HC Deb 20 April 1955 vol 540 cc318-28

Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. R. Thompson.]

10.5 p.m.

Mr. Goronwy Roberts (Caernarvon)

I am very glad to see the new Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade in his place on the Front Bench, and I should like to extend to him my congratulations on his appointment. Naturally, I cannot undertake to assist him to extend his tenure of office. No doubt the electors of the country will cut that as short as possible, but as long as it continues I can sincerely wish him all personal good fortune, happiness and success in that office.

I am raising tonight a matter which I have raised many times before in the House—namely, the problem of unemployment in my county of Caernarvonshire. The historic and honourable county of Caernarvon shares with its neighbour, the Isle of Anglesey, the tragic distinction of having the highest percentage unemployment in Great Britain. I should like to give a few figures for January of this year to prove my point. Throughout the United Kingdom, out of every thousand insured persons, there were 12 unemployed. But in Caernarvonshire the figure was 65, or almost six times as high.

Even this does not fully indicate the gravity of the situation, which is masked by the steady migration from our county of our young people and, indeed, many middle-aged family men, too, with poignant difficulties attending upon their movement, to other parts of the country to search for work. If those emigrants had stuck it at home during the past two or three years, the number of unemployed in Caernarvonshire would not be about 2,500, which it is at present—and which is high enough—but twice or three times that number.

Despite the persistent emigration of our youth, the figures for January which I received from the Ministry of Labour only this morning show that our small towns and rural districts are carrying a load of unemployment out of all proportion to their capacity, their population and their deserts. I see the Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Welsh Affairs in his place, and I am grateful to him for his presence. He must agree that for a small market town like Pwllheli to have 632 people unemployed is a tragedy, and that for Portmadoc to have 120 unemployed is again a tragedy, as it is for Penygroes to have 179, Caernarvon to have 532 and gallant little Bethesda to have 113. These figures represent a sum of human misery in the contemplation of which I could detain the House for a long time.

But I want to pass to other matters. The economic and social consequences of such a state of affairs in any community would be serious, but to our community it carries a special threat, I am not saying that we are any better than any other community. All I am saying is that in a very peculiar and a very valuable sense we are different.

This is an area in which the language and manner of life of Wales have survived the strain and the challenge of centuries with vigour and beauty. Take away the livelihood of the people of this province of Wales and you shatter the basis of a distinctive way of life, a democratic spirit, a co-operative and Christian manner of living, and I say quite sincerely that not simply would Wales be the poorer for the dismantling of this community but the whole of Britain and, it may be, the world.

The background of our problem is perfectly clear. The two industries on which the people of this Province of Gwynedd have traditionally depended no longer offer the same opportunities of employment as they used to do. Our agriculture is increasingly becoming a matter of family farms, employing more machines and fewer workers, and we cannot quarrel with that. It is a natural development, and there is great virtue in it. Our small farmers need credit facilities which will help them to rebuild and re-equip, and so increase their production and their turnover.

The second industry on which we have always depended is, of course, the slate industry, and although the slate quarries still command important markets, they have inevitably declined in the last 15 or 20 years in the face of the competition of cheaper products, especially tiles. Forty or 50 years ago, the North Wales slate industry employed 14,000 or 15,000 men, the majority of them in Caernarvonshire. Today, the number barely exceeds 3,500. The question is how we can come to the support of the slate industry so as to prevent this calamitous amount of unemployment, which in turn will destroy the very fabric of the community life of the quarrying areas.

It is quite true that a certain amount of new industry has come into the county as a result of the war and after the war, but it is far too little, and what little has actually come in has far too often been of an insecure character. I must give one or two examples of what I mean by this insecurity of work. I had a little to do with obtaining a grant from the Development Commission of some £50,000 for the erection of a new factory in one of our worst hit areas—the Nantlle Valley. I am very deeply concerned about reports of insecurity and discontinuity of employment, even in such a well-equipped and skilfully manned factory.

Here is a case in which the Ministry of Supply, which has a great deal to do with this factory, could easily intervene to ensure a steadier flow of work into Penygroes, and so promote a steadier policy of production and continuity of employment. Again, in the last few weeks, we have heard of the closing down, in these days of full employment, of one of our small shipyards—the Brooke Marine at Port Dinorwic, and of a small workshop, Technical Diamonds, at Bangor, and another 100 families are thrown on the dole and National Assistance. I repeat that- we have far too little work, and what we have is too insecure; and yet, while this is going on in Caernarvonshire, there is an actual shortage of labour on Deeside, in Wrexham, and in parts of South Wales.

I must ask why these overworked firms in other parts of the country cannot decant some of their orders to some of our small but highly efficient firms in Caernarvonshire. I hope that no one will suggest that our men should pack up and go away to work. Far too many of them have already done that, and we have suffered in every sense, socially, culturally, and economically, from the drain of the youngest and best of our population to places far away from their homes.

Ours is not a naturally mobile community. There is a strong tie of language, and this is a community of tradition and deep roots—a community in which there is a good deal of personal ownership of homes, in which the children follow a very rigid system of education, and in which a movement away from home causes a more profound psychological and social disturbance than, possibly, a similar movement, let us say, within the English-speaking area. The place for these people is where their roots are. It is there that they should be enabled to earn their livelihood. It is there that they can best do that and make their fullest contribution.

I should like to make a few suggestions. First, I want to invite the Parliamentary Secretary—who this morning, when he met the deputation I took to see him, gave evidence of sympathy and keenness to assist in this matter, for which I pay respect to him—to give serious consideration to the possibility of applying to North-West Wales, not simply Caernarvonshire, the policy and techniques of the Welsh Trading Estates Corporation, which proved so successful in South Wales and Wrexham. I cannot see why that policy, which was crowned with such success, now that its job in South Wales and Wrexham has been completed, should not now be applied to the parishes and small towns of North-West Wales, which still languish in the shadow of unemployment. That is my first suggestion.

Secondly, I want to urge the hon. Gentleman to use his influence in his Department to see that major industrial concerns in other parts of the country sublet some of their massive contracts to some of our small workshops and shipyards. Instead of those firms buying expensive space in our local papers, as they are now doing, to urge and induce workers to leave their homes and go 50 or 150 miles away to work, why cannot they, with the aid of the Board of Trade, take some of their work to our workers? That would be much more satisfactory socially and, I think, in the productive sense.

Thirdly, I want to draw the hon. Gentleman's serious attention to two specific problems in my constituency. I refer first to the position in Llanberis and Llandwrog—the hon. Gentleman is already well versed in the pronunciation of these place names because we put him through his paces this morning—where about 450 men will become redundant in a few months because of the decision of the Air Ministry to close down its maintenance unit in that area completely. There we have ready to hand excellent buildings, which must have cost a million of the taxpayers' money, with available a skilled and keen labour force. I say, let them be put to new productive use. Surely if in 1939 they could so easily be set up it should not be difficult in 1955 to use them for productive purposes, when buildings and a labour force are ready to hand.

A very similar position obtains at the other end of the county, where, among the buildings at the Penrhos Airfield—in sight of my house—there are great hangars and permanently built hutments, which are virtually unused. There we not only have the buildings and workers, but also two undertakings which are ready to move in to a part of the airfield, if only the Board of Trade can persuade the military authorities to lease one or two of those buildings.

This matter was raised with the Welsh office of the Board of Trade last December. It is now mid-April and nothing at all has resulted. We are continually exhorted to help ourselves—we have done it; we have found the buildings, we have the labour force and have even produced two industries, but we still do not seem able to get any forrarder. I hope that the Parliamentary Secretary can do something about that.

Fourthly, I come to a comparatively new point but one of immense and, perhaps, national importance. I do not think that the country or the House fully appreciate the increasing importance to modern industry of a natural resource of which we in Caernarvonshire have an abundance—I mean water. Our rainfall has been a joke. It may be our salvation.

Industries all over the country, as we now hear, are experiencing increasing difficulties in securing adequate supplies of water for industrial processes—chiefly chemicals and textiles—and proper effluent facilities. Snowdonia is uniquely endowed in both these respects, and I trust that the Parliamentary Secretary will bear this in mind, particularly in some of the negotiations of the next few weeks. I leave it at that.

The people and their leaders in Caernarvonshire are ready and eager to facilitate any reasonable form of new industry. We only ask that the Government will help us to help ourselves.

10.21 p.m.

Mr. Peter Thomas (Conway)

I am well aware that time is limited and I do not, therefore, propose to keep the House long. I support the hon. Member for Caernarvon (Mr. G. Roberts) in the plea that he has put forward for the county. It is most unfortunate that in a situation of general prosperity in industry—and, indeed, in certain parts of North Wales—this county of ours is not able to enjoy a great part of it.

I do not wish to go into detail, but I should like to say that my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary was put in full possession of all the facts this morning. We are grateful to him for the attentive hearing that we had and for the very helpful way in which he dealt with the situation. He understands the matter and is appreciative of our individual problem in the area.

I should like my hon. Friend to say that he, on behalf of the Board of Trade, will renew and redouble his efforts to attract certain industry into these parts, where it can be so easily absorbed and where such good facilities can be given to industrialists, not simply to help the county but because we believe that those industrialists who go into various parts of the county will be rewarded for their endeavour.

10.23 p.m.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade (Mr. Donald Kaberry)

It would be lacking in courtesy if I did not thank the hon. Member for Caernarvon (Mr. G. Roberts) for his kindly welcome to me at the Dispatch Box. How long I shall be here is a matter which we can discuss at other times and in other places, but I trust that I or someone else from this side of the House may be here to answer the hon. Member's Questions in due course after 7th June.

I should like also to thank the hon. Member and my hon. Friend the Member for Conway (Mr. P. Thomas) for the manner in which they presented their case, which, the whole House will agree, has been presented with sympathy and understanding. I am obliged to them for the reasonable approach they have made to the problem—a problem which, I know, has excited the attention of the majority, if not all, of their constituents. At any rate, I am sure that their constituents, in due course, will feel that in the two hon. Members they have good advocates in this House for the special problems which confront their areas.

The problem of unemployment in parts of North-West Wales has faced successive Governments since the war. Coming, as I do, new to this office and fresh to the problem, I am struck by the appraisal in the 1948 White Paper on the Distribution of Industry. After describing the specific problems in North-West Wales the White Paper made, in paragraph 90, this general observation: The Board of Trade are … giving very special attention to the needs of these places and making special endeavours to interest industrialists in setting up factories in them. In certain cases the Development Commission may be willing to finance factory building.… That has been the theme throughout the whole of the time that these discussions have been taking place.

I think it is right for me to say that it is recognised at the Board of Trade that there is a special problem in North Wales, not only for the reasons given by the hon. Member for Caernarvon, not only because of the need in general for employment, but also because of the desire on the part of the inhabitants to preserve that part of the United Kingdom, a part which is intensely proud of its Welsh-speaking tradition and all the character, customs and culture that that implies.

I should like to assure hon. Members that the Board of Trade and all other Government Departments concerned have done, and will continue to do, everything possible to fulfil the desire of all the representatives of the area for more industrial employment, but it is a fact that must always be borne in mind that industry cannot be directed to any area in any part of the United Kingdom. It is a painstaking and necessarily long job to match what an area has to offer with what an individual industrialist wants.

A word about the district generally. The Caernarvon-Bangor district can offer a good supply of labour, and it has certain other advantages, such as a plentiful supply of water, good facilities for effluent disposal, good sites, and a willingness on the part of the workers, traditional to that area, to travel some distance to work. However, the fact remains that it is not easy to attract industry to any part of the country which is remote from industrial areas.

It is obvious that if we wish to interest industrialists and the Development Commission in North-West Wales we should keep ourselves abreast of the facts. It was on 14th April, 1954, that my predecessor said that for that purpose a survey of the area was being made. That has been done. Recently, my predecessor told the House, in the light of the report, and almost by way of reaffirmation, that the Government recognised that there was this special problem of unemployment in parts of the area surveyed, and the Government accepted that some further industrial development was needed. The Government undertook to try to steer suitable industry to the area and mentioned that assistance in building new factories might be forthcoming from the Development Commission.

Private industrial employment is not the only solution. Building and civil engineering schemes should help. I may mention among those the Dolgarrog power station, the new bridge at Conway, the Lleyn Rural District Council's water scheme, and the telephone exchange at Bangor. In addition, we should not forget the great natural attraction which this area offers, its great scenic attraction and the possibility that tourism may expand. I understand that the holiday camp at Pwllheli is to have extended accommodation. I believe a gradual expansion is expected in forestry and its ancillary products.

So far, I have been speaking about North-West Wales and Caernarvonshire generally. Coming now to the specific problem of the Air Ministry maintenance unit, I would recall the statement made by the Home Secretary, who is sitting here beside me to hear this debate, in the debate on Welsh Affairs in November last. He pointed out that the decision to close the unit was, unfortunately, unavoidable, but that the unit as a whole was likely to employ over 400 people for another two years. I am glad to learn, and I am sure that hon. Members are glad to learn, that nearly all those who have so far been redundant at Llanberis have been taken on by the Air Ministry at Llandwrog, and that work there is expected to last until 1957.

The buildings at Llanberis consist of widely separated 24 units more fitted for storage than for industry, but we have been doing our best to find industrial tenants. One of the difficulties is that most industrialists prefer to build their own factories exactly suited to their needs. It is, of course, usual to pursue a good many inquiries before securing an undertaking for any particular place. There are even greater difficulties over Llandwrog in regard to the construction of buildings, into which I do not think I need go now.

Llanberis and Llandwrog are part of a larger travel-to-work area. We shall do our best to secure industry for these two places, and, failing that, for the area as a whole. I am sure that the House will not under-estimate the value of the policy for this area which was announced last month. We believe that this policy is fitted to the special needs of the area, and in spite of the difficulty, which I have already mentioned, of attracting industry to parts of the country so far from the main industrial centres, it has already had useful results in the area since the war.

There has been an encouraging amount of industrial development in many parts of Caernarvon and in Anglesey and assistance has been given by the Development Commission in the building of factories in that area. I am glad to be able to say that in the last few days approval has been given for the erection, with moneys provided by the Development Fund, of another factory in Llangefni, which is expected to employ as many as 200 people. This may not be of much direct interest to the people of Caernarvonshire, but it shows that talk of help by the Board of Trade and Development Commission in North-West Wales is not mere empty talk.

The hon. Member for Caernarvon questioned whether the Industrial Estates Company could assist in this area. I am informed that the Wales and Monmouthshire Industrial Estates, Ltd., can operate only in a Development Area, and for the reasons given by my predecessor on 29th March the Government do not regard scheduling under the Distribution of Industry Acts as appropriate for North-West Wales. As I told the hon. Members for Caernarvon and Conway this morning, the Development Commission is prepared to assist in all suitable cases. I can assure them and the House that the Board of Trade will lose no opportunity to do whatever is possible, in co-operation with other Government Departments, to attract industry to this very important area.

Question put and agreed to.

Adjourned accordingly at twenty-six minutes to Eleven o'clock.