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Work Programme (Wales)

(Translation ): I am sure that I speak on behalf of the whole Committee when I say that it is a pleasure to be here in Wrexham today. It is also a pleasure to hear members of the Committee addressing us in Welsh, because we are in Wales and it is important to use the language. I have great pleasure in coming here today, because this is the area where I was brought up. [Continued in English] On behalf of the entire Committee, I thank Wrexham county borough council for making us feel so welcome here. As I remarked earlier when you were not in the chair, Mr Caton, it is perhaps appropriate that we should be discussing the Work programme, not only because the motto of this fine borough is ““labor omnia vincit””—work conquers all—but because Wrexham is an old, historical town with a huge industrial past, and has been significant in the industrial history of this country. In fact, the industrial revolution started partly here in Wrexham. It was in Bersham that John Wilkinson—““Iron-mad”” Wilkinson—started his foundry, which made the cannons that won the battle of Trafalgar. Subsequently, this area proceeded with its industrialisation. I was brought up here in the village of Rhosllanerchrugog, which is a Welsh enclave in what was in those days an English-speaking area. I remember well that when I was a boy, most male employees worked in the coal industry, in steel, in tanneries or in one of the two breweries established in this town. All those industries have gone, but as the hon. Member for Wrexham pointed out, they have been replaced by the sort of industries in which those coal miners would have wanted their sons and daughters to work: the clean industries, which are represented by Sharp; the high-tech industries, which are represented by Hoya; and the successful international businesses, such as JCB and, further away, Toyota and UPM-Kymmene. There is also, as the hon. Gentleman pointed out, the jewel in the crown of north Wales: Airbus in Broughton, which is responsible for so many other feeder businesses. That is where, only last Friday, the Prime Minister opened the new composite wings factory—a £140-million development that will, I hope, ensure the success of that business for many years to come. Wrexham has changed, and it is living proof, as the hon. Member for Wrexham points out, that it is possible to move from the old dirty and heavy industries to the new high-tech industries on which the future of this country depends. We will not compete with the far east in turning out low-value, high-volume products. The future of this country depends on high-tech, high-value-added industries and, significantly, as many hon. Members have pointed out, for that we need proper education and training. We have that here in Wrexham. We have Glyndwr university, which is a tremendously important educational institution. I was glad to see the right hon. Member for Neath praising Glyndwr in the newspapers this morning. It is so good that I sent my son there to read for a business degree, but I hope that the right hon. Gentleman will talk to his colleague in the Welsh Assembly and point out that Glyndwr wants to be an independent institution, rather than being absorbed by other institutions. If he were to sign the campaign launched by The Leader, it would be of great benefit to him and his party. Several tribal noises have been made by the Labour party today, and those noises were not helpful. The hon. Member for Llanelli closed for the Opposition. She asked the rhetorical question, ““Where is the Government’s growth strategy?””—I am surprised at her because I know she is a highly intelligent and sensitive person—and suggested that we do not have one. The first aspect of our growth strategy is to address the appalling level of debt that her Government bequeathed to us. Were it not for our taking strong and vital steps to clear the deficit, our international credit rating would be slashed, as countries such as the United States have experienced.