§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what additional measures he intends to introduce to mitigate the impact of the closure of factories during the last 12 months within the north Ayrshire area. [5049]
§ Mr. Kynoch[holding answer 20 November 1996]: My right hon. Friend has no plans to introduce additional measures, since our existing policies are working successfully. These policies place responsibility for economic regeneration primarily with the local enterprise companies, in this case Enterprise Ayrshire. The measures necessary to address the economic impact of factory closures are among those considered closely by Scottish Enterprise when allocating enterprise company budgets. Enterprise Ayrshire and its partners are currently involved in a wide range of projects designed to stimulate the 673W economy of North Ayrshire and improve the competitiveness of its companies. In addition, Irvine travel-to-work area, covering most of North Ayrshire, continues to benefit from development area status.