§ THE EARL OF LAUDERDALEMy 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 they have yet received the report on British companies' participation in offshore oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, and its supporting activities commissioned from the International Marine and Engineering Group; what are the conclusions, and whether they will publish the report.
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE, DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY (THE EARL OF LIMERICK)My Lords, the Government have now received the report from the International Management and Engineering Group on the market for goods and services which will be associated with the development of hydrocarbons in the North Sea. As the report contains a good deal of confidential material relating to individual firms, we have invited the consultants to assist in preparing a version suitable for publication. We recognise the need for speed. In the meantime, the recommendations are being given our urgent attention.
§ THE EARL OF LAUDERDALEMy Lords, in thanking my noble friend for that forthcoming reply, may I ask him this question on the matter of urgency? Would he not agree that the day for exhorting British firms to get in on the 2140 North Sea operation is past; that what they need is convincing market research in depth to persuade them to risk investment, and that with every week that passes others are gaining knowledge of the North Sea which British firms are missing? Will he therefore be so good as to assure the House, and through the House the country, that urgency really does mean urgency and not a month or two hence?
§ THE EARL OF LIMERICKMy Lords, I quite take my noble friend's point, and I repeat that we are looking on this as a matter of urgency.
§ LORD LEATHERLANDMy Lords, can the noble Earl tell us whether the censoring or editing of this important report is consistent with the idea of open government?
§ THE EARL OF LIMERICKMy Lords, the terms of reference of the consultants made it inevitable that they should obtain access to a lot of information from individual firms, otherwise they could not have produced a sensible report. It follows that not all of this is suitable for publication; hence the need for some editing. We shall publish what we can.
§ THE EARL OF LAUDERDALEMy Lords, would the noble Earl agree that it is generally accepted in the industry that this study was necessary and that it had to call upon unpublishable information, but that, by the same token, it is most valuable to the industry in general and the public at large to have available whatever can be made available by way of market research?
§ THE EARL OF LIMERICKYes, my Lords, I quite agree with that.
§ LORD SLATERMy Lords, in view of the answer that the Minister has given to the question from his noble friend, when he said that the Group had been in consultation with firms in regard to the investigation that has taken place and that the report will be published, could he say, as he has talked about hydrocarbons, whether the National Coal Board, through its research departments, were taken into consultation along with the outside firms?
§ THE EARL OF LIMERICKMy Lords, I am afraid I cannot answer that question without notice.
§ LORD SLATERMy Lords, is the Minister aware, when we talk about hydrocarbons, that a lot of these emanate from the mining industry and from the production of coal, which is the basic material? One would have thought that they would have taken the National Coal Board into consultation along with other outside interests.
§ THE EARL OF LIMERICKMy Lords, the purpose of this inquiry was to establish the degree to which British industry could participate in the work following up the exploration for oil in the North Sea.