HC Deb 30 November 1967 vol 755 cc615-6
7. Mr. Gibson-Watt

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what plans the Government have for setting up local development agencies in Wales.

Mrs. White

Wales already has a Development Corporation and a Mid-Wales Industrial Development Association. There is no present intention of establishing further agencies.

Mr. Gibson-Watt

Is the hon. Lady aware that what fired my Question was a statement in The Sunday Times of 19th November which said that throughout the country, not only in Wales, local development agencies were being set up'? Is this a fact or not?

Mrs. White

I think that the hon. Gentleman has been in the House for long enough to know that speculation in newspapers is not the same as an official statement. As far as Wales is concerned, we have a Government Department, and my right hon. Friend and others are concerned with economic development in Wales. As I said, at the moment we do not see any need for multiplying entities still further.

Mr. Hooson

Has the hon. Lady considered giving greater support to the Mid-Wales Development Association, and perhaps transforming its character so that it can be used for leadership in the industrial sphere in Mid-Wales in a way in which it has not had the funds or resources to do in the past?

Mrs. White

I am surprised to hear the hon. and learned Gentleman say that. Surely he knows that the Mid-Wales Industrial Development Association has been giving the most effective leadership within its sphere, and it has also had considerable help from the Government whenever it has asked for it.