§ 5. Mr. G. M. Thomsonasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the Government's intentions regarding the future of the United Kingdom jute industry.
§ Sir D. EcclesI would refer the hon. Member to the statement I made in the course of the debate on Industry and Employment in Scotland on Thursday, 10th July.
§ Mr. ThomsonCan the President of the Board of Trade say on what grounds he has rejected the proposals that the jute industry has put to him, after painstaking negotiation among its various interests, to maintain employment in the industry? Since he has declared that he himself dislikes the present State trading, does not he feel the responsibility to put forward some alternatives of his own to safeguard employment in the jute industry?
§ Sir D. EcclesI studied very carefully the Federal Council's proposals—those to which, I believe, the hon. Member referred—and we are still thinking about them. Whether we shall have an alternative proposal, I cannot yet say.