§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many jobs her Department forecast would be created under each scheme in each of the past six years under(a) section 7 and (b) section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1982, and at what cost per job; how many people are still employed as a direct result of financial assistance in each scheme; and if she will make a statement on her Department's (i) financing and (ii) monitoring of jobs created under the Act; [138775]
(2) what the value was of (a) applications received and (b) offers accepted for financial assistance in each year since 1997 under (i) section 7 and (ii) section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1982. [138776]
§ Jacqui SmithThe forecast of jobs expected to be created and safeguarded in England as a result of offers accepted under Section 7 (Regional Selective Assistance) and the average cost per job were:
Jobs Average cost per job (£) 1997–98 39,167 4,287 1998–99 27,838 4,606 1999–2000 35,270 3,152 2000–01 32,184 6,378 2001–021 16,714 4,723 2002–03 19,856 5,426 Total 171,029 4,673 1The reduction in jobs is the result of a transfer of smaller RSA cases (capital investment less than £500,000) to a separate Enterprise Grant scheme under Section 8, w.e.f. 1 January 2000). To date, 117,256 of these jobs have been achieved with approximately 65 per cent. of projects completed. The jobs achieved will increase as further projects are completed.
It is not policy to continue monitoring firms once the conditions of an offer of grant have been met.
Schemes under Section 8 are not primarily targeted on job creation and no forecasts have been made.
Further details on the schemes operating under Sections 7 and 8 can be found in the Industrial Development Act Annual Report, published by The Stationery Office.