§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what guidelines his Department issues to local development agencies in respect of them approaching companies in other areas to propose expansions or relocations away from their home areas; and what proposals he has to change these guidelines; [15645]
(2) what rules govern the operation of local development agencies. [15655]
§ Mr. Greg KnightMy Department does not provide grants or operate guidelines to local development agencies for domestic promotional activities. It does give grants to regional development organisations in England, whose task is to assist the Invest in Britain Bureau in promoting the benefits of the UK and their regions as a location for inward investment. Where investment grants may be available under the regional selective assistance scheme, there are guidelines which rule out support simply for jobs being transferred from one part of the country to another. Assistance would be available only to eligible expansion projects which led to a net national benefit.