§ Mr. Masonasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether it is his policy to apply the criteria for selective financial assistance under section 7 of the Industry Act more generously in steel closure areas than in other areas which have equal or higher unemployment levels.
§ Mr. MacGregorI will reply to the right hon. Member as soon as possible.
§ Mr. Masonasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether, in view of the urgent need to secure greater investment of Europeans funds in areas of high unemployment, he will seek to relax the strict criteria of section 7 of the Industry Act which are applied to the exchange risk guarantee scheme for loans from the European Investment Bank and the European Coal and Steel Community.
§ Mr. MacGregorExhange risk cover is a form of section 7 assistance in the same way as cash grants and the published criteria therefore normally apply. However, we have introduced a more relaxed and streamlined appraisal procedure for loans of £50,000 or less where exchange risk cover is the only form of assistance sought. In these cases the appraisal focuses solely on the viability and employment benefits of the project. No further relaxations are planned at present.