§ Mr. Greville Janner (Leicester, West)I am pleased to have an opportunity to present a petition signed by more than 1,300 people who live in the Beumont Leys area of my constituency, where the electricity showroom is to be closed tomorrow. This is not a matter of huge national concern, but to the people who live in the area it is a disaster. The showroom has provided a service that is now to be destroyed in the wake of the privatisation of the electricity industry and that provides jobs which my constituency can ill afford to lose, as we have the highest unemployment rate in the area.
The petition reads:
The Humble Petition of citizens of Leicester, West, Councillors, County Councillors and residents of Beumont Leys in the city of Leicester, sheweth that the House do note the great anxiety of the citizens of Beumont Leys Estate resulting from the proposed closure of the Electricity Showroom in Beumont Centre in Beumont Leys and that the same closure would result in hardship to residents of all ages but especially to elderly and disabled people. Wherefore your Petitioners pray that the honourable House do urge Her Majesty's Government to seek all ways to avoid the closure of the Electricity Show room and to ensure that adequate communal facilities be provided for this estate; that Her Majesty's Government take all appropriate steps to ensure that Beumont Leys in the city of Leicester and all other estates like it be assured of all necessary facilities for the normal communal needs of their communities.
§ To lie upon the Table.