§ 23. Mr. Alec Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Welsh Council regarding the letting of advance factories in Wales.
§ Mr. Peter ThomasI keep in close contact with the Welsh Council on all matters related to employment in Wales.
§ Mr. JonesIs the Welsh Council satisfied about the presence in Wales of empty advance factories scattered throughout the Principality? In my constituency there are two such empty factories. One was previously tenanted under the Labour Government and one has been empty for more than two years. What is the Secretary of State doing about it?
§ Mr. ThomasI am myself concerned about empty factories, advance or otherwise, in Wales. Of the three vacant Government-owned factories in the Rhondda, the Department of Trade and Industry is negotiating with a prospective tenant for one and with a prospective purchaser for another. Last October three advance factories were allocated in Fishguard, Aberdare and Llanelli and two out of four nursery factories at Lampeter have been allocated.