§ 13. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Energy what oil developments are currently being undertaken in Fife; what is their total value; and how many jobs they are providing.
§ Mr. John SmithThere are at present several firms in Fife wholly engaged on work associated with the United Kingdom offshore market. A total of 1,610 jobs is currently being provided by these firms, the largest of which are Redpath Dorman Long (North Sea) Ltd. and Burntisland Engineers and Fabricators Ltd., which are engaged on oil platform construction and module fabrication respectively. No figures relating to the total value of the developments are available.
§ Mr. HamiltonI thank my hon. Friend for his reply, but does he not agree that a large part of the success is due to the initiative of the Fife County Council in alerting firms, small and large, in Fife to the opportunities available to them in the North Sea for sophisticated and less sophisticated services and equipment? In view of the imminent reorganisation of local government, will my hon. Friend ensure that the new regions and districts will set up similiar machinery to alert the industries in their areas to the opportunities available to them?
§ Mr. SmithI am happy to agree with what my hon. Friend has said about the activities of the Fife County Council and, hopefully, the future Fife Regional Council. I am sure that many other local authorities could fruitfully follow their example of encouraging the participation of industry in the oil industry and elsewhere.