§ Mr. Tom Kingasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he is able to give some indication as to the form of the financial targets for nationalised industries which were referred to by the Treasury Minister in the debate on the Statutory Corporations Bill; and when he estimates these targets will be published;
(2) if he will make a statement on the changes in the Government's policy on the financing and financial targets of nationalised industries between the 1967 White Paper and the present time.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettThe present Government attach importance to financial targets for the reasons given in the 1967 White Paper, Cmnd. 3437. They enable the industries to know what is expected of them by the Government and so serve both as an incentive to management and as one of the standards by which success or failure over a period of years may be judged. Continuity in Government policy on financial targets has been lost as a result of the price restraint policies instituted by the previous Administration. The Government are considering a number of possibilities for new financial targets, related to the differing circumstances of particular industries, including those discussed in Cmnd. 3437. Targets will be set and published after consultation with the industries concerned.