§ Mr. Johnasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will ensure that constructional work undertaken under Government-placed contracts employ local labour in areas of high unemployment; and whether he will impose contractual obligations to this effect.
§ Mr. ChannonI have been asked to reply.
Much of the labour for construction work is engaged locally. I do not think it would be wise to impose a contractual obligation on the extent to which local labour should be employed as contractors must retain freedom to augment and deploy their labour to meet the varying requirements of each project.