§ THE EARL OF CRAVENMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is true that production of warships is up to date for the first time since the end of World War II because of declining orders in the shipbuilding industry.]
§ THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (LORD CARRINGTON)My Lords, while the production of warships is now more up to date than it has been since the end of the last war, There are a number of contributory causes for this. Nevertheless, it is true that the naval programme is no longer meeting as severe competition from merchant ship construction as it did earlier when there was a boom in shipbuilding.
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, would it not also be true to recognise that since the end of the last war programs of shipbuilding have been very widely cut?
§ THE EARL OF CRAVENMy Lords, could my noble friend tell me whether Her Majesty's Government realize the possibilities of the great gains in experimentation and design of propulsive machinery technology which would result from a united policy within the framework of the Common Market?
§ LORD CARRINGTONMy Lords, that seems to be looking rather into the future, but as a general proposition I would agree that the more we get to know what our neighbors are doing the better.