HC Deb 01 December 1971 vol 827 cc424-7
11. Mr. Doig

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he proposes to take to preserve the sugar beet industry in Scotland.

28. Mr. Strang

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the future of the sugar beet industry in Scotland.

29. Mr. Maclennan

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will now make a statement about the future of the Scottish sugar beet industry.

30. Mr. MacArthur

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the future of the sugar beet industry for Scotland.

The Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs and Agriculture, Scottish Office (Mr. Alick Buchanan-Smith)

In July, 1969, the British Sugar Corporation announced that it would close its factory at Cupar at the end of the 1971 season and the Government of that time agreed. After a comprehensive review my right hon. Friend announced in December, 1970, that there were insufficient grounds to intervene. Since then an independent group has sought to operate the Cupar factory. It has now been announced that, in the present and foreseeable circumstances of the sugar market in the United Kingdom, the attempt has been abandoned. The Government regret that in these circumstances a Scottish sugar beet industry does not appear to be a commercial proposition.

Mr. Doig

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that 1,000 jobs have been lost to Scotland because the Minister refused to intervene in this matter? Is he further aware that this is another example of the abuse of monopoly power—in this case a monopoly power which was controlled by the Government? It is therefore even more criminal that 1,000 jobs should have been lost as the result of a deliberate act of Government policy.

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

It is the duty of the Government and of all Members to ensure that our industries in Scotland are commercially viable. I ask the hon. Gentleman to note that the decisions of the British Steel Corporation and the consortium were taken on a commercial basis.

Mr. Strang

Since the consortium has now left the field, and since the main reason given by the Under-Secretary of State for the closure of the British Sugar Corporation's factory was the substantial cost of modernisation, will the Government consider providing financial assistance to the Corporation to modernise the plant? Would not this be compatible with their policy of encouraging nationalised industries to invest in areas of high unemployment to provide new jobs?

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

The hon. Gentleman should look at the reasons why the Corporation gave up, and he might even consult some of his right hon. and hon. Friends about it. It was not only a question of modernisation; there were other much deeper questions concerning the long-term commercial viability of the industry.

Mr. MacArthur

In view of the Government's large holding in the corporation and their responsibilities in Scotland generally, will my right hon. Friend discuss with the corporation the possibility of continuing operating in Scotland until 1974 when there is likely to be room for the expansion of the sugar beet industry in Britain as a whole?

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

I emphasise that what is in question is the commercial viability of the industry, whether it is in the hands of the British Sugar Corporation or in private hands. I assure my hon. Friend that when the Government decided last December not to intervene with the corporation our future relationship with the Common Market was fully taken into account.

Mr. Maclennan

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that his announcement today will be greeted with dismay throughout the agriculture industry in Scotland, which is aware that when the Secretary of State announced some time ago that he had insufficient grounds for intervening he was acting out of a doctrinaire commitment to private enterprise and a failure to use his position, through the public interest in the British Sugar Corporation, to ensure the continuance of this industry until 1974 when the commercial conditions to which the hon. Gentleman has referred will change substantially?

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

The hon. Gentleman should direct his question to his right hon. Friend the Member for Kilmarnock (Mr. Ross), who did not intervene when he was in a position to do so, because the Government do not have power to intervene in a matter like this. We undertook to review the question, and that we did most throughly.

Sir J. Gilmore

Would not my hon. Friend agree that the figures submitted to him show that the British Sugar Corporation grossly exaggerated the amount of money necessary to keep this factory going, and that both he and the right hon. Member for Kilmarnock (Mr. Ross) were, therefore, not given by the departments concerned the information which they should have had before deciding to acquiesce when the closure was made?

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

I cannot agree with what my hon. Friend says. I would ask him to refer to the report of the independent consultants who were appointed by the consortium and which endorsed the decision taken by the corporation in relation to the commercial circumstances of that organisation. It bore out the decision which the B.S.C. originally took. I suggest to my hon. Friend and to others in the House that they look at that report to understand what was involved.

Dr. Miller

Will the hon. Gentleman give an undertaking, before he imports the necessary amount of sugar to make up for the loss involved here, that he will consult the recent finding by the Medical Research Councils of the undoubted connection between the ingestion of sugar and coronary heart disease?

Mr. Buchanan-Smith

I am interested to note that the hon. Gentleman is introducing this new factor into this matter. I certainly, and my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Health will, I am sure, take note of it. The only point I would make is in relation to the question of imports. The health question is important, but in the short term the obligations which we have with regard to the sugar-producing countries under the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement are also important.