§ Mr. Spriggsasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will reconsider the development area status of the St. Helens Merseyside county borough council area in view of the announcement of a further 800 redundancies in the glass industry in the near future.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe Government are naturally concerned about the prospect of further redundancies in St. Helens and will continue to watch the position there closely. However, when considering the assisted area status of any one part of the country, it is necessary to take account of all the criteria laid down in the Industry Act 1972, and particular announcements of redundancies do not of themselves necessarily warrant revision of an area's status.