§ 39. Mr. Bruce-Gardyneasked the Minister of Technology if he will make a statement regarding the policy of Her Majesty's Government on incentives to industrial investment.
§ Mr. RipponI shall make a statement as soon as practicable.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneIs my right hon. and learned Friend aware that we in the development areas are not well served by investment incentives to investments which would occur anyway, by investment incentives to investments which will never produce a profit, and by investment incentives to investments which will never produce jobs commensurate with the scale of the incentives involved, and that we have had far too much of all three in the last five years?
§ Mr. RipponI accept that those are relevant considerations.
§ Mr. Maclennanis the Minister aware that the statements of the hon. Member for South Angus (Mr. Bruce-Gardyne) have jeopardised major industrial developments in the Highlands, that as early as March of this year Grampian Chemicals was put in difficulty in raising finance for an important development in the Moray Firth area which would have offered a considerable number of jobs, and that the uncertainty was due to doubts about the present Government's policy on investment grants? How long will he wait and continue to jeopardise developments in Scotland?
§ Mr. RipponI dealt with this matter at some length last Thursday. I will 1138 certainly look into any particular case which is causing anxiety to hon. Members.