§ 35. Mr. W. Hamiltonasked the President of the Board of Trade what additional employment has been provided on the Cowdenbeath exchange area as a result of the area being scheduled under the Local Employment Act; and to what extent such employment relieves the unemployment problem of juveniles and women.
§ Mr. N. MacphersonNo employment has so far been provided in the Cowdenbeath Employment Exchange area itself as a direct result of the Local Employment Act, but the numbers unemployed there have fallen from 1,100 in March last to 900 in November, the period since the Act came into force. Juveniles and women have shared in this improvement, and I am glad to say that further employment is in prospect in the area.
§ Mr. HamiltonIs the hon. Gentleman aware that the fact that the area is scheduled under the Local Employment Act has nothing to do with the case, that there is no improvement there directly due to the Local Employment Act, and that this area is probably among the hardest hit in the United Kingdom? Can he say what he means by future work in prospect in the later part of his Answer, because the juveniles and the women in particular are very much concerned about the dismal prospect which appear to face them?
§ Mr. MacphersonThere are further jobs in prospect. There are three projects in Dunfermline, which is within the travel-to-work area, to give 120 jobs, and eventually the jobs in one factory are expected to rise to 250.