§ Mr. Kenneth Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether the criteria applied to applications for grants under the microprocessor applications project differ in any way from the criteria applied to other grants under the Industry Act; what proportion have so far been approved and rejected; and how many applications have been refused on the grounds that the project was so commercially attractive to the investor that no public funds were necessary to finance it.
Mr. Alan WilliamsThe assessment criteria for grants under the microprocessor applications project under the Science and Technology Act 1965 are broadly similar to those for selective grants under the Industry Act and include viability, technical feasibility and evidence that Government assistance is essential to the initiation, scale or timing of the proposal. MAP covers several areas of activity not included in other forms of support, incorporates novel measures and has a significantly reduced lower threshold limit to help small firms.
Approximately 22 per cent. of the total number of formal applications appraised to date have been rejected but ineligible cases are often identified at an earlier stage. A decision to support or not is usually made on a combination of factors and the Department has no record of any application rejected solely on the grounds suggested in this question.