§ 1. Mr. Shinwellasked the Postmaster-General if he will state the principal contractors to the Post Office for clothing, paper, electronic and building requirements and the location of such contracts in the past three years.
§ The Assistant Postmaster-General (Miss Mervyn Pike)As the Answer contains a long list of names, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. ShinwellThat is all very well, but can the hon. Lady say whether any contracts of this nature have been placed in the North-East or diverted there? Is she aware that for several months we have been pleading with the Government to divert such contracts to the areas of high unemployment? What are they going to do about it? Will she notify Lord Hailsham, who is now charged with dealing with unemployment in the North-East, that this would be a means of dealing with the situation immediately?
§ Miss PikeI think that much of this information will be in the OFFICIAL REPORT. I can assure the right hon. Gentleman of our concern in this matter, and I remind him that we are moving the Savings Bank to Durham, which is an earnest of our intention to do what we can for the North-East.
§ Mr. Hector HughesDoes the hon. Lady realise that I want to carry the matter a little further north than it has been carried by my right hon. Friend the Member for Easington (Mr. Shinwell)? Is she aware that there are factories and workers in Aberdeen able and willing to execute these orders with celerity and efficiency? Will she see 3 that some of these orders go to Aberdeen, or at least north of the Border and not all south of the Border, as Lord Hailsham is apparently directing his attention to south of the Border, entirely neglecting the north of Scotland? It is utterly unfair.
| MAIN CONTRACTORS | FACTORY LOCATION |
| Clothing | |
| E. Clegg & Sons Ltd | Littleborough, Lancs. |
| J. Compton Sons & Webb Ltd | London and Swindon. |
| Fox Bros. Ltd. | Wellington, Somerset. |
| R. Gaunt & Sons Ltd | Farsley, Yorks. |
| F. W. Harmer & Sons Ltd | Norwich. |
| G. H. Hirst & Co. Ltd | Batley, Yorks. |
| Howe & Coates Ltd. | Manchester. |
| Joshua Hoyle & Sons Ltd. | Manchester. |
| Johnson & Sons Ltd. | Gt. Yarmouth and Gorleston. |
| H. Lotery & Co. (Uniforms) Ltd | Newport, Mon. |
| Manclark & Sons Ltd. | Edinburgh. |
| Moore Taggart & Co. Ltd. | Glasgow. |
| Pearson Bros. Ltd | Golcar, Huddersfield. |
| Shaw Bros. Ltd | Huddersfield. |
| J. Smith & Co. (Derby) Ltd | Rhymney, Derby and Chesterfield. |
| G. Strauss & Sons Ltd | Salford, Stalybridge and Gt. Harwood |
| Paper | |
| This is mostly procured through Her Majesty's Stationery Office Direct contractors to the Post Office include:— | |
| Percy Boyden & Co. | Waddon, Croydon. |
| Caribonium Ltd | Leyton, London. |
| Kado Ltd. | Stockton-on-Tees. |
| Portals (John Allen & Sons) Ltd | Ivybridge, Devon. |
| Thames Paper Supplies Ltd. | London. |
| Waterlow & Sons Ltd | Dunstable, Beds. |
| Electronic Equipment | |
| Contractors to the Post Office for telephone apparatus and exchange equipment include:— | |
| Associated Electrical Industries Ltd. | Woolwich and West Hartlepool. |
| Automatic Telephone & Electric Co. Ltd. | Liverpool. |
| Ericsson Telephones Ltd. | Beeston and Sunderland. |
| The General Electric Co. Ltd. | Coventry and Middlesbrough. |
| The Phoenix Telephone and Electric Works Ltd. | Hendon, Middlesex. |
| The Plessey Co. Ltd. | Ilford. |
| The Pye Group | Cambridge, London and Airdrie. |
| Standard Telephones and Cables Ltd | Woolwich and Southgate, London; N. Ireland, Newport and Treforest. |
| Buildings | |
| Large building projects are handled by the Ministry of Public Building and Works. Any contracts placed by the Post Office are small and local. |