§ Mr. Patrick McNair-Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he has received an assurance from the British Steel Corporation that in addition to taking account of the recommendations of the Hirshfield Report, it will in fact implement them in the near future;
(2) what steps he is taking to ensure that when the British Steel Corporation adjusts its pricing structure to the ECSC system, the change will take account of the necessary restoration of price margins for private sector steel re-rolling companies;
(3) whether, in the light of his statement in the steel White Paper that the continued vigour and prosperity of the private sector of the steel industry are important to the nation, he will seek an assurance from the British Steel Corporation that it will now restore the margins between the prices of billet and finished steel products, as recommended by the Hirshfield Report.
(4) if he will give an estimate of the total losses incurred by private sector steel re-rollers in the United Kingdom since he received the Hirshfield Report on 3rd October 1972.
§ Mr. Tom BoardmanThe corporation assures me that in moving to the ECSC pricing system it is its intention so far as market conditions allow to give effect to Lord Hirshfield's recommendations on the margins between prices for billets and certain billet-derived products. The information is not available to my Department on which to assess the effects110W on the complainants of not implementing the recommendations of the report.