§ Mr. John Smithasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what is the number of jobs created in Lanarkshire since the introduction of the present system of regional development incentives;
(2) if he will state the number of jobs created in Scotland since the introduction of the present system of regional develop ment incentives;
(3) if he will state the number of jobs created in the North Lanarkshire constituency since the introduction of the present system of regional development incentives.
§ Mr. Anthony GrantThe new incentives will take some time to make an impact on the investment decisions of firms; and when made investment decisions do not immediately create new jobs. Nevertheless between August and October the number unemployed in the North16W Lanarkshire travel-to-work area fell by 1,000 and in Scotland as a whole by 8,500.