§ 137. Mr. D. Jonesasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make available to hon. Members the report he has received from the committee who made a special investigation into the operation of the trading estates.
§ Mr. H. StraussI would refer the hon. Member to the replies given to him and to the hon. Members for Sunderland, North (Mr. Willey) and Stockton-on-Tees (Mr. Chetwynd) on 29th July.
§ 138. Mr. D. Jonesasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will now make a statement about any action he proposes to take on the report of the special inquiry made into the operation of the Development Areas trading estates.
§ Mr. H. StraussI would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Sunderland, North (Mr. Willey) on 15th October. My right hon. Friend wishes to give the report and the problem generally very careful consideration. I cannot now say when he will be able to make a statement.
§ 139. Mr. Chetwyndasked the President of the Board of Trade what action he is taking to provide additional employment in the North-East Development Area; and what are the reasons for the decline in employment in the factories controlled by the North-Eastern Trading Estates, Limited; and how much unoccupied and under-occupied space exists in these factories.
§ Mr. H. StraussThe policy of helping Development Areas wherever practicable continues to apply to the North-Eastern Development Area. Official figures of employment in the trading estate factories are only taken out quarterly. Between May and August (the latest date for which figures are available) employment in these factories declined by 187 as a result of decreases in engineering, clothing and paper manufacture and increases in a number of other trades. Two small factories are at present without tenants. No estimate of under-occupied space is available.