asked the Paymaster General what has been the trend in employment opportunities in the tourist industry in the past five years.

In the five years to June 1985 the number of employees in employment in the hotel, catering and leisure sectors, which are most directly dependent on tourists' spending, rose by 66,000 or about 6 per cent. In addition, self-employment has grown, for example by about 22,000 in the hotel and catering industries between 1981 and 1984. However, it is difficult to define tourist industries precisely, and various studies have suggested that 1 million to 1·5 million jobs are supported directly or indirectly by tourist spending.

I am grateful to my right hon. and learned Friend for his encouraging reply. Will he lose no opportunity to scotch the ridiculous suggestion that jobs in those industries are not every bit as good as those in other industries and that they are in some ways servile? Will he give publicity to the fact that more than 90 per cent. of people who complete YTS courses get jobs at the end of them, and that there are vacancies in this area?

I am happy to agree with my hon. Friend on both points. Certainly there are serious jobs to be had in the industries most directly affected, and in many sectors such as retailing and public transport, which also benefit from increased tourist spending and activity. I also confirm that, because that is one of the fastest growing areas of new employment in the economy, there is a high success rate for those who leave training schemes directed at it.

Does the right hon. and learned Gentleman agree that one of the best ways to help the tourist industry is to make money available to the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England and to the Historic Buildings Councils for Wales and for Scotland because they employ many people in skilled crafts, and help tourism? Does the Minister realise that the Scottish Historic Buildings Council is skint? Will he discuss with his ministerial colleagues what should be done about that?

I believe that the hon. Gentleman is the inhabitant of a historic Scottish building and undoubtedly has a direct interest in the question. I shall refer the main point of it to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, who is responsible. The Government must get the balance right between spending on the parts of the heritage that help to attract visitors and spending on the services that provide new employment.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that this welcome trend would be much faster accelerated if we introduced flexible licensing hours? Will he assure the House that in the Cabinet he will urge the implementation as quickly as possible of that desirable change?

My views are declared because many years ago my hon. and learned Friend supported my private member's Bill which sought to achieve that end. Anybody responsible for tourism and leisure-based industries knows that there is great pressure for reform from everybody interested in employment in that area. The Government, especially my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, have the matter under urgent review.

Is the Paymaster General aware that the highlands and islands of Scotland welcome the emphasis that the Government are rightly giving to employment creation in tourism? Towards that end, will he make it clear in principle that, if Ross and Cromarty district council inquired about the potential for a mountain railway and ski development facility near Ben Wyvis at Strathpeffer in my constituency, he, as Minister responsible for employment, would take a constrictive and legitimate interest in the proposals?

I shall take a proper interest in both projects if they are forthcoming, and I should probably refer them to the Scottish Tourist Board, which is responsible in the first instance for looking at the disbursement of funds in that area.

asked the Paymaster General if he will make a statement about training for unemployed adults.

We have increased the number of unemployed people helped through the Manpower Services Commission's adult training programme. This year we aim to help to train some 200,000 adults, about half of whom will be unemployed people.

Will the Minister confirm that the Manpower Services Commission is to cut £15 million from adult training in the community programme? Will he make a statement that will show the long-term unemployed that he is concerned about their future and is willing for them at least to have the limited opportunities that the community programme affords them?

It is true that the take-up of off-the-job training places in the community programme is disappointingly low. For that reason, it is appropriate to divert the resources and use them in other forms of training. I draw the hon. Lady's attention to the fact that training expenditure has gone up from £458 million in 1979–80 to £1·2 billion in 1984–85 and to £1·23 million in 1985–86.

Is my hon. Friend aware that where the Paymaster General met a deputation of the Knitting Industries Federation from the east midlands he gave the impression that the Government were thinking of making more help available to adult training and retraining? Has he any statement to make on this matter?

I do not know about the knitting industry, but I can tell my hon. Friend that the amount of money devoted to training increases year by year and has more than doubled in real terms in the life of this Parliament.

The Minister has made a most dishonest statement—

Order. The hon. Gentleman cannot use that word.

The Minister is seeking to mislead the House.

Order. That is also an unparliamentary expression.

I withdraw both those expressions. The Minister is inaccurate in talking about an increase in training for the adult unemployed when there have been dreadful cuts in the skillcentre network. The Government promised that this money would be switched to the community programme for training. Not only have the skillcentres been cut to the bone, but now we have cuts in the promised training of people on the community programme. When will the Government commit themselves to quality training for the unemployed?

I have already answered the question about training on and off the community programme. The provision is there, but the places are not being taken up. The number of adults who have been helped under the training scheme since 1983 has doubled, and the amount of expenditure since the Conservative Government were first elected in 1979 has nearly trebled.

asked the Paymaster General what is the total of people unemployed; how many of these are (a) women, and (b) men; and how many unemployed are under 21 years of age.

On 10 October 1985 the number of unemployed claimants in the United Kingdom was 3,277,000, of whom 1,043,000 were women, 2,234,000 were men, and 555,000 were under 20 years of age.

Is this not appalling—[Interruption.] It is obvious from the way that Tory Members are laughing that they do not think that it is. Is this situation not productive of misery and a sense of despair and hopelessness just before another Christmas? When will the Government admit that all this is due to their dogmatic and wrong policies, and that if they do not make a fundamental change, next Christmas and the Christmas after—if they are still in office—they will still be trying to explain away more and more millions of unemployed people—bigger numbers, incidentally, than those who are claiming benefit?

The situation is serious, but there are encouraging signs that it is improving. The seasonally adjusted unemployment figure has fallen for two consecutive months, and, when it fell last month, it was for the third time in five months. The rate at which new jobs are being created in the British economy is now high, and the increase of new jobs over the past few years is equal to the increase in the entire European Community. The number of vacancies in our jobcentres is the highest since 1980, and the number of people being placed is going up. Therefore, we are able to tackle the most intractable problem, which is that of the long-term unemployed,. We were able to announce initiatives a fortnight age in the job start scheme, following up through job clubs and contacting the long-term unemployed because we now have some hope of being able to offer them a return to work.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend give the House his estimate of the number of unemployed who are actively seeking work? Is he satisfied that the work test is working properly? If not, will he say what plans he has to improve it?

The last labour survey implied that some people who were registered as unemployed were not actively seeking work, but that others who were not registered as unemployed were actively seeking work. The figure is about 3 million. I agree with my hon. Friend that it is important remember that to qualify for benefit the work test should be that somebody is genuinely available for work. It is right that we should continue to enforce the long-standing rules and ensure that they are properly enforced.

Can the Paymaster General confirm that, over and above the total of new jobs, there has been a net loss of 1·1 million jobs since May 1979 and that the more optimistic figures about the creation of new jobs derive from taking base lines during the recession of the 1980s?

I suspect that the hon. Gentleman's first point is right. There was a great shakeout of labour in many of he uncompetitive sectors of our economy. I did not understand and therefore will have to read the hon. Gentleman's second point. I hope that he is not trying to undermine the objective assessment of the rate at which new jobs are being created. On the best independent estimates that are available to us, 670,000 new jobs have been created in the British economy since the spring of 1983. That record is unrivalled anywhere else in the European Community.

May I remind my right hon. and learned Friend that his positive discrimination proposals will damage the black unemployed, since they make black people the object of resentment? Further, may I remind him that libertarians everywhere will note that there is no law to justify the pressure now being put upon employers to take into employment additional black people and that, when employers tell the Government to mind their own business, they will receive widespread support from right hon. and hon. Members who sit on the Government Benches?

If I had in mind any positive discrimination proposals, I should be concerned about my hon. Friend's strictures against them, but I am not aware that I or any of my right hon. and hon. Friends have put forward any such proposals. We are concerned about persistent unemployment among deprived minorities of all kinds and about the state of the economy, especially in the inner cities. We have to ensure that no section of our community is put at a disadvantage when we take measures to improve employment. My hon. Friend's fears that the Government will take steps that incite a white backlash are probably much exaggerated.

Will the Paymaster General consider the number of school leavers in Brent under the age of 20 who have been unable to find work for more than a year, the excellent report of the Church of England, and the survey of drug abuse in north-west London among youngsters who leave school and go on to the dole, with no possible hope of obtaining work? Is the Paymaster General unable to give any hope to youngsters in the inner cities who come straight out of school and go on to the dole?

There is nobody in the country who is not seriously concerned about the state of many of our inner city areas and about unemployment there. I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman has read the report to which he referred, but it contains a number of inaccuracies, as one would expect from its rather Left-wing membership. To cite an example to those who may not yet have read it, the report candidly asserts that the only programme on which the Government have increased expediture is police expenditure in the inner cities. Spending on unemployment and training measures alone has doubled in real terms since 1979. I hope that the hon. Gentleman, who is genuinely concerned about these matters and about the social problems in his Brent constituency, will address his mind to the problems brought upon the area by Brent council. It imposed rate increases on the area which made it extremely difficult to attract new business and new employment to the borough.

How many real jobs are created when the Government give £1 million to English Sewing Linited to destroy 300 jobs in my constituency and to create 300 jobs near Glasgow?

I suspect that that question should be directed to the Minister responsible for the grant about which my hon. Friend complains. I shall address myself only to the generality behind the question. In all the measures that we take that are aimed at encouraging employment, we must take care that we do not simply create jobs in one place and displace jobs in another. We address ourselves to that carefully in managing the community programme and other measures for which our Department is responsible.

Does the Paymaster General accept that the deplorable figures he has mentioned are but the minimum of the true level of unemployment, confirmed yet again by a recent survey in Scotswood in Newcastle which shows that seven out of 10 males are unemployed in the area? When do the Government intend to ratify the new ILO recommendation requiring Governments to accept their responsibility to achieve and maintain high employment levels, or is the 83 per cent. employment level in Britain high enough?

I make no attempt to shrink from the fact that 3 million unemployed or thereabouts is a serious social problem for Britain. Frankly, I do not see the point in anybody, of any political complexion, seeking to exaggerate the figure by adding a million or two. All the steps that we are taking are designed to bring down the present total. The Government's responsibility is clear: it is to create a climate within which successful business can flourish and grow and create new employment opportunities. The figures for the past two to two and a half years are extremely encouraging and show that we are suceeding. I shall study the ILO recommendation, but it sounds as though it merely confirms the Government's commitment.

asked the Paymaster General if he has any plans to extend the scope or improve the effectiveness of local enterprise agencies.

The scope and effectiveness of local enterprise agencies is ultimately in the hands of the directors and boards of the agencies. However, the Government intend to encourage agencies to plan their businesses and extend their services by making the provision of a business plan one of the conditions for Government grant under the new scheme of support for them.

I do not believe that it is entirely due to my having put down a question that my right hon. and learned Friend should have chosen to announce a £2·5 million scheme for the financial support of the enterprise agencies. Is he prepared to put the same effort into manpower extension, in particular by using the management extension scheme as one source of additional assistance to those desirable agencies?

The announcement to increase funding to the local enterprise movement was made some three weeks ago and it was only the detail of how the Government would match every pound raised from the private sector that was given yesterday. My hon. Friend makes a compelling point about the management extension programme, and I am certainly prepared to consider it with the Manpower Services Commission.

Does the Minister accept that the private sector is shedding jobs in manufacturing industry at a frightening rate? In my constituency, GEC has declared 300 further redundancies. How much effort realistically needs to be put in through local enterprise agencies before we can begin to create jobs? It will require an enormous effort by local authorities to wipe up the damage being done by that one company, let alone the damage being done by the private sector in manufacturing industry throughout the north of England.

I draw the hon. Gentleman's attention to my constituency, which is only 16 miles away from his, where we saw the shedding of labour to which he referred, in particular between 1980 and 1982 in what I call the teeth of the recession. As a result of setting up the local enterprise agency, we have managed to reduce unemployment from 19·1 to 13·2 per cent. Those are pretty compelling figures, and I think that the hon. Gentleman will draw comfort from them. While I am on my feet, I should compliment the local enterprise agency operating in the hon. Gentleman's constituency, which I visited on two occasions. It is doing a fantastic job.

asked the Paymaster General if he intends to increase funding to the British Tourist Authority.

Yes, Sir, but I cannot give a precise amount at this stage. We are increasing the total funding for the British Tourist Authority, English Tourist Board and section 4 next year by some 20 per cent. to £40 million. I have asked the BTA and the ETB to submit details to me by Christmas on how they propose to spend the funds. I have asked them to give additional emphasis in their new plans to improving employment opportunities, encouraging the dispersal of visitors throughout the United Kingdom and extending the tourism season.

I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for that answer. Does he feel that there should be any change of emphasis among the regions where those new resources should be deployed?

We must look at those parts of the country, by no means all of them in the north, where there is potential for improved tourism and the more growth of employment based on tourism and leisure activities. That is a point on which I have asked the boards to concentrate in putting forward their proposals and, as I described in my main answer, to encourage the dispersal of visitors throughout the United Kingdom.

Before the Minister waxes too lyrical about the increased number of jobs in tourism, will he recognise that those are generally no-tech and very low-wage jobs and that that situation is likely to be worsened by the Government's proposals on wages councils?

There is a tendency in manufacturing industry for there to be a declining number of unskilled jobs as technology changes the nature of work. It is, therefore, encouraging to note that some of the jobs being created in this area are for unskilled or less skilled people. Nevertheless, there are many other skilled jobs as well, and the benefits of the increased level of spending by businesses—22 per cent. up this year compared with last year—are spread over a great many activities and provide a wide range of employment for many people.

asked the Paymaster General how many local enterprise agencies are now in operation.

There are 308 local enterprise agencies currently in operation, as recorded by my Department.

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Is he aware that his announcement yesterday of the details of the new funding for enterprise agencies will be warmly welcomed by the Medway enterprise agency, which serves my constituency and which, in its four years of existence, has helped to secure or create 2,500 jobs from 630 applications?

That is a truly remarkable record, and I compliment the Medway enterprise agency on what it has achieved thus far. In the two and a half years during which I have been Minister responsible for small firms, I have visited the Medway enterprise agency on three occasions, when I have been impressed with Mr. Guy Sibley, its director, whose enthusiasm is infectious. I am glad to hear that he will welcome our new proposals for further assistance to enterprise agencies.

May we have an assurance that in the allocation of funds to enterprise agencies there will be no discrimination against agencies that are already successful? Will the Minister undertake to examine the relationship between Department of Employment offices where enterprise allowance arrangements are set up and enterprise agencies to see that they are communicating the names of recipients of enterprise allowances—in other words, to ensure that there is an adequate relationship between the two?

I can give the hon. Gentleman the assurance for which he asks in the second part of that supplementary question. Indeed, I am currently working on a scheme which, I hope, will ensure that enterprise agencies are more involved with enterprise allowance scheme applicants. The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point in the first part of his question. We have said that we shall not be prepared to assist enterprise agencies with incomes in excess of £60,000, taking out any secondees that they may have. We are determined to try to help the smaller enterprise agencies that may have difficulty in attracting private sector finance, and we shall match the funds that they can raise from the private sector up to £20,000.

Will my hon. Friend commend private sector employers who have funded the Bolton business venture? Will he encourage the Churches to assist in the provision of funds for enterprise agencies in inner city areas?

In answer to the first part of that supplementary question, I am happy to commend and compliment the private sector sponsors of the Bolton business venture. That, too, is a most successful enterprise agency, which is doing an excellent job.

Will the Minister accept that in Leeds, the work of the West Yorkshire enterprise board is regarded as an important component of the enterprise agency service? Is he aware that there are worries about the future of the enterprise board, and will he say what will happen to this important aspect of the work of the agency after the abolition of the metropolitan county council?

The hon. Gentleman is getting matters a little mixed up. The West Yorkshire enterprise board is not part of the enterprise agency movement. In an earlier debate on small firms I said that the Government have no wish to scrap enterprise boards that have been set up. We are entirely neutral on them. Some of the work that they do is good, although the cost per job created by some of them is remarkably high. The enterprise agency movement is private sector-led, although some local authorities help to sponsor it. The initiative lies with the private sector, and that is why they are successful.

Is my hon. Friend aware that I have helped to set up a local enterprise agency in north-west Norfolk which, with the backing of local business and the borough council, should be a great success? I hope that it is as successful as the agency in Medway. Does my hon. Friend agree that one way of increasing the effectiveness and job-creating potential of local enterprise agencies is to encourage them to set up local business expansion scheme funds?

The House will wish every possible success to the enterprise agency being set up in my hon. Friend's constituency. Local enterprise agencies have an important role to play as marriage brokers under the business expansion scheme. They can also join together in drawing funds from their community, be it a region or sub-region, for investment in small firms in the area.

asked the Paymaster General if he proposes to introduce legislation to repeal the statutory restrictions on women's hours of work; and if he will make a statement.

We propose to introduce legislation to repeal the statutory restrictions on women's hours of work in the Sex Discrimination Bill, which we hope to bring forward early in 1986.

Equality is the theme of much of our current legislation. However, can my hon. Friend say how such legislation will assist employers and, therefore, employment? Will it be necessary to repeal some special industrial legislation, such as the Baking Industry Act 1954?

Yes, Sir. The key point is that employers will not have to apply for special exemption to employ women outside the present restricted hours, so women will benefit from increased employment opportunities. If we did not consider repeal of the baking industry legislation, we should be left with the anomaly that men were protected for working at night but women were not, so we are asking interested parties for their views on the repeal of that legislation.

Does the Minister agree that we should improve conditions, including hours of work, for men and women, and not remove restrictions that may result in women being exploited by having to work longer hours for mean rates of pay or risk the sack?

We should consider the deregulation aspect. At present, more than 200,000 women are exempt from the restrictions and can work at night. I do not know whether the hon. Lady has asked many of them whether they wish to be prohibited from working at night in the way that men may be prohibited.

asked the Paymaster General what information he has as to the number of small business clubs which have been established.

The latest directory of enterprise agencies produced by business in the community shows that at least 53 local enterprise agencies run business clubs.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that reply. Does he accept that small business clubs are a good way of encouraging training and of helping to find some solutions to the problems of small firms? If so, will he encourage their formation and promotion?

I shall encourage and try to promote them wherever I can. It is interesting to note that, during the past 12 months, there has been a 50 per cent. increase in the number of small business clubs. I agree with my hon. Friend that they provide a useful opportunity for people to get together to exchange ideas and to consider promotional activities, and they also provide an opportunity for local business men to be introduced to suppliers and buyers.

asked the Paymaster General what training is available for the self-employed on the enterprise allowance scheme.

Both private and public sector training, including the full range of the Manpower Services Commission's training provision, is available. The latter includes free study workshops designed for people considering self-employment and free courses for one-person businesses, small businesses and businesses with real growth potential.

I welcome the recently announced increase in the places available on this scheme and the reduction in the qualifying period. Can my hon. Friend estimate how many jobs have been created by the scheme, and will he say what proposals he has to improve training on it?

The number of jobs that have been created as a result of the enterprise allowance scheme has been calculated at the rate of 100 businesses set up under the EAS creating about 99 additional jobs. The trick is to try to graft the training for which the Department of Employment is responsible through the MSC on to the enterprise allowance scheme applicants in such a way as to increase their awareness of their limitations in management expertise and marketing financial control. I am considering the matter and hope to make an announcement soon.

What have all the enterprise allowance schemes, enterprise agencies, enterprise zones and small business clubs to do with the glorious success of monetarism and the market place that we were promised in 1979? Is the Minister aware that in my constituency it has been said that all this Government intervention is little more than an extension of post-war funk?

On this, as on so many subjects, the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) suffers from delusions of adequacy. Free market forces have a great deal to do with the local enterprise agencies that have been set up while this Government have been in office, principally because we have realised that the private sector—

It has collapsed.

No, it has not. The private sector has taken the initiative in supporting communities by backing enterprise agencies and thus providing new jobs. That is what the Government are about—providing new jobs through enterprise and free market forces.

asked the Paymaster General if he will make a statement on the estimated effects on employment in (a) England and Wales and (b) Scotland of the proposals in the autumn statement.

The proposals in my right hon. Friend the Chancellor's autumn statement will further improve the climate for economic growth and new jobs in England and Wales, and in Scotland.

Why is the Minister so shy of giving any estimate of the effect on employment of the autumn statement? Now that the Government have achieved the miracle of creating more unemployment than Britain has seen since 1930, will he give a specific guarantee that, as a direct result of the autumn statement, unemployment will be lower in 12 months, or even in two years, than it is now?

In previous answers I have referred to the encouraging growth in new jobs in the British economy, and everything that we are now doing is designed to reinforce that. The autumn statement will enable us to finance the job start scheme and the trials that we are now running in nine areas, including Dundee, which are designed to help the long-term unemployed to get back into jobs. More vacancies are being notified, more are being filled by the jobcentres and there is an expansion of employment in the economy, which enables me to give the hopeful answer that I gave.

Does my right and learned Friend agree that much remains to be done, as shown by the fact that although there is no shortage of jobs in my constituency, many of the unemployed cannot afford to take them because of the tax and benefits structure? Does my right hon. and learned Friend also agree that subsequent financial statements should give the highest priority to ironing out those anomalies?

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services, in his Green Paper, has put forward worthwhile proposals for consideration to open the gap between earnings in work and benefits out of work. I believe that further tax cuts, especially if concentrated on the lower paid, could do a great deal to increase the rewards for work. Recent Government initiatives, including the job start scheme, have been designed to enable people to make the transition more easily from benefit into work.

Does the Minister accept that the Government's response to unemployment has been an abysmal failure and that they are misleading the House and the country when they argue that there are now more people in work? Unemployment relates to the percentage of people out of work, and that figure is growing. So far, Government action has failed to deal with mass unemployment, especially in the northern region.

The figure for unemployment is not growing. With respect, the hon. Gentleman is resorting to generalisations and slogans, as most of his hon. Friends have done today. We are putting forward measures and figures which show an encouraging growth in employment.

I welcome my right hon. and learned Friend's optimistic forecasts. Does he agree that more jobs are being created and more people are working in the United Kingdom than ever before and that in job creation we are outstripping the whole of western Europe?

My hon. Friend is, as ever, factually completely sound. It is worth reflecting that there are over 1 million more people in work now than there were under Lord Stockton's Government of which we were all fervent supporters, and that they are all earning more money than they were under that Government. Our economy has been successful in sustaining higher levels of work and prosperity, but obviously we need to do more.

Will the Paymaster General take it from me that he cannot fool the people by fiddling with the figures? The autumn statement makes it clear that the Government do not expect any growth in real jobs. The only promised improvement is the introduction of more schemes. The increases in the numbers of vacancies to which he refers are community programme vacancies. He has referred to about 600,000 jobs, but there has been a decrease in full-time jobs for men and an increase in part-time, low-paid jobs for women. There has been an adjustment to the estimate of the number who are self-employed. The Minister cannot fool the people with the sort of figures that he has presented to the House. They know that unemployment is still high and is not improving.

It is probably by the medium of written answer that we can most usefully go into the statistics. It is absurd to allege that we are fiddling the figures. The figures on which we are relying have been produced by the same statistical service that serves all Governments and all Departments objectively and well. I cannot understand the Opposition's motive in trying to discredit the figures and make the situation appear worse than it is. The Opposition should be as encouraged as we are by the obvious signs of improvement in the economy. It is becoming somewhat pointless for them to continue to try to dismiss the signs of improvement and to suggest that the situation is worse than it is.

In view of the Paymaster General's responsibility for employment, is he not unhappy that the policies of high interest rates and a high sterling exchange rate, as confirmed by the autumn statement, are inhibiting the real expansion of the economy and, therefore, employment opportunities, especially in advanced industries?

I hope that we all welcome the prospects of reduced interest rates, which seem currently to be quite good. I reject entirely the notion that we should devalue our currency to compensate for loss of competitiveness. That approach has failed in the past. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will consider the valid inflation figures and take comfort from the fact that a steadily falling inflation rate is one of the factors that are helping to create an optimistic outlook for the immediate future.

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that the autumn statement would be more encouraging if the Government would say that if resources are available they will be directed, first, to raising the tax threshold and, secondly, to ensuring that British industry is not subject to unfair competition, especially the unfair practices of Japan?

I shall refer both of those interesting suggestions to those of my right hon. Friends who are responsible for such matters. I agree with my hon. Friend that one encouraging feature is that Conservative Members are able to indulge in interesting discussions on how best to deploy tax cuts to give a further stimulus to the economy and job creation.

asked the Paymaster General how many people have been injured while taking part in Government training schemes since 1979; and what was the total amount of compensation paid out.

Since 1 April 1981 over £930,000 has been paid under the MSC's industrial injuries scheme. Since 1980, nearly 1·5 million people have entered training opportunities, job training and youth training schemes, and 5,873 have been injured. Nearly all were minor injuries.

Is the Minister aware that many of those youngsters have no rights and are used as cheap labour? Does he understand that many of them suffer horrendous injuries? I take, for example, the case of James MacCormack, who was severely injured in 1981 and who died this year. He was one of my constituents. He was supposedly receiving training at MacGregors Quayside Mills in Leith. That young fellow suffered a lingering death. He had no rights whatsoever and his family did not even receive the death grant.

Order. The hon. Gentleman must ask a question, not make a statement.

It is an important point. Conservative Members may not appreciate that.

Order. All the points are important, but the hon. Gentleman must ask a question.

I hope that the Minister will reply. This young fellow—

Order.

rose—

Order. The hon. Gentleman would be better advised to try to obtain an Adjournment debate on this subject.

rose—

Order. The hon. Gentleman has been here long enough to know—[Interruption.]—that this is Question Time. He is perfectly entitled to ask a question, but he must put it in the form of a question and not make a statement. The Minister may answer.

I am aware of that sad case, and the hon. Gentleman has made persistent representations through correspondence with my ministerial colleagues. It is little consolation to the family, but the same compensation has been paid as would have been paid under the statutory scheme if it had been covered in that way. The arrangements under the MSC are for payments to be made equivalent to the DHSS scheme, even though there is no statutory cover.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 December.

I have been asked to reply.

Has my right hon. Friend seen the excellent speech made by my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Mr. Dunn), the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science, last week in which he said that, in spite of the many helpful measures passed during the past six years, parents still have insufficient choice in schools and standards of achievement are still too low? Does he agree with my hon. Friend, who is supported by many Conservative Members, that the solution to the difficulties would be to move towards denationalising the education system?

I agree with my hon. Friend that there is great scope for further parental influence and involvement in the running of our schools. I hope that the Education Bill, which will be presented later, will move towards that. As for progress beyond that., I agree with my hon. Friend that there will be a continuing debate about the importance of a much more robust assertion of parental involvement in our education system and the changes that may be necessary to secure that.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 December.

I have been asked to reply. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply that I gave some moments ago.

Will the leader of the House take this excellent opportunity to apologise to the 140 skilled members of the work force of the British Hovercraft Corporation who have been given their redundancy notices today? And we must not forget the 463 who have been given redundancy notices at Yeovil, Milton Keynes and Weston-super-Mare, all working for Westland. Does he not think it ironic that at a time when Westland is in trouble, his colleague, the Secretary of State for Defence, should be going to Europe to ask nationalised industries in Italy and France to bail out Westland, when the Government could have done much more to help?

I express my regrets about the redundancies, as does every other hon. Member in the House, whether in respect of those in their own constituencies or otherwise. I understand that the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Ashdown) would wish to be associated with those comments.

In the light of the sad case of Jasmine Beckford, can the Leader of the House tell me whether there are any plans to introduce legislation on child care, updating the Children and Young Persons Act 1969, and once again laying responsibility on magistrates and others to emphasise the interests of the child, even if from time to time that may lead inevitably to the break-up of the family?

My hon. Friend expresses a deep anxiety that will be widely shared in the light of the most tragic circumstances that have been revealed by the Blom-Cooper report. The wisest way to proceed would be to have a thorough and reflective study of the recommendations and then see what further action may be necessary on the part of the Government.

I echo the view expressed by the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. McCrindle) and take comfort from the fact that it is a matter of concern right across the House and that there are no political differences.

As I have said, the findings of the Blom-Cooper report will be given immediate study by my right hon. Friends and during that study they will take up the wider issues that the right hon. Gentleman has mentioned.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the creation of a common market in financial services does not require any amendment of the Treaty of Rome or any enlargement of the powers of the European Assembly, and does not need us to relinquish the veto, as it is fully in line with existing commitments by member states? Will my right hon. Friend transmit to the Prime Minister our support for the stand that she is taking?

In response to the first part of my hon. Friend's question, that would be my judgment.

Does the Leader of the House accept that we all welcome the fact that the Government will give serious and reflective study to the Blom-Cooper report, but will he convey to the Prime Minister on her return the fact that those of us who have seen the advance full text of the Church of England report on inner cities, which will be published later tonight, are appalled at the rubbishing anonymously given to it by Ministers over the weekend? Will he make it clear, on behalf of the Government, that we welcome any contribution to solving the intractable problems that come from that source?

I at once repudiate entirely the proposition that the report was rubbished by Ministers over the weekend. The House would be well advised to treat the report as what it purports to be—a serious contribution to studying the problems in our city centres. We know from the words of the Bishop of Liverpool, one of the authors, that it is a substantial and carefully researched report by people who know a good deal about the cities. I should like to make an open contribution to the debate by asking that that research be carried just one stage further, so that we know the estimated total public costs of the proposal and to what extent they may be offset by the abolition of mortgage interest tax relief.

Will my right hon. Friend accept that as a member of the General Synod I would hesitate to approach him and his right hon. Friends in the Cabinet at Downing street for spiritual guidance—[Interruption] but that as a Member of the House I have no intention of seeking political guidance from the cabinet of Canterbury because, however well-intentioned it may be. it is short on reality, on history and, above all, on theology?

Order. The same rules must apply to both sides: questions, not statements.

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his perception of the limitations of what the Treasury Bench can answer. Of course he is right to entertain the anxieties that he does. I hope I may be permitted to say that the Church through the ages has sought to interest itself in social affairs, but when it does so it has to accept that it will be judged on the quality of its contribution to the argument.

In view of the denigration of the authors of the report, will the Leader of the House find out from the Prime Minister why she keeps recommending to the Queen all these Marxists for appointment to bishoprics?

I hope that it will not infringe the spirit of the occasion if I take the question seriously.

May I ask my right hon. Friend for his advice in respect of some of my constituents who work for Leicester city council and who have been threatened with lack of promotion and even dismissal unless they attend a city-run racial awareness course? Does my right hon. Friend agree that that is a gross intrusion into the private lives of my constituents and a gross impertinence by the city council? What does he recommend I should tell them?

The House has the opportunity of knowing of this matter, which sounds thoroughly disturbing—[HON. MEMBERS: "Why?"]. Because of the undue pressure which seems to operate. I think the whole House would very much enjoy the chance of hearing more about it. I hope that my hon. Friend is successful in bringing it before the House in an Adjournment debate.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 December.

I have been asked to reply.

Is the Leader of the House aware that when people see Ministers trying to smear and discredit the Church of England report they are reminded instantly of Nixon-style politics? Does not the report largely bear out the words of the right hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr. Heath)—that no matter what publicity or propaganda there may be, however sleek, there is no evidence whatsoever that Britain is booming?

I am not among the most devoted fans of the commission's report, but even I would say that it needed better friends than the hon. Gentleman. The report is seeking a serious and sustained debate about how we might use our resources in city centres to mitigate the evident social problems that exist, and to what extent that can be a partnership between private initiative and collective responsibility. It would be better if we conducted it in those terms.

Does my right hon. Friend welcome the Transport and General Workers Union's leaders' late conversion to democracy? Taken with the fact that we have had fewer strikes than for many years, does he agree that in industrial relations the Tory party has got it right?

My hon. Friend makes an admirable point. The House has lived under the shadow of the belief that trade union legislation passed by this place and receiving the Royal Assent was, none the less, rendered ineffective by the friends of the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner). We are now seeing that that is nonsense and that a triumph of moderation has been secured by this Government and their legislation.

asked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 3 December.

I have been asked to reply.

Will the Leader of the House draw to the attention of the Prime Minister the position that exists in the Mid Glamorgan area health authority, which has the third largest waiting list in England and Wales and has been forced to make cuts of £5·5 million, resulting in hospital and ward closures and the sacking of 240 health workers? What advice will he give to the Prime Minister if the Shropshire area health authority, which has the second highest waiting list, is forced into making similar cuts?

I should, out of county patriotism and intellectual conviction, point out that the Shropshire area health authority is run increasingly efficiently as a result of the application of general management techniques. As to the wider question that the hon. Gentleman asks, I noted his contribution to the debate on the Queen's Speech and the subsequent early-day motion. I shall draw the attention of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the matter, as he requests.