§ 14. Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the number of manufacturing jobs transferred to countries of central and eastern Europe from Scotland in each of the last two years. [130580]
§ Dr. ReidNo information is held centrally to allow such an estimate to be made. Clearly it is regrettable when companies take decisions to relocate manufacturing operations from Scotland, as in the recent case of Philips Lighting Hamilton. The Government are committed to continuing the work of providing a sound and stable economic environment for business and making a long-term investment in skills. As a result, Scotland remains attractive for inward investment. Indeed the latest figures released by Locate In Scotland show that in the year to March 2000 Scotland successfully attracted a total of 91 projects involving planned investment of £650 million and planned creation or safeguarding of over 19,000 jobs.