asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he is now in a position to make a statement about the regional employment premium.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer which my hon. Friend the Chief Secretary gave to the hon. Member for Lanarkshire, North (Mr. John Smith) on 17th January.—[Vol. 867, c. 139.]

Does the Minister agree with the conclusion of the Expenditure Committee that the withdrawal of the REP without any comparable replacement would create serious difficulties for many firms? Is he aware that the gap in levels of unemployment between the North and the South will widen as a result of the economic crisis and that, therefore, every kind of regional incentive, including REP, is desperately needed? Is it not about time that, on this as on so many other issues, the Government told the House what they intend to do?

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor will announce his decision to the House as soon as possible. We shall certainly lake note of the report of the Trade and Industry Sub-Committee in which I note it is also stated in the conclusions that it is difficult to judge whether or not there could be a more effective way of spending £100 million a year.

Will my hon. Friend give an assurance that, before a decision is made, the non-assisted and intermediate areas will be considered and thought will be given to whether the money could be used more effectively in other ways?

My hon. Friend has drawn attention to the fact that there is more than one side to this case. All aspects will be taken into consideration.

Will the Minister say how the Government propose to take into account the case of Scotland, which at present obtains £40 million of the total? What is proposed to be put in its place in view of the imminent expectation of economic disaster following the last week's happenings?

The interests of Scotland, as of other development areas, will be taken into consideration, as will be the national interest.

Have the Government considered the matter again in the light of the much worsened situation, the very serious risk that unemployment will rise, the possibility that the prospects of higher investment will not materialise and the effects that these are bound to have on the development areas? If the Government are so willing to look at all their other policies again, will they reconsider the desirability of maintaining REP, which has been shown to contribute to prosperity in areas which would otherwise be bereft of such help?

The Government will consider all the factors in the light of present circumstances and will take into consideration the views of the right hon. Member for Cardiff, South-East (Mr. Callaghan) when he was Chancellor, when he recommended that the premium should be phased out after seven years.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, in view of the shortage of oil supplies, why, on 11th December 1973, he refused an import licence for 4,000 tons of lubricating oil which can be supplied from Romania subject only to his consent.

The embargo on oil imports from Romania is being maintained pending agreement on an appropriate level of compensation for the nationalisation of British assets in 1948 and other claims.

Will my right hon. and learned Friend say how long this is to go on? As far as I know, every Eastern European Government has refused to honour such investment and commercial liabilities and similar claims but we readily trade with them. Why single out Romania?

We have been pressing for a settlement with Romania for many years. Two rounds of negotiations were held in 1973 and the discussions have now been adjourned. However, there is some reason to hope—I say this in the light of my hon. Friend's observations—that the Romanian Government will shortly make a satisfactory offer of settlement.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that assets to the total value of £40 million remain unpaid for by Romania?

I am very much aware of that. It is one of the reasons why we do not cast away the prospect of a successful negotiation.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will reconsider the terms of reference of the inquiry into Lonrho and extend them.

The inspectors' terms of reference are determined only by the statutory powers under which they are appointed. No limit has been placed upon the scope of their inquiries.

Will this inquiry publicly disclose in full the complex manoeuvres by which Lonhro or certain directors of it tried to corner for themselves the vast profits arising from a major Rhodesian copper strike at the Inyati mine, first by transferring ownership to a shell company in South Africa, secondly by trying to buy out cheaply minority shareholders by concealing the true size of the windfall gain, and thirdly by transfer pricing between subsidiaries abroad? How will the Companies Bill stop this kind of greedy expropriation by unscrupulous multi-nationals?

In his supplementary question the hon. Member has used seven or eight intemperate nouns or epithets by way of launching into the allegations he has made. I have already written to him answering his detailed letter telling him that all the matters to which he has referred will be looked at by the inspectors, and inviting him, if he is in possession of as much information as he appears to be, to proffer documents to the inspectors who will be glad to hear from him.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress is being made with the developments of the RB211-524 Rolls-Royce engine ; and what arrangements have been made for sharing the launching costs.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what requests he has had for further Government support in the development of the RB211 family of engines ; and what replies he has given.

My hon. Friend the Minister for Aerospace informed the House on 13th December of the Government's position in relation to the development of the RB211 engine to 48,000 lb. thrust. We are in continuing touch with the manufacturers and as soon as further decisions are taken my hon. Friend will of course report them to the House.—[Vol. 866, c. 170–1.]

Will the Minister give an assurance that the development and launching of the up-rated version of the RB211 will not be held back through lack of funds? Will he join me in condemning those sections of the Press which have been scaremongering about the prospects of TriStar and the RB211?

I shall certainly join with the hon. Member in condemning scaremongering speculation. I can assure him that we are in the closest contact with the company and that we wish to see this project succeed.

Have any approaches been made concerning development up to the -25 standard, the 55,000-1b. engine, and the -80 standard, the 30,000-1b. thrust engine? Are these likely goers in the near future?

No such proposals have been put to us by the company, which is concentrating on the 48,000-1b. version which is adequate for its purposes.

What recent discussions have the Government had with Lockheed, for example during Mr. Haughton's recent visit to London, and what reassurance can the Government give Rolls-Royce and the workers that the project has a long-term future?

As the hon. Member may know, my hon. Friend the Minister for Aerospace had a meeting on 18th January with Mr. Haughton, who advised him of the latest situation. There is, of course, a close connection between this version of the RB211 and the stretched version of the Lockheed 1011. We understand that Lockheed has decided to defer launching of the -2 for the time being but it has informed us of no decision to abandon the project and it has indicated that it is considering alternative plans to provide a long-range version of the 1011.

Does my hon. Friend foresee any other aircraft in which an up-rated version of the RB211 could be installed? Will he look into the possibility not only of installing the engine into the European airbus but also of selling the engine to the Russians and the Chinese?

These are essentially matters for the manufacturers, who no doubt are alive to the possibilities not only of the European airbus but also of the Boeing 747.

Since the Minister says that his hon. Friend has seen Dan Haughton about the situation, will he be more forthcoming concerning the discussions which took place and the prospects? Is the Minister aware that it is estimated by Dan Haughton that about 56 TriStars are equivalent in use to 100 Boeing 707s at two-thirds of the fuel consumption? On these prospects of significant energy savings, which will of course enhance prospects for the TriStar family, will the Minister assure the House that talks are taking place to ensure the financial viability of Lockheed, since it is no good having a family of RB211 engines without a family of aircraft in which to put them?

The hon. Gentleman would not expect me to go into great detail about conversations between my hon. Friend and Mr. Haughton, but I have told the House that if decisions are taken my hon. Friend will make a statement. There is no greater believer in the aircraft than Mr. Haughton, and he is a most powerful advocate for it. The question of the financial stability of the Lockheed company is not one for me to comment on.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new jobs have been created in Fife in each of the last five years ; how many were for men and how many for women ; and how many jobs were lost in the same period.

The information is not available. However, unemployment was 900 lower at the end of 1973 compared with five years previously.

Why is not the information available? How can the Minister judge the effectiveness of the working of the Industry Act if he does not have figures such as those requested in the Question? The new town of Glenrothes is, I think, the only town in Scotland without a public service authority building in which office workers are employed. Will he have regard to that when the Government are deciding the distribution of the offices of the new Energy Department?

The figures are not available in the form requested because they were previously obtained from industrial development certificate applications, and the need for IDCs was abolished in 1972. However, we hope that it will be possible to obtain more information from planning applications. Certainly we want to have in the hon. Gentleman's area the widest possible diversity of industry and commerce. I shall take careful note of what he says about Glenrothes, but I am fortified by the remarks of the Convener of Fife County Council, writing about Fife only last week, when he said:

"At no time in its history has the industrial and commercial mix of the county been better, nor its sophistication more widely spread."

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has plans to meet the Association of British Travel Agents and the Tour Operators Council to discuss the 1974 holiday season.

I have already had discussions with the Association of British Travel Agents about its trading arrangements.

Has my right hon. and learned Friend noticed that this year many people who would normally have been making holiday bookings are hesitant about doing so in view of the possibility that the travel tours for which they are booking might not go ahead? Has he noticed that this has led to difficulty in some parts of the travel trade? Is the future oil supply position such that my right hon. and learned Friend can now engage in discussions with the travel trade with a view to giving it an indication of how much oil is likely to be forthcoming in the summer months for charter holiday flights?

The travel trade is as aware as anyone else of the possible difficulties arising from the oil supply shortages. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary will be keeping in touch with it about that.

In the Minister's discussions with the travel tour operators, was there mention of the fact that operators do not seem to be telling holidaymakers that people travelling from this country to other Common Market countries are not required to cover themselves for sickness and treatment in hospital?

I shall certainly pay attention to the point made by the hon. Gentleman.

Is the Minister aware that many travel agents are already so worried that there have been dismissals of staff? Does he recognise that when, after today's trade figures, a new Draconian Budget is introduced, there will inevitably be a risk of increases in bankruptcies among travel agents? In those circumstances, what further action does the Minister contemplate to protect members of the public who have booked and paid well in advance, in the event of travel agents encountering difficulties?

I do not take the same alarmist view of the situation as the hon. Gentleman does. The prospect of financial failure is one of the matters that has been under discussion in the past with the association.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on progress in the GATT negotiations.

Following the official opening of the multilateral trade negotiations in September last year in Tokyo, the Trade Negotiations Committee, which was set up then by Ministers, held its first meeting in Geneva in October. Discussion since then has centred on the most appropriate structure for the preparatory work and for the negotiations proper. These can begin once the United States Trade Reform Bill, which gives the United States its negotiating authority, has been passed.

Recognising the general background difficulties, may I ask my right hon. and learned Friend whether he can confirm that it is the Government's intention to give every possible backing to maintaining the momentum of the talks? In view of the disintegration of Common Market policies on economic and monetary union, and virtually everything else, can he confirm that the Common Market negotiating position in GATT is likely to remain intact?

While not accepting my hon. Friend's premise, I entirely agree with him about the importance of pressing ahead with the negotiations.

Will not the right hon. and learned Gentleman take seriously what his hon. Friend said? The French float and the effect it is bound to have on the common agricultural policy make it absurd that the British Government should have accepted a negotiating position that excluded discussion of common agricultural policy matters. Will he not wake up to the reality that economic and monetary union and the moves towards it, together with many of the other ideas aired at the Summit meeting in November 1972, have broken down and that the Government should respond accordingly?

It is far too early to jump to the kind of conclusions to which the right hon. Gentleman is jumping—[HON. MEMBERS: "Jumping?"]—to jump, float or move in whatever manner the right hon. Gentleman is most accustomed to. It is equally wrong to conclude that agriculture has been excluded from the negotiations to the extent the right hon. Gentleman suggests.

Does the negotiating position to which the British Government are committed assume economic and monetary union by 1980? Is it my right hon. and learned Friend's view that that assumption is likely to be validated?

The Government's negotiating position is arrived at in the context of the European Economic Community and other treaty obligations as they now stand.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he is now in a position to announce a decision on the relocation of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist ; and if he will make a statement.

Not yet, Sir.

In view of the Secretary of State's assurance to the House during the debate on the Hardman Report that this relocation was being given serious consideration, will the hon. Gentleman now assure me that the remoteness of Cumberland will not be given by his Department as an excuse for siting the laboratory elsewhere? Does he not realise that, if the Government's stated intentions about industrial development in the area are to mean anything, they should set an example to industrialists by sending a Government Department to it? If they do not, their statements about industrial development there will sound rather hollow.

Without going into the hon. Gentleman's general point, I acknowledge that he has put the case for West Cumberland very fully in his meetings with my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, Central (Mr. Anthony Grant). I hope he will also recognise, however, that any decision, if it is to be right, must take into account the special operational requirements of the laboratory, which provides a unique advisory and experimental service, the needs of client Departments and the views of the staff and all other interested parties.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with British Airways regarding the continuation of facilities at West London Air Terminal.

My hon. Friend the Minister for Aerospace and Shipping wrote to the British Airways Board on 21st December to draw its attention to the motion on this subject approved in another place the previous day. The board accordingly considered at its meeting of 28th December whether it should defer the proposed withdrawal of the check-in facilities at the terminal, but it concluded that there was a compelling case for bringing the new arrangements at the terminal into operation as planned on 1st January.

Is the Minister aware that among the reasons given by British Airways for the closure of the check-in facilities were the facts that more people were using private cars to get to London Airport and that the coaches used to convey passengers were often delayed, thus holding up flights? In view of the changed fuel situation, those two reasons are no longer valid. Is the hon. Gentleman aware of the concern expressed in another place, where the vote went overwhelmingly against the proposal to make a change? How much money does British Airways hope to save by the change? Is there any estimate of the cost to the public in missed flights and so on as a result of flights leaving earlier than they would normally leave? Will the Minister assure the House that he will have further discussions with British Airways to convey to it the feeling of both Houses on the matter?

I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman is right when he speaks of the feeling of both Houses. It is true that my original reply took note of the fact that the other place had taken, as it was entitled to do, a view on this matter. That view does not necessarily bind this House.

The hon. Gentleman might like to know that the arrangements have been working for only three weeks, and it is, of course, too early to draw any firm conclusions. There is little evidence of complaints from passengers. There is some evidence that the number of passengers using the terminal has increased. We are keeping a close watch on the situation. I hope very much that the hon. Gentleman will feel inclined to let the results speak for themselves.

Is my hon. Friend aware that there is strong feeling on both sides of the House that British Airways has been insensitive to consumer demand? Will he confirm that it is losing over £500,000 a year revenue which it no longer gets from foreign airlines which have been denied check-in facilities at West London?

This is essentially a commercial matter which is the responsibility of the British Airways Board. Parliament has not given my right hon. Friend a power of direction which could apply in such a case. It is generally the wish of the House that nationalised industries should, so far as possible, be left free to decide these matters for themselves as best they can and meet the needs of their customers.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the impact of the three-day working on smaller businesses.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received from organisations representing small firms on the effects of three-day working.

At my request, I have had meetings with the CBI Small Firms Council, the Smaller Businesses Association, the Association of British Chambers of Commerce and the National Chamber of Trade. Although the present situation poses serious problems for small firms as well as large, my information is that the majority of small firms are coping well, with a high degree of co-operation between employers and employees. I am naturally watching the position closely and maintaining direct contact with the sector.

What representations has my hon. Friend received concerning the financial problems which are likely to arise for the whole of industry, and especially smaller firms, if the three-day working week persists for a long time?

Naturally the representatives of the small firms whom I saw were concerned about the problems of future cash flow. They made their points on that basis. They hoped that the banks and financial institutions would be as sympathetic as possible. I have no doubt that that will be the case.

Will the Minister accept that, contrary to his experience, a lot of small firms are outraged at the administrative chaos which appears to reign in the regional centres of the Department of Trade and Industry? I accept that members of the Department must not bear the blame for that since it must lie with the regulations which they have to apply. Does he appreciate that small firms are fed up with the way in which responsibility is being shuffled off by the regional electricity boards? Does he accept that there is a growing feeling, at least in South Wales, about the enormous disparity of treatment regarding applications and appeals from employers in different regions? Is he aware that some firms in similar areas and with similar demands to others are receiving much smaller allowances of electricity?

The hon. Gentleman's information from firms in Wales is not the same as that which has been supplied to me by various organisations with which I have spoken, which had considerable praise for the way in which the regional offices were coping with a difficult situation. We shall consider carefully the difficulties which they are experiencing. By and large, the organisations are in complete support of the Government's counter-inflation measures and there is a remarkable degree of co-operation between both sides of industry. In that respect I pay tribute to them.

Will my hon. Friend consider introducing a rotational system for the three-day working week? Does he accept that firms working at the end of the week are clearly at a disadvantage compared with their competitors which are working at the beginning of the week?

That matter was discussed with my right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Energy. He will no doubt give full consideration to the views which were then expressed.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that Lucas Aerospace, one of the smaller companies in its type of business, declared a substantial redundancy over the weekend which it attributed to Government policy? Would the hon. Gentleman accept that as a valid reason for declaring redundancy at this stage?

I cannot now comment on the case which the hon. Gentleman has mentioned. Happily, that has not happened in many firms, but I will gladly consider the case in the hon. Gentleman's constituency.

Will the hon. Gentleman bear in mind that, as a result of the utterly unnecessary retreat into a three-day working week, many small firms are facing not only critical but crippling cash flow problems resulting in part from the failure of the larger firms to pay their smaller suppliers? What urgent action do the Government intend to take to ease the cash flow situation? Will they consider allowing extra time for the payment of the January value added tax demand and introducing staged payments for partially completed contracts in the public sector?

Those points have been referred to the Government and are being considered. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer must consider them as well and will announce in due course what we can do. The Government are naturally watching the cash flow situation very closely and will wish to ensure that the banks have sufficient liquidity to meet the reasonable needs of industry. However, undoubtedly the best contribution which could be made towards solving the difficulties of small firms would be a return to full-time working by the miners and railwaymen.