British Leyland (Hansard, 27 January 1982)

§ 5. Mr. Dalyell
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a further statement on the contact between his Department and the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General on matters relating to the sale of British Leyland assets at Bathgate.

§ Mr. Younger
My Department has provided all the information so far requested by the Comptroller and Auditor General's staff. The conduct of the investigation is a matter for the Comptroller and Auditor General.

§ Mr. Dalyell
In view of the delicacy of the situation at BL, may I ask a question of the Secretary of State of which I gave his office notice at 10 o'clock this morning? Had the position been clear-cut, assuming that the Comptroller has been given the co-operation promised by Ministers and BL, would he not have reported weeks ago? Therefore, should not the Secretary of State—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The hon. Gentleman knows the rules as well as anyone. Copious use of notes is one thing, but the hon. Gentleman should lift his eyes occasionally.

§ Mr. Dalyell
Should not the Secretary of State have used the good offices of the Government machine to help a factory which was brought to Bathgate by Mr. Macmillan? May I add—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The hon. Gentleman will be unfair to his colleagues if he adds to that.

§ Mr. Dalyell
In view of Sir Michael Edwards' statement this morning that he will not be chairman of Leyland in January 1983, should not the situation at Bathgate be left until such time as there is a new chairman?

§ Mr. Younger
I appreciate the hon. Gentleman's concern about this matter, which relates to his constituency. However, I repudiate any suggestion that my Department has not been totally helpful in every respect to the Comptroller and Auditor General. It has given every bit of information for which is has been asked as quickly as possible. It is for the Comptroller and Auditor General to decide how to conduct the inquiry. It is his responsibility to produce a report. However much we might wish to do so, it is not up to the Government to 875 interfere in industrial relations at the site and the factory. Indeed, the right hon. Member for Cardiff, South-East (Mr. Callaghan) made that very clear when he appointed Sir Michael Edwardes.

§ Mr. Millan
Yes, but, on the last point, does the Secretary of State appreciate that an extremely worrying situation has developed not only at Bathgate but in the bus and truck division of British Leyland as a whole? The House will not forgive Ministers if they simply sit back and allow the situation to deteriorate further. I appreciate the difficulties involved in direct intervention, but will the Secretary of State at least give a pledge that he will take a personal interest and see whether Ministers can do anything urgently to try to resolve some of the difficulties? Is the Secretary of State aware that the whole business is extremely worrying?

§ Mr. Younger
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry and I take the closest interest in British Leyland's affairs, including those at Bathgate. However, we do not run the company, nor do we intend to run it. It is neither possible nor right for the Government to force a company to keep open a factory that has lost markets for its products. Having said that, we do, of course, take a close interest in it and will do everything that we can to help.