§ Mr. RoweTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what level of financial support he proposes to offer to the English regional development organisations for 1993–94.
§ Mr. SainsburyI have studied the current performance and future plans of the six English regional development organisations. I am pleased to say that they continue to make a significant contribution to the work of my Department's Invest in Britain Bureau, and to the overall success of the United Kingdom in attracting inward investment. In addition, I am also pleased to announce the setting up of a new regional development organisation for the east midlands, which will begin operation in 1993–94. In recognition of this, I have today offered £5.555 million of grant in aid for their inward investment promotion activities for 1993–94, £555,000 more than in 1992–93, including £250,000 for the new East Midlands regional development organisation. This increase in funding is to enable the United Kingdom to remain competitive in promoting its location advantages in the face of increasing competition from the rest of Europe for mobile inward investment in the single European market. I have allocated the grant aid as follows:
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RDO 1993–94 grant £000 Percentage share of total grant Northern Development Company (NDC) 1,493.5 26.9 INWARD Ltd. (in the North West) 1,199 21.6 Yorkshire and Humberside Development Association (YHDA) 1,112 20.0 West Midlands Development Agency (WMDA) 828.25 14.9 Devon and Cornwall Development Bureau (DCDB) 672.25 12.1 East Midlands 250 4.5 Grant is offered on an annual basis according to past performance, ability to absorb additional funding effectively, and for an agreed programme of future activities, with proper regard to value for money. It is Government policy to encourage direct inward investment to the United Kingdom because it contributes significantly to economic growth. Inward investment brings benefits both to the country as a whole and more specifically to the assisted areas.