Jim
Knight: We are now seeing a good take-up of the scheme in
the region, a matter that I was talking about to officials earlier.
Obviously, I will continue to make representations to the Department
for Business, Innovation and Skills on behalf of the region in the same
way that I broker things within the region. It is a two-way
process.
A £10
million south-west regional loan fund has complemented that national
activity. A regional finance intermediary service has been established.
Work is ongoing with the banks to improve co-ordination of business
support in that way. Such matters contrast with the national loan
guarantee scheme proposal from the hon. Gentleman’s party, which
is a £50 billion scheme with no notion of where the money will
come from. It is a cloud cuckoo land
policy. At
the second meeting of the group that I chaired, we challenged the
regional heads of the banks on their support for small business. As a
result, they have committed themselves to an ongoing engagement with
the Financial Services Board at a regional level. Through that work,
with the regional economic task group and the support of Business Link,
the South West of England Regional Development Agency and the area
action forces, we provided more than £10 million in business
loans and advised 6,000 businesses on everything from tax deferral to
training schemes. It is worth noting that the business tax deferral
scheme from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, as of 3 July this
year, had more than 19,000 cases in the south-west
corresponding to £287 million worth of help just within our
region. It has supported more than 300 firms facing redundancy, which
is what the Government mean by “real help
now”. Mr.
Anthony Steen (Totnes) (Con): I noticed the
Government’s response to the third report of the Select
Committee was that regional Ministers do not cut across the work of
national Department responsibilities, but have specific policies, so
they are not responsible for the exercise of departmental
responsibilities within the region. If that is the case, will the
Minister explain exactly what he does? Is he a further voice supporting
the region, which is very much welcomed, or does he have an executive
responsibility for anything other than regional development funds? I am
not clear. The right hon. Gentleman is reciting all the wonderful
things going on and saying how the Government are doing a great job,
but what is he
doing?
Jim
Knight: As the hon. Gentleman comes towards his
retirement, I guess that he is allowed to say what a wonderful job the
Government are doing and describe the great things that are going on. I
am grateful for his
support in that regard. My role is to unblock things at a regional
level. For example, in Camborne, Poole and Redruth we were able to
unblock a set of infrastructure problems as part of developments there.
Similarly, down the road in Cranbrook, close to Exeter, we were able to
do the same through the regional economic task group. I am here to
advocate for the region. I am here to listen to what the
region’s MPs have to say and advocate within Departments.
However, I am not really here to make executive decisions. I am here to
facilitate better decisions being made by the
Executive. Mr.
David Heath (Somerton and Frome) (LD): I am very pleased
to hear that the Minister is here to unblock things. He can start by
unblocking the A303. While he is talking about exactly what regional
bodies do—including what he does—perhaps he can tell me
about the South West of England Regional Development Agency. I have
struggled to find a single example of anything that it has promoted in
my constituency that has had the slightest effect on economic
development in rural Somerset. Perhaps the Minister can enlighten
us.
Jim
Knight: I shall have to get back to the hon. Gentleman on
the specifics of what might be happening in Somerton and Frome because
of the RDA. I know some interestingly difficult issues have been faced.
When I lived there and was the mayor of Frome we had some good
engagement from the RDA on helping to develop the middle of town and to
achieve some of the transfers of employment sites around the
town.
I do not have
any up-to-date information for the hon. Gentleman, but I can point to
my constituency where the RDA has purchased from the Ministry of
Defence the Osprey quay site. Without that decision the Olympics would
not be coming to our region, with all the consequent economic benefits
that getting the biggest sporting event the world has ever seen to come
the south-west of England will have for the whole
region. Anne
Snelgrove (South Swindon) (Lab)
rose—
Hon.
Members: Ah!
Swindon.
Anne
Snelgrove: It is incumbent on Members of Parliament to
take an active role with the RDA and the Government office when their
constituencies, and the businesses in them, face difficulties. That is
exactly what we did with the RDA and the Government office, and we were
extremely grateful for the help that we were given at a time when Honda
faced great difficulties and there was a question mark in relation to
some of the training that was being offered. We worked proactively. I
respectfully suggest that the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome should
work proactively rather than lobbing brickbats at the RDA, because it
has done a great job for us in Swindon and I am sure it would do the
same for
him.
Jim
Knight: My hon. Friend, as ever, makes excellent points.
If hon. Members, for whatever reason, decide that they do not like the
regional structures, regional Select Committee or regional development
agency and refuse to engage with the opportunities that those bodies
present, they fail their constituents.
Mr.
Robert Walter (North Dorset) (Con): Will the Minister give
way?
Jim
Knight: I must make more progress, because I am aware that
others will want to speak. We have worked hard to unblock more than a
dozen housing and infrastructure projects that had run into
difficulties, and I have given some examples.
We have
particular concern about the impact of the recession on young people.
We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past, when previous Governments
consigned generations to years on benefits and cycles of dependency.
There is help that the Government can offer, and we have committed
funds to that. However well those who got their GCSE results last week
did, the Government guarantee them a place in school or college this
September. We negotiated the extra £655 million in the Budget to
fund the extra 55,000 places because staying on is the best thing for
individuals and the economy as we prepare for recovery.
Many of those
who got A-level results, the week before, will go to university, with
more places being funded than ever before, but other 18 to 24-year-olds
will be ready to enter the world of work. The labour market is tough
right now. It will not be easy for everyone to find employment. That is
why the Government are doing more. The £1 billion future jobs
fund has already made progress, with 700 new jobs being developed and
funded in Wiltshire and Cornwall for unemployed young people. Yesterday
we announced that from next year those jobs will be available to young
people who have been out of work for 10 months rather than 12 as was
previously the case.
Young people
still seeking jobs after 12 months will, from next year, have to take
up a job offer, training or a community taskforce place as part of the
young person’s guarantee. In addition, the Government will
support 45,000 young people in getting jobs in growing industries such
as retail, the care sector and tourism. However, the Government cannot
do those things for young people on their own. That is why we launched
the Backing Young Britain campaign that the Prime
Minister highlighted yesterday, when 150 companies
joined the Government in backing young Britain, offering 85,000 new
opportunities for young people, from new jobs to internships, training
and apprenticeships.
That is what I
mean by real help now and making national policies work regionally:
making a real difference to young people and providing opportunities to
work so that they do not have to go to bigger towns and cities to look
for work and do not get left on the scrap heap because they never had
the chance to develop new skills. As a Government, we refuse to abandon
a generation of young people to worklessness as the Tories did in the
recessions of the ’80s and
’90s—
Jim
Knight: —when the hon. Member for North Wiltshire
was a special adviser in the Tory Government.
Mr.
Gray: I am not sure that the economic circumstances that
we have at the moment are a good time for the Labour Government to make
their party political points.
However, to pick the Minister up, I would like to ask him a question. He
mentioned a moment ago that 700 jobs were being created in Cornwall and
Wiltshire. Can he give me some examples of the jobs that are being
created in Wiltshire under that scheme?
Jim
Knight: I was delighted to visit Wiltshire, indeed to
visit the hon. Gentleman’s constituency, to see Lackham college,
which is part of Wiltshire college, to see what it is doing in terms of
developing apprenticeships as part of Wiltshire county council’s
excellent application that was successful for just over 400 jobs, I
think. Those jobs ranged from installing energy-efficient measures in
people’s homes to sports and leisure work and environmental
enhancements. I met people who would be entering apprenticeships in
horticulture and agriculture, and in plant and machinery work. Those
are all the sorts of things that will support the rural economy, which
I know the hon. Gentleman cares about very deeply.
Of course,
there is more that the Government need to do than just to tackle youth
unemployment, however important that is. For other people, we have
ensured that work trials and executive recruitment agencies are
available from day one of a claim for those people who will benefit
from those things. We have brought forward mortgage interest support,
to be available after three months of a claim instead of after six
months.
Mr.
David Laws (Yeovil) (LD): The Minister is talking about
some of the schemes that the Government have introduced to give support
to people, particularly to those who are trying to service their
mortgages when they have been made redundant. The Government introduced
a scheme of this type around nine months ago and a couple of months ago
we discovered that only six families across the whole of the United
Kingdom have been helped by that scheme in the first eight months since
it was established. Can he tell us how many families in the south-west
have benefited from that scheme?
Jim
Knight: There are a number of different schemes. The
mortgage interest support scheme that is delivered in part through
Jobcentre Plus has been helping thousands of families around the
region. It is available after 13 weeks of a claim for those
who qualify and it offers help for up to £200,000-worth of a
mortgage and to pay the interest on loans up to that amount. It has
been extremely successful.
The package of
support for housing in this recession has meant that, unlike in the
previous recessions, we have not seen the huge growth in repossessions
that we saw in those recessions. The fears of commentators
have not been realised, thanks to the various measures that have been
brought forward, some perhaps with better take-up than others. However,
the realisation is there from people that they can get real
help.
For the 25 per
cent. or so still unemployed after six months, we now have a
£1,000 payment, referred to during questions by my hon. Friend
the Member for South Swindon, which will be given to employers as an
incentive to take on the long-term unemployed. There is also a new
training offer available, a self-employment option and volunteering
opportunities. For the one in
10 people still unemployed after a year, the flexible new deal gives
enhanced help into employment from expert
contractors. Mr.
Walter: The Minister is talking about help for the
unemployed. In my constituency over the last year, unemployment in
general has gone up by 160 per cent. In fact, among men it has nearly
trebled. Yet in the same period, the Government—his
Department—have closed two of the three jobcentres. The one
jobcentre that remains open is open only two days a week by appointment
only. Can he tell me how he thinks that helps those who have just been
made redundant or who are otherwise
unemployed?
Jim
Knight: The measure of success is how good a customer
service Jobcentre Plus is offering. In addition to the six full-time
and part-time Jobcentre Plus offices within Dorset, customer access
phones and flexible service delivery arrangements are available in
various locations throughout rural parts of the county, including
children’s centres, GPs’ surgeries and so on. Jobcentre
Plus in Dorset has recruited 70 additional staff since April 2009. It
has extended opening hours, both in the evenings and at
weekends, undertaking work for the four full-time offices.
I beg the hon.
Gentleman’s help in influencing the Tory local authorities in
the county and encouraging them to let us use some of their council
offices to provide access to Jobcentre Plus services. That has been
done successfully in some parts of the county, but in others,
particularly Christchurch, it has not been felt
appropriate. As
a Government, we are investing £6.9 billion in getting people
back to work. We must also look to the future. The recession will not
be permanent. From a national perspective, we want to develop our
position as an international leader in emerging industries such as the
green energy sector, develop new industries and create new jobs. From a
regional perspective, I want the south-west to be at the forefront of
those new industries. We have the resources and creativity to lead the
way, to be at the forefront of the green revolution and to be the
trailblazers of the UK’s new digital and creative industries,
for example. Bristol is a world leader in its own right in the creative
industries, as is iconically demonstrated by the brilliant Banksy
exhibition that I visited at Bristol museum last month, by Aardman
Animations, and by the BBC natural history unit. We have similarly
great strengths in Plymouth and in Bournemouth at the
university’s media school.
Mr.
Heath: As someone with a family member who just graduated
in the creative industries and who is desperately looking for
employment, I draw the Minister’s attention to one difficulty
for young people entering the industry. A traditional route has always
been to take an internship or unpaid work experience, but that of
course disqualifies one from receiving any sort of benefit. It poses a
serious problem for young people in the present circumstances. They
cannot get part-time work to subsidise their gathering of experience in
the creative industries, and they are disqualified from receiving
benefits by taking an internship. It means that only those with
sufficient independent means can enter the industry. Can the Minister
do anything to address the issue?
Jim
Knight: I congratulate the hon. Gentleman’s
daughter on graduating and securing a worthwhile qualification through
a university. We recently made changes to the arrangements for
internships, as we have funded and encouraged more employers through
Backing Young Britain to develop more internships for graduates. I am
happy to consider individual cases and take representations from him,
both as a parent and as a Member of Parliament, to see whether
particular aspects of the design of the internships for which his
daughter is applying prevent her from accessing benefits, or whether
there are other ways to do things so as to make progress on
that.
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