HC Deb 22 February 1965 vol 707 cc13-5
13. Mr. Wolrige-Gordon

asked the Minister of Labour what measures he will take to assist men who have had to leave their homes in development areas to find work elsewhere to return home in the event of work becoming available.

Mr. Marsh

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him on 3rd February, 1965.

Mr. Wolrige-Gordon

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that that reply on 3rd February was an unsatisfactory one, particularly in regard to the limit of two years on a resettlement transfer scheme? Why should not that limit be extended? Is the registration of those men who have had to leave home kept up to date, particularly in regard to additional skills they may have learned on leaving home and any other relevant information?

Mr. Marsh

It would be impossible for the Ministry to keep tags on all men who leave an area and take up employment elsewhere. Many such men may not have had the slightest intention of returning to the area. The Ministry is prepared to register for employment any man who might wish to return to his original area, and to ensure that he is given information on any vacancies which may arise there. The Ministry will also ensure that his particulars are forwarded to employers within the area. It would be quite impracticable for the Ministry to retain virtually for all time records of everyone who leaves every development area.

26. Mr. Wolrige-Gordon

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will undertake an investigation into the number of potential employees, who live near enough to development areas to be able to work in them, who would be prepared to come back to development areas should job opportunities become available in them.

Mr. Marsh

Anyone interested in vacancies in another area can arrange to have them brought to his attention through any convenient employment exchange. I do not think it would be right for me to suggest to men and women who are already in employment and who have not notified the employment exchange of any desire to change jobs, that they should consider seeking work elsewhere.

Mr. Wolrige-Gordon

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that I did not ask that? I merely asked for the information. Is he aware that industries, particularly with large-scale plans for employment, find a development area such as the one I represent hard to consider because of fears, which I believe to be erroneous, that there may not be enough labour available? Is he aware that information on who is available and where from would be very helpful to them? Is not that the kind of service which the Ministry and the Government could and should undertake?

Mr. Marsh

I accept the hon. Member's point, but it would be very difficult to keep that sort of information up to date. One would have to have a constant review to find whether a man still wanted to come back there or not.

Mr. Wolrige-Gordon

How difficult would that be? Is it insoluble, or is it practicable to achieve that?

Mr. Marsh

I think that it is impracticable because it would mean tracing every man who left a development area and finding out whether he might want to come back to the area at some later date to some job yet unknown. It would mean constantly checking to see whether he wanted to come back or whether he had changed his mind. It would involve a fantastic amount of work, bearing in mind that if a man had any desire to come back to the area he could register that information with the local exchange.