§ 8. Mr. Danceasked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the dependence of the Bromsgrove area on the motor trade, he will consider issuing industrial development certificates to encourage alternative light industry to the district.
§ Mrs. Gwyneth DunwoodyUnemployment in Bromsgrove is fortunately very low and there are more unfilled vacancies than unemployed. While I take full account of local circumstances, I must continue to look critically at I.D.C. applications there, particularly from firms outside the area.
§ Mr. DanceIs the hon. Lady aware that representatives of the trades council 1294 saw me recently and expressed great concern about the industry having so many eggs in one basket? If there were a recession in the motor industry, there would be very high unemployment.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyI take the hon. Gentleman's point that obviously one does not wish to have no diversification in an area, but he will be delighted to know that in the three years from January, 1966 nine I.D.C.s were issued for the Bromsgrove employment exchange area for a total of 104,000 sq. ft. Only one application was refused.
§ Mr. Roy HughesWill my hon. Friend consider this suggestion on a quid pro quo basis? For example, if major sections of the motor manufacturing industry could be transferred to South Wales we would be prepared to transfer some of our new light industries to the Bromsgrove district.
§ Mrs. DunwoodyI am sure that my hon. Friend is aware that we are doing everything we can to move industries out to the development areas. One can hardly be content with a situation where 4.1 per cent. is still the unemployment figure in the development areas. If there were some way of organising such a quid pro quo as my hon. Friend suggests, I should be delighted to hear about it.