§ 25. Mr. Arthur Davidsonasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what has been the decline in employment in coalmining, railways, iron and steel and cotton between 1965 and 1968.
§ Mr. FernyhoughBetween mid-1965 and mid-1968 employment in these four industries declined by 287,000.
§ Mr. DavidsonWould not my hon. Friend agree that job losses of this magnitude make it vital that the Government should do all they can to bring new industry into these areas? Is my hon. Friend satisfied that the Government have done sufficient in this respect?
§ Mr. FernyhoughI am perfectly satisfied that it is a major task of the Government to bring alternative work to areas where redundancies of this magnitude have taken place. My hon. Friend asks whether I am satisfied about what has been done. I am not satisfied, in the sense that there are still some people unemployed, but we are doing what we can to provide alternative employment and I 24 think that the measures are beginning to work.
§ Mr. EadieIs my hon. Friend aware that in most of the major mining areas in Scotland the National Coal Board is advertising for miners, admittedly of the lower-paid category? Has my hon. Friend's Department ever considered trying to give some help in this matter?
§ Mr. FernyhoughI assure my hon. Friend that where the National Coal Board places an order for men the officers at our various exchanges will do what they can to induce suitable unemployed men to take up the vacancies to which he has referred.