§ 3.2 p.m.
§ Lord ORR-EWINGMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government when the first payments will be made to the subsidiary firms vested in British Shipbuilding on 1st July 1977.
§ Lord WINTERBOTTOMMy Lords, compensation was paid in full on 1st July 1977 in respect of all the shares in Robb Caledon Shipbuilders Limited, and of the preference shares of John G. Kincaid Limited. The first payments in respect of the other companies are expected to be payments on account. The timing, and the size, of these payments will depend on the progress of negotiations in respect of each company. The Government hope that some will be made before the end of this year.
§ Lord ORR-EWINGMy Lords, does the Minister recognise that only one company was wholly-owned, and that therefore the settlement affected only one company? The great majority were subsidiaries of bigger groups, and it is those firms which badly need some payment in order to restructure themselves so that they can invest in new machinery for the future and thus help to create new jobs. Have the Government, therefore, a sense of urgency in proceeding with this settlement, so that some payment on account can be made at an early date?
§ Lord WINTERBOTTOMYes, my Lords; the point made by the noble Lord is quite correct. Obviously, these companies want compensation as soon as possible. I seem to remember that during the debates both here and in another place the phrase "early and substantial" was used in relation to payments on account. We are entering a period of negotiation. Both the Government and the stockholders are being represented by expert advisers and, at the end of the day, arbitration may settle conflict between the two negotiating parties. In view of the fact that these are commercial negotiations, matters can, unfortunately, be delayed, but it is the hope of the Government that an early and substantial payment on account will be made.