§ 27. Mr. H. Hyndasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the financial aid now being arranged for motor car and shipping firms will be in the form of unconditional grants or will be made in exchange for stock.
Mr. AmorySome motor car firms will be given assistance under the Distribution of Industry Acts or under the Local Employment Bill when enacted. The exact form of the assistance has still to be negotiated, but where any repayment obligation is incurred by a firm, adequate security will be arranged. There are no proposals before me for financial aid to shipping firms.
§ Mr. HyndAs there are many forecasts of outright free gifts to the shipping companies, and in some cases to the motor car companies, will the Chancellor bear in mind the precedent set by previous Conservative Governments, who invested in the Suez Canal and in Middle East oil, and see whether we cannot give assistance by way of purchasing stock in these firms so that the taxpayer may have some return when profits are made?
Mr. AmoryThere is not much analogy between the point to which the hon. Gentleman refers and the Local Employment Bill, but he will have studied the provisions of that Bill and understand the place that grants and loans, respectively, have in that legislation.