HC Deb 25 February 1970 vol 796 cc1187-8
25. Mr. Lane

asked the President of the Board of Trade when he will quantify the returns on the £275,000 so far drawn by the Overseas Marketing Corporation.

Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody

I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's reply to the hon. Member for South Angus (Mr. Bruce-Gardyne) on 26th November, 1969.—[Vol. 792, c. 393.]

Mr. Lane

As that answer referred to the corporation as an experimental initiative and as several hundreds of thousands of £s in public money are already involved, when will the House have an opportunity to assess and discuss the results of the experiment?

Mrs. Dunwoody

My hon. Friend explained at that time that this was a private limited company. The difficulty has been that it has only just begun to see the results of all the efforts which have been made. It was created to assist manufacturers who might not have expertise in marketing their products abroad. I think that in the future we shall be surprised at how efficient it has been.

Mr. Ridley

Although the corporation is a private company, as the public has put in the money why should not the public be allowed to see the accounts? Will the hon. Lady take the point that where public money is put into a company, accounts should be published for all to see?

Mrs. Dunwoody

If the hon. Gentleman addresses himself to the company, he will get precisely the information he wants.