35. Mr. H. Wilsonasked the President of the Board of Trade what action has been decided on under the powers conferred on him by Section 2 of the Cinematograph Film Production (Special Loans) Act, 1954.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade (Mr. Henry Strauss)None, Sir. The National Film Finance Corporation have not so far made any arrangements under Section 2 (1) of the Act and accordingly no occasion for using the powers conferred on the Board of Trade by Section 2 (2) has yet arisen.
Mr. WilsonIn view of the rather far-reaching steps in connection with the activities of the British Lion Company which I understand the hon. and learned Gentleman is likely to announce this afternoon, may I ask if he will give an assurance that in any use of this power under the Act referred to in the Question the first priority will be given to the maintenance of film production in this country?
§ Mr. StraussAny use will be governed strictly by the terms of the Act. I think that the particular matter in which the 1070 right hon. Gentleman is interested may be more usefully dealt with by supplementary questions to a later Question on the Order Paper.