§ 9. Mr. Wingfield Digbyasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will take steps to extend investment grants to firms leasing containers for ships to foreign shipping companies.
§ Mr. JayNo, Sir. It is not the purpose of the Investment Grant Scheme to assist the equipment of foreign ships.
§ Mr. Wingfield DigbyIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that owing to the very high capital costs of these specialised ships there is an increasing tendency to hire containers separately and not buy them at the same time? Could not this be a useful outlet for some of our capacity?
§ Mr. JayI am aware of that, and our purpose here is to see that investment grants are available only where the resulting earnings will be of benefit to the United Kingdom balance of payments.
§ Mr. CorfieldIs it not true that as a result of the policy of the Board of Trade when it brought in the Industrial Development Act it has prevented itself from making grants in any case, whether foreign or otherwise, because of the rigid categorisation of industries into manufacturing and service industries?
§ Mr. JayAs the hon. Member knows, we are able to make grants for containers in suitable cases where we think that benefit will accrue to the United Kingdom balance of payments.