§ Mr. David Mitchellasked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the total amount of grants to United Kingdom industry from the EEC, at the latest date for which figures are available, the proportion of it which went to nationalised industries, the proportion to the private sector companies, the number of undertakings assisted in each case and the numbers employed by each employer so assisted.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe total amount of grants which has been approved for United Kingdom industry from EEC/ECSC funds is given below. Figures for loans approved since accession are also given for the sake of completeness. Information on the number of workers assisted through these funds is not available in the majority of cases since applications in the main are not tied to an employment criterion. In most instances applications for loans do not need to be channelled through my Department.
EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK
The EIB has approved 33 loans in the United Kingdom to a total value of £3093 million; £264.3 million of this total was for the public sector—25 loans—and £45 million—eight loans—for the private sector.
EUROPEAN COAL AND STEEL COMMUNITY
(a) Loans
Loans for modernisation purposes amounting to £103.95 million have been approved for the British Steel Corporation and £4.3 million to four firms in the private steel sector. Similar loans to a total of £88.957 million have been approved for the National Coal Board. United Kingdom industry is also eligible for reconversion loans for projects providing employment for redundant coal and steel workers. A total of £46.4 million in reconversion loans has been approved for United Kingdom industry; £30.55 million for the BSC, £07.65 million for a private steel firm and £15.1 million for industries outside the coal and steel sectors.
(b) Grants
The ECSC has approved research grants amounting to £1.840 million for 893W BSC, £0.174 million for the private steel sector and £7.435 million for the NCB. Under the ECSC Treaty readaptation grants are available for redundant coal and steel workers. These grants, provided jointly by the Commission and the British Government, comprise tideover and resettlement allowances, and assistance for vocational retraining. So far readaptation grants amounting to £10.44 million have been approved for the coal sector and £3.095 million for the steel sector, involving some 11,300 redundant steel workers. The figure of £4.25 million is only an interim figure and until a final payment is decided upon, it is not possible to relate the assistance to the number of redundant miners involved.
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND
The Commission announced this Thursday commitments from the Regional Development Fund to the United Kingdom Government of £12.2 million in respect of 111 private sector industrial investment projects. It is estimated that these will create over 13,000 new jobs.