§ Mrs. GormanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received about the need for property rights and a coherent law of contract for individuals within Comecon countries engaging in joint ventures with western countries.
§ Mr. RedwoodMy Department has received many and various comments to this effect. The lack of property rights and a coherent law of contract is of course a primary feature of the Communist system and a great disincentive to investment as well as to personal initiative. Measures to reduce or remove this disincentive have already been implemented in Hungary and are under active consideration in Poland and Czechoslovakia as well as in other Comecon countries. I welcome all such measures and on my visits to the USSR and Poland in March will emphasise the relevance of a proper legal framework to successful inward investment.