§ 24. Mr. Charles R. Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Industry how many proposals for the rationalisation of the private sector of the British steel industry have been submitted for approval under the £22 million scheme announced by him.
§ Mr. Norman LamontAround 75. Some of these are mutually exclusive or on a contingency basis only.
§ 43. Mr. John H. Osbornasked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) if he will assess the consequences of each five percentage points devaluation of the £ sterling to 30 per cent. on the special and private sectors of the steel industry;
(2) what would be the cost to the special and private sectors of the steel industry of each five percentage point devaluation of the £ sterling up to 30 per cent. with regard to imported alloys, especially (a) manganese, (b) cobalt, (c) chromium, (d) nickel, (e) tungsten, (f) molybdenum and (g) vanadium; and if he will assess the consequences for employment in the industry of each such devaluation.
§ Mr. ButcherI regret that the information requested is not readily available. However, after allowing for the high import content of special steels and the adverse effects devaluation would ultimately have on other costs of production, a substantial devaluation would not help the industry in the long run.