Business of the House

Barry Sheerman Excerpts

Thursday 17th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

My hon. Friend will know that it is not unusual for local authorities to use their section 106 planning powers to require a developer to make provision for a new primary or secondary school to cope with rising population. He will also know that we have passed legislation introducing free schools and reducing the planning barriers that confront them, to respond to parents’ wishes when they want a new school to be established in their area to provide high-quality education.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Leader of the House will have seen the dire unemployment figures this morning, particularly to do with the young unemployed. That is a mounting problem in our society and bodes very ill for the future. May we have an early statement and/or debate on that important matter? Members of all parties are deeply worried about the growing problem of youth unemployment.

[Sir George Young]

Of course, Members on both sides of the House share the concern about youth unemployment, which went up by some 40% during the period of the last Labour Government. There will be opportunities to debate unemployment during the four-day debate on the Budget. I hope the hon. Gentleman will take some comfort from the fact that 430,000 new private sector jobs have been created in the past year, and that more than 70,000 were created in the last three months of 2010, more than counterbalancing the 45,000 jobs lost in the public sector.