply that the number of days lost through strikes under the Labour
Mr. Sweeney:
The hon. Gentleman is not comparing like with like. There is simply no comparison between the number of days lost through strikes under the Labour Government and the number of days lost through strikes under the Conservative Government. As for the considerable increase in unemployment that has taken place, clearly many people under the Labour Government did not do a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. Much of industry was grossly inefficient and uncompetitive.
Mr. Smith:
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr. Sweeney:
I cannot keep on giving way.
The British Airways maintenance base, which was opened by the Prince of Wales, is providing high-tech jobs and making a valuable contribution to the local economy. RAF St. Athan has civilianised many jobs and has maintained the competitive edge necessary to retain valuable contracts against the challenge of competitive tendering.
I regret the recently announced loss of driver training jobs at St. Athan, but I accept the economic arguments of my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces for centralising driver training at Leconfield. I believe that RAF St. Athan will continue to thrive in a competitive environment.
Cardiff international airport is going from strength to strength since it was taken over by TVI plc. Since the takeover, substantial investment in the airport has already been made and much more is in the pipeline. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made one of his regular visits to the Vale to open a new visitor reception lounge at the airport, which is the envy of terminal two at Heathrow.
In Barry docks, Associated British Ports, in close co-operation with the Welsh Development Agency, and the Vale council--if the hon. Member for Cardiff, South and Penarth (Mr. Michael) had waited, he would have heard me pay tribute to the local authority--has exciting plans for the regeneration of that important part of Barry.
Of course, the prosperity of Wales depends not only on new development, but on the expansion and success of existing firms. I recently visited Dow Corning to see the progress on expansion there. The new Genesis plant will provide about 200 new jobs, many of them highly skilled. Welsh Water and Dow Corning will co-operate on a new water treatment plant to reduce dramatically pollution into the Cadoxton river. Welsh Water is also building a new sewage treatment works at Cog Moor, which will be very welcome to all my constituents, but especially to those who enjoy water sports. They will benefit from a big improvement in the quality of sea water in the Bristol channel.
Mr. Llew Smith:
The hon. Member said that, under Labour, many working people did not do a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. Would he care to mention those Welsh workers who cheated their employers at that time?
Mr. Sweeney:
I do not understand the question.
As important as the big firms in Wales are the small firms from which bigger firms grow.
Mr. Smith:
Let me have another go.
Mr. Sweeney:
I think that the hon. Gentleman has had quite enough goes for one afternoon.
Last week, I enjoyed visiting the Lion laboratories in Barry where sophisticated equipment is manufactured, at very high levels of quality control, for the provision of breath-testing equipment. The flexibility of the 96 Lion employees in Barry, a significant proportion of whom have masters or higher level degrees, is such that they are able to produce different equipment to meet the exacting requirements of various countries, as well as supplying almost all the police forces in Britain with roadside screening devices and evidential devices for use at police stations.
I warmly welcome the commitment by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to fund the design stage of the proposed new link road between Culverhouse Cross and Cardiff international airport, a scheme for which I have pressed him and his predecessors for the past four years. I have just had a meeting with TVI plc at which we stressed the fundamental economic importance of the new road for the airport and the surrounding business sites. I emphasise that not only the airport but the whole of Barry--especially the docks and industrial complex nearby--will benefit from better communications. I therefore ask my right hon. Friend to give a commitment to the House that after the design stage has been completed, the Welsh Office will provide funding for the construction stage so that that vital project can come to fruition.
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