HC Deb 20 February 1962 vol 654 cc183-5
11. Mr. Ainsley

asked the President of the Board of Trade what additional areas have been added to the list of places in the North-East under the Local Employment Act.

Mr. Erroll

Prudhoe and Haswell were added in October, 1960, and Blyth and Seaton Delaval in December, 1961.

Mr. Ainsley

Does the Minister realise that the problem is in west Durham? Does he recall that his Parliamentary Secretary paid a fleeting visit to the Crook and Brandon area? Does he know that in the Durham Employment Exchange area the unemployment figure is now double what it was twelve months ago, and that the unemployment problem arises mainly in the Brandon Urban District area? Is he aware that there is a first-class site for industrial development astride the main railway line and the A.1, and will he seek to bring new industry to this area where the coal mining industry is rapidly closing down?

Mr. Erroll

I am well aware of the problem, particularly the problem created by the impending closure of pits. In a comprehensive Written Answer on 14th December, I provided an answer which covered the areas of most parts of the North-East about which hon. Gentlemen and my hon. Friends have rightly been expressing concern. If hon. Gentlemen will look at my answer again, I think they will see that we are doing a great deal, and I assure everyone concerned that I am far from being complacent about it.

Commander Kerans

Will not my right hon. Friend agree that the whole unemployment situation in the North-East is assuming alarming proportions, especially in my constituency? Will the Government take serious steps to look into this matter and alleviate the growing distress and anxiety which exists in the Durham area?

Mr. Erroll

I hope that the hon. Member for Wednesbury (Mr. Stonehouse) will consider what has just been said.

Mr. Jay

Does the Minister realise that as long as the Government follow a general economic policy which is designed to hold back the whole economy the North-East Coast is bound to suffer?

Mr. Erroll

Not necessarily.

16. Mr. Boyden

asked the President of the Board of Trade what sums are to be allocated for new industrial development in the North-East in 1962–63; how these sums compare with 1961–62; and what percentage these allocations form of the total sums for Local Employment Act expenditure in the years in question.

Mr. Erroll

Expenditure approved for projects in the North-East between 1st April and 31st December, 1961, amounted to £1.7 million, or 7.6 per cent., compared with £1.6 million, or 3.2 per cent., in the year ended 31st March, 1961. Estimates of future expenditure under the Local Employment Act are not subdivided by regions.

Mr. Boyden

This is a very disappointing figure when one considers that £38 million has rightly been approved for expenditure on Merseyside and Clyde-side. In view of the unemployment problem in the North-East, far more ought to be pumped into the area.

Mr. Erroll

We have been pumping it in at over double the rate.