HC Deb 05 March 1973 vol 852 cc2-4
1. Mr. Ewing

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many inquiries regarding the possible use of Government advance factories presently standing empty in Scotland have been received from firms engaged in the North Sea oil industry.

The Minister for Industrial Development (Mr. Christopher Chataway)

It is not possible to identify exactly the connection between inquirers and the North Sea industry, but two factories have been allocated to concerns known to be engaged in the industry.

Mr. Ewing

Will the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that every encouragement will be given by his Department to firms applying to set up in Scotland to service the North Sea oil industry, as there is growing concern that such firms are being established outside Scotland, with the result that the country is losing the benefit which the North Sea oil industry could bring?

Mr. Chataway

Yes, Sir. The hon. Gentleman will have noted the measures announced by my right hon. Friend to encourage British industry to take the maximum advantage of the opportunities offered by the North Sea industry.

Mr. Eadie

Is not the Minister aware that there is concern in Scotland about the industrial spin-off from North Sea oil? If he refers to an answer by his right hon. Friend to me recently, he will discover that 2,500 jobs were lost in the energy industries in Scotland in 1972. What plans does he intend to present to the House to try to deal with this problem in Scotland?

Mr. Chataway

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman knows that a whole range of measures has been announced to encourage Scottish industry to break into the North Sea oil supplies business, and not only into the £300 million a year of business in the North Sea but into the £1,000 million a year business that there is to be in offshore development worldwide.

26. Mr. Douglas

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on meetings between his Department and Scottish industrialists on 9th February 1973 with regard to the IMEG report.

Mr. Chataway

As my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry said in reply to a Question on 13th February, he met industrialists in Scotland on 9th February to discuss ways of maximising the benefits from offshore oil and gas developments. A number of suggestions were made and consideration is being given as to how and whether these ideas should be acted upon.—[Vol. 850, c. 327–8.]

Mr. Douglas

Is the Minister aware of the extreme disquiet in Scotland about the Government's failure to implement the major recommendation of the IMEG report, namely, the establishment of an independently-financed petroleum supply industries board? In view of the major windfalls in terms of revenue coming from the North Sea, when will the Government make up their mind to establish such a board so that Scottish industry may get the full benefits of this resource?

Mr. Chataway

My impression is that the great majority of people recognise the force of the argument deployed in the IMEG report, namely, that in order to achieve maximum speed it was best to set up the Offshore Supplies Office within the Department. There is a wide under- standing that if it is to be effective it must work closely with the other agencies of the Department.

Mr. Benn

In view of the publication of the report of the Public Accounts Committee, can the Minister really claim that the arrangements which have been made have been to the benefit of this country? Is it not clear that the royalty payments and tax losses which have been tolerated for the past two and a half years have far more than offset any windfall that there has been?

Mr. Chataway

This is not the occasion or the Question on which to discuss the arrangements for licences and taxation which were primarily made by the previous Administration. The Question deals with the supplying industries in Scotland and, as the right hon. Gentleman knows, we have taken a very large number of measures to ensure that Scottish industry is able to break into this field.