Single Market (Hansard, 1 February 1990)

§ Mr. Teddy Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish a list of the inquiries which have been authorised by the EEC Commission on the impact of the single market and indicate which of the reports of such inquiries have been published.

§ Mr. Redwood
[holding answer 30 January 1990]: The Commission frequently undertakes inquiries in varying
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degrees of detail on a wide range of European issues. On the single market, the most detailed of these is the Cecchini report, published in 1988, which forecasts the impact of the single market on different industrial sectors. No complete list of Commission inquiries exists.

§ Mr. Teddy Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Southend, East of 24 January, when his Department will complete its assessment of the EEC Commission-Louvain university study on the impact of the single market on regions; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Redwood
[holding answer 30 January 1990]: My Department is still studying this report, received last week, and will complete its assessment as soon as practicable.

§ Mr. Teddy Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice and assistance was sought from his Department by the university of Louvain in connection with its report on the impact of the single market on regions.

§ Mr. Redwood
[holding answer 30 January 1990]: None.

§ Mr. Teddy Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what manpower in his Department is devoted to providing advice and briefing to industry, commerce and the general public on the 1992 proposals; and what expenditure is devoted to this area of policy.

§ Mr. Redwood
[holding answer 30 January 1990]: My Department's "Europe Open for Business" campaign, which is dedicated to providing factual information to business on single market proposals, is run by a unit of 13 staff, supported as required by officials elsewhere in the Department, including regional offices. Expenditure on the campaign since its launch in March 1988 has been £4.7 million, plus £8.9 million on advertising.

§ Mr. Teddy Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact of the 1992 proposals on Strathclyde and south Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Redwood
[holding answer 30 January 1990]: The impact of the single market on regions will depend on how successfully individual firms respond. It is therefore not possible to produce reliable assessments of the impact on particular regions as a whole. The single market will provide opportunities and challenges to firms in all parts of the United Kingdom, but the impact of 1992 is only one factor amongst many which will affect economic progress in particular regions.

§ Mr. Teddy Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the EEC Commission/Louvain university report on the impact of the single market on regions will be ready for publication; and if he will make copies available through the Vote Office.

§ Mr. Redwood
[holding answer 30 January 1990]: The Commission has not yet decided when or if it will make the report prepared by Louvain university available for publication. I have today placed a copy of the draft report, made available to us by the Commission, in the Library of the House. It is available only in French at present.