§ 17. Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a further statement on progress towards planning agreements.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Industry (Mr. Bob Cryer)I have repeatedly expressed my disappointment at the rate of progress being made in the implementation of planning agreement policy, which was announced early in the passage of the Industry Bill 1975 as being voluntary. The Government remain firmly committed to the concept of planning agreements.
§ Mr. RookerI thank my hon. Friend for that answer, but will he confirm that all the Ministers in his Department are in favour of planning agreements? Would he care to venture an opinion as to whether it is worth Back Benchers coming to this House repeatedly for Department of Industry Questions and seeking to get different answers from the one he has given today, since we are looking for something more positive?
§ Mr. CryerI am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments. I can assure him that all the Ministers in the Department of Industry and the Government are in support of planning agreements. This has been Government policy. It was laid down in the election manifesto on which we were elected, and we have consistently maintained that planning agreements are important. I entirely accept that the progress so far has been extremely disappointing. In view of the massive amounts of aid to industry which this Government have been giving, both in grants and in tax concessions, it seems that industry could develop a more helpful and co-operative attitude towards planning agreements.