§ Mr. George Thomsonasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what amounts of grants were paid to the Scottish Textile Research Association in Dundee during each year of the quinquennial period ending in June of this year; and what amounts he proposes to pay the Association from the beginning of the new quinquennium starting on 1st July.
§ Mr. David PriceThe information required is:
No decision has been taken on the grant to be paid to the Association for the period commencing 1st July next, since no application for renewal of grant has been made. When it is, the case will be treated on its merits.
Year Grant for Jute Work Grant for Polypropylene Work £ £ 1966–67 … … 20,387 7,964 1967–68 … … 19,385 9,652 1968–69 … … 15,726 18,310 1969–70 … … 16,337 18,750 1970–71 … … 10,942 25,302 (estimate) (estimate)
§ Mr. George Thomsonasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if, in view of the uncertainty regarding 386W the supply of raw jute because of the emergency situation in East Pakistan, and the consequent need on local employment grounds to encourage diversification into polypropylene, he will reverse his decision to stop the grant to the Scottish Textile Research Association for this purpose;
(2) whether, in view of the high level of unemployment in the jute industry in the Dundee area and the fact that it is geographically concentrated in an area remote from alternative centres of employment, he will reconsider his policy towards the Scottish Textile Research Association and ensure that its Government grant for the forthcoming year is increased, in order to enable the Association to develop alternative uses for jute textile machinery skills.
§ Mr. David PriceThe British Jute Trade Research Association, now the Scottish Textile Research Association, was given substantial grant terms for the first three years of the quinquennium 1st July, 1966 to 30th June, 1971, to help prepare the jute industry for the inevitable introduction of polypropylene on a large scale. An extra grant was offered at the rate of 100 per cent. of industrial income instead of a basic rate of 55 per cent. (subsequently 50 per cent.) and the period of this extra grant was subsequently extended to cover the last two years of the quinquennium. During the five years the Research Association has accumulated a considerable amount of data of value to firms who wish to use polypropylene, and this has already been of assistance locally. The extra help over research was intended to be an exceptional pump-priming step for a limited period only, and it is not felt that the supply position on jute warrants the extension of this special grant or that such an extension would have immediate relevance.
§ Mr. George Thomsonasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the statement by his Department in a letter to the right hon. Member for Dundee, East, that they saw no future for the Scottish Textile Research Association, was made with his authority.
§ Mr. David PriceYes. The statement by my right hon. Friend also mentioned that the Department would do what it could to assist the Research Association in the short term.