asked the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has for dealing with the surplus capacity in the textile finishing industry.

The printing, dyeing and bleaching sections of the cotton and rayon finishing industry are considering certain voluntary schemes for eliminating surplus machine capacity. Preliminary discussions have taken place with the Board of Trade, but no formal application has yet been made for the certification of these schemes under Section 25 of the Finance Act, 1935.

Is my hon. Friend aware that a good many of these undertakings are only working from 60 to 75 per cent. of their capacity, and that that is going to affect our costs and therefore our export prices? Will he do what he can to expedite the putting forward of such schemes, in the interest of the export trade?

Yes, Sir.