§ 3. Mr. Allan Robertsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will make his final appointments to the Merseyside urban development corporation; and if he will ensure that somebody representative of the Labour movement is included.
§ The Secretary of State for the Environment (Mr. Michael Heseltine)I informed the House of my initial appointments on 13 May, and I hope to be able to announce a further appointment in the near future.
§ Mr. RobertsIs the Minister aware that the initial welcome of the Labour movement on Merseyside for the establishment of the urban development corporation is being dissipated by the appointments made, primarily of Tory councillors, business men and academics, with no one representing the Labour movement, in an area that returns Labour councillors and Members of Parliament?
§ Mr. HeseltineThe people in the area will judge the UDC by its results. The hon. Gentleman will note from my reply that I have not completed the appointments.
§ Mr. SquireWill my right hon. Friend accept our sympathy over the problem of deciding whether representatives of the Labour movement should come from the trade union movement, the NEC or, on occasions, Opposition Members?
§ Mr. HeseltineThe difficulty is that the number of appointments to the Merseyside UDC is limited, so it is difficult to include representatives of all the competing factions within the Labour Party.
§ Mr. GrahamDoes the Minister recall that the Opposition strongly condemned the autocratic power that he took for himself to draw up the membership of UDCs? Does the outcome not completely justify our charge that the Government hold democracy, consultation and community involvement in complete contempt?
§ Mr. HeseltineThe hon. Gentleman could not have heard my answer. I am considering an additional appointment to the Merseyside UDC. The area has a long history of dereliction. The people on Merseyside want an agency with the resources and ability to improve that track record, which is what they are getting.
§ Mr. ParryI fully support the statements of my hon. Friend the Member for Bootle (Mr. Roberts). The Labour movement on Merseyside will totally reject the unrepresentative set-up of the UDC, which comprises Tory and Liberal politicians and big business men.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. We will all assume that the hon. Gentleman prefaced his words by "Is the Minister aware" which makes a statement into a question.
§ Mr. HeseltineThe answer is no different on the third time of asking than it was on the first. I repeat that I am in the process of making an additional appointment to the board.