Orders of the Day — West Midlands (Unemployment)

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 8:12 pm on 7 February 1983.

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Photo of Mr George Park Mr George Park , Coventry North East 8:12, 7 February 1983

Today's debate is an "inaction replay" of the debate which took place on 4 December 1981 when my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) won a place in the ballot and chose the same subject. It is a sad commentary that we have to rely on the result of a raffle to highlight again the extent of the disaster that has fallen on the west midlands and have to try again to spur the Government into doing more than utter sympathetic noises.

The companies that I named in that previous debate have continued to go downhill, but so that I will not be accused of trying to attribute all the unemployment to the term of office of the present Government, I will start in 1975. In Coventry since 1975 19,000 jobs have gone from British Leyland; 7,000 jobs from GEC; 6,000 from Talbot; 4,600 from Tooling Investments; 2,300 jobs from Dunlop and 1,300 jobs from Courtaulds, to name but a few. In total during that time, 47,000 jobs have gone and there are more in the pipeline.

Since July 1982 there have been 13,500 announced redundancies from 69 companies in the west midlands. You will note, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that I said "announced redundancies", which means that redundancies of 30 or fewer are probably never mentioned. Last year in Coventry alone 4,500 people lost their jobs. In the same period, 25,500 people were sacked in the metropolitan county area. In my constituency, unemployment is 22 per cent. How many more jobs have to go before the Government stop saying that overmanning is a major issue? Do we have to grind to a complete halt before the Government recognise that the industrial lifeblood of the heart of England is draining away?

Behind these cold statistics lies a tale of human despair, waste and frustration throughout the age range. Each year the job market shrinks for the school leaver. My hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, North-West (Mr. Robinson) told the House that, of the fifth formers who left schools in Coventry last year. 86 per cent. had no job to go to. Of the sixth formers, 84 per cent. had no jobs. The statistics show that the more disadvantaged the school leaver, the worse off he is. Of school leavers from special schools, only one found open full-time employment. How are parents and teachers expected to maintain enthusiasm and a responsible attitude to life from youngsters in those circumstances? There are today more unemployed under the age of 25 than were unemployed in all the age groups on the day the Government were elected. Men and women in their late 40s and early 50s are increasingly being told that they are too old, and for those already out of work for more than a year, the DHSS is creaking under the weight of the claims and is rarely able to abide by the regulations on claims.

We are seeking in the debate not merely a recital of facts that should be only too well known to the Government, but some positive sign that they are prepared to tackle the problem. I know that the Government will tell us about the various schemes, but all my hon. Friends and I can say in reply is that they do not seem to have made any impact so far, and confidence is draining away.

The Government could take some action. For example, there is divergence of opinion about making the west midlands an assisted area—a divergence of opinion that has been voiced in the debate. The Government could agree to inner urban area programme authority status, which Coventry has been seeking since 1978. Coventry has had no reply so far. The West Midlands county council supported Coventry and also supported Walsall and Sandwell for programme authority status. Such status would give us access to EC funds. Investment incentives could be reintroduced to help companies to retool, which would help the machine tool industry and equipment suppliers. The additional car tax and the payroll tax should be removed. Energy costs for industry could be reconsidered. Further money could be made available for the small firms investment scheme.

The Under-Secretary of State, in reply to a letter from me, said that the Government could not operate an open-ended scheme. I can appreciate that, but it is clear from the demand when the scheme was introduced—the Government then added money to it—that there is a pent-up demand and that the scheme rang bells with small firms. The Government should reconsider the position.

The hon. Member for Bromsgrove and Redditch (Mr. Miller) referred to unfair tariffs. He may have had a promise but nothing has yet happened. Positive steps must be taken to eliminate or counter these discriminatory tariffs against our exports. Where public money is invested, there should be a requirement to buy British. Other countries do not seem to have a problem with this principle.

The problem of void rating could and should be dealt with nationally. We should not have the spectacle of industrialists ripping the roofs from factories. What effect will that have if and when there is an upturn? Consideration should certainly be given to grants for the clearance of old factories. Such grants should be increased for clearance in city centres. One can sit in the CBI offices in Birmingham and look out on to acre upon acre of old, derelict factories that should be cleared. If clearance took place, there would be the equivalent of green field sites and it would not be necessary to impinge upon farm land. That is something that could be done.

If anyone thinks that no initiatives have been taken he should remember the science park at Aston, the science park at Warwick university, the development agencies, the unit factories and the new enterprise workshops. I could recite the entire list, but time does not permit me to do so. It cannot be said that we are sitting on our hands and waiting for the Government to do everything for us.

There is a crying need for Government action on a scale which we cannot initiate locally if new hope is to be given to the west midlands and its constituent parts. I urge the Government not to waste time on the irrelevancy of privatising Jaguar but to stem the haemorrhage in industry and provide us with a much-needed transfusion by adopting any or all of the suggestions that I have made. Time is not on our side.