§ 29. Mr. John MarshallTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about inward investment in Scotland. [19598]
§ Mr. KynochThe Government's pro-business policies have created a business climate in which companies can flourish and this continues to make Scotland—and indeed the United Kingdom as a whole—a very attractive location for inward investment.
608WIn the five years to March 1994, Locate in Scotland and the Scottish Office industry department helped to attract to Scotland nearly 350 inward investment projects involving planned investment of £2.6 billion associated with the expected creation or safeguarding of over 47,000 jobs. That success was maintained during 1994–95, with Scotland attracting inward investment projects at the rate of almost two per week.
The success announced during the year to March 1995 included Motorola's decision to invest a further £250 million at its East Kilbride plant, creating 250 new jobs; NEC's decision to invest £530 million in setting up a new state-of-the-art wafer fabrication facility in Livingston, creating 430 new jobs; and BSkyB's decision to set up a new subscriber management centre in Dunfermline, creating up to 1,000 full-time jobs over the next few years.
Detailed figures for inward investment in Scotland in 1994–95 will be published in the Locate in Scotland annual review in June.