§ 5. Mr. Denzil Daviesasked the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to make an official visit to Carmarthen-shire in the near future.
§ Mr. Peter ThomasI have arranged to meet the Carmarthen County Council on Friday, 7th May.
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesWhen the Secretary of State comes to Carmarthenshire he will hear that in my constituency three advance factories are now standing empty and that no inquiries at all have been received. In view of this fact and the growing crisis of confidence in the Conservative Government's regional development policy, could the Secretary of State say what action he is taking in trying to persuade his colleagues to restore the level of investment allowances to what they were before the Chancellor of the Exchequer so drastically devalued them?
§ Mr. Peter ThomasI fully appreciate that concern has been expressed in Carmarthenshire, and I shall be meeting a deputation from the Carmarthenshire Joint Industrial Development Committee in Cardiff on 5th March to discuss these. problems.
§ Mr. Fred EvansWill the Secretary of State look not only at Carmarthenshire but also at the other regions of Wales? Will he pay some attention to the meeting organised by the North-Eastern Development Council, to be held in London on Wednesday next, to protest about the impact of the Government's as yet undefined regional policy? Will he look at the report in this morning's Times:
By any standards this will be an impressive regional gathering. The initiative came from the North-East Development Council and the chairmen and chief executives of the Scottish Council, the Development Corporation of Wales, the North-West Industrial Development Association and the Cumberland Development Council will put their views.This represents collectively the views of some 18 million people.
§ Mr. Peter ThomasAll I can say in answer to that rather long supplementary question is that I shall certainly pay attention to all the views which are expressed.