§ 109. Mr. F. Willeyasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is now in a position to make a statement on the future of the Shipbuilding Corporation's re-equipped yard at Southwick, Sunderland.
Mr. DugdaleThis yard which was previously disused was specially re-equipped 281W by the shipbuilding industry for the construction of tramp ships of standard types for war purposes. The last of the Government orders is expected to complete by February, 1947, and as the yard has no contracts for private owners, it is expected that it will then be closed. The prospects are that the skilled workers employed in the yard will be absorbed in other shipyards in the district, together with a proportion of the unskilled workers. I will confer with my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade about the further use of the premises for other industrial purposes.