§ 9. Mr. Alec Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Wales what action he pro poses to implement the proposals contained in the Welsh Council's recent publication "Wales: Employment and the Economy".
§ Mr. Peter ThomasAs I made clear in the course of the debate on unemployment on 9th March, these proposals will be studied carefully.
§ Mr. JonesIs the Secretary of State aware that this publication contains 16 recommendations, some advocating a return to the policies of the last Government and some new policies, designed to reduce unemployment in Wales? Will he now tell us whether he or the Government have yet reached any conclusions on the report; if not, why not; and when we are to have a real statement from him on it?
§ Mr. Peter ThomasThe recommendations of the Welsh Council were many and varied. The first was the continuation of the present reflationary policies of this Government. The Council's report has only recently been published and it will be looked at in the context of budgetary measures and, indeed, our review of regional policy.
§ Mr. George ThomasWill the Secretary of State tell us the date on which this report reached the Welsh Office, how long he has been considering it and whether he will arrange, as a matter of urgency, to inform the House and, therefore, the people of Wales what credence the Government intend to give to the report of the Welsh Council?
§ Mr. Peter ThomasThat is a surprising question from an ex-Secretary of State, because he knows that the Welsh Council is a body to advise me. The contents of the report were known to me before it was published. The Welsh Council asked whether I would agree to its publication and it was published because I agreed.