§ Mr. David Reedasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of the 15,000 new jobs projected for the Northern Region as a result of Industry Act assistance he estimates to be in existence now; how many are expected to be in existence by August 1974; and what is his estimate of the time scale for the remainder.
§ Mr. Anthony GrantMost of the 15,000 new jobs associated with projects assisted under Section 7 of the Industry Act are expected to come into being over the next three years. I regret that information on the annual rate of job creation is not readily available.
§ Mr. David Reedasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of the 175 offers of Industry Act selective financial assistance for the Northern Region up to 30th November 1972 were for firms already established in the region; and how many were for firms new to the region.
§ Mr. Anthony GrantAs at the end of March 1973, 17 per cent. of applicants offered selective assistance were new companies to Northern Region, 13 per cent. companies moving into the region, 325W and 70 per cent. were expansions of existing companies. I have no reason to think that these proportions have significantly changed since then but an up to date analysis is not readily available.