asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what aid he is at present giving to the ship repairing industry in Great Britain.

The ship repair industry, in common with other industries, receives taxation allowances on capital expenditure and regional employment premium. It shares with the shipbuilding industry Customs concessions on imported materials. Under the Industry Bill it will be eligible for regional development grant and selective assistance.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the shipbuilding and ship repairing industries are quite different, that both are strategically important to this country and that because of the standby the ship repairing industry is bleeding to death?

I realise that the industries are different and I understand the difficulties of the ship repairing industry. However, what they have in common is that they will both benefit from the Industry Bill which is now before the House.

Will the hon. Gentleman take special note of the ship repairing industries in areas outside development areas, like Southampton, which are experiencing considerable difficulty in making themselves go?

I appreciate what the hon. Gentleman says. But the greater difficulties are in the assisted areas where there is a high degree of unemployment and not as great a diversity of industry as there is in the non-assisted areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the long-term future of Stansted Airport.

When Maplin becomes operational we see the possibility of closing Stansted as a public transport airport and perhaps of dispensing with it altogether. We are in close touch with the BAA and the CAA about employment there in the interim.

Can the hon. Gentleman give any indication of how long it will be before a definite decision is taken on the future of Stansted?

I cannot give a definite forecast but we expect Maplin to become operational in 1980, which fits the time scale. In the interim we are asking the British Airports Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority to see what possibilities there are of encouraging the deployment of traffic to Stansted with a view to its ultimate transfer to Maplin.

Is my hon. Friend aware that what he says will cause a consider able amount of gloom among many people in and around my constituency? Certainly they will all welcome the quietness of less flying, but already there is a substantial number of men unemployed who worked at the airport and who want to go on working there. Will my hon. Friend see to it that jobs are retained in the aviation industry for those working there?

I hope it will not cause gloom in my hon. Friend's constituency to know that we want to keep jobs going at Stansted against the time when men will be needed at Maplin.

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman may indicate, therefore, what future there is at Stansted and what developments will take place when it is closed down. Secondly, what will be the future of the Civil Aviation Flying Unit which, I understand, operates from there?

The right hon. Gentleman is right: the CAFU is based at Stansted and could continue to be based there, even if the airport is not used as a public transport airport. Another possibility will be its increased use as a general aviation field which improved road communications might make attractive.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he is satisfied that the Scottish economy and Scottish companies are sharing as fully as possible in the benefits accruing from the development of North Sea oil and gas; and what new plans he has to increase Scottish participation.

The Government are taking all possible steps to draw the opportunities to the attention of industry. It is for industry to grasp these opportunities and a number of Scottish firms have already won orders for equipment. The report I have commissioned from consultants, which I expect to receive in the autumn, will assist me in identifying in what further ways the benefits to industry and the economy may be promoted.

Will the right hon. Gentlemen undertake to make that report available to the House? Does he recognise, in view of the statement today that Royal Dutch Shell has made a very major discovery of, I think it is, 1,000 million barrels of recoverable oil, which represents about 15 per cent. of our current needs, that this is an extremely important development which underlines the need for revising the legislation on the granting of licences? Can he say what Royal Dutch Shell paid for this particular licence? Will he take steps to make sure that the infrastructure is provided in large measure by the Scottish Department and that it will insist that the oil companies use more indigenous industrial products for their oil requirements?

If, as I sincerely hope, and I am sure the whole House does, the oil find to which the hon. Member has referred is of the dimensions he has mentioned, then indeed this is a vindication of the principle which both Governments have followed of trying to ensure that the maximum prospection of the North Sea area was undertaken. At the same time I can assure the hon. Member that the Government have made it plain, and I do so again now, that the treatment by licensees of the British supplying industry will certainly be a consideration in the award of future licences.

Will my right hon. Friend seriously consider the possibility of transferring to Aberdeen the approximately 90 members of the petroleum division of his Department so that they can be on the spot at the earliest moment to identify the problems and opportunities met for Scottish and British industry?

I have a feeling that the real demand for work requires them to be located more here than there, but it will be necessary—and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland recognises this also—to maintain close relations with the developing interests in these fields.

While I welcome what the right hon. Gentleman has said, may I ask him whether the Government will now make a conscious effort to develop support for these industries in Scotland so that they can meet the needs arising from these new finds in the North Sea, rather than leave it simply to the application of the Industry Bill which, we hope, will shortly receive Royal Assent?

That is part of the purpose of my having commissioned the special consultancy report. The right hon. Gentleman should not lead the House to believe, however, that Scotland has lost a great deal of work in this field. Scotland is doing a great deal of work in the development of the oil finds in the North Sea. For instance, of the total number of mobile drilling platforms built for use in the North Sea no less than half, nine out of 18, were built in the United Kingdom, four of them in Scotland. So it would be wrong to form the impression that Scotland has literally made none of the supply.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to agree to Israel, Rumania, Spain and Turkey being regarded as developing countries for the purpose of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development generalised preferences scheme.

We are not willing to extend the list of beneficiaries of our generalised preferences scheme unilaterally, but if these countries are accepted in the scheme of the European Economic Community we shall consider including them to the same extent as the Community does.

While I am grateful for that reply may I ask my right hon. Friend whether he will, therefore, make the strongest representations that these four countries, which by any stretch of the imagination must be industrialised rather than developing countries, do not receive preferential treatment, so that those most in need will receive maximum help? Would my right hon. Friend agree that if the list is to be added to, it should not be before the closest re-examination of those manufactured goods and semi-manufactures which are to be allowed duty-free into this country?

Yes, I can assure my hon. friend on both those points.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he can now state when the existing arrangements for the importation of coal will be concluded.

Imports have fallen sharply in recent months but we are keeping a close watch on the position.

Does the Minister realise that there is a strong rumour running through the coal mining industry that there is a possibility of 50 pits being closed in the next two or three years even though there are coal reserves there? is he not aware that at the present time the Government are converting coal-fired power stations to oil and that there is a continuation and an increase of imported foreign oil and that the mining industry has to compete with North Sea gas and North Sea oil? Does he not therefore think it time that we had a national fuel policy on terms favourable to our home-produced indigenous fuels?

I am sure the hon. Member would not expect me to comment on speculative reports which may be going around. On the question of imports, I am sure he will also agree that it is necessary to keep extra flexibility as an insurance by way of imports, and that he will recognise that some imports, for example of coking coal, will be needed to supplement United Kingdom supplies on quality grounds.

Will my hon. Friend inform the House about the excellent opportunities which will be available to an efficient coal mining industry in Britain, and that those opportunities might well be at risk were protectionist policies to be promoted by the Government?

Of course my hon. Friend is absolutely right. For example, in Europe alone imports are some 30 million tons per annum of which at the moment we supply only 2½ million tons. I hope that this is a market of which we can get a greater share.

While agreeing with a lot of what my hon. Friend the Member for Dearne Valley (Mr. Edwin Wainwright) has said may I ask whether the Minister realises that there is a great deal of hostility in the mining industry to the import of coal? Can the Minister tell us what guidance he is offering to the Central Electricity Generating Board and the British Steel Corporation about their coal imports? Would it not be advisable if the Minister could talk not only to those two industries but to the National Coal Board to see how best an overall importing policy could be co-ordinated to safeguard the position of all three industries?

I believe it is right to put the figures into perspective. While imports of coal last year were running at a high level following the immediate post-strike period, they have been falling rapidly and were only 500,000 tons in May and 400,000 tons in June. Arrangements between the National Coal Board, the CEGB and the BSC are for each of those industries to consider. They have been considering and discussing them, and I believe that there can be proper commercial arrangements in the interests of all three industries.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what communications he has received from the French Minister of Transport in connection with the budget for Concorde's future development.

None, Sir.

Is there not undue secrecy in this matter? Is the hon. Gentleman aware of the anxieties of the aero-engine workers in my constituency that an arrangement has been made with the French Minister of Transport to reduce the production of Concorde in the future? Will he give an assurance that this is not so?

I assure the hon. Gentleman that it is a question not of undue secrecy but of undue anxiety. I know of no such approach.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he is able to give an assurance that the Concorde simulator contract will be placed with a United Kingdom firm.

All British manufacturers will be invited to tender and although I cannot anticipate the outcome of the evaluation of submission, I know that our industry is very competitive in this field.

Will my hon. Friend go a litle further and agree that there is every justification for a British firm being awarded this contract on the basis both of our expertise and our balance of payments?

I assure my hon. Friend that I am very hopeful that a British firm will put in a successful tender for this project. We have asked BOAC, which will be placing tenders, to keep us closely informed of progress.

Is it not the present intention that there should be a simulator only in France, so that BOAC will have to go to France for simulator training? Why should we not have simulator facilities here?

The hon. Gentleman is wrong. It has been decided that the simulator will be situated in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many Concorde aircraft will have to be sold to recover research and development costs based solely upon numbers sold and their present price.

We have already made clear that there is no prospect of recovering all the research and development costs on this aircraft but we shall make every effort to recoup as much as possible of the country's investment.

That is not the answer to the Question. Now will the hon. Gentleman give the answer to the Question? How many will be sold to recover research and development costs based solely upon the numbers sold and their present price either of £13 million at 1971 prices or £21½ million at 1974 prices? What is the figure? Why cannot the House be informed?

The right hon. Gentleman asks for details of a levy which I assure him it would not be in the interests of the project to make public. If he is saying that he doubts the sales prospects of this aircraft, he is not doing anything to help us to recoup the country's investment. If the right hon. Gentle- man is saying that he would like more information on this subject, perhaps he would like to ask the House whether we can have a debate on the subject.

The hon. Gentleman knows full well that we on this side have questioned the Government vigorously over the last three months trying to extract information on the Concorde project, but we have failed so far. The Government are deliberately hiding facts and information regarding the Concorde project. We do not know the truth about the escalating costs of the project. The Select Committee on Expenditure chastised the Government and the Department on the subject. The hon. Gentleman and the Department are not kidding the airlines, because the airlines are doing their own arithmetic—

Order. This is Question Time.

We have pressed for a debate, but will the hon. Gentleman now agree to publish a White Paper explaining the whole of the Concorde project—research and development costs, production costs and its likely sales?

I have no knowledge that the right hon. Gentleman has pressed for a debate. He has been told that there will not be a White Paper. In answer to his question I must tell him again that it would not be in the interests of securing the best return on research and development to make public the rates of levy applied. I remind the right hon. Gentleman of the reply given by his right hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, South-East (Mr. Benn) on 26th January, 1970, when he showed that he was aware of the extreme difficulty of presenting meaningful estimates of this kind.

Is my hon. Friend aware that we consider the remarks of the right hon. Member for Barnsley (Mr. Mason) purely mischievous? The right hon. Gentleman was a member of the previous Administration which must have known that research and development costs could not and would not be got back from sales of the aircraft. Will my hon. Friend take note of the fact that many people feel that questions of this sort are designed purely to hurt Concorde at the moment of sales?

I am sure that most people in this country and in France will have drawn their own conclusions from the right hon. Gentleman's suggestions. I think that people everywhere would welcome some positive indication of support from the right hon. Gentleman for this project.

Would the hon. Gentleman agree that in his original answer he misled the House by distorting the facts? He said that all the research and development costs would not be recouped. Will he say whether any of the costs will be recouped? Is he, in what he has just said, saying that his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State disagrees with the all-party report of the Expenditure Committee?

I think the hon. Gentleman will find that if there are to be comments on that Committee's report they will not be made by me in the first instance at Question Time in the House but in the form of departmental observations, and quite rightly so. If the hon. Gentleman is so interested in the matter, no doubt he will go on putting down Questions of his own.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many inquiries from industrialists with regard to the Manchester travel-to-work area have been received since the designation of the new North-Western intermediate area on 22nd March, 1972; and how many new jobs in total, and for men and women, respectively, are expected to result from these inquiries.

The number of inquiries about factories and about our new incentives have continued to increase since my right hon. Friend the Minister for Industrial Development answered the same Question on 17th July. I would hope that many of these inquiries will lead to benefit to Manchester.—[Vol. 841, c. 14–5.]

Is the Minister aware that that is a totally unsatisfactory answer? He has not told us of a single new job announcement, a single new inquiry or the granting of a single new IDC since the reply of the Minister for Industrial Development. Is he aware that in Manchester redundancies are outnumbering new job creations by more than three to one, that thousands of redundancies are certain to come from closures at Irlam and Churchill's, apart from those already announced, that job creation is nowhere near keeping pace with redundancies and that, unless the Government do something, Manchester will be turned into a disaster area?

The hon. Gentleman has sung that song before, quite recently. I agree with the Chairman of the North-West Industrial Development Association who said in June that there were very encouraging signs that both consumers and producers were responding to the stimuli that the Government had provided, that business confidence was rising, that the number out of work was falling and that job vacancies were increasing. I believe that that more truly represents the position in Manchester than the gloomy prognostications of the hon. Gentleman.

Despite the lyricism of the Under-Secretary, will he cast his eyes up to North-East Lancashire, particularly to the serious position in my constituency of the 40 apprentices who have recently lost their jobs and are unable to find opportunities to finish their apprenticeships? Will he see whether there is a way by which these apprentices can be financed so that they do not have to go into dead-end jobs? While he is at it, will he also reconsider his earlier answer to me about not granting full development area status to North-East Lancashire?

I appreciate that North-East Lancashire has special problems in the context of the North-West as a whole, and we are keeping it carefully in mind. Nevertheless, North-East Lancashire, as well as other parts, will benefit from the policies we have announced in the Industry Bill.

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of that reply, I beg leave to give notice that I shall raise this matter on the Motion for the Summer Adjournment.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will now take steps to supress misleading advertisements for alleged slimming aids.

It is already an offence under the Trade Descriptions Act, 1968, to use a false or misleading trade description in advertisements for goods of this kind.

In those circumstances, and having regard to the clear evidence produced by the Consumers Association, may I ask how many prosecutions have been brought in respect of these advertisements?

As far as I know, none, but the local weights and measures authority is under a statutory duty to enforce the Act and has all the necessary powers of inquiry.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that even if there were prosecutions, individuals who pay cash for these so-called aids find great difficulty in getting redress for their grievances and have to go through the civil courts? Cannot a better way be found for people who are taken in by these misleading advertisements to get redress?

In many respects I agree with my hon. Friend, but the Advertising Standards Authority is well aware of this problem and is hoping shortly to be ready with a new publication about it. Slimming advertisements vary enormously, from taking exercise to eating less and every conceivable method in between. It would be a good thing to have a proper code of advertising practice and for the newspapers to accept it.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will pay an official visit to Ilkeston.

I have at present no plans to visit Ilkeston.

I regret that my right hon. Friend has no immediate plans to visit the Stanton iron works in my constituency. Is he aware that the British Steel Corporation has so far not produced any substantial factual evidence to support the proposed closure of part of the works and its removal to Workington? Does he agree that the 1,500 workers who are likely to be affected are entitled to have a detailed explanation of the economic position and that the British Steel Corporation has an obligation to make a commercially viable decision rather than the one it has made?

I am sure that the British Steel Corporation realises how necessary it is, in the course of the consultations which it has imposed upon itself by its own arrangement, to make abundantly clear the reasons for which it makes its decisions. The BSC has made it clear that the remaining activities at Stanton, which command a much bigger work force, are likely, on the contrary, to be pursued energetically.

I assure the right hon. Gentleman that when he does visit my constituency—and I sincerely hope he will—he will receive a much friendlier response than did the hon. Member for Derbyshire, South-East (Mr. Rost) who was literally hooted off the stage at a demonstration where he had no right to be. Will the Secretary of State refrain from paying an official visit to Ilkeston until such time as he has given a directive to the BSC to go for expansion, which will resolve the main problem arising in my constituency?

As the hon. Gentleman knows, it is my firm hope that the strategic plans of the BSC will be forthcoming shortly. I hope, therefore, that when Parliament reassembles after the summer break there will be an opportunity to talk with Parliament about the expansion plan and its importance for constituencies like that of the hon. Gentleman.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what changes he expects in the level of boot and shoe production in the last two quarters of this year.

Forecasts of future production of boots and shoes are not available.

Does my hon. Friend agree that any check in production such as might be occasioned by uncertainties over value added tax might be disastrous in an industry with such a finely balanced economy? Will he therefore ask his right hon. and hon. Friends at the Treasury to expedite negotiations between the retailing and manufacturing sides of the industry?

My hon. Friend rightly defines questions relating to VAT as matters for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I will certainly see that he takes notes of what my hon. Friend has said. The industry is in touch with Customs and Excise about its problems with VAT.

Will the hon. Gentleman inform the House what action the Government are taking to stop imports of footwear, particularly rubber footwear, from Hong Kong, Portugal and Korea? Footwear is coming into the country and being stamped by local manufacturers and sold as being of local manufacture. Is not this a disgrace, and is it not time that action was taken to protect the work force in the industry?

My immediate reaction is that if what the hon. Gentleman is saying is correct it sounds like an infringement of the trade description legislation, but I will certainly look into it. On the general question of imports, I have said that we will act quickly and flexibly to provide safeguards for the industry. We are in touch with the industry and are awaiting further information from it.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has recently received regarding the Government proposal to remove the ceiling on cotton yarn imports on 1st January; and if he will make a statement.

I explained the position in the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Oldham, East (Mr. James Lamond) on 21st April. Representatives of the Lancashire textile industry have urged the retention of quotas.

That is not surprising. Will the Minister ensure that we are not forced to comply with the EEC system of yarn imports, as this direct consequence of joining the Common Market would finish off many of the remaining Lancashire cotton mills?

As I have said before, we shall be discussing these matters with the EEC in the coming months.

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that it would be disastrous for the industry and for employment in it if he waits until after 1st January, 1973 to make a decision? It is vital that he now takes the opportunity to use the powers which are available to him to ensure that quotas are retained, and it is important that he says so at an early stage.

Yes, Sir. I said "in the coming months", and I hope to make some progress before January.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, as a result of his review of company law, he will seek powers to end the practice whereby merchant banks and other financial institutions warehouse lines of stock in unit trusts managed by them.

I take the hon. Member to mean a practice whereby a merchant bank arranges for a unit trust under its control to acquire shares for whose issue the merchant bank is responsible. If the hon. Member has information to show that the practice has been followed to the prejudice of the unit trust, I will consider it.

I am grateful for that answer but the right hon. Gentleman has not quite got the point. I am referring to the normal practice whereby merchant banks and other financial institutions can put into a unit trust lines of stock for which they may have subsequent use. Are there not two possibilities for abuse which he may consider: first that there will be an avoidance of disclosure under the 10 per cent. rule; and secondly that serious conflicts of interest can arise in takeover situations whereby stock is voted, not in the interests of ordinary members of the public who subscribe to the unit trusts but in the interests of merchant bankers who control them?

I am in some difficulty in answering this question, not because I do not know the answer, but because the phrase used by the hon. Gentleman has no recognised meaning. Therefore, I had to make the best guess I could about what was behind his Question. As for the point which he put in his supplementary question, I think that in most cases this could not happen because the merchant bank would be acting as principal, and that kind of action would be in breach of the trust deed. If the hon. Gentleman has in mind a particular point and would like to write to me about it, I shall certainly give him a full answer and tell him whether there are actions that we can take.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he now expects negotiations over the purchase price of the assets of Rolls-Royce Limited to be completed.

This issue has now been referred to an independent expert, and I cannot forecast how long the hearings will take or the time which the expert will need to make his award.

In the event of a favourable answer to later Questions on the Order Paper in seeking to remove some of the remaining doubts about the future of Rolls-Royce Ltd., may I ask the hon. Gentleman whether he will grasp the point that many thousands of shareholders and worker shareholders, particularly in Derby, cannot see why this matter should drag on for so long without any apparent indication of when it is to be resolved?

The hon. Gentleman will not expect me to anticipate answers to later Questions on the Paper, but I must say that in this case there is no question other than that very large sums of money are involved. It is clearly right that the determination should be done in the most painstaking way, even though all parties involved are conscious of the need for speed.

Since an initial payment of £30 million has been made, and in view of the delay in negotiations continuing, will my hon. Friend agree to the making of a further interim payment so that creditors at least can have partial distribution from the liquidator?

My hon. Friend will remember that I told him earlier this year that the liquidator hopes to be able to make an interim distribution of at least 10 per cent. this autumn. I cannot take his point about a further interim payment.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans the Government now have for giving financial assistance to the aircraft industry to enable it further to develop a quiet jet aircraft engine.

The House is already familiar with the support which is at present being given to the RB211 engine. In addition we are negotiating with the industry with a view to giving some support to a programme, based on this engine, aimed at demonstrating some further noise reduction techniques.

Is the Minister aware that, as he himself has indicated, great strides have already been made in this direction with the RB211 engine? Surely we owe it to the people who live near airports to make funds available to the aircraft industry for the further development of quieter engines.

I agree that this is a most important matter. The hon. Gentleman may like to know that initial work on the RB211 is aimed at a reduction of 5 EPNdB over the present noise level, which should halve the number of people around airports adversely affected by noise from this aircraft.

Is my hon. Friend aware that positive discrimination in favour of the manufacturers of quieter engines will be welcomed in many parts of the House?

The most important thing to do is to encourage operators to buy quiet aircraft.

Since it is recognised that the development of the RB211 and the TriStar are paving the way to quieter aircraft, can the Minister say what technical progress is now being made towards the development of a quieter engine for the aircraft which will be continually in use after the present generation of aircraft, namely, the Concorde?

The right hon. Gentleman knows that the Government are devoting great effort to reducing the noise of the prototype engines fitted in Concorde. As he has more than once been told, it is the forecast that Concorde when in service will compare with existing noise levels in long-range jets.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement concerning negotiations with the European Economic Community over trade liberalisation.

During the accession negotiations last year, agreement was reached on transitional arrangements for our implementation of the Community regulations embodying the common liberalisation lists, consisting of items which are free of quantitative restrictions in all six member States. During this year we are consulted under the interim procedure about proposed additions to the lists.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in 1971 France, under trade liberalisation agreements, imported not one ounce of cotton yarn from Asia while Britain under her quota arrangements imported £160 million worth of textiles from Asia? Once quotas are off in the EEC, does the Minister intend Britain to use the trade frustration tactics employed on the Continent? If not, how does he intend to prevent 20.000 jobs in the cotton yarn spinning industry from being wiped out?

I am very concerned about the industry in Lancashire. However, it is not helpful simply to make general charges about the administrative and, inferentially, underhand methods used by other countries to avoid imports. If hon. Members have specific examples which they can bring to my attention, I hope they will do so.

Will my right hon. Friend say whether the Government intend to use prospective membership of the Community as a means of encouraging trade liberalisation with the developing countries of UNCTAD?

The generalised preference scheme in which we have been quite the forefront operator is one which we shall seek to pursue, though it will need some major adaptation so that there will be harmony between the acceding countries and the existing six members of the Community. There will have to be adaptation, but the purpose of that liberalisation and all that lies behind it will endure.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the British Aircraft Corporation on the subject of British participation in the post-Apollo programme.

The Department is in close touch with the United Kingdom space industry, including the British Aircraft Corporation, on the subject of participation in the post-Apollo programme. The views expressed to us by industry are fully taken into account during discussions with our European partners on the merits of participation.

In the light of the most recent discussions with the British Aircraft Corporation, would the Department care to modify in any way the advice it gave to the Prime Minister in answering a Question from me that perhaps high technology was not involved in what is now offered by the Americans?

I think that advice was correct.

No, it was not.

The hon. Gentleman disagrees with me but I adhere to the view that the advice given was correct and that the differences in technology undoubtedly placed the original work in which we might have had a chance of participating very much higher than that which has been left by the latest American decision.

Does my hon. Friend agree that the success of North American Rothwell in obtaining a contract for the Orbiter vehicle puts BAC of all the European manufacturers in a supreme position to get an advantageous contract, if only the Government will go ahead?

I see that the hon. Gentleman has on the Order Paper a later Question on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action is being taken to protect the British leather industry against unfair foreign competition.

Import duties on most leather from developing countries were suspended at the beginning of 1972 under the UNCTAD generalised system of preferences scheme. The industry has just applied for them to be reimposed on certain imports and I am considering the matter urgently.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind especially imports from South American countries where there are highly protected and developed tanning industries? Will he consider restricting the export of domestic raw hides to 10 per cent. of last year's kill as is done by countries such as West Germany and others?

I met a deputation from the tanning industry a few days ago. I am considering its representations to me. My hon. Friend is correct. The Argentine, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico, Yugoslavia and South Korea have all tended to be restrictive in their leather exports.

Has the right hon. Gentleman now had from the industry the representations about which he spoke to me, especially in regard to the effect on our domestic manufacturing industry of the importation of dumped goods from Hong Kong?

Yes. I have a certain amount of information, and the formal application was made to me on 24th July.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will name the 11 United States companies which are to join in a £2 million experiment in Scotland aimed at developing gas from coal as a substitute for natural gas, a project for which his approval is required.

My approval is not required for this experiment. I will however circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the names of the companies which I understand to be associated with it.

The hon. Gentleman must be aware that investments leading to jobs are welcome in job-hungry Scotland. Can he say what rôle the Gas Council plays in this project? Will it have any patent rights, or will it have to depend on the benevolence of the 11 American companies if the project is successful?

I too welcome the jobs that it provides. The Gas Council has been able to come to this arrangement which involves the use of capacity surplus to its requirements. The Gas Council indirectly will benefit from these experiments. Therefore from all points of view it is welcome.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give the number of new industrial industries which have been established in the inner London area in the last three years.

I regret that the information in the form requested is not readily available.

While I take note of that reply, I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is aware of the deep concern now being expressed throughout London about the continual closure of industries and about the thousands of jobs that we continue to lose. In view of the reply that I was given last week about IDCs, will the hon. Gentleman seek an urgent meeting with the representatives of the 32 London boroughs so that this matter may be discussed with a view to putting forward proposals for the re-establishment of industries in London?

I am always willing to consider requests for discussions. However I must point out to the hon. Gentleman that the loss of job opportunities in manufacturing industry in London has been offset by the growth of job opportunities in service industries and in commerce, which is not a state of affairs that the rest of the country enjoys.

Can my hon. Friend say whether he has received representations to the effect that greater London should be converted into a special development area?

No, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will establish an inquiry into the hazards and accidents at sea involving floating air beds and other inflatable craft; and whether he will make a statement.

The dangers of using airbeds and unsuitable craft in the sea should be generally well known, particularly to parents of young children, but we are keeping this problem under review to see whether further action is needed.

Quite apart from the dangers to those using these craft, especially to young children, does the hon. Gentleman agree that there is considerable danger and inconvenience to the public services involved in rescue operations, in addition to the considerable public expense involved? Would not a thorough inquiry be helpful from every angle?

I think the hon. Gentleman will recognise that the rescue services are prepared to put up with considerable danger and inconvenience if it means saving lives. When accidents are caused by articles which are no more than floating toys, I think any sensible parent should see that no child is allowed to drift from the shore in one of them.

As it is possible for the unfortunate victim to travel a great distance and rapidly to become out of earshot and hard to discover, and as the cost of launching air-sea rescue heli- copters under RN or RAF auspices is very high, will the Department examine the possibility of supporting an institution like the American Civil Air Patrol which might be of great value as an auxiliary air-sea rescue service?

I will look at that suggestion. However it is still my view that prevention is more important than cure. I hope that parents will take my warning very much to heart, especially at this time of year.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much noise is made by Lockheed TriStars.

Under the conditions specified by the United States Federal Aviation Regulations, the noise levels in EPNdB for a Lockheed TriStar are: flyover 98; sideline 95; approach 103.

Will my right hon. Friend say how these figures compare with those for other engines? Will he also consider, further to his reply to my supplementary question on Question No. 17, what action can be taken to encourage airlines to buy aircraft with quieter engines?

My hon. Friend may know that new certification regulations have been introduced which impose limitations on the noise which may he made by aircraft coming forward for registration now. As for my hon. Friend's first point about comparative performances, since it is the aircraft with all its engines which matters, the TriStar is quieter than the average of the present generation of four-engined aircraft—the 707, the DC8 and the VC10—by about 15 EPNdB at end of the three measuring points. Even compared with the average of the much smaller Trident 3B and the BAC 111–500, it is quieter by between 5 and 12 EPNdB at the various measuring points.

As the certification requirements are that an aircraft shall be safe on take-off if one engine fails, will my hon. Friend confirm that a twin-engined aircraft has a higher rate of climb than a three-engined aircraft and, therefore, that the noise on the ground after take-off diminishes more quickly with twin-engined aircraft than with three or four-engined aircraft?

I have no doubt that my hon. Friend is correct about these technical matters. However for comparative purposes the noise of various types compared with the TriStar is as I gave in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Mr. Jessel).

How do these noise figures compare with the present noise level of the Concorde and that hoped for in the future?

Noise figures on the Concorde have been given already. If the hon. Member for Putney (Mr. Hugh Jenkins) cares to put down a Question, I shall answer it again.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he is now able to state when the British Airways Board will place an order for TriStar aircraft for British European Airways.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice the British Airways Board have given to British European Airways concerning the purchase of the Lockheed airbus powered by Rolls-Royce RB211 engines.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he can now announce the Government's decision regarding funding an uprated version of the RB211 engine, as proposed by Rolls-Royce (1971) Limited.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the British Airways Board about the purchase of TriStars.

With your permission, Mr. Speaker, my hon. Friend the Minister for Aerospace will answer these Questions at the end of Questions.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many industrial development certificates have been granted in Derbyshire, both in the grey areas and the non-grey areas, since 1st January, 1972.

Between 1st January and 30th June, 1972, 57 in Derbyshire of which 29 were approved outside the intermediate areas.

Does my hon. Friend accept that there is a certain amount of confusion about the circumstances in which IDCs are given and that there is an underlying uneasiness in Derbyshire that insufficient job opportunities are being given in view of what is happening there? Will my hon. Friend look at the matter with a view to seeing whether the situation can be improved?

I take note of the first part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question. Of course, the exact locations of IDCs must be kept confidential. The general picture is much improved since my hon. Friend last asked me about it. Last year the figure was 75, and it shows an encouraging improvement.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish his inspector's report on the fracturing of an oil pipe-line at Ashley, Staffordshire, on 7th July; and whether he will make a statement.

The inspector's report is confidential. I am however arranging to let the hon. Member have a copy of a factual statement which is being made available to interested parties.

Is the hon. Genleman aware that this accident revealed a completely unsatisfactory state of affairs in terms of safety? Is he aware, further, that his Department is being too secretive about the hazards of conveying both oil and gas? Will he rethink his position and make the full report of the inspector available to the general public?

When the hon. Gentleman sees the factual statement that I have undertaken to let him have and when he bears in mind the reply to his Question on 26th July, I believe he will see that the cause of the accident is identified clearly and that it is established that the emergency procedures proved completely satisfactory. I think that answers the point the hon. Gentleman wishes to make.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has yet come to a conclusion as to the attribution of responsibility in his Department for the safeguarding of consumer interests.

The allocation of Ministerial responsibilities within my Department is reviewed from time to time, but I have no announcement to make about this at present.

Will my right hon. Friend assure us that in the next Session more priority will be given to consumer protection legislation? Is he aware that in the Queen's Speech this year we had an assurance that legislation would be forthcoming? We have not had any. Can we at least look forward to legislation on the Crowther proposals and the Sale of Goods Act next year?

I will give close attention to my hon. Friend's suggestion.

As it is the Government's present practice to reverse their policies of a year ago, will they now re-estabish the Consumer Council?

No, I have no intention of doing so at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will give for the latest and most convenient stated date the number of registered companies which have failed to remit their returns as laid down under the Companies Act; and whether he will classify these in such a way as to show how many of such companies are in arrears with such returns for periods between six months and 12 months, 12 months and 18 months, 18 months and two years and more than two years.

Until the process of computerising these records, which is now under way, is complete, it will not be possible to answer this Question without disproportionate cost.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that that proves that there must be so many hundreds of these cases that his Department cannot find them without disproportionate time and effort? If that is so, why are these people allowed continually to break the law year after year, whereas when it comes to the dockers within a matter of hours the full majesty of the law is set in train and every action is taken? Will the right hon. Gentleman take action to ensure that the law is enforced against these lawbreakers?

I heard that argument early one morning last week.

The right hon. Gentleman will hear it again on the Motion for the Adjournment.

The hon. Gentleman has, as I said then, my sympathy in that this is an enormous problem. It has been building up over the years.

Do something about it.

We are at present, as I have said to the hon. Gentleman, computerising the whole of this information. It will, on the rate being developed at present, take a year to complete. [Laughter.] The hon. Gentleman laughs but detailed information about ½ million companies cannot be collected in a few minutes—[Interruption.] I am trying to help the hon. Gentleman and to give him the information he seeks. Last year we sent out 130,000 reminders to companies which were, for one reason or another, late. This is a very considerable effort on the part of the staff, and the process will be quicker when it is computerised.

The right hon. Gentleman has accidently answered part of the question: he has shown that 100,000 firms are in arrears, or questions would not have been sent to them. He has a statutory obligation to Parliament to give the House information about companies which have not filed their returns. If the information is being computerised, that is a mechanical matter and does not in any way alter the fact that the right hon. Gentleman's Department has the responsibility to keep the House informed about this matter.

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely wrong. I did not give the hon. Member for West Ham, North (Mr. Arthur Lewis) the answer by mistake. I gave it to him on purpose. I said that 130,000 firms had had reminders that they were late. What I cannot do is answer the hon. Gentleman's Question, which covers an enormous range far beyond the number. This could not be done on the information which at present exists. I am trying to improve the situation as fast as is humanly possible. As the hon. Gentleman had the courtesy to say, this has been building up over the years.

Has my right hon. Friend any information about what the position was in this respect in June, 1970?

Approximately the same number of companies and exactly the same action was taken.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Ardwick (Mr. Kaufman), I will try to raise this matter when opposing the Motion for the Adjournment for the Summer Recess.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many inquiries for industrial sites and buildings have been passed to the industrial development officer at Bolton by his Department; how many of these have been from United Kingdom firms and how many from overseas since 1st April, 1972.

In consultation with the industrial development officer, the Department has suggested Bolton in reply to 21 inquiries for factory space, four of which came from overseas.

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Was it fair for the delegation from the North-Western Trades Union Congress to issue a statement to the Press after meeting my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State talking about gloom over jobs in the North-West?

It is not for me to comment on what statement the deputation made or did not make. All I can say is that the Department and Bolton work extremely well together and there is considerable optimism in my hon. Friend's constituency.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether, in view of Mr. Justice Megarry's comments in the High Court of Justice that pyramid selling was capable of being operated dishonestly and could amount to swindle of a far-reaching nature, he will, as a matter of urgency, seek powers to make the practice of pyramid selling illegal in Great Britain.

I have taken note of the judgment. It relates to the two companies for which winding-up orders have been made. Any wider implications it may have will require further examination. A study of pyramid selling is in hand and I hope shortly to reach decisions on any further measures that may be necessary to regulate the practice.

Is the Miniser aware that numbers of people have been and are being swindled out of their life savings by slick operators in this field, that the practice has been made illegal in a number of States in the United States and that Mr. Justice Megarry referred to Koscot operating a scheme which reeked of cunning and fraud and was a swindle of a far-reaching nature? Cannot the right hon. Gentleman speed up matters so that more people are not swindled out of their savings? What does he intend to do about it?

In this case the Department acted quickly and, I am glad to say, very effectively. There is a large variety of dealings in franchises. The sort that was carried on by Koscot was a particularly bad one. There are variations. They are all being examined. I shall take whatever action is suitable as soon as I can.

Can we have an assurance that the Minister will not computerise this proposition, otherwise it will take at least a year before anything happens?

I shall deal with it as quickly as possible. I see no need to use a computer for this purpose.

The Minister for Aerospace, to answer Question No. 33.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. The House is aware that there is a great deal of controversy and speculation about the nuclear power industry. Have you had any intimation from the Minister that Question 46 on the nuclear power industry will be answered today?

I have had no such intimation.

Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. An item of news has appeared on the front page of the Financial Times indicating that the Minister was going to make a statement to the effect—

Order. This has nothing to do with the Chair. I had asked the Minister for Aerospace to answer Question 33.