§ 37. Mr. Youngerasked the President of the Board of Trade which completed advance factories are at present empty; and for how long each has been unoccupied.
§ Mrs. Gwyneth DunwoodyI will, with permission, circulate a list in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. YoungerIs the hon. Lady aware that all the information we have had recently shows that a number of these factories are still lying empty? Could she give some idea as to why it is proving impossible to build these factories quickly and provide more jobs?
§ Mrs. DunwoodyIt would be foolish to pretend that we are not disturbed by the number of empty advance factories— obviously we are. We are anxious to provide employment. That is why we built the factories. I am sure that the hon. Member will be pleased to know that there has been a sharp increase in the numbers allocated in the last quarter. 1823 The figure was four in the fourth quarter of 1967, and it has now gone up to 10 for the first quarter of 1968. We believe that at long last we are getting somewhere.
§ Mr. HannanDoes my hon. Friend recognise that many of us are delighted that such a large number of advance factories have been allocated to Scotland— 34 out of 94? Will she continue to look after the needs of Scotland?
§ Mrs. DunwoodyI am grateful to my hon. Friend. We certainly intend to keep up, not just the allocation of advance factories, but a rolling programme to try to deal with the employment situation in Scotland.
§ Following is the information:
| Location | Month and Year of Complection | No. of Months Vocant (as at 30th April, 1968) |
| ENGLAND | ||
| Teeside No. 1 | November, 1966 | 17 |
| Stanley No. 2 | March, 1968 | 13 |
| Sunderland No. 2 | July, 1967 | 9 |
| Ashington | July, 1967 | 9 |
| Newburn | August, 1967 | 8 |
| Blyth No. 2 | January, 1968 | 3 |
| Haltwhistle | April, 1968 | 1 |
| SCOTLAND | ||
| Kirkcaldy | February, 1966 | 26 |
| Port Glasgow | September, 1966 | 19 |
| Inverness | November, 1966 | 17 |
| Leven No. 1 | February, 1967 | 14 |
| Girvan | March, 1967 | 13 |
| Aberdeen No. 1 | July, 1967 | 9 |
| Campbeltown | July, 1967 | 9 |
| Sanquhar No. 2 | October, 1967 | 6 |
| Sanquhar No. 3 | October, 1967 | 6 |
| Douglas No. 1 | November, 1967 | 5 |
| Kilwinning No. 2 | November, 1967 | 5 |
| Falkirk | January, 1968 | 3 |
| Harthill | April, 1968 | 1 |
| WALES | ||
| Milford Haven | ||
| No. 2 | January, 1967 | 15 |
| Ammanford No. 1 | June, 1967 | 10 |
| Pwllheli | July, 1967 | 9 |
| Fforestfach No. 1 | September, 1967 | 7 |
| Kenfig | November, 1967 | 5 |
| Maesteg No. 1 | November, 1967 | 5 |
| Ynyscedwyn No. 2 | November, 1967 | 5 |
| Maesteg No. 3 | December, 1967 | 4 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | ||
| No. 2 | December, 1967 | 4 |