§ 33. Mr. Rossasked the President of the Board of Trade how many development districts in Scotland have as yet received no benefit from the operation of the Local Employment Act; and what steps he will take to enable them to secure industrial development.
§ Mr. ErrollThe answer to the first part of the Question is five. On the second part, I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer given to the hon. Member for Fife, West (Mr. Hamilton) on 7th March by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary.
§ 36. Mr. McInnesasked the President of the Board of Trade how many development districts in Scotland have been removed from the list since the operation of the Local Employment Act; and how many of these have been subsequently added again to the list.
§ Mr. ErrollNone. Two areas have been placed on the stop list, of which one was subsequently restored to the active list.
§ 41. Mr. Lawsonasked the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made in Scotland in the programme of site clearance and improvement works on Board of Trade industrial estates in development districts; and what is the estimated total cost of such work.
§ Mr. ErrollDetailed schemes and estimates for thirteen estates are now180W being drawn up and work is expected to start within the next six weeks; the total estimated cost is about £300,000.
§ 42. Mr. Millanasked the President of the Board of Trade how many jobs have been provided, and how much money spent, in development districts in Scotland in each six-monthly period since the passing of the Local Employment Act in April 1960.
§ Mr. ErrollTotal expenditures under the Local Employment Act in Scotland by six-monthly periods to 30th September, 1962, and for the five months ended February, 1963, have been £1.1 million, £2.3 million, £8.8 million, £9.7 million, £5.3 million and £5.8 million, respectively. I cannot give the number of jobs actually provided in these periods, and in any event the jobs arising in any period would be the result of expenditure in an earlier period. I am, however, circulating below a table setting out total assistance offered by six-monthly periods, and jobs estimated to arise from that assistance.
The following table sets out total assistance offered for projects in Scotland under Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Local Employment Act (excluding offers declined) by six-monthly periods since 1st April, 1960:
Period Amount Estimated Extra Jobs £m. 1st April, 1960 — 30th September, 1960 15.7 4,900 1st October, 1960 — 31st March, 1961 6.5 7,500 1st April, 1961 — 31st September, 1961 12.8 9,900 1st October, 1961 — 31st March, 1962 2.2 3,200 1st April, 1962 — 31st September, 1962 2.5 3,900 1st October, 1962 — 28th February, 1963 (five months) 2.4 3,400 TOTAL 42.1 32,800
§ 43. Mr. Willisasked the President of the Board of Trade how many development districts in Scotland have a current rate of unemployment of more than 7 per cent.; and whether he is satisfied that the provisions of the Local Employment Act are adequate to deal with the problem.
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§ Mr. ErrollTwenty-three development districts in Scotland had a rate of wholly unemployed exceeding 7 per cent. at the February count. The Local Employment Act remains the main instrument of our policy to encourage the introduction and expansion of industry in Scotland, but the Government have taken steps to increase the general rate of expansion in the economy and thus reduce the level of unemployment.