§ Mr. Brothertonasked the Secretary of State for Employment when the Manpower Services Commission gave its approval to the special temporary employment scheme to test the feasibility of growing exotic vegetables in Loughborough; who was present when the decision was taken: who is the sponsor of the project; and what consultations the commission had with the National Farmers' Union for coming to its decision.
§ Mr. Golding:I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the decision to approve the special temporary employment programme scheme to grow vegetables in Loughborough was made following the recommendation of the Manpower Services Commission area board in Coventry which considered the proposal at meetings on 19th September 1978 and 25th October 1978. I do not propose to name those present. The sponsor is the borough of Charnwood community relations council. Through an oversight, the National Farmers' Union was not consulted before the scheme was approved. However, at a meeting on 24th November the NFU stated:
We feel more work needs to be done before the project gets under way, particularly on some of its technical and practical aspects, but the scheme certainly has potential and NFU assistance has been offered.We appreciate problems new ethnic groups have in finding jobs and I am impressed by the voluntary work undertaken by the Community Relations Council and I believe we should support them ".