HC Deb 07 February 1968 vol 758 cc390-1
40. Mr. Lane

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to improve relations between Her Majesty's Government and industry.

Mr. Darling

Her Majesty's Government wish to maintain the closest possible relations both with industry generally and with particular firms and industries and will continue to consult them to the maximum practicable extent on all relevant issues of Government policy.

Mr. Lane

As well as that, will the right hon. Gentleman urge the Chancellor of the Exchequer to do something positive to encourage industry, even if it is only a token this year, in his forthcoming Budget?

Mr. Darling

That question ought to be addressed to my right hon. Friend, but I shall pass it on.

Mr. Molloy

In view of the grave anxiety now felt in the engineering industry in Greater London, ought not my right hon. Friend to call a conference between the trade unions and the employers involved to see whether a planned procedure could be organised in an effort to allay some of the distress which is already being felt in many trade union organisations as well as employers' organisations in engineering in Greater London?

Mr. Darling

That is a different question, but I agree with my hon. Friend that the greatest possible consultation is needed between firms which are in process of rationalising their factories and the trade unions, and as much advance information as possible of the changes proposed should be given to the appropriate Government Departments so that a proper phased operation could apply in practically every case.

Mr. Patrick Jenkin

Is it not a fact that, contrary to the high hopes which many industrialists—mistakenly, as it turned out—placed in Her Majesty's present Government, the disillusion which so many industrialists are now feeling is, perhaps, the greatest condemnation of the Government's performance?

Mr. Darling

I do not agree with a single word which the hon. Gentle has said. I can tell him that a great many industrialists, from big, medium and small firms and trade associations, have told me that they have had closer and more regular contacts with the Board of Trade during the past three years than they ever had in any similar period under the previous Administration.