§ 68. Mr. John Ellisasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the visit to Flixborough on Friday 14th June of his Parliamentary Secretary.
§ Mr. KaufmanI visited the Flixborough area on 14th June, accompanied by officials from headquarters and from my Department's regional office for Yorkshire and Humberside. During the earlier part of the day, in the course of visits to Flixborough village, the north-west part of Scunthorpe, Normanby and Burton Stathar, I saw numerous examples of the damage caused by the explosion, and of the repair and rehabilitation work being carried out. I had informal talks with people injured or made homeless by the explosion, with members and officers of the local authorities, with other helpers, such as social security representatives, and with workers engaged on repair or rehousing work. I was particularly impressed by the way in which the local people were recovering from a tragic situation and by the speed and efficiency with which the local authorities and other services had responded.
Later, I had discussions in Kingston upon Hull with members and officers of the district councils concerned—Boothferry, Glandford and Scunthorpe—who were joined by the Chief Executive of the Humberside County Council. These discussions provided an opportunity for following up suggestions, made by my 169W hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Construction in a letter to the authorities, of ways in which the Department could help meet the needs of the situation. There was also discussion of a large number of points raised by the local authority representatives, on various aspects of which further information is to be provided by them. I assured the representatives that the greatest practicable Government support would be forthcoming.