HC Deb 28 November 1961 vol 650 cc232-3
31. Mrs. Castle

asked the President of the Board of Trade what will be the cost to the Treasury of valid applications to date for re-equipment grants under the Cotton Industry Act, 1959; and what was the reason for altering the final date for the receipt of applications from 8th July, 1962, to 8th July, 1963.

Mr. N. Macpherson

My right hon. Friend is informed that to date the Cotton Board has received applications covering expenditure, incurred or proposed, to the amount of £34.3 million; assuming all these projects go ahead, the Government's contribution will be about £8.6 million. The final date for the receipt of applications remains at 8th July, 1962. The date by which orders must be placed with manufacturers has been put back to 8th July, 1963, so as to give applicants more time.

Mrs. Castle

But does not this very low figure of 8.6 per cent. for re-equipment grants show that the estimates made of the demand for these grants at the time the Bill was before the House have not been fulfilled and that, therefore, the re-equipment scheme is sadly lagging behind the hopes? In view of the very serious spread of short-time working in areas like Blackburn and the rest of Lancashire, could the hon. Gentleman tell the House what plans his right hon. Friend has for dealing with the crisis in the cotton industry?

Mr. Macpherson

The re-equipment so far is not as high as we had hoped, but there still is some time left. I think that the hon. Lady misunderstood my figure. The Government's contribution will be £8.6 million. It is not a question of 8.6 per cent. As to the future, there is still some time to go. This is the scheme which the Government have made in order to encourage the cotton industry, and we hope that the cotton industry will take advantage of it.

Mrs. Castle

I did not misunderstand the hon. Gentleman. Is it not a fact that when the Bill was before the House the Government estimated that the re-equipment grants would total at least £20 million? Is not this £8.6 million in applications for grant seriously below that figure, and does it not reflect the growing breakdown of morale in the cotton industry due to the crisis there? What is the hon. Gentleman going to do about it?

Mr. Macpherson

As I have said, there is still some time to go, and we hope that the figures will increase. Owing to the situation which has arisen from the point of view of imports in the past few months, there has undoubtedly been some decline in the confidence of the industry, but there is still time for it to pick up.