Industrial Development Certificates (Hansard, 10 December 1964)

§ 16. Mr. Loughlin
asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will review the conditions under which industrial development certificates are granted by his Department so that firms operating in areas of high unemployment or pending high unemployment are not allowed to transfer production to another area.

§ Mr. Jay
Our arrangements are already designed to ensure that the needs of the areas of high unemployment are given first priority. But we must take into account the particular features of each case.

§ Mr. Loughlin
Is my right hon. Friend aware that it is something in the nature of a farce if in the issuing of industrial development certificates for areas of high unemployment factories are drawn from areas of pending high unemployment? Is he aware that in my constituency A.E.I. has closed a factory with 850 jobs and there are two pits—

§ Mr. Ridley
On a point of order. Is not this a rather long supplementary question?

§ Mr. Speaker
I am waiting to pounce again. In the general interest I hope we can make supplementary questions shorter.

§ Mr. Loughlin
On a point of order. I am very sorry, but I think my question will prove to be very short. May I complete it, Sir?

§ Mr. Speaker
Yes.

§ Mr. Loughlin
In my area there have been two pit closures, with 720 unemployed. Does not my right hon. Friend think it better to impose conditions on the issuing of such industrial development certificates?

§ Mr. Jay
rose—

§ Lord Balniel
On a point of order. In view of your last Ruling, Mr. Speaker, and in view of the length of this supplementary question—which clearly was longer than the last—[HON. MEMBERS: "Rubbish."]—are you going to rule the Minister out of order if he attempts to answer it?

§ Mr. Speaker
I do not propose to try to conduct Question Time with a stopwatch. I shall do my best. I quarrel with the noble Lord only on the use of the word "clearly". It is terribly difficult to estimate the length of a supplementary question when it is so much interrupted.

§ Mr. Heath
Following that point of order, may I submit to you very respectfully that we find ourselves in a somewhat difficult situation as a result of your Ruling? May I ask that, in order not to take up further time at Question Time, you might perhaps consider the Ruling you gave a few moments ago and inform the House whether you consider it an authoritative Ruling for the future or not. It would appear to some of us that to instruct a Minister not to reply because a supplementary question appears to be long is a new development in our procedure. We should like it to be given further consideration.

§ Mr. Speaker
Of course, I shall reconsider it. In the last Parliament we got into the habit of having long supplementary questions. I do not know what remedy the Chair has, but I shall certainly consider it and I hope that by general good will we can make shorter supplementary questions and make better progress.

§ Mr. Jay
I am sure that the right hon. Member for Bexley (Mr. Heath) wants some questions to be answered.
I am very sympathetic to the point of view of my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucestershire, West (Mr. Loughlin). I have studied these circumstances, but fortunately unemployment in that area which he represents is lower than in other areas.

§ Mr. Loughlin
On a point of order. In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I beg to give notice that I will raise the matter on the Adjournment at the earliest possible moment.