§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Minister for the Civil Service what representations he has received from the North-West Industrial Development Association on the dispersal of Government work from London; what reply he has made; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerI met a delegation consisting of the hon. Members for Liverpool, Wavertree (Sir John Tilney) and Farnworth (Mr. Roper) and of representatives of the North-West Industrial Development Association on 26th July. I undertook to consider the points they made. As I said in the debate on the Hardman Report on 16th October, the Government will take account of the many different views put to them since the report was published before taking final decisions on the dispersal of Government work from London.
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Minister for the Civil Service how many Civil Service jobs are to be moved from London to the North-West Region; how this figure compares with the number of Civil Service jobs to be dispersed from London to 292W non-assisted areas in the South of England; if he is satisfied that the comparison accords with the declared aims of Her Majesty's Government's regional policies; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerUnder existing plans 330 posts remain to be dispersed from London to the North-West Region compared with 2,033 to non-assisted areas in the South of England. These figures need to be read against the fact that of the 7,260 posts to be dispersed, 3,650 (50 per cent.) will go to the assisted areas. In addition, of the 24,100 jobs moved from London since 1963, some 15,250 (63 per cent.) have gone to the assisted areas, of which 4,180 (17 per cent.) have gone to the North-West Region. I am satisfied that this accords with the declared criteria for the dispersal of Government work, which is to take account of both operational efficiency and regional policy.