§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that a German-Jewish firm, registered as Great Northern Knitwear, Limited, has had a factory built for them at Percy Mains, near North Shields, by the Commissioners for the Special Areas, and that a permit has been issued for an Austrian expert to train the local workers; and why, in view of the difficulty experienced by Scottish hosiery manufacturers in keeping their factories working at full time, a 2200W foreign firm has been given these facilities under the Special Areas Acts?
§ Mr. E. BrownThe Commissioner for the Special Areas (England and Wales) has agreed, subject to satisfactory financial assurances from them, to build a factory for a firm registered as Great Northern Knitwear, Limited, but the factory has not yet been built. I understand that the firm propose to manufacture knitted goods of continental design mainly for the export trade and that their products will not compete with those of existing British hosiery manufacturers. Permits have been issued to allow the firm to employ three foreign experts, two of whom were already in the country. These experts will train British workpeople in this new type of work.