§ 27. Mr. James Johnsonasked the Minister for Trade if he intends to introduce new measures to reduce the decline in the British merchant shipping fleet.
§ Mr. SproatI am considering what can sensibly be done to assist the shipping industry through a difficult period and help stem the decline of the United Kingdom fleet, and have already set in hand an examination of costs connected with the transfer of ships to United Kingdom registry. The tasks of maintaining and improving international competitiveness and meeting the competition must lie primarily with the industry itself.
§ Mr. JohnsonDoes the Minister mind if I tell him that workers and management in the docks say that they seem to listen to nothing but endless talk on this subject? Will he say in what fashion the Government intend to take positive action to lift the industry out of its gloom?
§ Mr. SproatI am aware that those who run the docks at Hull and elsewhere in the United Kingdom are acutely conscious of the difficult times through which the British Merchant Navy is going. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will be glad to know that last week I saw the National Union of Seamen and the General Council of British Shipping. This week, I am seeing the Merchant Navy and Airline Officers Association and the radio officers. I shall be giving the closest consideration to the ideas that they put to me.