HC Deb 02 December 1974 vol 882 cc1107-9
34. Mr. Hooley

asked the Minister for the Civil Service what progress is being made with the dispersal of Government departments from London.

Mr. Charles R. Morris

Departments involved in the dispersal programme, announced by my right hon. Friend the Lord President on 30th July last, are now engaged in making the necessary detailed preparations for their moves. Discussions are in progress with Staff Side interests at departmental and national level, and the process of selection of sites for new offices at dispersal locations is in hand.

Mr. Hooley

Is my hon. Friend aware that Sheffield is still very anxious about the decision concerning the siting of the headquarters of the Health and Safety Commission? Sheffield has offices available for this—there is the Safety in Mines Research Establishment handy—and we should welcome a favourable decision on this in the near future.

Mr. Morris

No decision has yet been made about the location of the headquarters of that organisation, but I am confident that this authority will take account of the Government's dispersal policy.

Miss Fookes

Will the Minister say why the West Country, and Plymouth in particular, have been singled out for unfavourable treatment, in as much as not a single job is being dispersed down there?

Mr. Morris

I cannot accept that Plymouth or the West Country has been singled out for unfavourable treatment. The Hardman Report stated the criteria on which the Government's proposals are based.

Mr. Cryer

Will my hon. Friend bear in mind the needs of Yorkshire as a whole when considering the dispersal of jobs? Does he accept that many Yorkshire Members were disappointed at the last dispersal of jobs and that the number of Members whose constituencies want jobs is also an indication that we need more control over the economy, so as to disperse jobs accurately where they are needed?

Mr. Morris

I share some of my hon. Friend's views. There was appreciable disappointment among hon. Members representing Yorkshire constituencies about the recommendations which flowed from the Hardman Report. We have not lost sight of the wishes of Yorkshire Members in this regard and will certainly bear them in mind.

Mr. Adley

Does the Minister recognise that the drawing of regional boundaries often assumes identical circumstances throughout a region, when on many occasions areas of apparently prosperous regions are badly in need of jobs? Is he further aware that the proposal of the Ministry of Defence to close the Signals Research and Development Establishment in my constituency will remove a major employer? May I suggest that the hon. Gentleman should not always listen to the siren calls of those representing areas which are always traditionally considered but are by no means the only areas where new jobs are needed?

Mr. Morris

I assure the hon. Gentleman that I shall certainly listen to all the voices addressed to me on this question of dispersal. The closing down of individual defence establishments is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence. I certainly accept the point made about contradictions which emerge from regional identities.

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