§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Industry how many industrial development certificates have been allotted to North Staffordshire in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. Gregor MackenzieThe number of industrial development certificates granted in North Staffordshire over the past five years is as follows:
Year Number Approved 1969 … 20 1970 … 11 1971 … 11 1972 … 18 1973 … 29 1974 (January-September) … 17 NOTE. North Staffordshire consists of the Biddulph, Burslem, Cheadle, Hanley, Leek, Longton, Newcastle-under-Lyne, Stoke-on-Trent, and Stone employment exchange areas and that part of the Kidsgrove Employment Exchange Area which is in the West Midlands Region.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Industry what recommendations he has received about the economic future of North Staffordshire; and what replies he has sent.
§ Mr. Gregor MackenzieThe information as requested is not available. It is known that in North Staffordshire 42 building schemes of 15,000 sq. ft. and over, for which industrial development certificates were isssued, were completed between 1969 and 1973—the latest year for which this information is available. Details of individual schemes cannot be disclosed, but many were local expansions. I am not able to say how many developments have taken place in existing industrial buildings in the same period or what new lines of production have been introduced by existing firms, but I am not aware of any sizeable new development by an industry which could be said to be new to the area.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Industry what is the level of investment in new plant in North Staffordshire in each of the last five years; and how this compares with the rest of the West Midlands.
§ Mr. Gregor MackenzieInformation on investment levels in local areas such as North Staffordshire is not available.16W However, some regional information on net expenditure by manufacturing industry is available from the Census of Production. The figures for the West Midlands are as follows:
Year £ million 1968 … … … 174.4 1970 … … … 218.7 1971 … … … 224.7 (Provisional) 1972 … … … 259.3 Note. Net capital expenditure covers new building work plus acquisitions less disposals of land and existing buildings; plant and machinery and vehicles. Expenditure on new establishments which had not commenced production in the year is included in the figures for 1970, 1971 and 1972.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will outline in the OFFICIAL REPORT the amount of Government assistance given to industry in North Staffordshire in each of the past five years and the estimated amount that will be given in each of the next five years.
§ Mr. Gregor MackenzieRecords of past expenditure on assistance to industry are not kept below regional level, and I regret therefore that this information is not available. In view of the many uncertainties involved it is not, unfortunately, possible to produce meaningful forecasts of future expenditure for individual localities.