§ 2.37 p.m.
Baroness VickersMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are satisfied with the number of enterprise zones so far created, and whether they have plans to accelerate the rate of their introduction in towns and cities.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment (Lord Bellwin)My Lords, 11 enterprise zones have been announced in a variety of areas and with a wide geographical spread. These should permit the results of the enterprise zone experiment to be satisfactorily assessed and no more sites are proposed for the time being. Good progress is being made in bringing the zones into effect.
Baroness VickersMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for that reply and congratulate him on the success of the experiment so far. Will he bear in mind that there are other cities which need this action? Can he give any idea whether he will consider some in the near future?
§ Lord BellwinMy Lords, at the present time there is no intention to designate any further zones. We want to see how the existing ones work. As I said, it is an experiment, one in which we have a great deal of confidence and which has been very well received by all concerned. We shall have to watch how it goes. If it is successful, we shall certainly contemplate what more might be done to extend it.
§ Lord ByersMy Lords, when does the noble Lord think that the first assessment will be able to be made, and when shall we know what is the result?
§ Lord BellwinMy Lords, it is difficult to say exactly. The first designations will be under way, if that is the right term, in June and the others will follow in July and August; the very last ones will be going ahead by the end of the year. Then it will be a matter of judgment as to when one decides whether the experiment has gone as it is hoped it will go. I cannot give the noble Lord an exact time, but I know that many people will be watching it with much interest, not least the members of my department.
§ Baroness SharplesMy Lords, can my noble friend say how many small businesses have had a start in this way, and how many have in fact succeeded?
§ Lord BellwinMy Lords, I cannot help my noble friend on that because as yet the zones have not in fact come into effect. However, I can tell her that there has been enormous interest in the areas concerned, and it looks very promising indeed.
§ Lord LeatherlandMy Lords, can the noble Lord tell us why it is necessary to have these experiments, when we were told at the last general election that the return of the Tory Government would lead to an all-round revival in industry?
§ Lord BellwinMy Lords, perhaps it would not have been so necessary to have had these experiments if the previous Administration had done much more than they did.
§ Lord Elwyn-JonesMy Lords, will the companies that have gone into liquidation in the present or proposed enterprise zones be given any hope of resurrection or recovery?
§ Lord BellwinMy Lords, I cannot, of course, speak of companies that have gone into liquidation in these zones. In fact, many of the zones are areas where there is very little activity and cover land which is derelict. Clearly we are hoping that the enterprise zones will both stimulate existing businesses and bring new ones into existence, wherever they may be located.