Yorkshire: Unemployment Rates

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 2:45 pm on 5 March 2003.

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Photo of Baroness Hollis of Heigham Baroness Hollis of Heigham Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions) 2:45, 5 March 2003

My Lords, the noble Lord is right. At the core of the problem is conventional unemployment. The noble Lord mentioned extremist politics. It is certainly case, as some of us said last night when debating the social security up-rating statement, that the gap in regional prosperity is not particularly a gap between north and south, but that there is a north and south divide in many cities, which particularly affects ethnic minorities in many communities.

The figures for the North West, the North East, Yorkshire and Humberside show that unemployment is down to one third of what it was in 1992 in those areas. However, in more than half the regions, ethnic minority employment has not only not improved but has actually got worse during the past decade. The noble Lord is right to remind us that such areas are a breeding ground for extremist politics of all colours.