§ 28. Mr. Brockwayasked the President of the Board of Trade what steps are being taken by Her Majesty's Government to supply Colonial and Commonwealth countries with machine tools, engineering goods and civilian aircraft in view of redundancy in industries affected by the curtailment of defence work.
§ The President of the Board of Trade (Sir David Eccles)I do not accept the assumption that the curtailment of defence orders will lead to serious unemployment. Exports to Commonwealth countries, including the Colonies, of the products referred to have increased in recent years, and exporters have available to them the services offered by the Board of Trade and the Export Credits Guarantee Department.
§ Mr. BrockwayDid the right hon. Gentleman note the statement of the Minister of Supply this week that 7,000 workers are likely to be made redundant 1329 in the Royal Ordnance factories during the next two and a half years? Is he aware that at Blackpool and at Langley in my constituency the Hawker works have been entirely closed down, and as these factories can be used to produce exactly the goods for which there is a crying need in the Colonies and the Commonwealth, will he consult his fellow Ministers and try to meet the needs in this way?
§ Sir D. EcclesThere is a very heavy load on the engineering industries at this moment. It is the Government's belief that men released from the defence contracts will readily find other work. In the hon. Gentleman's constituency, for instance, the last figure for unemployment was half of 1 per cent.