§ Mr. Edgeasked the Secretary of State for Industry what assessments he is at present making of the effectiveness of location of industry policies and their impact on the regional economies of the standard regions of the British Isles.
§ Mr. Gregor MackenzieI would refer my hon. Friend to the White Paper "Regional Development Incentives" (Cmnd. 6058) published in May 1975 which gives information about some of the studies my Department carries out on this subject. If my hon. Friend has any particular aspects in mind I shall be happy to write to him about them.
§ Mr. Edgeasked the Secretary of State for Industry in which standard region of the British Isles the location of industry policies pursued by successive Governments has had the greatest beneficial impact.
§ Mr. Gregor MackenzieAs explained in the White Paper "Regional Development Incentives" (Cmnd. 6058), it is not possible to measure accurately the effects of regional policies on the assisted areas as a whole. The difficulties in measuring the effects on the individual countries and regions of the United Kingdom are even greater. Figures for assistance under the Local Employment Acts to the assisted areas in the period 1966–75 suggest that the estimated additional employment was highest in the Scottish Development Area, while figures for offers of assistance to regions under Section 7 of the Industry Act 1972 in the period 1972–75 suggest that the estimated associated employment320W was highest in the Northern Region. But I must emphasise that these figures do not purport to represent the overall effect of Government regional policies.