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Mr. Hague: I shall come to that point. Indeed, I intend to announce a policy change on that matter, which I believe the hon. Gentleman will be able to welcome.
I was describing the agency's achievements. My right hon. Friend the Member for Bridgwater, my hon. Friend the Member for St. Ives and the hon. Member for Truro will be pleased to note that since taking responsibility for inward investment in 1983, the agency has recorded an enormous number of inward investment projects--about 855--from overseas. Such projects have promised the creation or safeguarding of more than 100,000 jobs, and in the past calendar year alone, the agency has played its part in attracting £2.3 billion of investment and 15,000 jobs through 150 projects new to Wales--a record-breaking achievement. We have made an excellent start to 1997 and more good news is in the pipeline.
The consequence of those achievements is that unemployment has been reduced to 93,000. For the past six months, it has been falling by 18,000 a month. The news on long-term unemployment is also good. With the jobs come the wages that bolster local economies.
Securing the LG project is a tremendous achievement in terms of employment and investment, as has been acknowledged by hon. Members on both sides of the House. It is the most significant project that Wales has ever seen and the largest inward investment project in Europe. It will bring with it about 6,100 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs, and it can benefit the whole of Wales. I congratulate all involved on that magnificent achievement.
The benefits of LG should not be confined to south-east Wales, and we are all working to ensure that they are spread throughout Wales. Immediately after the announcement, we moved quickly to set up a group comprising the many parts of the Welsh Office with an interest, the WDA, the training and enterprise councils,
the Employment Service and many local authorities, to ensure that Wales as a whole benefits from the LG investment.
Mr. Barry Jones (Alyn and Deeside):
How does the Secretary of State, alongside the Welsh Development Agency, intend to tackle large-scale youth unemployment and long-term unemployment in constituencies such as mine? Is there a joint plan to tackle those problems in the constituency of Alyn and Deeside?
Mr. Hague:
Yes, the plan is to continue the success in reducing unemployment--including in the hon. Gentleman's constituency--that we have achieved in recent months. We started this year with the announcement that British Aerospace in his constituency is to create another 100 jobs. That was good news for his constituency, and I hope that it will receive more good news in the future. Long-term and youth unemployment is falling, as is unemployment as a whole.
On the LG project, wider issues are being considered, such as training skills, transport and component suppliers. Companies anywhere in Wales can do business with LG if they are able to meet the company's requirements. More and more companies are reinvesting in Wales, which shows their satisfaction with the Welsh work force and the confidence that they have in the strengths of the Welsh economy, and reinforces the successful image of Wales for prospective investors.
A number of very good announcements have recently been made: Sony is one and Bertrand Faure at Tredegar is another. However, it is essential that the role of indigenous companies is recognised in the same way as that of inward investors. Between January 1994 and December 1996, 141 foreign and 567 UK-owned companies received regional selective assistance payments towards projects in Wales. In the 10-year period to March 1996, almost 1,500 offers of regional selective assistance were accepted by UK-owned companies for projects in Wales, whereas fewer than 300 offers were accepted by foreign-owned businesses. During the same period, RSA totalling almost £215 million was paid to UK-owned companies, and nearly £213 million to foreign-owned concerns. It is clear that home-grown companies have received far more assistance than is commonly supposed.
Encouraging indigenous small firms to supply inward investors is part of the range of services that is now marketed under the Business Connect banner. In this financial year, Source Wales has helped 537 Welsh companies, and 112 deals have been won for those companies. The Source Wales database of 2,000 Welsh small and medium-sized enterprises assists in identifying supply opportunities to major manufacturing companies, not only in Wales but throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. The recent announcement about Halla's sourcing in north Wales--£1 million-worth of business--is a prime example of the benefits that the Source Wales programme brings to indigenous companies, and shows that major investments can benefit the whole of Wales rather than just the immediate vicinity.
Mr. Dafis:
Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr. Hague:
I may give way again later in my speech, but in fairness to other hon. Members I should proceed.
Other agency initiatives to encourage indigenous firms include technology development and transfer. Under the regional technology action plan, the WDA is working with a large number of organisations to strengthen the Welsh innovation culture and to develop further the technological infrastructure in Wales, including Wales-wide telecoms cabling. Through the technology transfer initiative, more than 400 Welsh companies have been audited to establish the adequacy of their approach to innovation and technology. If the audits identify opportunities to improve competitiveness, European grants are available through the WDA to introduce technological solutions. In that way, companies throughout Wales have ready access to the best available expertise.
On finance for growth generally, the agency has moved from being a major investor in its own right to working in conjunction with the private sector to improve the availability of venture capital. In particular, it is now seeking to establish a network of "business angels", and has recently expanded its Eurolink scheme to operate worldwide, called Globalink, to establish for Welsh companies strong collaborative links with overseas business partners.
Thanks to those and other initiatives, and to the exceptionally favourable circumstances of the United Kingdom economy, business optimism remains positive in Wales, which shows that the Welsh economy is on a sound footing and that we can all have confidence in the future. Some recent surveys have shown Welsh business optimism to be the best in the United Kingdom.
Since 1979, the WDA has spent more than £820 million on property development, which has provided more that 20 million sq ft of floorspace. It has developed a network of new business parks across north and south and south-west Wales, taking full advantage of the A55 and M4 corridors, and has also pushed development into less accessible areas, a fine example of which is the Cleddau Bridge business park at Pembroke dock. A business park is also to be developed at Parc Pensarn, Carmarthen. The agency has placed ever-increasing emphasis on joint development projects with private sector partners.
After strong growth in auto-components jobs last year, the WDA has announced today that it will press ahead with a new business park in the Neath valley, which is designed specifically for automotive suppliers. It has awarded a £440,000 contract to install road and other services at the Neath Vale supplier park, which should be ready by May. Interest from potential tenants is high and the agency is talking to at least six companies, which together could bring 300 jobs to the area.
The agency's achievements do not end with job creation: that is the point made by the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells). It has also provided a better environment in which Welsh people can live and work. The agency's land reclamation programme has been huge. Since 1979, it has reclaimed 6,500 hectares of derelict land at more than 920 locations. Despite the pressures on spending and the priority rightly given to inward investment, the agency currently has almost 3,500 acres in the process of being reclaimed and, on current plans, some 1,850 acres will be completed in the next two years. That remains a massive programme by any standards, even though we must give higher priority to other areas.
In rural areas, under the agency's rural prosperity programme, £2.6 million has been invested in 248 projects selected by individual communities.
Mr. Ted Rowlands (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney):
Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
Mr. Hague:
I shall give way, but then I really must get on.
Mr. Rowlands:
Does the acreage of land reclamation to which the right hon. Gentleman referred include the sites that are currently on hold as a result of the halt in budget development for the land reclamation programme?
Mr. Hague:
The 3,500 acres include all projects, some of which are waiting for further attention, but the 1,850 acres to be completed in the next two years relate to projects that are either proceeding now or are certain to proceed in that period.
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