HC Deb 20 February 1952 vol 496 c206
1. Miss Irene Ward

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will make a statement on steel allocations to Tyneside in order to ensure that the shipyards and ship-repairing yards are kept fully employed.

The Civil Lord of the Admiralty (Mr. Wingfield Digby)

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Sunderland North (Mr. F. Willey) on 4th February.

Miss Ward

May I have an assurance that my hon. Friend appreciates the importance of maintaining shipping and ship-building as part of our national assets and that we shall never be faced with a shortage of steel for this essential industry?

Mr. Digby

I regret that I can give no assurance on his point, but I hope that the curtailment of the industry necessitated by the shortage of steel will be only temporary.