§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will detail the economic benefits gained by the West Midlands from the implementation of the Government's new regional and industrial development policies, especially with regard to the directive that industrial development certificates will be more readily granted than hitherto for schemes of factory modernisation.
§ Mr. Anthony GrantThe new policies will assist factory modernisation in a region whose economic wellbeing is essential to the national economy, including that of the assisted areas.
§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will state the number of applications made by firms in the West Midlands for industrial development certificates in respect of modernisation schemes, since the publication of the letter sent by the Secretary of State for the Environment, dated 19th June, to the Chairman of the West Midlands Economic Planning Council; and if he will state the number of applications approved.
§ Mr. Anthony GrantI regret that meaningful figures are not available as modernisation is often only one of the factors taken into account in determining an IDC application.