§ Mr. Hefferasked the Secretary of State for Industry what financial aid has been granted to Merseyside over the last 10 years; what financial aid has been 573W granted to the Strathclyde Region over the same period; and if he will express these figures as a percentage of the whole.
Mr. Alan WilliamsI regret that the information is not available in precisely the form requested. The following table shows estimated expenditure on regional
REGIONAL PREFERENTIAL ASSISTANCE ESTIMATED BREAKDOWN A B C D E F Year Merseyside SDA total expenditure £ million
All GB DAs and SDAs total expenditure £ million
A as percentage of B Merseyside SDA population (thousands) All GB DAs and SDAs population (thousands) D as percentage of E 1970–71 … … 47 299 15.7 1,697 13,038 13.0 1971–72 … … 41 259 15.8 1,688 13,038 12.9 1972–73 … … 34 245 13.9 1,676 13,049 12.8 1973–74 … … 43 310 13.9 1,667 13,057 12.8 1974–75 … … 66 423 15.6 1,655 13,041 12.7 Note: All figures are gross and include payments to nationalised industries. Major items included are Regional Development Grants, Selective Financial Assistance under section 7 of the Industry Act 1972, Local Employment Act assistance, Regional Employment Premium and the Investment Grant Differential (estimated) in favour of the Assisted Areas.