Orders of the Day — Economic Development

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 18 February 1965.

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Photo of Mr Christopher Norwood Mr Christopher Norwood , Norwich South 12:00, 18 February 1965

I wish to raise this evening the subject of the economic development of Norfolk, for which I am one of the Members. I do so for a number of reasons, and to argue what many people in the county and I consider to be a strong case.

We have at the moment in this country a situation in which the development of the south-east of England has been deemed to be worthy of a Ministerial study, and which in its time will benefit from regional planning of one kind or another. My purpose is to advocate the claims of the county and the obvious suitability of Norfolk for planned economic development.

The county is sparsely populated. Indeed, it is one of the few areas remaining in England in which one can travel substantial distances between one town and another. It is also characterised by comparatively low earnings. It has been impossible to obtain accurate or really useful information on this, but those who know the county, or even the city of Norwich, would hardly dispute that the earnings of the people in Norwich are well below the national average. It therefore has an immediate claim to further economic development.

Secondly, one of the features of the county is that industrial employment tends to be concentrated in a number of specialised industries. The classic example is the boot and shoe industry in Norwich, in which about 8,000 people are employed; an industry whose fortunes are tied very closely to the sale of women's and children's shoes in this country.

Other industries such as agricultural processing, and engineering to a larger extent than is often realised, provide employment, but agriculture, which has provided employment in the county, is a steadily declining industry from the point of view of providing work, and every year the number of people employed in this industry diminishes. This, in itself, could be a substantial argument for, to use a horrible word which appears in the papers, and frequently in the American Press, diversification—the introduction of different and new industries to the area. The county is also suitable for economic development. It is no great distance from the industrial centres of the Midlands, and it has a long coastline. It has a number of ports, some of which can and no doubt will be developed in the next few years. It is eminently suited for manufactures, which might be sold in the northern or western portions of Europe and which could be sent via Norfolk or, in some cases—although I hesitate to mention it—Suffolk ports to the Continent and to the Baltic countries.

In addition, the two natural large markets that exist in the country—in the Midlands, and in London and the South—are easily accessible. It is generally accepted in the county—certainly by the county council and the city fathers in Norwich—that greater industrial development is needed. There has been a substantial increase in employment in the city in the last 10 years, but characteristically the bulk of this increase has come from an increase in service trades rather than the industrial base.

It is also true—and this is a point which for many of us has a great deal of relevance, and gives rise to a number of constituency problems—that the general level of unemployment in the area of the Norfolk Exchange, for instance, is substantially above the national average. I imagine that that has always been so. What is much more significant to the life of the city is that the level of unemployment among men is well above the national average, although the level of unemployment among women tends to be somewhat below it.

I have been able to obtain figures for four years, and I have no reason to suppose that 1964 will not confirm these figures. In 1958, in the Norwich Employment Exchange area, which goes beyond the boundaries of the city and includes virtually the whole constituency of Central Norfolk, and even beyond, male unemployment was over 3 per cent. as against the national average of 2 per cent.; in 1960, it was 2½ per cent. as against the national average of under 2 per cent.; in 1962 it was 2¾ per cent. as against just over 2 per cent., and in 1963 it was nearly 3½ per cent. as against nearly 2½per cent. In each of these years male unemployment substantially exceeded the national average.

The picture is different for female unemployment. In 1958 it was one-half of 1 per cent. below the national average; in 1960 it was a quarter of 1 per cent. below the national average, and in 1962 and 1963 substantially the same as the national average.

Under the Local Employment Acts, 1960 and 1963, the Board of Trade, which is not represented here tonight, has powers to stimulate the movement of industry from one part of the country to another. Those powers are exercised by designating certain areas as development districts. The criterion for doing this is clearly laid down in the Acts, and it devolves upon the President of the Board of Trade to decide whether or no an area has an unemployment rate substantially above the national average. The burden of my case is that as well as taking into account the factor of unemployment we ought also to consider other factors concerning the economic development of the area.

At present a firm, whether it be small or large, which is considering moving from the South-East or the Midlands because of the incentives held out under the terms of the Local Employment Acts, is likely to head towards the North-East or Scotland. Such a firm might have come to Norfolk but for those provisions, and they therefore tend to discriminate against its healthy development. If, under the regional planning arrangements, it is intended to persist with this form of inducement, attracting industry from one part of the country to another—and I do not quarrel with that; I can see the case for that—I can make out a strong claim for consideration to be given to Norfolk as well as to areas such as the North-East.

Not only do we have a higher than average male unemployment rate; we are also faced with the problem that average earnings are well below the national average, probably because we are tied to agricultural and seasonal trends. My hon. Friend the Member for King's Lynn (Mr. Derek Page), who will probably seek to intervene in the debate, will have something to say about the effect of the population movement of this sort of wage-earner.

In matters of regional planning, the level of unemployment should certainly be taken into account when considering which areas require industrial development. But so should the level of unemployment of men and, for that matter, the level of earnings. If we consider one fact we ought to consider the others. Nor is it the opinion in the county, or in the city of Norwich, that Norfolk, and the city in particular, should be used as a sort of dumping ground for various discarded offices from London, if it happens to suit planners in London and the South-East to push them out of London. It is not to say that those offices are not welcomed, but if they are to be the only form of economic development with which Norfolk is to be graced in the next few years they will be inadequate. Opportunities ought to be provided for industrial employment. That is my case. More development and planned development are required.

To most of us it seems likely that the port facilities round the fringes of the county will be improved. My hon. Friend the Member for King's Lynn will have something to say about that. Some improvement has already taken place. There is a marked increase in trade done in the East Coast ports. This is neither a new thought nor an original one, but it is a fact. We would also hope that at some stage it would be possible to improve the transport facilities in the county. I assume that this will have the attention of the Department of Economic Affairs.

Norfolk has an inadequate road system, and the county is faced with the apparent extinction of the Norfolk railways, although some of us are delighted to see that the Suffolk line looks like being preserved, according to Dr. Beeching's new arrangements. Nevertheless, it rather looks as if only three major ports in the county will be connected to the railway system in the next ten years. King's Lynn may survive, and I suppose that Norwich is bound to survive, although some of us even have doubts about that. It is possible that Yarmouth will survive.