HC Deb 10 July 1968 vol 768 c503
8. Mr. Milne

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will introduce legislation to set up Board of Trade Advisory Committees in the Northern region and other regions of the country.

Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody

No. I do not consider that regional committees would offer any advantages over the present system.

Mr. Milne

That is a disappointing reply. Does my hon. Friend realise that, in the light of the schedule of jobs likely to be directed to the Northern region and the other development areas, our job potential would be greatly accelerated if we had in the regions advisory committees with knowledge of the regions and knowledge of the industries required for them?

Mrs. Dunwoody

I hope that my hon. Friend accepts that much of the preliminary work is already done in the regions, where there are advisory officers and accountants who do a great deal. We think that this is the most efficient way of proceeding, and we shall continually speed up the process here in our headquarters.

Dane Irene Ward

If the hon. Lady does not like her hon. Friend's suggestion, will she tell me what other plans she, the Government or the Prime Minister have to deal with our high rate of unemployment in the North-East? We are not getting on sufficiently because of bad administration.

Mrs. Dunwoody

I cannot accept that. The hon. Lady will be aware that the situation in the North-East has improved considerably in the past few months. Many more jobs have been created, though not as fast as the Government would like. The improvement of B.O.T.AC. procedures is only one small element in the whole question.