HC Deb 26 October 1988 vol 139 cc282-4
7. Mr. Wallace

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what further action his Department is taking to ensure that all parts of Britain benefit equally from the introduction of the European single market.

Mr. Maude

Economic studies indicate that the completion of the single market will give a significant boost to Community GDP and employment. I expect firms in all parts of the United Kingdom to share in this, and the aim of our "Europe—Open for Business" campaign is to encourage firms, wherever they are located, to take action to exploit the opportunities that the single market will bring.

Mr. Wallace

Will the Minister give me an assurance that, when 1992 comes and those opportunities are available, firms in my constituency of Orkney and Shetland will be competing on an equal basis with similar firms in the south, and if not, why not?

Mr. Maude

There is nothing in the Government's power to put firms in each part of the country on an equal footing. We cannot alter geography. That lies well beyond our powers, but we can make sure that the opportunities available to firms in the regions of the United Kingdom are accentuated to them and that they are aware of those opportunities and take steps now, as they should be doing, to prepare themselves for it.

Mr. Aitken

Is my hon. Friend able to confirm the embarrassing report on the front page of today's edition of The Guardian, which states that under the Single European Act's majority voting powers the EEC will compel the British Government to spend £6 billion of taxpayers' money on social projects in Labour-controlled inner city areas? Does not this latest Delors initiative confirm the view that the EEC juggernaut is rolling wildly out of control? What do the Government propose to do to stop it?

Mr. Maude

The general view is that the EC machinery is under better control now than it has been for some time. The steps that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has taken to ensure that there are proper reforms where they are needed have led to considerable improvements.

Mr. Allan Roberts

The Prime Minister has said that she does not want the European single market, or anything connected with the EEC, to destroy the distinctive character of British banks. To fulfil the Prime Minister's pledge, will the Minister give an undertaking that a European or foreign bank will not be able to take over the Girobank? When are we to have a statement on who is on the short list to buy the Girobank? What is the delay? What has happened?

Mr. Maude

I cannot help the hon. Gentleman on the last part of his question. As for the first part, he will recollect that when my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke), who is now Secretary of State for Health, made an announcement on the issue earlier in the year he set out clearly the terms on which Girobank was being offered for sale.

Mr. Conway

In helping British firms towards 1992, will my hon. Friend tell the House whether his Department is actively monitoring some of the more unfair trade practices of some of our so-called European allies, especially France?

Mr. Maude

We try to monitor unfair practices elsewhere, but we depend heavily on British firms which come across evidence of unfair trade practices to tell us about them and supply information. We are certainly prepared to do what we can to investigate such practices. We are pressing hard for action to be taken against them wherever possible. We cannot act unless we know what is happening.

Mr. Gould

Which sectors of British industry has the Minister identified as being gravely at risk from the increased competition that they will face after 1992, instead of having glowing prospects? Or are the salesmen of the Department of Trade and Industry, including the head salesman, so busy with their advertising campaign that they have not bothered with this essential work?

Mr. Maude

The days when the Government of the day tried to pick winners in that way have long gone. The record of the Government whom the hon. Gentleman supported in the 1970s in trying to pick the sectors that would be the ones for the future was a disastrous failure. Highly competitive firms that prepare now for the opportunities and challenges of the single market will do well. Firms that are less competitive will do less well in what will be an increasingly competitive market.

Mr. Batiste

My hon. Friend has said that the Government cannot alter the geography of the United Kingdom. Will he ensure that industry, wherever it is situated, will have equal access through the Channel tunnel, when it is built, and through the transport infrastructure, without unnecessary and bureaucratic red tape? Will he assure the House that when the tunnel is built we shall not substitute a new barrier for northern industry on the Thames?

Mr. Maude

I can assure my hon. Friend that it is the Government's intention that when the arrangements are completed the checks and hindrances on transport between the United Kingdom and the continent will be as minimal as is practicable.