§ 74. Major Bruceasked toe President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking, in conjunction with the other Ministers concerned, to ensure that the recommendations of the Barlow Report, which emphasise the undesirability of large communities being heavily committed to one specialist or particular type of industry or vocation, are progressively applied to the city of Portsmouth with a view to a more balanced and secure economy being achieved there.
§ Mr. BelcherWhile Portsmouth's economy is heavily committed to one particular type of industry, the town is, by reason of other activities, less vulnerable to unemployment than many manufacturing towns throughout the country, particularly in the Development Areas, upon the solution of whose problems the Board of Trade must concentrate at the present time. The Board, however, are giving assistance, in conjunction with the other Departments concerned, in the repair and rebuilding of industrial and commercial premises destroyed or damaged by enemy 49W action, which is the first task in repairing the town's economy. Approval has also been given to the construction of several new factories and extensions which will provide additional employment in the town.