§ 33. Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make proposals to stimulate and develop industrial capacity in Wolverhampton.
§ Mr. ButcherThe recently established team for innovation in the west midlands regional office of the Department of Trade and Industry aims to encourage firms in the west midlands to make the fullest possible use of various national schemes of assistance for industry, especially the support for innovation measures under which grants are available for the development and introduction of new technology, new processes and new products.
In addition, the package of initiatives announced in the last Parliament, including the reopening of the small engineering firms investment scheme, will be of particular benefit to the west midlands. However, the best prospects for industry in the west midlands and for the country generally lie in the continuing efforts of companies to increase their productivity and competitiveness, which the Government's overall economic polices are designed to encourage.