§ 22. Mr. Ainsleyasked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to attract new industry to the Crook area, County Durham, to provide jobs for those who have lost their employment owing to pit closures; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade (Mr. Niall Macpherson)The Board of Trade will continue to make every effort to encourage industrial development in the Crook area. The facilities of the Local Employment Act are available for any firms willing to set up or expand in the locality.
§ Mr. AinsleyI am profoundly disappointed with that reply. Is the Minister aware of the ineffectiveness of the Local Employment Act in comparison with the degree of justice contained in the Distribution of Industry Act, which did seek to apportion industries to the needs of the population? Is the Minister aware that conditions in this area are worse than they were in the 1930s? Then there was a possibility that the basic industries would pick up, but those industries have now gone, and 2,500 of the population in this area are looking to the Government for work.
§ Mr. MacphersonI appreciate the difficulties and anxieties of the area. We have been doing our best to bring the firms there. In the last few months between 15 and 20 firms have been recommended to go to the area, and half a dozen have visited it. In the end, it is for the firms themselves to choose where they should go.