Mr. W. E. Garrattasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he has made 405W any further progress in authorising payments on account of compensation for the nationalisation of the aircraft and shipbuilding industries.
§ Mr. KaufmanMy right hon. Friend has now authorised payments on account of compensation in respect of the unquoted securities of the following companies:
£000 Scott Lithgow Ltd 150 Scott Lithgow Drydocks Ltd Vickers Shipbuilding Group Ltd 4,000 Vosper Thornycroft (UK) Ltd 650 Vosper Shiprepairers Ltd The payments, like those authorised in January, are derived from a preliminary view of the Government's likely negotiating position on both the base value and any appropriate deductions under Section 39 of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding 406W Industries Act 1977 relative to the companies in questions. Since substantive negotiations have not yet begun in respect of these companies, it cannot be assumed that the final compensation settlement in a given case will bear any particular relationship to the payment on account.