§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland at what stage following an offer of assistance to a company under section 7 of the Industry Act 1972, a company is required to indicate whether the loan is to be taken up; and whether offers of assistance not taken up within a specified period of time are withdrawn.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherAll offers of assistance under section 7 of the Industry Act 1972 are open for acceptance for a period of three months from the date of offer. Thereafter the offer lapses unless the applicant requests an extension. Provided there is no material change to the project in respect of which assistance was offered, such requests for an extension of the offer period are generally considered sympathetically.