§ Mr. Steen asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what parts of Merseyside he visited and whom he met on Tuesday afternoon 21 October and Wednesday 22 October; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Heseltine:I visited Liverpool and Ellesmere Port, and met the leaders and chief executives of the various local authorities covered by the Merseyside special development area, the chairman and general manager of Warrington and Runcorn new town development corporation, the chairman and managing director of Skelmersdale new town development corporation, senior representatives of some of the largest private and public sector employers on Merseyside, and the management secondees from leading Merseyside firms who are helping run some of the schemes that I announced on 5 August, at the end of my initial visit to Merseyside. I also met representatives of the press.
The visits and meetings provided a useful opportunity for me to discuss the problems of Merseyside with representatives of many of the organisations involved in the area, and to invite them to give fresh thought to how those problems might be tackled. I was also able to announce the appointment of the head of the task force that will be helping me in this work.