§ 18. Mr. Nabarroasked the Minister of Fuel and Power what arrangements he has now made with the Central Electricity Authority and area boards in regard to promotional electricity advertising, including advertisements relating to nuclear power.
§ Mr. Aubrey JonesI expect the boards, as responsible public bodies, to exercise reasonable restraint in their expenditure on advertising and to avoid forms of publicity which are misleading. Within this general framework. the boards, as commercial enterprises, have full discretion to decide what forms of advertising have an economic justification, and I could 17 not undertake to regulate individual advertisements issued by them. Not only would I be setting myself an impossible task, but it would undermine all sense of responsibility in the boards for me to dictate to them in detail how they should conduct their affairs.
§ Mr. NabarroHas my right hon. Friend's attention been directed to a series of electricity advertisements in the National Farmers' Union journal, the British Farmer, advertising the sale of nuclear power to farmers in 1975 at a time when farmers in my constituency are being afflicted by the credit squeeze and are still sitting under oil lamps?
§ Mr. JonesMy hon. Friend has not failed to draw my attention to the advertisements in question, but I cannot consider, in the light of my earlier Answer, that they call for any comment from me.