§ 60. Mr. Millanasked the President of the Board of Trade in how many cases up to the last convenient date the terms and conditions laid down by the Advisory Committee in recommending that a loan or grant should be made under Section 4 of the Local Employment Act, 1960, have included a provision that the firm concerned should appoint a Government-nominated director, additional to existing directors, or in replacement of an existing director, respectively.
§ Mr. D. PriceThe precise number cannot be ascertained without looking individually at over 200 cases. But the 145W great majority contained the provision to which the hon. Member refers. The power to appoint a director has been exercised in two cases. The power to remove one has never been exercised.
§ Mr. Millanasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will publish, or otherwise make available to hon. Members, the directives he has issued under Section 4 of the Local Employment Act, 1960, to the Advisory Committee on the terms and conditions under which loans and grants may be made under the Act.
§ Mr. D. PriceThe following statement lists the directions which the Board of Trade have given to the Advisory Committee under Section 4 (2) of the Local Employment Act.
The Board of Trade (hereinafter referred to as "the Board") in pursuance of the powers conferred upon them by subsection (2) of Section 4 of the Local Employment Act, 1960, and with the consent of the Treasury hereby give the following directions:—
1. The advisory committee appointed by the Board in pursuance of section 3 of the said Act (hereinafter referred to as "the committee") shall in recommending the terms and conditions on which a loan or grant should be made act in accordance with the following provisions of these directions.
Loans
2. The committee shall recommend a rate of interest which shall not be higher than the rate currently charged by a commercial lender to a first-class commercial borrower for a well-secured loan.
3. Where the committee recommend that a loan shall be repaid by instalments they shall specify the date on which the first instalment shall fall due, the intervals at which the instalments shall be paid and the amount of each instalment.
4. Unless otherwise agreed by the Board in writing the committee shall recommend that each loan shall be secured and, where they so recommend, the security recommended shall be the best which the circumstances of the particular case permit.
146W5. Where the committee recommend that a loan be made for a particular purpose they shall in their recommendation specify the particular purpose for which the loan is to be used.
Grants
6. The Committee shall not recommend the making of any grant save towards initial expenditure (including the discharge of interest payments on money borrowed for the purposes of the project) which is incurred by the person to whom the grant is to be made and which promotes the purposes of Part I of the said Act.