§ Q3. Mr. Kenneth Lewisasked the Prime Minister whether he will appoint a Minister for Regional Development.
§ The Prime MinisterThe hon. Member will know of the responsibilities of my right hon. Friend the First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Economic Affairs.
§ Mr. LewisWill the Prime Minister ask the First Secretary of State to make some effort to co-ordinate the activities of various Ministers concerned on a regional basis where the geography of the regions with which they are concerned seems to vary but there is no rationalisation between the regions and the Government?
§ The Prime MinisterIt is very difficult to be responsible for variations in geography, but it is precisely because of those variations that we have set up the economic planning boards and economic councils in each region representative of those with best knowledge of each region so that we can take account of variations, geographical, social and economic. It is also a fact that we have been recently decentralising a number of Government Departments so that they may be more responsive to the needs of those areas.
§ Mr. HeathWill the Prime Minister look into the activities of the First Secretary, if he is responsible, because he will then find that the First Secretary is failing to carry out the policy of the Government? There has been no decision about the South-East Plan, no decision on the two studies already on the North-West and Midlands which we put in hand, on industrial building in the North-East and the Northern Region and the South-West, which are two of the most delicate areas, and the actual amount of industrial building has gone down compared with that 281 of the previous year, which is a failure of the development policy.
§ The Prime MinisterThe right hon. Gentleman will find that, despite then-spurt in the last two of their 13 years, the proportion of new factory building in the development areas is running at a very much higher figure than when the right hon. Gentleman left office.