§ 28. Mr. Woodburnasked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in the work of distributing industry and stimulating enterprise in the areas of Scotland and elsewhere which are losing population and to prevent the overgrowth of the areas of industrial attraction, the Government will consider the use of methods of tax holiday, grants and loans now being used to develop industry in Malta.
§ Mr. J. RodgersMy hon. Friend is satisfied that the powers given to the Department under the Local Employment Act and the Town and Country Planning Acts are sufficient for the purpose.
§ Mr. WoodburnAre the hon. Gentleman's right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade and also the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whom I see present, aware that these powers do not work in great parts of Scotland and that so far none of the powers has ever worked in getting industry into those areas? Are they aware that the Colonial Secretary has now devised a most interesting scheme for taking industry to Malta, and will they not see that Scotland has at least most-favoured-nation treatment in this respect? What is good enough for Malta should be used, if necessary, for both the North-East Coast and Scotland in order to get new industry there.
§ Mr. RodgersI cannot agree that the Local Employment Act has not produced new industry in Scotland. [HON. MEMBERS: "Where in Scotland?"] Perhaps it has not produced enough, but we are certainly producing new industry. The analogy with Malta is misleading. It is one thing to have tax advantages or similar discriminatory inducements covering a whole area; it is another thing to have discriminatory inducements operating only in certain places. Just imagine the difficulty of assessing tax of a firm which is based in different places—such as B.M.C. in Scotland and in the Midlands.
§ Mr. WoodburnWould not the hon. Gentleman and the Chancellor of the Exchequer consider at least some extraordinary means to deal with an extraordinary situation? Why cannot they let the banks give credit to industry starting up in Scotland without restriction, instead of leaving them tied as they are?