§ 11. Mr. Milneasked the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs if he will make an examination of the placing of Government contracts with a view to work being directed to the Northern Region and other development districts.
§ 13. Mr. Urwinasked the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs if he will state the capital value of Government contracts placed in the Northern Region in each year since 1960 and the nature of such contracts; what is the estimate for the current year; and what steps he proposes to take to secure greater direction to the Region.
§ 14. Mr. Willeyasked the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs what action has been and is being taken regarding the placing of Government contracts with a view to alleviating unemployment in Sunderland.
§ 18. Mr. Blenkinsopasked the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs what special action, including the placing of orders by Government and nationalised industries, is being taken to reduce the heavy male unemployment in South Shields and other parts of Tyneside.
§ The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Frederick Lee)As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer explained in answer to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Cardigan (Mr. Elystan Morgan) on 7th November, firms in development areas are invited to tender for Government contracts wherever possible: if they are not successful in obtaining the whole order they are given part of it provided they can meet a specified price and their offer is satisfactory otherwise. The operation of this scheme is being kept under review. Sunderland, South Shields and Tyneside, like the rest of the Northern Region, stand to benefit from this scheme as well as from the substantial measures of regional assistance which are now available.
I regret that information about the value and nature of such contracts placed in the region since 1960 is not available.
§ Mr. MilneIs my right hon. Friend aware that, while we welcome his Answer, it does not go far enough, and that what is needed is an examination of the methods of Government agencies and Departments in placing orders and seeing that firms in these areas are not only encouraged but assisted to have these contracts?
§ Mr. LeeI agree with my hon. Friend. Government procurement policy is already aimed at contributing as effectively as possible to regional development policy and we will continue to examine whether more can be done in that respect. The nationalised industries are, of course, well aware of the Government's regional policies, and in the recent fuel White Paper the Government made it clear that they
… expect the fuel industries to use their purchasing power to support regional development wherever practical.
§ Mr. UrwinI also thank my right hon. Friend for his Reply. Is he aware that, as a result of the implications of the White Paper to which he referred, the responsibilities devolving upon him for the creation of more jobs are increasing? Is he also aware that there is a large area of unused factory space in the Northern Region, some of which would be admirably suited for the 617 channelling of Government contracts of this kind?
§ Mr. LeeYes, Sir. My hon. Friend will, of course, know that we are now designating special areas even within the development areas, and we will do every-think possible to attract more industry into such areas. We are well aware of the problem of empty factories. The Board of Trade and other Departments are now extensively advertising the fact that they are available and we will do everything possible to see that they are tenanted.
§ Mr. WilleyIn his examination of this difficult problem, will my right hon. Friend consider the possibility of establising machinery to provide for a sensible discrimination in favour of particular firms in places of especial difficulty?
§ Mr. LeeThis depends on the type of firm which becomes available. I was looking at one in my hon. Friend's constituency the other day which was utterly admirable, as it did highly skilled work. The directors told me that they would not go back to the South or the Midlands even if the opportunity presented itself. We want the firms, in other words, which will go in and provide highly skilled and technologically based industry. The wider that we can advertise this and the many advantages offered by the Government now the better.
§ Mr. BlenkinsopHas my right hon. Friend been in special contact with the Ministry of Defence about defence contracts, which could be of considerable importance to factories on Tyneside, my constituency among them, where there is a great shortage of labour and uneconomic use at present of the available machinery?
§ Mr. LeeYes, Sir. All the Government Departments with contracts to let are looking at this important point urgently, and we do not despair of getting a bigger number there.
Earl of DalkeithDoes the right hon. Gentleman agree that, if the Government had not been so foolish as to deflate the areas with high unemployment, we would not now face the terrible problems of trying to reflate them?
§ Mr. LeeThe hon. Gentleman's question is misplaced. Contrary to the actions of the Tory Government, we did not deliberately deflate—[HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."]
§ Sir G. NabarroWhen the right hon. Gentleman talks about procurement policy and the location of industry, is he having proper regard for the fact that his own party's proposal is to diminish the coal mining labour force by 300,000 men in eight years? Can he re-employ all these in other industries by means of these policies?
§ Mr. LeeThe Government's policy is to expend a great deal of public money on getting the coal industry viable.
§ Mr. R. W. ElliottWould the right hon. Gentleman give us some idea of the statistics on which future reports will be based? Is he aware that just this week the Chairman of the Northern Economic Planning Council publicly complained that he was not told of the Government's intentions and plans for the northern coalfields until the end of last week, and then by Lord Robens? Does this not make a nonsense of Labour's economic planning policy?
§ Mr. LeeNo, Sir, it does not. The Chairman in question knew of the Government's plans, but he did not know of the projections—if I may call them that—of those plans produced by Lord Robens.
§ Mr. WoofIs my right hon. Friend really aware that in the past ten years areas like the one which I have the honour to represent have been physically and socially demoralised by pit closures? Is he further aware that they have been gobbled up, as though by a greedy duck in a pit pond, without engendering any activity or a new industrial base? Would he not be prepared to visit the area to see for himself what needs to be done?
§ Mr. LeeI am prepared to come, as my hon. Friend knows, but the special arrangements announced by my right hon. Friend a week or two ago comprise a far greater degree of effort by Government than anything ever seen in Britain before.
§ Mr. HigginsFollowing on the question of my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North (Mr. R. W. Elliott), what level of unemployment do 619 the Government regard as acceptable in the region covered by this report this winter and, in the long run, after redeployment?
§ Mr. LeeThe hon. Member will be glad to know that the actual incidence of unemployment, seasonally adjusted, is falling and not rising.
§ 22. Mr. Leadbitterasked the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs what proposals he has to reduce the unemployment situation in the Northern Region this winter; and what conclusions he has drawn from his recent official visit to the area.
§ Mr. Frederick LeeAs my right hon. Friend informed the House on 1st November, a substantial programme of minor public works has been authorised for the development areas this winter. The work to be carried out in the Northern Region during this period should amount to about £7 million. In addition, payment of regional employment premium began in October and will be worth about £28 million in the year for the Region. These measures, together with the deferment of certain pit closures planned for this winter, will go a considerable way to alleviating the unemployment situation in the Region this winter.
I have already made two official visits to the Region and will be making a third before the end of the month. I am convinced by what I have seen and heard that the wide range of measures introduced by the Government provide a sound basis for the future development of the Region.
§ Mr. LeadbitterWill my right hon. Friend take note of two further points following my expression of gratitude for his very comprehensive statement in answer to my Question? First, will he examine the possibility of bringing forward any Government contracts which are still outstanding? Secondly, will he please look again at the B.O.T.A.C. applications so as not to make the mistake made under the Hailsham Report and instead, to ascertain the viability of these firms, because in the area—
§ Mr. Leadbitter—in the area—
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. Other hon. Members have Questions to put.
§ Mr. LeadbitterWe do not want in the area firms such as pitch fibre pipes which cost shareholders in my constituency and elsewhere many thousands of pounds.
§ Mr. LeeI agree with my hon. Friend that we need firms of substance to go into the area. Of course, the gentleman who advises from B.O.T.A.C. must make quite sure of the position. On the other hand, we hope that the procedure can be somewhat streamlined. To answer the second part of my hon. Friend's supplementary, he will know that the £7 million to which I referred can be spent on road work and so on and that this could possibly assist some factories which at the moment are unoccupied because of the lack of communications.
§ Mr. TinnAre the Government making a study with a view to implementing that part of our programme which promised to set up publicly-owned firms to occupy some of the factories which are at present standing idle and which were built by public money?
§ Mr. LeeYes, Sir. We are studying every possible angle in this matter. I have answered Questions today about private enterprise and the part that the nationalised industries can play. We will also study the public sector in the way sought by my hon. Friend.