HC Deb 21 December 1988 vol 144 cc344-5W
58. Mr. Graham

To ask the Secretary of Stale for Scotland what plans he has for coping with the employment implications of the proposed job losses in Renfrew, West and Inverclyde constituency arising from the announced rundown of 1,150 jobs from Bishopton Royal Ordnance factory and the proposed transfer of CalMac head office from Greenock to Oban.

Mr. Lang

The hon. Member will be aware from my answer to his earlier question on 9 November that my right hon. and learned Friend and I have been in touch with, respectively, the chairmen of British Aerospace and of Royal Ordnance. The chairman of Royal Ordnance has informed me that there will be no redundancies before October 1989. This should allow time for the company and other interested organisations, like the Scottish Development Agency, to develop their plans to relieve the effects of these redundancies as far as possible. The Scottish Development Agency has already begun discussions. My right hon. and learned Friend will be meeting the chairman of British Aerospace in January to discuss the company's interests in Scotland generally, including Royal Ordnance Bishopton.

There is a case for moving the headquarters of Caledonian MacBrayne nearer to its centre of operations. This will require careful consideration and no final decision has been made. My right hon. and learned Friend will expect the new board of Caledonian MacBrayne to appraise fully and report upon the arguments for this move.