Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Heath pointed out that there is now a well-established system for providing support and advice when a large manufacturing company closes its doors, involving a "task-force" made up from jobcentre plus, local authorities and others, but no such system exists when a retail business closes down with huge job losses, but spread evenly across the country.
"We must take jobs in the retail sector every bit as seriously as those in manufacturing, and there are very many communities which are hit when a business like Woolworth's is closed, including Frome in my constituency. The government has done well in developing a coherent response to factory closures; now it must do the same for retail before the economic crisis claims more victims."
The suggestion was given a warm response by Leader of the House Harriet Harman who said that the government would look to see what could be done in line with Mr Heath's request.
