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The Economy

I am explaining that I know that my college—Central Sussex in Crawley—is going ahead with such work. [Interruption.] My hon. Friend the Member for Northampton, North (Ms Keeble) says that that is also the case in Northampton. Frankly, the hon. Gentleman’s comments do not do justice to the principals, such as Dr. Russell Strutt at Central Sussex college. The college covers the constituency of the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Soames), among many others, and it is moving forward with its investment. This is not just about my constituency, and the comments made by the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) do not do the college justice. The way that businesses can get themselves into a position in which they thrive and thus survive this appalling global recession is by making sure that training is a continuing part of their business. It is at the core of making sure that the work force is able to rise to the occasion when needed. That is why it is so important to see the work being done in Crawley on apprenticeships. A growing number of companies are expanding their apprenticeship programmes to ensure that they are fit for the future. I am proud to say that both of the two producers of linear accelerators in Crawley, Varian and Elekta, have thriving apprenticeship schemes that our young people are desperate to get on because of the quality of the jobs. There is plenty that can be happening in our constituencies. I am always the first to say that we need to get more of these initiatives in place more quickly. One of the roles of a Member of Parliament is to ensure that if we have particular concerns, we can get to the heart of government and to our business organisations, in order to assist those in difficulty. Local authorities have an important role to play. When issues emerge to do with the delivery of schemes put in place by the Government, it is often because the schemes are being delivered by other institutions. It is difficult to keep a handle on just how institutions such as local authorities are performing and how quickly they are ensuring that all the initiatives are in place. I ask the Minister to ensure that we audit all those organisations—both county councils and borough councils—to see how quickly they are putting in place some of the fantastic schemes available to us. It would be very silly to assume that it is just working-class and other families who are suffering in this recession. We have to accept that there are those who are managing businesses who are in some difficulty. I have spoken to people running businesses who are close to tears when they feel that their business is on the edge. It is always really helpful to get Business Link involved to give them help and advice—that has been incredibly useful. When the economy is in difficulty, we need to think about the softer side: how do we support people in difficult times and give them the necessary help and advice? This morning, I spoke to the Rev. Jonathan Baldwin, who is the chaplain at Gatwick airport, and heard about the invaluable support that he is giving to managers and workers at the airport. We need to thank such people in this House, because although this global downturn is causing enormous pain and hardship, there are people out there who are keen to assist in ways for which we will never be able to thank them; we must know that they are in place, working. The work of the jobcentres has also been invaluable. I have been visiting them often and keeping an eye on the cases about which I have concern. The jobcentre in Crawley has responded enormously well, particularly to things such as the collapse of Excel Airways. That was a devastating experience in Crawley, but the jobcentre opened its office at the weekend, interviewed Excel Airways people who had lost their jobs in such a horrible way and got them into new jobs as quickly as it possibly could. The staff went much further than we would expect of public servants, and I thank them for the work that they do. There are clear dividing lines on this; we are able to discuss the initiatives available to us only because there are initiatives available to us. The proposals described by the hon. Member for Tatton (Mr. Osborne) are worthless with nothing to back them up. I am proud of the work that is being done. It is devastating to see the families affected at this time, but my hon. Friends and I shall work tirelessly to talk up the economy—and the contribution that people make to it—and to ensure that we are on their side.