§ 18. Mr. Gowerasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on prospects of future factory development and the erection of new factories and extensions of existing factories in the principality of Wales.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftNearly 2½ million sq. ft. of industrial building were approved in the 12 months ending 30th September, 1955, but it is not possible to forecast the rate of construction.
§ Mr. GowerIs my right hon. Friend devoting particular attention to the case of factories which are merely branches of factories in other parts of the United Kingdom?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftThe general level of building is keeping up very well in South Wales. I have no figures here to show how many are branch factories.
§ Mr. ShinwellIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that his hon. Friend the Member for Barry (Mr. Gower) is getting far more for his constituency than I am getting for mine?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftWe will see that Peterlee gets a fair deal as well.
§ Mr. C. HughesIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the area in Wales where factories are urgently needed is that of the counties of Caernarvon and Anglesey, in particular, where unemployment is running about 7 to 8 per cent.? Will he not redouble his efforts to induce industrialists to enter these areas as soon as possible?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftThe hon. Gentleman has on a number of occasions made very forceful representations to me on the particular problems of those areas. They have raised problems which are a little different from those of the Development Areas which I have been discussing in answer to the Question.