§ Q2. Mr. W. Hamiltonasked the Prime Minister whether the public speech made by the Minister of Housing and Local Government in London on Wednesday, 29th April, to the Town and Country Planning Association on the Government's plan for South-East England represents the policy of Her Majesty's Government.
§ The Prime MinisterYes, Sir.
§ Mr. HamiltonDoes the Prime Minister recollect that the Minister said in that speech that it was estimated that 270,000 immigrants from Scotland and the North-East would come into the South-East between now and 1981? Is the Prime Minister aware that there is a good deal of concern, certainly in Scotland and, I believe, in the North-East, about this tacit admission by the Government that immigration to the South-East is inevitable from Scotland and the North-East and that the most the Government hope to do is to slow it down?
§ The Prime MinisterThe figure given by my right hon. Friend was that of immigration into the South-East from all over Britain. What we are trying to do is to arrest the drift from Scotland and the North-East. I have here some figures of applications by industrialists to go to Scotland and they are very encouraging. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will help us try to get industry to Scotland and not write it down all the time.
Mr. J. WellsIs my right hon. Friend aware that people in the South-East are more concerned about immigration from overseas than from within the United Kingdom? Is he also aware that we are most anxious about the rate of school building in the South-East?
§ The Prime MinisterOf course, there will be a great increase of population in the next 35 years in Britain as a whole—about 14 million—and about a quarter of that, or 3 million, will be in the South-East.
§ Mr. JayIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that what worries us is that the Government's plans now provide for an 1451 increase in the rate of immigration into the South-East over the next 20 years?
§ The Prime MinisterOur plans do not provide for that. They recognise what is likely to happen. We are trying to do our best, through our regional policies, to prevent an undue flow of population from the North-East and Scotland. If the right hon. Gentleman thinks that he should direct people where to go, that is a different matter.
§ Mr. LongdenIn view of the expected very large increase in population, will my right hon. Friend consider inaugurating, instead of family allowances, big bonuses for bachelors?