HC Deb 31 October 1988 vol 139 c650
4. Mr. Butler

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the progress of advance factory programmes in Wales.

Mr. Peter Walker

The advance factory programmes of the Welsh Development Agency and Mid-Wales Development are responding well to the sharp upturn in demand for new industrial property. Their ability to do so is a direct consequence of the one third increase in the agencies' property resources that I was able to announce at the beginning of the year.

Mr. Butler

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the success of the Ford factory investment. Does he concur with the Leader of the Opposition when he says that too much of the outside world still believes the fiction of a gloomy and depressed south Wales?

Mr. Walker

Yes, I was very relieved that the Leader of the Opposition made such a splendid pronouncement on how well things are going in Wales. Certainly the amount of factory space that is being built and let tells a remarkable story. I am delighted that at least the Leader of the Opposition is pleased about it.

Mr. Win Griffiths

Does the Secretary of State agree that the investment recently announced by Ford was mainly due to the success of the Ford, Bridgend factory business plan over the past two years, and that that was the major factor?

Mr. Walker

Yes, of course I do. There is no doubt that without the splendid co-operation of the work force and the high productivity there, there would have been no question at all of Ford going to Wales. Of course that is right. I am also delighted that Government action and Government regional aid were able to make a contribution.