§ Mr. Alldrittasked the First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Economic Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy with regard to the paper, "An Economic Planning Strategy for the North-West Region", issued by the North-West Economic Planning Council on 21st February.
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§ Mr. George BrownThe statement published by the North-West Economic Planning Council on 21st February gives the Council's own preliminary ideas on the principles of planning strategy for its region. I welcome this document as a useful means of stimulating public discussion of the scale and pattern of development in the region over the next 15 years. But, as the Council recognises, much more study and analysis of the relevant facts are needed before such principles can be adopted as the basis for development programmes. The North-West Planning Board is continuing this work in the light of the North-West Study Group's report and the Council's present statement.