asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he intends to take to alleviate the unemployment problem in Glasgow.

Glasgow benefits from a wide variety of Government, private sector and local authority initiatives designed to create jobs. Projects such as the Scottish industrial exhibition centre, Glasgow fishmarket and the west of Scotland science park will provide new employment. Some £200 million of public capital has been invested in the east end of Glasgow through GEAR.

I thank the Minister for that answer. Is he aware that, in spite of the measures which he has just mentioned, earlier this year there were only 2,000 unfilled vacancies in the jobcentres in Glasgow, with 74,000 Glaswegians chasing those vacancies? Is he further aware that more than 40,000 of those people were under 25 and were therefore denied the opportunity of building a career at an important stage in their lives? Instead of enthusiastically endorsing Government policies, will the Secretary of State and the rest of the Scottish Office team resign in protest against those policies, which were comprehensively rejected by the people of Scotland at the last general election?

Glasgow benefits immensely from being part of the west of Scotland special development area. Since May 1979 the Government have assisted 107 companies in Glasgow, through special financial assistance. That has created over 4,000 new jobs and safeguarded 4,467 other jobs. That is an example of what the Government have undertaken to help solve the deep-seated problems from which Glasgow has suffered.

Does my hon. Friend agree that rate increases have been a significant cause of the increase in unemployment in recent years? Does he accept: that restraint in increasing rates is essential if new businesses are to be encouraged?

I agree with my hon. Friend. There is no doubt that excessively high rates are a disincentive to new and existing businesses setting up and expanding.

What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that the training element in the youth training scheme is carried out within rural areas and within rural secondary schools?

The hon. Gentleman may be interested to learn that Glasgow is not a rural area.