First Day

Part of Defence Estimates – in the House of Commons at 4:52 pm on 14 October 1996.

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Photo of Dr David Clark Dr David Clark Shadow Secretary of State, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence 4:52, 14 October 1996

The hon. Gentleman is correct, but I am referring to the King's Own Border Regiment. In those areas, there are still massive levels of unemployment among the under-25s. In Tyneside, the figures are between 10 and 20 per cent. It is remarkable that our armed forces have been unable to attract recruits from those traditional areas.

Let me try to give some reasons for that, because the Minister has challenged me on this. By their failure to recruit from all sections of society, the Government have made the problem worse. Labour has long argued that insufficient effort is being expended on recruiting young people from the ethnic minorities. [Interruption.] The Minister may disagree, but he should know that that is the case—he has been hauled before the race relations board.