§ Mr. Woodallasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will list the amounts granted to each area from the EEC Regional Aid Fund for each year since the inception of the fund and if he will indicate which areas are development, special development and intermediate areas, respectively.
Mr. Alan WilliamsThe amounts committed by the European Regional Development Fund to projects in those regions of the United Kingdom which contain assisted areas are as follows:
response to many representations from BSC customers, from the plantmakers, and most recently in recommendations from NEDO sectoral working parties, particularly about the urgent need for a new mill at Port Talbot so as to improve the quality of the hot rolled coil produced there.
BSC is now going ahead with the second phase of coke oven replacement at Port Talbot, but this is primarily intended to reduce pollution and will have comparatively little effect on costs. The corporation is currently examining the economic 627W feasibility of continuous casting equipment to feed the existing mill and will be considering the proposed hot strip mill within the general review which we have asked it to carry out. Until we have received the results of these studies based on the latest capital costs and market prospects it would be premature to indicate the consequentials for the cost of steel under the various options.