HC Deb 03 July 1997 vol 297 cc410-1
14. Mr. Fallon

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if her Department's responsibility for co-ordinating regional selective assistance will be shared with regional development agencies. [5217]

Mrs. Roche

The Government's proposals on the role of the regional development agencies in relation to regional selective assistance will be considered during the current consultation process and set out in the White Paper to be published at the end of the summer.

Mr. Fallon

Will the Minister clear up the confusion over responsibility for regional assistance? Is she aware that, on Tuesday, the Prime Minister was unable to confirm whether the prime responsibility for regional aid lay with the hon. Lady's Department or with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions? Would it not be extremely damaging if the new regional development quangos were allowed to outbid each other, with public money, for inward investment?

Mrs. Roche

Let me sort out the confusion which is clearly only in the hon. Gentleman's mind, as in fact there is no confusion whatsoever. It is something of a cheek for him to talk about quangos, when the Conservative Government, from which he had a brief five-year absence, introduced record numbers of quangos in a wholly undemocratic way.

The responsibility for the important area of regional selective assistance lies with the Department of Trade and Industry, because that Department is the interface between the business community and Government.

Mr. Gunnell

Will my hon. Friend confirm that regional selective assistance is, as she implied, often an important factor in investment? In her consultations with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions about the setting up of regional development agencies, did she discuss the role of the Invest in Britain Bureau and the agencies in inward investment?

Mrs. Roche

My hon. Friend makes an extremely important point. Regional selective assistance, inward investment and the work of the Invest in Britain Bureau are all important. We very much welcome inward investment. The consultation process has involved the Confederation of British Industry, at regional level, and the chambers of commerce—and the interesting point that came out of the process was their enthusiasm for our proposals. The prospect of local partners coming together to promote regional economies has been very much welcomed.

Mr. Maclean

During the past few minutes the hon. Lady has rightly championed the Rural Development Commission. Will she now assure the House that she will not allow the new regional development agencies to subsume the role of the Rural Development Commission?

Mrs. Roche

I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will want to know that representatives of the Rural Development Commission were present at the launch of the consultation process on the regional development agencies. Indeed, the RDC made a valuable impact, and it has been consulted fully on the process.