Mr. Maofarlaneasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement on the recent visit of the Minister of State to Mexico; which departments of Government and other organisations he met; whether he issued any subsequent statements indicating potential trade for British companies; and if he is satisfied with progress so far.
§ Dr. Mabon,pursuant to his reply, [Official Report, 9 February 1979], gave the following further information:
Merseyside (including Kirkby) Kirkby Ormskirk Short time working compensation … … … 1 — — Small firms employment subsidy … … … 17 13 5 Adult employment subsidy … … … 21 11 — The figures quoted refer to the industry groups of the standard industrial classification.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many youths (a) on Merseyside, (b) in Kirkby and (c) in Ormskirk have been employed as a result of the youth employment subsidy.
§ Mr. GoldingDuring the life of the youth employment subsidy scheme from 1 October 1976 to 31 March 1978 the numbers of approved applications in
428WI visited Mexico on 8–13 January. During the visit I met the Mexican Foreign Minister and the Minister for National Resources and Industrial Development as well as officials of the Mexican Federal Electricity Commission, National Institute of Nuclear Energy and Petroleos Mexicanos; I also met some Mexican businessmen. I visited the oil fields in Tabasco and a number of petroleum and petro-chemical plants in that area. It was not anticipated that any firm agreements would be concluded during this visit and none were. On return I gave a press conference at which I indicated some of the possible opportunities for British companies to do business in Mexico. It is now up to the companies concerned to follow up these opportunities. I am satisfied that the visit was valuable and constructive.