CRITICISM that the Government is doing nothing to help local firm James Halstead has prompted Bury South MP Ivan Lewis to get the top civil servant in the region involved.
As revealed in last week's Bury Times, spiralling wage bills and virtually no cash assistance from Whitehall, could ultimately force the company to transfer more production abroad.
Mr Lewis was reacting to finance director Gordon Oliver's criticism over the lack of Government finance and other assistance which could be invaluable if Halstead's, which has been operating locally for 95 years and employs 800 people, is to maintain its presence in the borough.
Mr Lewis said: "On Monday I met with Keith Barnes, the director of the government office for the North West. I raised the Halsteads issue and he promised that people from his office will be in talks this week to see whether they can offer any practical help."
In the UK alone, Halstead's annual bill for wages, National Insurance contributions and insurance cover totals £10 million. But that figure, it is claimed, could be cut by 50 per cent if the business transfers more of its manufacturing to countries like China, Japan and Italy.
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