§ 41. Mr. G. M. Thomsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will inform the Chairman of the Capital Issues Committee that the Treasury will be ready in principle to consent to proposals to raise money for investment in the Scottish Development Area.
§ Mr. Walker-SmithNo, Sir. The Committee has been asked to recommend consent to any proposal only if it is satisfied that it has definite urgency under current requirements. It is, of course, aware of the Government's interest in the special needs of the Development Areas.
§ Mr. ThomsonIs the hon. and learned Gentleman aware that the words of my Question are the exact words used by his right hon. Friend in relation to industrial investment in Northern Ireland? Is he aware that Scottish economic difficulties are just the same as Ulster's, and that the Scottish unemployment rate is six times that of London? Will he not look at the matter again?
§ Mr. Walker-SmithIt had not escaped me that the hon. Gentleman's words had that very respectable authorship, but the circumstances are different, because the comparison which is relevant is not the comparison of unemployment in London and Scotland, but a comparison with unemployment in Northern Ireland, which is much larger than that of the Scottish Development Area.