Oral Answers to Questions

Jim McGovern Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Vince Cable]

That infrastructure fund, which relates specifically to small projects, has proved very valuable and the local enterprise partnerships have an important role in working up those projects. There are set criteria, of which they are well aware, that they must meet.

[Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)]

13. What recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on promoting job creation in Scotland.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Greg Clark)]

Ministers in the Department have regular conversations with Scottish colleagues on areas of mutual interest. I have been invited to meet representatives of Scotland’s cities to discuss their contribution to the economy and I expect to do so shortly. Much of Britain’s future prosperity depends on our cities, including Dundee.

[Jim McGovern]

I thank the Minister for that response. Job creation is of paramount importance in my constituency in Dundee. Dundee has a highly skilled and highly educated work force, but despite that fact unemployment figures remain stubbornly high, particularly those for youth unemployment. There is an increasing feeling that that is the fault of both the coalition Government and the separatists in Edinburgh, who seem unwilling to use their powers to promote economic growth—they are too busy pointing their finger at other people for that. Will the Minister make an urgent assessment of how he, working with the Scottish Executive, can improve job creation throughout Scotland?

[Greg Clark]

I will, but it is fair to point out that, under the Labour Government, youth unemployment increased by 40%, so I think the hon. Gentleman is wrong to imply that that phenomenon has just established itself. He will know that the best and only way to create jobs is on the basis of a successful, stable economy. He will have seen the Institute for Fiscal Studies report yesterday that made it very clear that had the previous Government’s plans been in place, borrowing would have been at £76 billion in 2016-17 rather than £26 billion. That would have been disastrous for the credit rating of this country and the interest rates on which job creation depends.