§ 22. Mr. Gryllsasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what has been the total investment in Great Britain by firms with parent companies in other Common Market countries since 1st January 1973.
§ Sir G. HoweThis information is not available; estimates are made only annually.
§ 31. Mr. Moateasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his estimate of the number of new jobs created as the result of Common Market investment in the United Kingdom since 1st January 1973; and how these estimates compare with the five previous years.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerI am very encouraged at the impact our entry into the Common Market has had on inward investment.
Detailed information cannot be given because there is no necessity for such investment to be notified to this Department. But we do know already of decisions taken by firms with parent companies in other Common Market countries which will provide 5,000 new jobs. We know altogether of 140 foreign-owned firms which have decided this year on new projects or expansions which together may well provide a total of 25,000 jobs.
Increasingly there are examples of major industrial companies deciding on a major expansion of their activities within the Community which now have the option of planning that expansion to take place in the United Kingdom, and perhaps the best example of this recently is the announcement by Hoover of a major investment at Merthyr Tydfil and Cumbuslang to provide 6,000 jobs.