§ Mr. Brayasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will show, for the fiscal years 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73 and 1973–74, the degree of financial support by way of grants made to Ulster for the development or expansion of industrial and commercial activities.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesIndustrial development is a transferred matter financed from the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund, and the United Kingdom does not make grants to that fund specifically for the development or expansion of industry. Until recently payments were made to Northern Ireland for various specific purposes, not including industrial development. Since the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 most payments have been subsumed within the grant-in-aid from the Northern Ireland Office which542W is a non-specific grant—currently estimated at £200 million—to the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund to supplement the Northern Ireland share of tax revenue. It is impossible to apportion amounts within the grant-in-aid to particular spending programmes.
In addition, certain grants and loans amounting to about £13 million over the five-year period have been made direct to Harland and Wolff from United Kingdom funds. This excludes payments to the company made by Northern Ireland Departments.