§ 11. Mr. Biffenasked the Minister of Technology if he will take steps to reduce the expenditure of his Department below the levels indicated in the recent White Paper on Public Expenditure.
§ Mr. BiffenIs the hon. Gentleman aware that that is a very reactionary answer? Is he aware that there is increasing evidence that the expenditure and regional policies are not producing the results which might be hoped for and that expenditure on investment subsidies is not resulting in the level of investment that we expected? If there is any relation between these two, will the hon. Gentleman agree that it should be circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT?
Mr. WilliamsThe hon. Member will appreciate that an examination of the effectiveness of investment grants is taking place. Obivously, it is better to wait until those studies have been completed and the results are available. It is remarkable that hon. and right hon. Members opposite, having asked for such a study, ask that we should precipitately abandon investment grants before knowing whether they are effective or not.
§ Sir K. JosephIs it not possible that the inquiry will show that it would be sensible if the expenditure of the Department were cut by the Government?
Mr. WilliamsOf course that is conceivable. We are not saying that in no circumstances ever should there be a change, but that is very different from pre-empting the decision without knowing what it is.