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Local Enterprise Growth Initiative

: Indeed I do. I hope that my hon. Friend and I will both be on the winning side when the Government announce which bids are successful. I cannot graciously offer the same hope in terms of a forthcoming football match: his team plays Port Vale on Saturday. I agree with my hon. Friend about the access to finance and to capital, and about financial awareness, particularly in areas where there is massive structural economic change. The way that bankers and investors see areas is not always linked to the industrial heritage and the value of the land. Correspondingly, that has an effect in terms of access to banking finance. We have to be innovative if we are to ensure that we get the investment in enterprise that will be salvation for areas that have been so devastated by the decline in traditional manufacturing. I want to discuss some of them later. On the point that I was making about housing market renewal, if we fit this programme with that, we can focus on consolidation and growth, which complement existing efforts as part of a broader coherent strategy that picks up all the investment that is under way in my area—I am sure that that is also the case in Hartlepool—in health, schools and the housing pathfinder. Also, as would be the case with our proposal, that will be consistent with the sub-regional plans that are under way in respect of economic planning, housing and health. We would be certain to ensure that local people and local firms benefit from the initiative. I have seen too many so-called enterprise initiatives where there was new investment but it meant only that people from 300 or 400 miles away benefited from jobs. There was not the spin-off for local people whose jobs had been lost as a result of structural changes. It is important that we fit this to housing market renewal. I also want to touch on the scale of the challenge in Stoke-on-Trent, which is difficult because this is still a painful subject. The scale of the challenge is one of the overwhelming reasons why we must ensure that Stoke-on-Trent's bid is successful. Even if they make uncomfortable reading, I want to give some background figures to the Minister, so that he can see the scale of the challenge. He might not know the scale of the job losses across north Staffordshire, and the resolve that we have to tackle that. Sometimes, Government policy has not been helpful. The Department for Work and Pensions intends to close down a jobcentre in one of the areas of greatest deprivation, without any proper consultation, which is a matter of great concern. There have also been redundancy announcements from large firms. In the past 20 years, 60,000 jobs have been lost in mining, steel and ceramics. That should give the Minister an indication of what we are up against. I make that point because in Stoke-on-Trent not only have we lost more manufacturing jobs than most other industrial areas, but we have lost them more recently. To date, we have had less capacity to create new jobs to replace the traditional jobs that have been outsourced to the far east than areas with more basic skills and professional expertise in producing proposals that would turn the local economy round. We cannot ignore the global restructuring that is taking place, and we must make good the loss of manufacturing jobs. However, in Stoke-on-Trent that task is challenging. Some 22.9 per cent. of the work force are still employed in manufacturing jobs. In my constituency, the figure is 35.4 per cent. I am sure that the Minister will not need reminding that the national average is 12.6 per cent. The consultants, Arup, estimated that, nationally, 20,000 manufacturing jobs are still at risk. It stands to reason that areas where there is already a heavy reliance on manufacturing jobs will be more vulnerable to globalisation than most other areas. As unpalatable as that is, we must look ahead and we must plan now. Make no mistake about it, we are doing just that with the investment that is already coming in across the sub-region with the Government's help. However, our fundamental approach must be to make that investment relevant to local people, and we must change the enterprise culture. If we look at our record to date on that, it is simply not good enough, but that is through no fault of our own. Nationally, 9 per cent. of people are self-employed; in Stoke-on-Trent, the figure is 6.7 per cent. I think that speaks volumes. We will not catch up unless we make even more headway in improving basic skills in the city. Maths and English are essential for small businesses, and I can report that we have made great progress in that area already. This year, in Stoke-on-Trent schools, 47 per cent. of pupils achieved grades A to C at GCSE, compared with 31 per cent. in 1997. Credit must go to Nigel Rigby and to the teaching staff for those outstanding results, which show that we can do great things when we are determined to improve educational standards. We want to repeat across the spectrum what we have achieved with GCSE results. That success must be matched by corresponding success in those basic skills across the age range, so that my constituents are equipped with the skills they need to set up in business. The most up-to-date figures from Barclays for business start-ups, for quarter 4 in 2004, show that Stoke-on-Trent had eight business start-ups per 10,000 of the working population. Those were the second lowest figures, after Middlesbrough. The UK average was 14. In quarter 3, Stoke-on-Trent's record was seven business start-ups, and we were placed equal lowest. From those figures, we can see that with a working population of 147,400 people, every year we have 100 business start-ups fewer than other comparable parts of the country. If we look at that year on year, the gap is growing. That is why we are determined to do something about it. We will never catch up if things stay as they are. Economic development is falling behind in precisely the areas where it is needed most by local people. My message to the Minister is clear: however painful the facts, in Stoke-on-Trent we are actively engaged in turning the situation around. We have to make the strongest possible push to get approval for the local enterprise growth initiative. I can report that our bid is nearing completion. My colleagues in north Staffordshire and I want to ensure that it hits all the right buttons and fits with the work already under way at the council, in children's services and in our primary schools. I want to ensure that, when possible, we consider green enterprise and that that will also be a component of our bid. So much more is needed. In my research for this debate, my attention was drawn to the work of the Scottish Institute for Enterprise, which has shown what can be achieved when the Government engage with local people to push the enterprise agenda. I want to see a can-do culture develop across my constituency and to send out a strong message to the Minister, the Government office for the west midlands and the regional development agency that this bid has to be supported. I look forward to hearing from the Minister how he could be equally enterprising and ensure that we can provide funding and tackle the enterprise gap.