Regional Employment Premium (Hansard, 10 November 1971)

§ 15. Mr. Douglas
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will request his Economic Advising Section to investigate the effects on the Scottish economy of the ending of the regional employment premium in 1974.

§ Mr. Gordon Campbell
My economic advisers keep under review the whole range of regional incentives.

§ Mr. Douglas
Have not the economic advisers to the Secretary of State told him that the thing to do to hold the job position is to double the regional employment premium immediately?

§ Mr. Campbell
No. At present the ending of the regional employment pre- 992 mium is three years away. The situation will be considered nearer the time, so that we can see what combination of measures is likely to be most effective to meet that situation rather than the situation today.

§ Mr. Lawson
Will the right hon. Gentleman tell the House whether his economic advisers at any time recommended the ending of R.E.P.?

§ Mr. Campbell
This was a decision taken by the last Government. They decided that R.E.P. should first be for five years and then, when they brought it in, for seven years. We have kept to the same arrangement.

§ Mr. Ross
Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that we never find that he is reliable in relation to Tory policy and we certainly do not take his word in connection with Labour policy? It is true that we guaranteed R.E.P. for seven years but we did not say that it would end at that time. Any industrial firm which is making investment plans wants to know very much earlier what the position will be. May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he has seen the statement made by Sir Eric Yarrow that R.E.P. should immediately be doubled?

§ Mr. Campbell
I have seen a number of suggestions made by a great many persons, and sometimes they conflict. Of course, I take all these things into account and pass them to the Ministers whose responsibilities these matters are. I can assure the right hon. Gentleman that we have at least made it clear now that this particular form of assistance will not continue beyond the end of the seven-year period. In two years' time, when the situation can be assessed, we can see what is the best combination of regional deployment measures for 1975.