§ 24. Sir A. Spearmanasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will restore Scarborough to the list of development areas in view of the fact that the unemployment figure there is now 5.5 per cent.
§ Mr. JayThe level of unemployment in this area, which averaged 3.8 per cent. in 1964, does not justify restoring it to the list of development districts.
§ Sir A. SpearmanWill the right hon. Gentleman look at that again, in view of the fact that the latest Ministry of Labour figures show that the present unemployment in the north-east special area is 3.1 per cent. and that the Ministry of Labour figure for Scarborough last year is an average of 4 per cent.?
§ Mr. JayI realise that the Scarborough area has a difficult seasonal problem, but the hon. Member knows that even if an area is not scheduled as a development district it is possible to grant I.D.C.s more freely there than one would in a really congested area.