HC Deb 19 March 1959 vol 602 cc607-8
11. Mr. C. Hughes

asked the President of the Board of Trade if, in view of the high and growing incidence of unemployment, he will now schedule Anglesey under the Distribution of Industries Act, 1945.

Mr. J. Rodgers

Anglesey qualifies for D.A.T.A.C. assistance, and the Development Fund is available to assist the building of factories there. I do not believe that scheduling the island under the Distribution of Industry Act, 1945, would assist, and in any event there are obvious objections to scheduling areas with small or sparse populations. As I announced last night, the experimental advance factory for Wales will be located in Anglesey. This will be financed from the Development Fund.

Mr. Hughes

I, also, was extremely glad to learn that an advance factory is to be built in Anglesey, but does the Parliamentary Secretary not agree that the high unemployment there—it now stands at about 12.6 per cent.—warrants further action in scheduling the area under the 1945 Act? To see that we get the full benefits of that Act would be the logical step to take.

Mr. Rodgers

The main benefit that scheduling would confer would be site clearance, and we have no evidence of firms being prevented from going to Anglesey for lack of sites.

Mr. J. Griffiths

If the hon. Gentleman says that the Government are averse to scheduling some of these sparse areas in Anglesey and some other places where the population is now much less than it was because of the steady drain from it, would it not be more in the national interest to keep the population in these areas rather than to let them go to overcrowded places?

Mr. Rodgers

There is much in what the right hon. Gentleman says, but, as I said last night, the White Paper prepared by right hon. Gentlemen opposite in 1948 itself argued the case against scheduling such areas.

Mr. Jay

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that, although in the opinion of many people it was right in the first years after the war to concentrate on the great industrial areas, nevertheless today, fourteen years later, there is really a case for the scheduling of these areas, and will he consider the matter closely?

Mr. Rodgers

We always keep an open mind on this subject.