§ 6. Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he will convene a meeting of the strategy group of the West Wales task force.
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesThe next meeting of the strategy group will he held in the autumn on a date yet to be decided.
§ Mr. AingerIs the Minister aware that that answer is totally unsatisfactory? The last time the strategy group of the task force met was on 25 January, when the former Secretary of State for Wales, now the Secretary of State for Employment, assured the group that the new director would be in place as soon as possible, funded by the Welsh Development Agency. Is he also aware that, on 28 April, the right hon. Gentleman assured business men in my constituency that the director would be appointed in May? There is still no director for the task force. What is the Minister going to do about it?
§ Mr. JonesThe question of the director for the task force is being urgently considered by that task force and all the other local authorities involved. It was appropriate for them to have an input concerning the sort of director that they wanted. There is no lack of activity, however, regarding implementation of the important objectives of the task force. This year, we committed £2.5 million under the rural initiative; £250,000 under the LEADER scheme; and £3.7 million to upgrade rural and urban development activities.