HC Deb 02 March 1959 vol 601 cc15-6W
Mr. Randall

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed men, women and juveniles registered in the borough of Gateshead at the latest available date for each of the years from 1951 to 1959, respectively.

Mr. Iain Macleod

The following table gives the information desired:

Craggie", and "Loch Tarbert" are to be sold to Portugal; why the frigate H.M.S. "Loch More" is to be sold to Ceylon; why the frigates H.M.S. "Farnham Castle" and "Lancaster Castle" are to be sold to Norway; why the frigate H.M.S. "Oxford Castle" is to be sold to Finland; why the ocean minesweepers H.M.S. "Pickle" and "Plucky" and to be sold to Ceylon and Finland, respectively; and if he is satisfied that the Royal Navy's anti-submarine forces are sufficiently strong to justify the disposal of these ships.

Mr. C. Ian Orr-Ewing

Apart from the reference to Pickle, whose sale to Ceylon has already been announced, none of these assumptions is accurate. All the ships named are, nevertheless, surplus to R.N. requirements because they cannot be brought to the standard required of a modern anti-submarine frigate. It is our policy to concentrate our resources on providing up-to-date ships.