§ 17. Mr. STOREYasked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that the important industrial area of Wearside is unrepresented on the board of the North End Trading Estate Company, which will choose the site of the proposed estate; and whether he will make representations to the Commissioner for Special Areas for the appointment of a director representative of Wearside interests before the choice of site is considered?
§ Lieut. - Colonel MUIRHEADThe directors of tile Trading Estate Company have been chosen solely with regard to their experience and qualifications for launching and developing the scheme. It 587 would not have been possible to provide representation for the numerous areas and interests which might be directly or indirectly concerned with the activities of the company without increasing the number of directors to a degree which would have affected the chances of successfully launching this enterprise, and my right hon. Friend therefore regrets that he is unable to adopt the suggestion made by my hon. Friend.
§ Mr. STOREYDoes not my hon. and gallant Friend think that the board of directors would do their work better if they were not representative of one district, but of the whole of the districts, and does he realise that the directors are representative of Tyneside?
§ Mr. RITSONIs the hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that there is a population of 300,000 catered for by the Employment Exchange in Sunderland; that there are nearly 30,000 unemployed; and does he not think that it is very hard that a town of that size cannot be represented on the board?
§ Lieut.-Colonel MUIRHEADThe answer to both those questions is that the members of the board have been selected for their general business qualifications to undertake this difficult work, and no endeavour has been made to give specific representation to any particular area.
§ Mr. WHITELEYWill the hon. and gallant Gentleman take into consideration the fact that the area may be so large that one trading estate may not meet the full requirements, and that it may be necessary to have an additional estate with extra representation dealing with the particular locality?
§ Lieut.-Colonel MUIRHEADI am encouraged to find that the hon. Member attaches so much importance to trading estates, and that, if I am allowed to have an additional trading estate, there will be no objection to it being set up.
20. Mr. W. JOSEPH STEWARTasked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the fact that the number of the insured unemployed in Sunderland is 39.4, South Shields 43.9, Jarrow 47.4, and Baldon 40.6, he is prepared to advise the North-east Development Board to choose a site for a trading estate in the centre of this particular area?
§ Lieut.-Colonel MUIRHEADThe selection of a site for the trading estate is a matter for the board of directors of the company which is bring formed to organise the estate.