ABSTRACT
The year 1960 marks a natural dividing line in the development of post-war regional policy for a variety of reasons. The development of policy in the 1960s took place in three phases: first, the Local Employment Act of 1960; second, the Budget and Local Employment Act of 1963, which amended and greatly strengthened the 1960 measures; and third, the changes which were introduced by the Labour Party after the change of government in 1964. The 1958 legislation amending the old Distribution of Industry Acts had borne the marks of haste rather than a carefully thoughtout policy. The geographical extent of the Development Districts varied substantially from one time to another, depending on the level of activity in the economy as a whole and the percentages of regional unemployment which resulted. The 1960 Local Employment Act made no alteration in the measures to control new industrial development. An innovation under the 1960 Act was the offer of a building grant.
