HC Deb 18 May 1961 vol 640 c1558
Mr. W. Hamilton

I wish to raise a point of order relating to Question No. 46, Mr. Speaker.

Perhaps I can give the background to this matter briefly. Last week, I put a Question to the Board of Trade asking what help was to be given to a firm in Glenrothes, and the Under-Secretary replied that he had no powers to give help as that was not in a development district. That was completely untrue, as the official document issued by the Board of Trade indicates that Glenrothes is specifically named. However, as a result, a firm will probably have gone bankrupt in Glenrothes, because it was in urgent need of that help to which it was entitled under the terms of the Local Employment Act.

In the circumstances, I wonder whether you would be good enough, Mr. Speaker, to allow the Under-Secretary to answer the Question, because there is another firm, an American firm——

Mr. Speaker

Order. It is necessary, to preserve our discipline about Questions, that such things should be allowed only when I have had a request from the Minister to answer the Question. That I have not had.