§ Mr. Woofasked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the amount of financial assistance and loans for direct assistance to support British industry from EEC funds in 1975.
Mr. Alan WilliamsThe two main sources from which Community funds are directly available to British industry are the European Investment Bank and the European Coal and Steel Community. The figures for approved loans and grants to the United Kingdom in 1975 are as follows:
European Investment Bank
£196.5 million (loans).
European Coal and Steel Community
(i) Steel
£ million
- (a) 78.5 (modernisation loans).
- (b) 0.9 (research grants).
(ii) Coal
£ million
- (a) 71 (modernisation loans).
- (b) 5.7 (research grants).
In addition, loans to a total of £31.4 million were approved in 1975 for firms absorbing redundant coal and steel workers.
§ Mr. Woofasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will give details of the total amounts of and identify in relation to the North-East of England the recipients and purposes for which grants and loans have been made out of EEC Funds.
Mr. Alan WilliamsEEC funds, in the form of loans and grants, are made available to United Kingdom manufacturing industry within my responsibility from the European Investment Bank, the European Coal and Steel Community and the Regional Development Fund. Loans and grants approved since accession for the North-East of England from these sources, and the purposes for which they were approved, are as follows:
European Investment Bank
Loans from the EIB are made available towards projects that further regional development, for modernising or converting undertakings, or for developing fresh activities called 29W for by the progressive establishment of the Common Market or which are of common interest to several member States. The following loans have been approved for the North-East:
£ million BSC Teesside 14.7 Central Electricity Generating Board (Hartlepool) 15.6 Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation 0.8 Northumbrian Water Authority (Kielder) 17.5 British Rail (Shildon) 6.3 Total 54.9 European Coal and Steel Community
Steel
Loans for modernisation purposes:
£ million BSC Redcar 150 Spartan Steel Ltd. (Newcastle) 0.8 Total 150.8 Coal
The funds received from the ECSC for the coal industry are administered nationally by the NCB and it is not possible to give figures for the individual regions. The following are total loans and grants approved for the United Kingdom as a whole, from some of which the North-East of England will have benefited:
£ million (a) Loans for modernization purposes 116.2 (b) Research grants 10.0 (c) Grants to assist redundant coal workers 15.2 In addition, three reconversion loans totalling £7.7 million have been approved under Article 56 of the Treaty of Paris for firms in the North-East offering employment to workers made redundant in the coal and steel industries.
Regional Development Fund
This fund was set up to assist investments in industry and projects in the service industry that maintain or create jobs, and also infrastructure projects closely linked to industrial developments that can be shown to either increase or maintain employment in assisted areas. The Commission has agreed to contribute £12.2 million from the fund towards the cost of industrial and infrastructure projects in the North-East of England. About one-half of this is in respect of two major projects: the Kielder dam and new berths at Teesdocks. The remainder is in respect of 55 industrial projects, 38 advance factories and 19 infrastructure projects.