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Dr. Godman: IBM in Spango valley in Greenock employs almost 5,000 people, which makes it one of the biggest employers in the west of Scotland. I remind my hon. Friend that IBM has been in Greenock since 1951. It was brought there by the remarkable work of the late Sir Hector McNeil, who was the Labour MP for Greenock.
Mr. Marshall: As usual, my hon. Friend is correct in all that he says. IBM was the original inward investor in Scotland. IBM's importance to the Scottish economy is such that it is worth more than the Scotch whisky industry, and that says it all.
We met many American business people who are interested and involved in Scotland. Almost to a person, they were impressed by the activities of Scottish Enterprise, Locate in Scotland and Scotland Trade International. Americans do not give praise lightly, and members of the Committee were convinced that it was sincere and genuine, and a proper reflection of the activities of Scottish representatives in that country.
In the five days we were there we visited four cities: Stamford, New York, Washington and Philadelphia. I should like to place on record our appreciation for the assistance, information and advice that we were given by everyone we met.
Mr. Swayne:
The hon. Gentleman is giving eloquent testimony to the work of the Scottish Affairs Committee. I am deeply grateful to him for that--I was unable to take part in the visit, so he is providing a great service. In the light of the remarks of my hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Mr. Letwin), does the hon. Gentleman think it proper to consider whether the Committee, of which he is Chairman, should undertake an investigation into the management of Scottish Enterprise?
Mr. Marshall:
It is a matter of great regret to the Committee that the hon. Gentleman was unable to go with us, because we genuinely value the role that he plays on the Committee. No Conservative MPs represent Scottish constituencies, and we thought that the hon. Gentleman had committed some cardinal sin when he was put on our Committee. I say with all sincerity that he has played an important part in the work of the Committee and is a good member of it. I have no hesitation in saying that, and if it embarrasses him, so be it.
Let me answer the hon. Gentleman's question. I am sure that tomorrow I shall find on my desk a letter from him making the suggestion that he has just made to us. If I do, it will be given serious consideration in the normal way.
I feel that I should praise Steven Bennett, director of Locate in Scotland in north America, David Taylor, director of Scotland Trade International and Lisa Smith, executive director of the Virginia Scotland Partnership--or the Scotland Virginia Partnership, depending on which part of the world one is in at the time. We were tremendously impressed by the presentations that were made to us and by the work done by those people.
Whether we like it or not, globalisation is happening. We can no longer take the status quo for granted. I believe that Scottish Enterprise, Locate in Scotland and Scotland Trade International are doing all that they can in the United States on behalf of Scotland's interests. I also believe, however--and this brings me to the purpose of the Bill--that they could do much more with a few additional resources, especially in terms of staff and premises and especially in Canada, where there is a great affinity with Scotland, and where there must be considerable opportunities. Locate in Scotland has only four offices in the United States, and I am not sure whether Scotland Trade International has any. It is difficult to run such a vast area as north America out of four small offices with fewer than 20 staff. I think that the return on a reasonably modest increase in resources could make such an increase well worth while. There is great interest in the United States in the Cadence project in Livingston. It could give Scotland a leading role at the cutting edge of technology in the future and bring massive benefits to our economy.
I was impressed to learn that the commonwealth of Virginia was the first state in America--as far as I know, it is still the only state--to appoint a Secretary for Technology, because it considers technology so important. It is worth noting that there are 23,000
high-tech job vacancies in Virginia, which it is unable to fill because it cannot obtain trained staff. Perhaps the new Scottish Parliament will take on board the idea of a Secretary for Technology. Scotland has enough high technology to guarantee such a post, and I think that it would pay enormous dividends.
I counsel against going overboard on inward investment at any cost, and I hope that Scottish Enterprise will not dissipate too much of any additional moneys in that way. It appears that there are some unscrupulous companies that are interested only in obtaining whatever grants they can get, and then playing one area or country against another. They come in, take the money and run. We must not let ourselves be taken to the cleaners by such companies.
Mr. Letwin:
I do not want to embarrass the hon. Gentleman unduly either, but I hope that he will accept that the Opposition thoroughly agree with what he has just said.
Mr. Marshall:
I am unembarrassable, but that is by the way.
We would perhaps be better served by doing everything possible to retain existing jobs. That is another lesson that we learnt from our trip. Cities such as Philadelphia have great problems, and great similarities to Glasgow, which also has problems. They have found it more cost-effective and beneficial to concentrate on retaining jobs than to spend a fortune on trying to attract them. We should also encourage our indigenous industries to expand and prosper in their own areas. There is a feeling that we do not do enough in that regard.
It is essential that we expand our air services to Europe. At present they are totally inadequate. Perhaps Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Office will consider what can be done.
I am delighted that at last a Labour Government are getting down to tackling Glasgow's problems after 18 years of Tory victimisation of and bias against it. I am aware that £1.5 billion of public money is being spent in the city, but the scale of the problem is so great that it is still not enough. My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Maryhill (Mrs. Fyfe) raised the issue in an Adjournment debate in the Scottish Grand Committee in Edinburgh on Monday. She referred to the problems of deprivation in the city, and I congratulate her on doing so.
Just a few months ago, the Scottish Office central research unit and the department of urban studies at Glasgow university revised the Scottish area deprivation index, which ranks areas by post code sectors. Thirty-nine of the worst 45 sectors in Scotland are in Glasgow, including the worst 15. Twelve of those 45 post code areas are in my constituency, including two of the top 10. Of the 618,430 people in Glasgow, 369,313, or 60 per cent., live in the worst 10 per cent. of post code sectors.
Those statistics are horrifying and unacceptable as we approach the new millennium. They illustrate why Scottish Enterprise must give more resources to the local employment company, namely, the Glasgow development agency, if the problems that face the city are ever to be overcome.
For example, the brown-field site budget is only £3 million, yet there are approximately 2,000 acres of derelict and contaminated land; 11 per cent. of the city's
area is derelict or contaminated. That could be the source of much future prosperity if it is brought back into use as soon as possible. The draft Glasgow Alliance strategy has a target of bringing 50 per cent. of that land back into use within five years. Let us improve on that target, either in scale or in time. Again, Scottish Enterprise could spend more money in dealing with that problem.
Perhaps I should declare an interest, being a member of the board of the East End Partnership, of the East End Regeneration Management Board and a co-opted member of the board of Glasgow Alliance. The alliance has a visionary strategy and we now have a consultative document on a joint economic strategy for Glasgow. What we need now is action and, as I have said, even more resources from Scottish Enterprise.
Glasgow is turning itself around. There is much good in the city and a lot going for it. It is, indeed, miles better than it was. It has improved leaps and bounds, particularly over the past two years, thanks to the change in Government, but it must be remembered that, almost every year for the past 20 years, Glasgow has lost the equivalent of a Ravenscraig in terms of jobs. People tend to ignore that fact. Because it is a city, it somehow misses out.
Unemployment and poverty are still endemic in the city. There are still thousands of below tolerable standard houses, many in my constituency. Therefore, there are great opportunities for new housing partnerships. Scottish Enterprise is also involved in that.
The new employment zone has been good, but has had problems. I understand that it is £500,000 short of European social funding. If we cannot get ESF for that vital initiative, perhaps Scottish Enterprise can make up the shortfall. The hopes of hundreds of unemployed young people--including 80 of my constituents who are on the programme--depend on the success of the zone.
There are concerns in Glasgow and elsewhere that, with the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, there will be a jobs drift from the west of Scotland to the east. Therefore, it is essential that the M74 extension from Tollcross to Kingston be completed as soon as possible. That is arguably the number one priority for the economy of Glasgow. It would free many hundreds of acres of derelict land for investment, create thousands of jobs, reduce pollution, improve the environment, eliminate congestion in the city, improve road safety and reduce pressure on Kingston bridge.
I appeal to the Minister to ensure that Scottish Enterprise spends its resources in a well-balanced way. It is fine to have physical developments and large projects, but it is also essential to concentrate on getting more to the poorest communities, especially if we are to maximise the advantages of the new deal.
Many thousands of young people have already benefited from the new deal, but many more have still to do so. We will not be able to levy former public utilities again to continue to fund the new deal, so, if we are to be serious about social inclusion, we must take the longer-term view and invest in training, education and infrastructure.
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