---

GE Lights

Indeed. I was just about to come to my right hon. Friend’s remarks, but the final point that I wanted to spell out was that the Secretary of State for Education and Skills recently announced the establishment of a national skills academy for manufacturing, to ensure that we maintain the skills that we require for the sector. To respond to the specific issues raised by my right hon. Friend, of course I am happy to meet Mr. Salekovics when he comes over, and I will certainly lay out for him some of the ways in which we can benefit the company. It has a long history in the UK, and I will work with my right hon. Friend to see what we in government can do to keep it here. The East Midlands Development Agency met GE on 12 December to discuss ways of reducing relative costs, and to consider productivity levels. I understand that GE is considering those suggestions, and will come back to EMDA on the issue shortly. Clearly, if the talks and the attempts to keep the company open are not successful, we must look to the future for the individuals who will be affected by the closure. In that regard, we have a well-established mechanism that we will want to bring into play, which will bring together the regional development agency, the local learning and skills council, Jobcentre Plus and the Leicestershire economic partnership. They will see what they can do to support individuals during that extremely difficult time, either by linking them to new job opportunities or by providing the appropriate training to help them to get another job. Of course, those actions are being taken in the context of a very successful macro-economic climate. Since 1997, when we first came into Government, we have created some 2.5 million extra jobs, so although the individuals will feel very low and worried as we come up to Christmas, they should be reassured by the health of the UK economy and the economy in my right hon. Friend’s area, and by the Government’s determination to put all resources into play, so that we provide the very best support for individuals. As for my main message to my right hon. Friend, I hope that in his discussions with GE—I am happy to support him as best I can in those—he will stress that outsourcing production as planned may well not be in the long-term best interests of that company, if it wants to maintain a good market share and a vibrant industrial capacity in Europe. What the Government are offering includes access to research and development resources, access to macro-economic stability, access to a highly skilled work force, and access to a liberal labour market. Those are all features of the UK’s economy that make us an attractive location for inward investment. I hope that my right hon. Friend’s efforts will help to save the company for the future of Britain. Question put and agreed to. Adjourned accordingly at twenty-seven minutes past Seven o’clock. Correction