§ Mr. W. T. Rodgersasked the President of the Board of Trade how many chairmen of leading companies with growth prospects he has seen since the announcement on this matter made on 4th April; how many of these have at his suggestion undertaken new projects in the development districts; and how many new jobs have so far been created.
§ Mr. HeathBetween April and September, 1963, my predecessor, his Parliamentary Secretary and senior officials met the chairmen or senior management of 73 out of the 123 companies invited to discuss their prospects for expanding in the development districts. Meetings with a further 35 companies have been deferred at their suggestion, but I hope that they will take place early in the New Year.
The immediate objective of these talks was to draw the attention of the major companies with growth prospects to the facilities which development and districts can offer so that they would be taken into account in forward planning. Ten companies described projects in various stages of planning which, if they mature, should provide about 5,000 new jobs for the development districts.