§ 2.42 p.m.
Lord CAMPBELL of CROYMy 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 what steps they are taking to encourage British shipowners to order more ships from British shipbuilding yards.
Lord ORAMMy Lords, my right honourable friends the then Secretary of State for Trade and the Secretary of State for Industry discussed the urgent need for new orders for the United Kingdom shipbuilding industry with representatives of the General Council of British Shipping in March. These talks are continuing between officials, and I am glad to say that there has been an encouraging response from shipowners.
Lord CAMBPELL of CROYMy Lords I am grateful to the noble Lord for his reply. I am also grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Melchett, for having written to my noble friend Lord Orr-Ewing and me correcting an error which he inadvertently made in giving a figure of 40 per cent. in the previous exchanges on 17th June. Did the recent indication by the Secretary of State for Industry, when he was speaking to the shipbuilding unions, that some closures and redundancies were likely when the Shipbuilding Bill was passed—if it ever is passed—mean that the Government are already making an overall assessment of the future structure of the industry?
Lord ORAMMy Lords, I notice that there is a further Question to which my noble friend Lord Melchett will be replying, and no doubt he will comment on the first point made by the noble Lord. With regard to the future prospects of the industry, I would only add that the Government have invited the Confederation of Shipbuilding Unions and the Organising Committee for British Shipbuilders to discuss the problem urgently, and I would not wish to anticipate the outcome of those discussions.
§ Baroness WOOTTON of ABINGERMy Lords, might it not be possible that, just as the public interest in British Leyland has led to a very great increase in the exports of British Leyland and an increase of profits instead of losses from British Leyland, so the passage of the shipbuilding Bill might have a similar result for the industry of shipbuilding?
Lord ORAMYes, my Lords, there is an urgent need for modernisation of the industry, and it is my view, as it is of my noble friend, that the passage of that Bill would expedite that process.
§ Lord ORR-EWINGMy Lords, will the noble Lord bear in mind that unfortunately I did not receive a copy of the letter—whether it was the Post Office or other systems, it does not seem to have worked. But if an error has been made which is in Hansard —we all make errors; I did myself when I was a Minister—it should be put right at the earliest opportunity. Perhaps the noble Lord could read out the letter so that at least for Hansard, for the record, the figure of 573 40 per cent. is corrected; because none of us yet knows what the figure should be.
Lord ORAMMy Lords, I think that my noble friend will deal with that, particularly as he deals with the Post Office as well.
Viscount ST. DAVIDSMy Lords, will the noble Lord consider that the actions of Her Majesty's Government may result in driving shipowners to get ships built in places like Communist Yugoslavia, which has very excellent shipyards which strangely enough, are not nationalised?