HC Deb 10 April 1978 vol 947 cc962-3
15. Mr. John Evans

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he next intends to meet the chairman of British Shipbuilders.

14. Mr. Trotter

asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he next intends to have a meeting with the chairman of British Shipbuilders Ltd.

Mr. Kaufman

My right hon. Friend meets the chairman from time to time, but there are no plans for a meeting at present.

Mr. Evans

When my hon. Friend next meets the chairman, will he take up with him the case of Western Ship Repairers on Merseyside, which is faced with closure? Will he suggest to the chairman of British Shipbuilders that Western Ship Repairers should be taken into public ownership, as was intended in the original Bill?

Mr. Kaufman

This is a matter which really should be taken up with the Tory Party and the House of Lords. If Western Ship Repairers had been nationalised with the shipbuilding companies a year ago when the Bill went through, British Shipbuilders would have been in a position to rescue that company from its problems. The trouble now is that the rot has set in so deep that it is very difficult to find a way out.

Mr. Arnold

When the Secretary of State next meets the chairman of British Shipbuilders, will he ask him why British Shipbuilders is now seeking to move into the manufacture of medium-speed diesel engines?

Mr. Kaufman

This is a matter which has been discussed very closely. British Shipbuilders intends at present to undertake work on medium-speed diesel engines in connection with the Polish order. It is work which would not have come to this country without the Polish order and which does not take work away from a single British worker. As for diversification, we fought this through during the passage of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act, and Parliament decided that this publicly owned industry should have the power to diversify.

Mr. Blenkinsop

Will my hon. Friend recognise the important improvements in labour relations which are now being shown on Tyneside and see that there is as much publicity given to those improvements as there was before when we suffered severe setbacks?

Mr. Kaufman

My hon. Friend is quite right, and we hope that these very favourable indications will be noted. It is extremely important that we should do whatever we can to maintain employment in the shipyards on Tyneside.

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