§ 49. Mr. J. Griffithsasked the Minister of Power if he will make a statement on the prospects of the steel, sheet and tinplate works in South Wales and Monmouthshire; and which of the older works will close and what will be the number of workers rendered redundant when the Spencer works at Llanwern comes into full production.
§ Mr. WoodI am told by the Iron and Steel Board that the modern wide strip mills producing sheet and tinplate are at present working nearly to capacity, and demand remains strong. The Spencer works will add greatly to the capacity and as often happens when large new units are brought into use, demand may at first be insufficient for the available capacity. The position is difficult in the steel works which formerly supplied the old hand mills. Some of these works are bound to close but it is at present impossible to say which will do so, or to forecast how many men will be affected when the plant at Llanwern comes into full production.