§ 3. Sir A. Meyerasked the Secretary of State for Wales when he next intends to visit Rhyl.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Barry Jones)My right hon. and learned Friend has no immediate plans to do so.
§ Sir A. MeyerI see from today's Order Paper that the Minister's right hon. and learned Friend has a good deal of travelling to do over the next period. When the Secretary of State comes to the Rhyl area, will he be surprised to find a place in which one in five is out of a job and a great many shops are empty, and a place which has now been hit by the consequences of severe flooding also affecting nearby Prestatyn? Is the Minister aware also of the feeling that his Department has rather lost interest in what happens in the area? We are excluded from the Welsh development area, and we have had no jobs under the dispersal of Government jobs scheme. Will the hon. Gentleman therefore encourage his right hon. and learned Friend to come, and to set party politics aside and listen to our grievances?
§ Mr. Barry JonesWhere the future and job prospects of any area in Wales are concerned, there are no politics whatsoever. I refute entirely the hon. Member's accusation that the Welsh Office has neglected that part of Wales. I appreciate the many problems that the hon. Member and his community face. I have heard of the problems from him many times in the House. But let me tell him 1072 that special measures have so far created or saved just over 1,100 jobs in his constituency and that perhaps some 400 new manufacturing jobs are expected in the area from projects going ahead with the aid of selective financial assistance. The hon. Gentleman may know that the Welsh Development Agency is making direct investment in Western Electric Limited. Finally, with regard to development area status, the Welsh Office is well aware of the case made by the Clwyd County Council, but in the end the matter is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry.