CONTROL OF INDUSTRY

Greymouth Evening Star, 8 April 1943, Page 6

CONTROL OF INDUSTRY

DEBATE IN COMMONS

RUGBY, April 7

Ministers’ powers in respect to control of industry were debated in the Commons, to-day, when 128 members supported a motion praying for the annulment of the recent Or-dcr-in-CouncH governing such powers. The order gives the Minister power, if he thinks it in the interests of improving efficiency of the undertaking, to place on a board a number of dirocrors not exceeding three and not constiuiiiiig a majority. Mi. Ellis Smith (Labour), speak-

inc’ agai nst the motion. said that to win the war, we required overwhelming superiority in equipment, therefore we must have the maximum output, which meant the greatest possible degree of efficiency. Mr. Oliver Lyttelton said the Government had pursued a policy of employing private enterprise to produce munitions, and in the engineering and allied industries had invested by way of capital advances about £280,000,000 The lota! capital of these industries at a rough guess was £1.000,000,000, therefore regulation could apply only to 28 per cent, of the total capital represented by the industry. Il was, in* fact, going to be applied only to that part of it where the Government considered that regulation would be appropriate. Directors appointed must be experienced in the direction of companies, and the appointments would’ be reviewed by the competent authority every year. Before defining the field over which the regulation applied, the Treasury would be consulted as to what was a substantial investment within the meaning of the clause. The motion was withdrawn.