§ 32. Mr. G. M. Thomsonasked the President of the Board of Trade what application he has received from Dundee jute firms for an industrial development certificate in respect of a paper-bag-making factory; and whether he will withhold his consent pending further efforts to persuade the firms to site this factory in the Dundee Development Area.
§ Sir D. EcclesNone, Sir. I shall consider any application I receive on its merits.
§ Mr. ThomsonIs the President of the Board of Trade aware that this is a case, not of trying to bring employment from outside into a Development Area, but of a firm inside a Development Area proposing to develop outside it; and that it is very much a test case of the Government's willingness to act decisively in the distribution-of-industry policy? Will he make every effort, when dealing with the application for an industrial development certificate, to persuade this 574 firm to carry out its developments within the Development Area where, over the years, it has earned the capital that it will use for this present purpose?
§ Sir D. EcclesWe have made that point clear, but we understand that the firm wishes to go to Hull. In Hull there are empty factories, and if the firm takes an empty factory no certificate is required.