§ Mr. Beaneyasked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the rate of unemployment in the Hemsworth constituency, particularly in the townships of South Kirkby, South and North Elmsall, Upton, Moorthorpe, Hemsworth, Kinsley, Fitzwilliam, Bolton-on-Dearne, Goldthorpe and Thurnscoe, in some of which it is 8 per cent., and that Hickleton Main Colliery employing 2,000 men may be closed; and if he will schedule the district as a development area or state what alternative plans he has to alleviate this situation.
§ Mrs. Gwyneth DunwoodyI am well aware that the provisional unemployment rates for October in the Hemsworth and Mexborough Groups of Employment Exchange Areas, which include the towns to which my hon. Friend refers, were respectively 8.7 per cent. and 5.8 per cent. I do not however feel justified at present in making any changes in development areas. The situation will be reviewed when the Government receives the report of the Hunt Committee. The Board of Trade will continue to be sympathetic to applications for industrial development certificates in the area.