§ Mr. Gerald HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the European Commission is conducting, or proposes to conduct, an investigation into the proposed Toyota factory in Derbyshire.
§ Mr. Douglas Hogg[holding answer 12 February 1990]When the Toyota project was announced in April 1989, the Government informed the European Commission that the company had decided to locate in the United Kingdom without seeking any financial assistance from the Government; that discussions were in progress between the company and the local authorities in Derbyshire about a possible modest package of local measures; and that, once the elements of the package had been defined, the Government would consider whether any of them required notification to the Commission under the terms of the Community's rules on state aids to the vehicle sector. My Department has recently told the Commission that in our view the package envisaged included nothing which could be regarded as an aid to Toyota. We have made clear our readiness to meet Commission officials to explain the content of the package and the reasons for our conclusion.