asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he expects those currently unemployed in the North-West, in Merseyside, in Kirkby and in Ormskirk, to have jobs.

Inflation has been reduced to 10·4 per cent. with a continuing fall in prospect, and interest rates have been moderated. Industrial productivity has risen sharply, partly because fewer days were lost last year through strikes than in any year except one since 1967. Our international competitiveness has increased accordingly. All this has formed a firm foundation for improved employment prospects. From now on, the more British firms which can offer goods and services at home and abroad which people want to buy, at prices they are prepared to pay, the more new jobs we shall see in the North-West, in Merseyside, in Kirkby, in Ormskirk and throughout the country.