§ 45. Mr. Benceasked the Minister of Labour what additional measures he is taking to deal with the increase in the numbers of unemployed registering at the employment exchange in the burgh of Clydebank.
§ Mr. WhitelawOur local officers are doing everything possible to try to find work for those registered with them. Clydebank is part of the Glasgow Development District, where the full facilities of the Local Employment Act are available.
§ Mr. BenceI certainly hope that something will be done in the next 12 months, because for about seven years—[HON. MEMBERS: "Question."] Be patient. I hope that something more will be done in the next few months, because is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that in the Burgh of Clydebank and its environs there is really no hope for hundreds of boiler makers, shipwrights, millwrights, engineers and all sorts of workers? There is also the question of more closures of railway stations between Clydebank and Dumbarton. Will he therefore try to change this deplorable situation on Clydebank?
§ Mr. WhitelawThere is every reason to expect that the expansion of the economy, for which measures have already been taken by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will give hope to some of those people to whom he refers. He will also know of the contracts placed by the Central Electricity Generating Board, which have given substantial orders to two firms on Clydebank.