§ 19. Mr. Dalyellasked the Minister of Labour how many people are employed by the Livingston New Town Development Corporation; and how many of them come from within 15 miles of Livingston.
§ Mr. WhitelawLivingston New Town Development Corporation at present employs 74 people, 39 of them in qualified professional and technical grades. Of this total 32 lived within fifteen miles of Livingston when first employed and 55 now do so.
§ Mr. DalyellDoes not the Minister agree that it was obvious that the Question included those who were employed by the contractors working at Livingston? Is he prepared to give an undertaking that, provided that the skills are present, those who build Livingston New Town will come from the high unemployment areas of East Lanarkshire and the Lowlands?
§ Mr. WhitelawIf the hon. Member reads his Question again he will agree that it was not obvious that it included everyone else, but I do not seek to make much out of that. It simply asked how many people were employed by Livingston New Town Development Corpora- 614 tion. We appreciate, of course, the help which can be given to areas of high unemployment if contractors use labour from these areas when building these new towns.