HC Deb 28 March 1939 vol 345 cc2011-4

Resolution reported, That, for the purposes of any Act of the present Session to make provision for the better organisation of the cotton industry and certain industries related thereto, and for purposes connected with the matter aforesaid, it is expedient—

  1. (1) to authorise the payment out of moneys provided by Parliament to the Cotton Industry Board constituted under the said Act, in respect of each of the five years beginning with the year nineteen hundred and forty, of contributions towards expenses incurred by the board in the exercise of their powers—
    1. (a) to conduct, and to promote or en-courage, research and investigation in matters relating to the consumption of products of the industry as denned by the said Act, and
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    2. (b) to take measures for increasing the consumption of such products, so, however, that such contributions in respect of any year shall not in the aggregate exceed one-half of such expenses for that year or forty thousand pounds, whichever is the less;
  2. (2)to authorise the payment out of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom or moneys provided by Parliament, to the board administering any scheme under the said Act which is therein referred to as a redundancy scheme, of such sums as may, by virtue of the said Act or any order of the Board of Trade there under, be payable by the Board of Trade for the purpose of securing that the revenue of the board administering the scheme is sufficient to enable them to meet their liabilities in respect of money borrowed by them and to defray their other expenses;
  3. (3)to authorise the payment into the Exchequer of the United Kingdom of any sums which, in accordance with the said Act or any order of the Board of Trade there under, are paid to the Board of Trade by the board administering such a scheme as aforesaid; and
  4. (4)to authorise the payment, out of moneys provided by Parliament, of the administrative expenses incurred by the Board of Trade for the purposes of the said Act."

Motion made, and Question proposed, "That this House doth agree with the Committee in the said Resolutions."

10.52 p.m.

Mr. Hammersley

Before the House passes the Report stage of this Resolution I should just like to set on record what are the exact facts in respect of the contribution which the Government is giving to the cotton trade in this Financial Resolution. We are living in times when Governments are making considerable contributions to various industries. I understand the facts are that the maximum contribution by the Treasury is some £40,000. I would like to give it as a fact that the contributions of the Treasury in relation to the financial burdens which are put upon the industry are comparatively small. As I understand it the Bill will impose upon the industry a burden of some £110,000 per annum and it will impose upon them financial burdens in respect of levies which are unlimited and unspecified in amounts. It would not be right at this time for the country to get the view that the Treasury are giving large contributions to the industry when in fact their contribution in relation to the burdens they are imposing upon the industry is comparatively small. I shall be most happy if the Under-Secretary in replying can confirm whether my interpretation of the Financial Resolution is right or not.

10.54 p.m.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade (Mr. Cross)

I think that my hon. Friend is quite right as far as he goes but he has not covered quite the whole of the ground and indeed it is not all apparent in the Bill. There are three categories of expenditure shown in the Bill and they are outlined in Schedule 5. My hon. Friend has totalled up the maximum in four years time which was the upper limit and made it £110,000. But the Treasury is not contributing to all those three categories. The first category relates to research. The Government are already contributing to research through the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and they are making a considerable contribution to the Shirley Institute in Manchester. That does not appear in this Bill. In the second category, the Government can contribute, as my hon. Friend pointed out, a maximum of £40,000 a year—that is, on a pound-for-pound basis—as a maximum, or such lesser sum as the Board of Trade think fit; and it is only for approved services relating to market investigation and research, publicity and other measures for increasing the consumption of the products of the industry. The amount under the Schedule which can be subscribed by the industry for these purposes is £50,000, and I suggest, therefore, that the Treasury contribution of £40,000 should be set against that amount of £50,000. The remaining category relates to statistics, which is a purely office function to which the Treasury should not be called upon to contribute. I may add that the amount which the Government are also contributing through the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research-to the Shirley Institute is £30,000 a year, which will be added to the figure of £40,000 which my hon. Friend quoted.