§ 37. Mr. Benceasked the President of the Board of Trade how many new industries have been established in Dunbartonshire from 1959 to date; and what steps he is taking to encourage new industries to come to this area.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade (Mr. Niall Macpherson)Two new industries, both small, were established in Dunbartonshire in 1959 and three others will, it is hoped, shortly be moving there. The Board will continue their efforts to encourage new industries to go to those parts of Dunbartonshire which are development districts, and the facilities of the Local Employment Act are available to firms establishing themselves there.
§ Mr. BenceIs the hon. Gentleman aware that we have a new town—Cumbernauld—being developed in Dunbartonshire, that the coal industry in Dunbartonshire is not likely to hold out much longer, that the state of the shipbuilding industry on the Clyde is very bad indeed, and that, as he knows, there is a big shipbuilding yard in Dunbartonshire? Is he taking steps to increase the amount of new industry coming to Dunbartonshire, because to claim that only two new industries have come in two years is indeed a very poor achievement towards countering the situation there?
§ Mr. MacphersonWe shall certainly continue to do our best. So far as Cumbernauld is concerned, there are 2,440 jobs in prospect there, as the hon. Gentleman knows.