§ Mr. Warrenasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the total amount of money so far committed by Her Majesty's Government on the Learfan aircraft project; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Adam ButlerIt is the Government's policy to publish details of selective financial assistance to industry inBritish Business. Details are published on a quarterly basis in respect of commitments of selective financial assistance given to industry in Northern Ireland and made on or after 1 October 1980. Commitments made before that date remain confidential and accordingly details of commitments made to Learfan Ltd. before 1 October 1980 have not been disclosed.
To date, since my hon. Friend the Member for Pudsey announced the details of the disclosure arrangements for Northern Ireland on 17 December 1980, there have been no entries in British Business in respect of Learfan Ltd.
The company has for some time been involved in negotiations with a number of major financial institutions and other private sector interests about the raising of additional capital towards the future development of the project. The Department of Commerce for Northern Ireland has kept in close touch with these negotiations.