HC Deb 21 April 1971 vol 815 cc1178-9
38. Dame Irene Ward

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish the Special Report on Palmers Shipyard which was not made available at the time the decision was taken to withhold finance to keep the yard in operation, in view of the fact that the public can now obtain copies of the Report.

Mr. Ridley

A report prepared by the Ship Building and Ship Repairing Council on the ship repair industry as a whole was considered by my right hon. Friend before deciding, last August, that further Government assistance for the Palmers ship repair yard would not be justifiable. The Council released its Report to the Press last September.

Dame Irene Ward

I am very grateful for that answer as the employment position on the North-East Coast is very bad. It was announced by some unknown people that the report had not been published. Therefore, will my hon. Friend accept my thanks, because I always believe that, however pleasant or unpleasant facts may be, it is much better to tell the truth and to announce what there is to announce. I am very grateful for the announcement—not that it helped us on the Tyne.

Mr. Ridley

As the report was the property of the Ship Building and Ship Repairing Council, it was up to the council to publish it rather than the Government. The Government asked the council if it would be good enough to publish the report, and I am glad to say that it responded last October by doing so.

Mr. Fernyhough

In his reply the hon. Gentleman said that the report was published last September. Does he agree that when I met him to discuss the closure I asked that the report should be published but he could give me no guarantee? Will he, on reflection, accept that the report paid ship repairing in the North-East as great a compliment as could be paid in any part of the country?

Mr. Ridley

The reason I could not promise the hon. Gentleman that the report would be published was that it was not for me to take the decision but for the council. However, I asked the council to publish it and it did. So I did the best I could. I agree that the report, though of a general nature, does give grounds for hope for the ship repairing industry on the whole. We have had discussions with the industry following up points in the report.

Mr. McBride

Would the Minister not agree that his proposals for the ship repairing industry are long overdue? We would like them published immediately in order that we may know what the Government are prepared to do to help this important adjunct to our native and overseas maritime traffic using the ports of our country. Would he lend a semblance of confidence to the ports and the industry?

Mr. Ridley

The Minister for Industry or myself, if we catch your eye tomorrow, Mr. Speaker, will hope to say something about policy for the ship repairing industry.