§ 7. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Minister of Technology what was the total value of contracts placed in Scotland by his Department in each of the last eight years; and what was the figure expressed as a percentage of the total United Kingdom figure.
§ Mr. VarleyThe average total value of contracts over the last eight years has been £21.273 million, 4.5 per cent. of the total United Kingdom figure. I am circulating a breakdown in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. HamiltonCan my hon. Friend say whether he and his Department are satisfied that Scotland is getting its fair share of these contracts? If not, can he give the House the reason why it is not doing so?
§ Mr. VarleyWe are restricted to some extent in placing contracts in Scotland because they sometimes involve specialised and advanced technology. As the Scottish economy gets stronger and more soundly based, this factor ought not to remain a barrier. My hon. Friend will be interested to know that the Scottish development area is covered by the Government's contracts preference scheme, and that we shall urge main contractors to give every consideration to development areas.
Mr. Edward M. TaylorDoes the hon. Gentleman agree that this is a deplorably low figure, even on a population basis? Will he try to make this good to Scotland by using his influence with the Steel Board to make sure that we get an ore terminal on Clydeside with the minimum delay?
§ Mr. VarleyThe ore terminal issue does not arise on the Question. The British Steel Corporation takes regional considerations into account and has a 851 large proportion of its production in development areas.
§ Following is the information
§ The figures related to net values are:—
| Year | £000s | Percentage |
| 1962–63 | 24,518 | 5.7 |
| 1963–64 | 26,846 | 5.7 |
| 1964–65 | 25,704 | 5.8 |
| 1965–66 | 13,250 | 2.6 |
| 1966–67 | 22,779 | 4.3 |
| 1967–68 | 21,089 | 4.9 |
| 1968–69 | 17,122 | 3.4 |
| 1969–70 (first ten months)* | 15,735 | 4.2 |
| * Complete figures for 1969–70 are not yet available. |