HC Deb 10 February 1966 vol 724 cc599-600
26. Mr. Stratton Mills

asked the First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Economic Affairs if he will now make a statement on the Report of the consultants advising on the diversification of Short Brothers and Harland.

Mr. George Brown

Not at the moment, Sir.

Mr. Mills

Would the right hon. Gentleman confirm that he received the report in December, and would he give us the exact date and explain the reasons for the delay? Would he also confirm that he stands by his pledge of 28th May last that Short Bros. and Harland would remain part of the aircraft industry?

Mr. Brown

I cannot find the exact date in December when I received the report, but I had it in December. There has been no delay. The real purpose is to do good for the people who work in this company and for the people of Northern Ireland. Therefore, it is much more important that we take time over doing the job well than rush into publication.

Mr. Orme

When the discussions on Short Bros. take place, if it is not possible to go ahead with aircraft production, would my right hon. Friend consider setting up some publicly-owned science-based industries in this factory?

Mr. Brown

My hon. Friend may have misunderstood the situation. There is no question of Short Bros. not going ahead with aircraft production. Not only has that been said many times before, but it was said by the Minister of Aviation the other day in the debate on the Plowden Report. In addition, we want to arrange the best and most sensible diversification for this company. This is what the report is about, and this is what discussions are now going on about.

Mr. McMaster

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Minister of Aviation said only the other day in the House that in the next 12 months 4,000 men in Short Bros, may lose their jobs? Would he expedite the putting into effect of this Report?

Mr. Brown

We will bring about the arrangements which the Report recommends as soon as we can. We are busy at it now. We will also take every step to ensure that training, retraining and other facilities are available for anybody who has to move from this company. We are in touch with the Northern Ireland Government at this very moment on the subject.