§ Mr. DevlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will relocate the import licensing branch of his Department to Billingham in Cleveland.
§ Mr. Douglas Hogg[pursuant to his reply, 23 October 1989, c. 294]: A recent study of location options for the import licensing branch concluded that it could operate effectively and at less cost away from London. I have therefore decided that ILB will be relocated to Billingham in Cleveland by the end of 1990 when the lease on the building it currently occupies in central London expires.
The move will absorb some of the staff no longer needed to run the regional development grants scheme at the Department's office in Cleveland and some local recruitment will also be necessary in order to fill the 53 posts which will be transferred.