§ 19. Mr. Jayasked the President of the Board of Trade if he has considered the request of L. S. Starrett and Company for a temporary remission of import duty on certain machine tools in order to enable them to develop a new plant at Jedburgh; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ErrollI am not aware of any current application from this company relating to machine tools. But it has from time to time requested duty remission on measuring instruments and on parts imported for incorporation in its products. Under the Import Duties Act, 1958, remission can be given only if similar articles are not currently procurable in Britain. On the information so far supplied by the company, this condition has not been met but the company has been invited to discuss its problems further with my Department.
§ Mr. JayIs it not the case that a large American machine tool firm is anxious to develop on quite a big scale in Scotland? Surely the Board of Trade will be willing to show a little discretion and flexibility in trying to enable it to do so?
§ Mr. ErrollMy duty is to administer the law fairly and impartially and not favour one type of firm at the expense of another. Incidentally, the parent company is located at Jedburgh which is not in a development district.
§ Mr. JayWithin the law the President should do his best to encourage a scheme giving employment to an area of this kind.
§ Mr. ErrollI am very glad to explain to firms how the law is administered. Although we have hard cases occasionally, I think that industry recognises that the law is fairly administered and that most people are satisfied with it.