§ 72 and 73. Mr. G. Thomasasked the President of the Board of Trade (1) how many new firms have been established in Wales since 1945 through the efforts of his Welsh Regional Office;
(2) how many new factories and extensions have been established in Wales since 1945; and how many people are employed in these new factories and extensions.
§ Mr. J. EdwardsOut of a total of more than 600 industrial projects which have been established in Wales since 1945, 408 are of firms entirely new to Wales. My hon. Friend will appreciate, however, that it is impossible to determine with precise accuracy how many have been established as a result of the efforts of the Board of Trade Wales Office. But the Board can justifiably claim that they have assisted a very large proportion of these firms in one way or another. At present these projects are giving employment to about 65,000 persons, but I hope eventually they will provide work for 125,000. Of the total number of projects, 400 are either new factories or extensions to existing factories: 187 of these have been completed and 104 are in course of construction. The number employed in the completed factories and extensions is about 15,000.