§ 41. Mr. W. Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Scotland.
§ Mr. HeathI visited Scotland on Friday and Saturday last, 17th and 18th April, and had useful discussions with the Scottish Board for Industry, the Scottish Trades Union Congress, and the Scottish Council of the Federation of British Industries. I also met deputations from the Stranger Town Council and the Eastern Borders Development Association, and visited the Hawick factory of Pringles of Scotland.
Among the subjects I discussed were the progress made in implementing our programme for Central Scotland, the studies of other areas of Scotland which we have in hand, and the bearing which the South-East Study has on our intentions towards Scotland. My general impression was that, despite problems, there were encouraging signs of continuing improvement in Scotland.