NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES (MANUFACTURING RESOURCES) (Hansard, 13 May 1965)

§ Q3. Mr. Sheldon
asked the Prime Minister which nationalised industries will be free to employ and develop their manufacturing resources.

§ The Prime Minister
I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement made on 31st March by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport.

§ Mr. Sheldon
Can my right hon. Friend give any indication of what may be expected about the forthcoming plans for the gas and electricity industries in particular? Is he aware that his initiative here has given us a great deal of pleasure on this side of the House, and that since many of the most progressive companies are organising themselves on vertical lines his measures to allow the nationalised industries to be equally progressive in organising themselves on vertical lines has given a great deal of satisfaction?

§ The Prime Minister
With regard to proposals within the gas and electricity industries, my hon. Friend will, no doubt, put down detailed questions to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Power. What the Government have decided—

§ Sir F. Bennett
Is to have a review.

§ The Prime Minister
—as announced by the Minister of Transport in March, is that the artificial restrictions operated by the previous Government, particularly by the previous Minister of Transport, which prevented nationalised industries from competing with private enterprise on a competitive basis, even within their own field, should go. They have gone.

§ Mr. Buck
Will the right hon. Gentleman now give the assurance which was sought by my right hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, South-West (Mr. Powell) on an earlier occasion, namely, that the nationalised industries will be called upon to account separately for any extension of their manufacturing processes so that no concealed subsidy is involved?

§ The Prime Minister
There will be no question of subsidy. Of course, we have the Select Committee on the Nationalised 701 Industries, which will be able to form any view on the point made by the hon. Member for Colchester (Mr. Buck). What we had before was a decision to force these industries or these factories to work below capacity—to work uneconomically—because of an ideological ban by the previous Government on their undertaking competitive work.