§ 30. Mr. Thorntonasked the President of the Board of Trade what is his latest estimate of the cost to the Exchequer of the re-equipment phase of the Cotton Industry Act, 1959.
§ Mr. GreenI regret that it is not possible to estimate the total cost to the Exchequer of re-equipment grants, as it will not be known until after July, 1964, how much re-equipment or modernisation will be carried out by the industry. To date, £5,193,968 has actually been paid out in grants.
§ Mr. ThorntonIs the hon. Gentleman satisfied that the progress being made in re-equipment justifies the £11 million in Treasury funds which have been spent on scrapping of machinery?
§ Mr. GreenI do not think that it is possible at this moment in time to make the sort of equation that the hon. Gentleman is inviting me to make. Perhaps a little later on, if he would care to table that question and I have more of the facts, it would be possible for me to give him a more satisfactory answer.