§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Industry if plans to save jobs threatened by redundancies at Plessey's are being delayed by the EEC Commission; and, if so, what action he is taking to overcome this obstacle.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Industry if plans to save the jobs threatened by the closure of the Plessey factory in Kirkby and redundancies announced elsewhere are dependent upon the approval of the EEC Commission.
Mr. Alan WilliamsI announced on 3rd June the availability of selective financial assistance for the Plessey printed wiring board project at South Shields. I am very prepared to discuss with Plessey any further plans it has to alleviate redundancies. Plans which involve payment of Government assistance under regional or other schemes are subject to the procedure set out in Article 93(3) of the Treaty of Rome for notification to the Commission.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) if the Plessey Com- 382W pany gave him any advance notice of, and reasons for, the transfer of production from the Kirkby factory to South Shields;
(2) what further discussions he intends to have with the Plessey Company following its announcement that work at the Kirkby factory is to be transferred to South Shields;
(3) what representations he made to the Plessey Company in order to persuade it not to transfer work from the Kirkby factory to South Shields.
Mr. Alan WilliamsThe company has assured me that no work has been transferred from Kirkby to South Shields.