§ Sir W. Jenkinsasked the President of the Board of Trade what is the number of works in the steel and tinplate industries which have been rendered idle this year in the Pontardawe and Neath areas; what are the numbers of unemployed persons in these areas for April, May, June, and the latest available date in July; and what steps he has taken to get the works restarted?
Mr. StanleyAccording to my information, 10 steel and tinplate works have been rendered idle in the first six months of the present year in this area. This figure does not include works which have operated intermittently. 4,532 persons were registered as unemployed on the 4th April in Neath; 4,821 on the 11th May and 5,021 on the 13th June. The comparable figures for Pontardawe are 1,452, 1,544 and 1,479. With regard to the last part of the hon. Member's question, I would refer him to the answer which I gave to the hon. Member for Llanelly (Mr. J. Griffiths) on 5th July.