§ 12. Mr. Roger Whiteasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what further steps he is proposing to take to improve the rationalisation of port operations.
§ Mr. PeytonThis is a matter primarily for port authorities. The National Ports Council is initiating discussions on possible improvements.
§ Mr. WhiteIs my right hon. Friend satisfied that, in the context of our entry into the EEC, modern methods of cargo handling can be reconciled with the human problems involved?
§ Mr. PeytonI do not know that our entry into the EEC is particularly relevant to the problem, but undoubtedly modern methods of cargo handling have caused a considerable loss of job opportunities in the ports, which raises, I agree, a serious human problem.
§ Mr. PrescottWill the right hon. Gentleman recognise that he cannot rely on the National Industrial Relations Court to solve the real human problems involved in the technical changes in the docks? In view of the size of the problem, will the Government not recognise that the policy being pursued is allowing many small ports to take a great deal of work at the expense of highly concentrated docks industries such as my constituency area?
§ Mr. PeytonI wonder whether that sort of contribution is constructive to relieving the undoubted pressures that exist. The hon. Member has to bear in mind that one of the difficulties of our ports today is their very high costs. That drives traffic away into the smaller undertakings of which he complains.