Ncb Workshops (Closures) 4.39 pm Mr. Allen McKay (Barnsley, West and Penistone) I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 10, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,"the proposed closure of the National Coal Board workshops at Birdwell and the partial closure of the National Coal Board workshops at Elescar." Both workshops are in my constituency. They are in the Barnsley and south Yorkshire areas of the NCB. I picked up this point last night on reading the newspapers, after the House had finished. I should like the NCB to return to the idea of informing Members of Parliament of matters that are of great concern to their constituencies. The closure of the Birdwell workshops will mean the loss of 204 jobs and the partial closure of the Elescar workshops will mean the loss of 211 jobs—415 jobs in total. This is in addition to the loss of jobs recently announced—3,000 jobs in the Barnsley area and 7,000 in the Yorkshire area. What will be the effect of the closures, not only on hundreds of families, but on the area? The area is seething with discontent and reeling at this savage attack on the coal mining industry, its work force and their families. The Coalfields Community's campaign document and Barnsley district council's appraisal of the effects of coal mining closures on the local authority area clearly show that, for every job lost in the mining industry, another is lost outside the industry. In the Barnsley area 15,140 people are unemployed, there are 1,011 school leavers and the male unemployment rate is 20 per cent. There are only 217 unfilled vacancies. To the 3,000-plus jobs which have recently been lost we must add the numbers of jobs that will be lost through the workshop closures and through their knock-on effects. By and large, the NCB workshops are manned by a skilled work force that is second to none— men who have served their apprenticeships in the time-honoured way by learning the skills of the trade. They include mechanical and electrical engineers, fabrication engineers, turners, platers and welders. Many have been retrained in the workshops' rationalisation schemes. There is a young work force providing services to the mining industry from places of excellence. Shops have been modified and re-equipped to carry out that service. Mr. Speaker Order. The hon. Member must not go into detail. He should make a case showing that this matter is urgent, specific and important. Mr. McKay I shall develop the reason why this matter is important. I shall not take long. The services provided by the workshops are well recognised. Fifteen years ago, a decision was made to close the Birdwell workshops. After instructions from the area director, I had the honour to make sure that the workshops were kept open. As I understand it, the Birdwell workshops are the only workshops within the whole of the area covered by the NCB which have workers with fabrication engineering skills. That is why this matter is specific and important. Where will the work go if those workshops are closed? Is this the beginning of privatisation in the NCB? Those questions must be asked and debated. Why close the Elescar workshops, which provide hydraulic expertise to the area and which rejuvenate roof supports? Where will that work go? Where will the men go? Closures have occurred on such a large scale within Yorkshire that there is nowhere for the men to go. If the men have to go to other workshops, they will face transportation difficulties. The MacGregor blight is moving across the whole of the Yorkshire coalfield as this butcher carries out the Government's policies. What about the replacement of the jobs and the £10 million for the NCB enterprise scheme? I should like the House to debate—if you are so kind as to allow me this debate, Mr. Speaker — a paper from the Coalfields Community campaign. This paper shows that, to breathe some semblance of life into the coalfields, the industry needs not £10 million £2 billion. That is why this matter is specific and important and should be debated. Mr. Speaker The hon. Member for Barnsley, West and Penistone (Mr. McKay) asks leave to move the Adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that he thinks should have urgent consideration, namely,"the proposed closures of the National Coal Board workshops at Birdwell and the partial closure of the National Coal Board workshops at Elescar." I have listened carefully to the hon. Member's speech. He knows that the decision which I have to take is whether to give this matter precedence over the orders set down for today and for Monday. I regret to say that I do not consider that the matter he has raised is appropriate for discussion under Standing Order No. 10. I cannot, therefore, submit his application to the House. No doubt he will find other ways of raising the matter.