§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister of Transport when he received an invitation to attend the Docklands forum-joint Docklands action group joint conference held in London on Saturday 21 637W July; why he declined the invitation; why he failed to arrange for a junior Minister to represent him; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FowlerI received an invitation on 21 June but I did not consider that my attendance at this conference was appropriate at that stage. There are well-established procedures, used also by the previous Administration, by which the trade unions, local authorities and others concerned inform me of their views on the future of Docklands. The hon. Member may also know I visited the upper docks on 13 July and had useful discussions. Earlier on the same day I was accompanied by the chairman of the Docklands joint committee on a tour of Poplar, Isle of Dogs, Deptford and Rotherhithe.