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Welsh Affairs

I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman is suggesting that we should take the axe to the financial services sector. I am sure that his friend Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, would take serious exception to that. To be fair, we have seen a significant expansion of financial services in Wales, and Admiral is a very good example of that. I am arguing not that the financial services sector should be cut, but that we need to rebuild the real economy. The International Monetary Fund is absolutely right to say that countries should not cut spending until the recovery is well in place, but my understanding, from the shadow Chancellor's speech last night, of Conservative policy this week—I am not sure what it will be next week, because it seems to change regularly—is that he still wants to cut spending as soon as possible to address the deficit, if, God forbid, a Conservative Government are elected in May. However, the IMF is clear in saying that countries around the world should be very careful about the timing of spending reductions. The recovery is very fragile, not only in this country, but in the United States and throughout the eurozone, where the growth rate is now 0.1 per cent.—the same as ours. It would be incredibly foolish and naïve to start a programme of cutting back expenditure. The fear, rightly expressed by the IMF, is that the world could be plunged back into recession—and of all that that means. A high proportion—about 36 per cent.—of those constituents of mine who are unemployed have a background in the construction industry, which is a far higher proportion than for virtually any other area in Wales, and possibly the UK. This Monday, there was a demonstration outside the Pembroke power station site demanding a high proportion of British jobs for British workers and so on. It was believed that a high proportion of the 500 people currently building the new power station were not UK residents. In fact, the information provided by the main contractor indicates that more than 90 per cent. of the work force are from the UK, with 40 per cent. from Pembrokeshire and nearly 60 per cent.—57 per cent., I think—from Wales. There is an issue though. As a result of the winding down of two major liquefied natural gas site projects, a high proportion of people are seeking work on that site. I think that we can see a real improvement in how people are notified of vacancies, and that the recruitment system can be radically improved. I hope, therefore, that the contractors, including the main contractors, together with the main client, RWE, are considering that issue, so that many of the opportunities presented as the site develops can go to local people with the right skills and experience, which have developed in Pembrokeshire over its many years of dealing with the petrochemical industry. I want to make a general point about the engineering and construction industry. I declare an interest: I am a member of Unite and my constituency receives support from the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians. We have a huge opportunity, particularly in Wales, but throughout the UK as well, in the engineering and construction industry, with the decarbonisation of power generation over the next 10 or 20 years. People are talking about £20 billion—at least—in investment in new gas-fired power stations; in new coal-fired stations with carbon capture and storage; in nuclear power, such as that produced at Wylfa; in a massive increase in offshore wind and tidal energy; and even in the Severn barrage, if that comes off. There are massive opportunities that the engineering and construction industry should be able to benefit from and which should increase our work force. Those opportunities are as great as when North sea oil was being developed in the 1970s, so we need to maximise the number of UK companies that win those contracts and employ UK labour. The alternative is what happened at the Lindsey oil refinery at the Staythorpe power station, where UK contractors were unsuccessful in certain parts of the contract, and labour from Spain and elsewhere was brought in to carry out part of it. The Gibson report, which was published in December, highlights what needs to be addressed. The recommendations are quite clear. One of the issues is that we have an ageing work force in the engineering and construction industry, with 65 per cent. of the work force being over 40, and 41 per cent. being over 50. We need to bring young people into the industry. One of the recommendations of the Gibson report is that we should double the number of on-site apprentices, from 500 to 1,000, by 2011. There are also clear problems with productivity and, in particular, the supervision and management of contracts, and clear recommendations are made about that. However, I want to emphasise again how we come out of the recession and how we can build and develop on the basis that exists now, and move into sustainable recovery. Part of that will involve decarbonisation of power generation. There are huge investments to be made, and Wales can benefit hugely from those. RWE is the main developer for the massive wind farm on the Bristol channel. We have seen Wylfa being replaced, as well as the gas-fired power station in my constituency, and there is a new power station in that of my hon. Friend the Member for Newport, East (Jessica Morden). There is a range of opportunities for various forms of tidal power. That is the way to grow out of the recession; that is the way to recovery. I fear that the alternative posed by the Conservatives could see my constituency returning to the position that it was in during the early 1990s.