§ Mr. Marlowasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether, following the White Paper on regional industrial development, Cmnd. 9111, it will be possible to divert resources to support particular industries on a nationwide basis.
§ Mr. TrippierSupport for particular industries on a nationwide basis would involve choosing which industries to support, and that implies centralised planning and picking winners. The Government will not divert resources from regional industry policy, for which there is a social case, for a sectoral policy of this kind.