§ 5. Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money has been paid by his Department to firms in Tameside in the last convenient period.
§ Mr. TrippierIn the 12 months ending 31 December 1983 my Department made payments of £442,500 to companies in the Ashton-under-Lyne travel-to-work area, which broadly corresponds to Tameside.
§ Mr. BennettWill the Minister confirm that that was a lot less assistance than was given to almost all the other urban centres within the north-west and Greater Manchester area, that the Tameside area has experienced one of the highest increases in unemployment anywhere in the north-west, and that, in terms of Government assistance, it gets less than almost anywhere else in the north-west? Will the Minister arrange to liaise with his colleagues in the Department of Transport to improve the infrastructure of Tameside, particularly in terms of links to the motorway?
§ Mr. TrippierThe assistance given to Tameside by the Department of Trade and Industry compares favourably with the assistance given to the neighbouring travel-to-work area of Oldham. The hon. Gentleman will be impressed to hear that I have read the document "Tameside: The case for Aid". Two months ago I visited Tameside. Submissions were made to me at that time. I can tell the hon. Gentleman that, basically, the Government are sympathetic to the infrastructure problem that he has identified today.